Replacing SD Card
Required Tools:
- Phillips Head or T8 bit screwdriver
- Strong fingernails, tweezers, or needle-nose pliers to remove the old SD card
- The ability to read/write a 64gb microSD card (unless pre-flashed card is acquired)
In the event that your microSD card fails, here are the steps to re-flash it or replace it with a brand new one:
- Unplug and remove the 4 screws from the bottom of the unit using a Phillips head screwdriver (Note that 1st gen Hotspots will need a T8 bit screwdriver, and also have a gps antenna wire attaching the top plastic to the board, this should stay connected.)
- Carefully remove the installed microSD card located by the fan - tweezers or needle-nose pliers may help with this. (see image below)
- Format the new card or re-format the existing card into ExFat format.
- Download and install a program to Flash the card such as Etcher, if needed: https://www.balena.io/etcher
- Download the image file to Flash: https://helium-nextgate.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/artifacts/2021.06.14.0-sdcard.img.gz
- Unzip the file.
- Use Etcher to Flash the newly formatted microSD card with the file.
- Place the newly flashed card back into the card reader slot.
- Plug the Hotspot back and and confirm that it boots up.
- Screw the Hotspot back together.
If you have purchased a pre-flashed card, the only steps you need are:
- Unplug and remove the 4 screws from the bottom of the unit using a Phillips head screwdriver (Note that 1st gen Hotspots will need a T8 bit screwdriver, and also have a gps antenna wire attaching the top plastic to the board, this should stay connected.)
- Carefully remove the installed microSD card located by the fan - tweezers or needle-nose pliers may help with this. (see image below)
- Place the pre-flashed card into the card reader slot.
- Plug the Hotspot back and and confirm that it boots up.
- Screw the Hotspot back together.
If successful, everything should boot up normally.
A card like
this
would work, but anything comparable would also suffice.
You can also buy pre-flashed ones from
Parley Labs.