Anybody called Pioneer to see why this is happening like a rash across the boards all of a sudden??

Other threads, same issue:

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=24964

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=25137

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=24822

mines doing the same thing. when i turn the car on now all of a sudden i get the splash screen for 10-15 seconds then black screen/black buttons.

i believe i can get into test mode (if thats the blue screen with white writing) but if i dont make choices fairly quickly the screen just goes black again. im not that great with this kind of stuff so i didnt really understand the steps listed like 2 posts above and i dont really have anything on my unit except my personal settings so is there a need to back it up?

im just a lil confused.

F700BT.

About a week ago, system ignored bluetooth commands.

Then iTunes started to skip.

Then Pioneer splashed loaded and went to black.

Reset, same splash screen and black.

Downloaded firmware upgrade to SD.

Started install, watched screen update as nav units files erased.

SD files copied 54 % the froze at one of the french voices files.

Got a red screen error message.

Called tech support, asked for the free SD card. 2 week back order.

Tech guy said try a reset. No luck.

Asked if it was under warranty, said I might have to send it in to have the firmware checked out.

Looked at installation instructions and pulled off faceplate.

It was a Best Buy install but bought it from 6save through Amazon.

Should I try to pull it?

How much will it cost to pull it and reinstall?

I'm going to try the 2.0 backgrade...

honestly you should be able to pull it out yourself, read up on how to take the dash off for your type of car, undo a couple screws/bolts pull out and you will see right on top when it was manufactured.

Have you tried going into testmode? How much reading have you done about how to fix your unit on here? I would say about 98% of problems can be fixed if you read through enough posts on here. I would would try getting into testmode and check to see if your MY FLASHDISK has been currupted and is smaller then it should be.

To tall24

I did download your suggested test mode and whatever those 2 other files were.

I will try test mode this morning. I live in the desert and don't have a garage so sitting in a 120 degree car watching the darn screen go through its steps is such a joy.

Your help is appreciated.

I have been sending email to Pioneer asking what the heck is going on. Pressure tactics.

Why should I pay to pull the unit and send it to them for testing? Why should anyone have to get bricked and work it out?

There more posts on this issue the more times the search engines pull up this site.

So saying things like Pioneer F700 upgrade bricks unit gets into the queries, perhaps encouraging Pioneer to want to solve this problem, which is theirs not mine. Even if we have you to help us.

So thanks in advance for providing the info. Continuing with Pioneer Navigation Systems dead, Pioneer Navigation system expensive free upgrade, and the like, not directed at you or this forum.

Regards,

M. Martin

Like xcritic, I do not have access to 2.0 firmware.

Pioneer took it off the site since some users got access to it back in the spring.

I have searched everywhere but can't find it.

tall24 gave great instructions for resolving the issue in Service Mode but I wanted to try something with fewer steps first.

My unit came with 2.0. It may be that even if I got 2.0 and reinstalled it, I would have the 2.0 problems everyone is having.

So two questions:

1. Anybody got a site for 2.0?

2. Maybe 3.0?

Thanks

Go on pioneers website search F700BT or what ever unit you have when you get to it's webpage click on updates and see what it comes up with. Download it.

Step 1 try running update

step 2 use test mode version 2.3 get into windows mode

step 3 fine find a fresh copy of a backup file and upload it

if I were you though I would go to the hacks section and read the 3.0 how to and follow those instructions closely that will both fix your system and update it in one.

Thanks tail24.

I learned my lesson and read and read about testmode, got a lot of help from anothr gsxer, downloaded files, looked in hacking 3.0.

Did some time swapping files to and from sd chips.

Still not working but I can't say it's from lack of help. The forum is great.

Just looking at posts and wanted to thank you for the help you're giving all us freaked out AVIC trainwrecks.

honestly just fully follow the 3.0 steps and chances are you will have an up and running unit with 3.0 on it which is 100% better.

alright...just like other people stated. I started the car then got the opening message (with the pic i upload a while back) then blank screen. The button lights work on the side and if the ipod is plugged in, it will still play music and i can adjust the volume. However, if i press the map button like 10times sometime that causes the screen to turn back on and start working. But sometimes it doesnt work. If anyone has clear direction on what is needed for me to fix this problem.....that would be great. Also i did a hack a few months ago from a member to get better graphics and red light cameras. Thanks

I have the F90BT and this started today... boots into the Black screen and nothing works, no ipod, no music. nothing. others have mentioned music works. I can't do anything..

So, I got on here, read a few things, and went and got pioneer's site's 2.006 update, installed that correct. and it never rebooted on it's own, so I hit Reset like the Instructions said. and everytime it restarts now it just sits on the splash screen. I have to actually Hit menu to get to the main screen now, and NOTHING works in there. only can access AV settings andset up language and such, and that is IT.. nothing else works.

ANY help would be amazingly great about now. I'm having a hell of a time here. If I let it sit there long enough it will restart, and then like i said it just stays on the splash screen forever. and weather I hit menu to mess around, or leave it at splash screen. Eventually it just restarts again.

Sadness! I really don't Wanna purchase 3.0 for something that should be working right now, we shouldn't have to pay for updates anyways!

Do you people read other problems like this and follow the instructions to fix them fully?? I would say 95% of the problems have been covered on here with instructions on how to fix them... Do some reading and trial and error. And ones again I am gonna reiterate what I wrote up above..

