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SD Card Issues

LED Status Indicators

A solid red LED indicator on your Hotspot shows it's functioning normally and is powered on.

A flashing green LED is normal at startup but should quickly change to solid red. If the LED remains blinking green for an extended period this may indicate a problem. In this case, you should:

  • Unplug the Hotspot's power.
  • Remove the SD card and reinsert it fully in the correct orientation.
  • Power the Hotspot back up and allow 10 minutes for the Hotspot to fully boot.

If the LED is still flashing green and does not change to solid red, there may be an SD card or firmware issue. In this case, refer to the following section "SD Cards"

For more information, refer to our Hotspot documentation section going over the status LEDs.

SD Cards

SD cards are user replaceable components that are expected to eventually wear out due to continuous usage. Thankfully, with the move from Full Hotspots and blockchain syncing to Light Hotspots and oracles, SD cards are under much less stress than they were during Helium's early years.

Still, SD card problems can occasionally surface which will require overwrite formatting and flashing of a new firmware image or physical card replacement to resolve.

Replacing or Re-flashing the SD Card

For detailed instructions on replacing or re-flashing your Hotspot's SD card, refer to our Help Center article on flashing the SD card.

WiFi network information is stored on the Hotspot's SD card. If your Hotspot is connected to the internet via WiFi, you will need to reconfigure the network settings after a firmware flash or SD card replacement. The Helium Hotspot Utility App featured in the "Diagnostics" section above can be used to configure WiFi settings.

⚠️ WARNING - This procedure should only be used with MNTD. and RAK v1.5 or v2 Hotspots (shipped in 2021 onwards). RAK v1 hotspots (units shipped in 2020) will have their identity stored on the SD card which must be backed up and restored prior to replacing or re-flashing the SD card. Failure to back up the miner identity will cause your Hotspot to become unusable!

For more information and detailed instructions on backing up the Swarm Key of your v1 Hotspot, refer to our article on the subject.

 

Updated