Go to the HACKS for F series board. Read the How to put 3.0 on your system thread. Clearly follow all those exact directions with all the downloads it instructs you to do on the first page page of the thread and most likely not only will you solve all of your problems but you will have a completely new unit as well!!

Has everyone having this problem done the navi hardware bypass? I called Pioneer about the issue and they claim it is due to hardware bypasses.

It has nothing to do with the bypass. I've helped a few ppl get this fixed. Some not quite as lucky. First thing to try is to boot using TESTMODE and delete 4 files, GpsPara0.bin, GpsPara1.bin, GpsPara2.bin, GpsPara3.bin, That fixes the issue about half the time. Most of the rest of the time it can be resolved by reloading the unit with a backup copy.

I have a copy of 2.0 at an online backup site (myotherdrive.com) that I will share, I just need an email address as the site uses them for logins. I don't and won't use it for any other reason. Just PM me a quick note and your email address and I will set up sharing. Secondly, if you are near the Jacksonville Florida area, I can help reload your stereo with a known good backup on SD card that I keep in the car just in case...

Ok, I am new to this forum and appearantly behind the power curb. I have downloaded the 2.006 Firmware upgrade and it gives me an error when downloading. I do not know how to reset it to test mode. I am having the same issues as everyone else. I do not have anything on there worth keeping and would like to return it to factory mode. The system came with 2.0 already installed. Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Mike

By the by; OTAR on a GPS antenna is completly possible. I do it for a living for my job. I find it completly unethical for pioneer to push a patch through and then charge people to fix their screw ups. There has got to be a way to return the system back to factory defaults. Can anyone give me a clue? I have no worries about files on the system. They do me no good if my system can not boot right. lol

Mike

Another B(lack) Screen of Death user. After 7-8 months of worry free use, including a clean, legal 3.0 upgrade months ago, my F700 BSOD'ed today. No warning, just started the car, got the splash screen, then the unit died. Tried multiple restarts and got the same result. When I got home I tried reinstalling the 3.0 update using my official 3.0 update SD cards but the unit throws off multiple errors during the re-update process.

Guess I'll try the 4 finger salute reboot first then the 3.0 hack install. I've located the testmode and winCE files. Still need x910bt.zip. The itchybot link leads to an "account disabled" page. A torrent search yields several 700-800MB results but I'm not sure if that's it. The file should be 1.6GB correct? Any other active link?

Any other help or advice is appreciated.

Finally located files in this thread. It's a hosted ftp site. Thanks to GeoGTO for providing.

Thread link viewtopic.php?f=34&t=24888

Here are the login details

ftp://www.turboss.com

Username: avicuser

Password: Avic411

(The username and password are case sensitive)

3.0 files are in the x900bt directory.

Shew.....what a process. Finally up and running again using 2.0. Here's my sad tale, briefly. Maybe it will help someone else.

- F700 was running fine with legal 3.0

- Yesterday system black screened after splash screen

- First tried a 3.0 reinstall from legal Pioneer SD cards, encountered multiple errors, still a black screen

- Read multiple posts here on avic411, sad to see many others with similar problems

- Decided to try the procedure outlined in this post viewtopic.php?f=33&t=27155 (thanks Redfire)

- Opted to try the x910 version 3.01010 as found on ftp://www.turboss.com (prefered not to back up to 2.0 if not necessary)

- Process went fine, all files updated without error. Upon restart I now had the reboot every 3 minute problem. Aaargh!! Damn you Pioneer.

- Further reading....deleted the GPSParaX.bin files. No go.

- More reading....decided to try this fix viewtopic.php?f=33&t=25465 but it broke testmode. Testmode would only boot briefly then go to black screen. But, hey, reboot problem gone. Whoopee!! One thing I noticed: My splash screen was now back to the Pioneer default. Even after the first SDMLC partition reformat I still had my personalized splash screen. Wouldn't the reformat wipe all settings and personalizations?

- Reinstalled the WinCE files via service menu and was able to get to test mode again

- Running out of ideas, I tried the F700 MyFlash backup from turboss using redfire's instructions. (It's version 2.0 but not identified as such in the file name.) My only thought was that maybe my F700 would not properly load the x910 version.

- SUCCESS!! The system properly booted into 2.0. Lost all settings of course but I'm up and running.

My story leaves as many questions as it does answers.

- Is the x910 3.0 version compatible with the F700? It wasn't in my case.

- Did my success with the F700 2.0 version have anything to do with installing the NN74UC image file? That file apparently impacts the SDMLC partition, but isn't that wiped by redfire's reformat anyway? The splash screen change tells me something different happened.

- Could I have loaded the x910 3.0 version after running the NN74UC image file and repairing WinCE? I don't know.

- Is my system fully restored to factory 2.0 status? Can I now reinstall 3.0 from Pioneer's SD cards using my established device number and password? I'll probably try in a few days and post the results. If successful I'll certainly back up the clean 3.0 My Flash folder for the F700. Then I'll be ready for the next black screen event (I assume there will be a next time!)

- Would it be useful to share the F700 3.0 My Flash with the community, particularly if the x910 3.0 version isn't fully compatible?

And finally, WTF is causing all these problems?????? Corrupt files? If so what is causing the corruptions? All rhetorical questions since even Pioneer probably doesn't know.

Thanks for everyone's assistance.

One more update:

I finally got 3.01 to load successfully. My mistake? Using WinCE files from 2.0, not 3.0. Trust me it kills the install. Make sure and use the correct WinCE files for the type install you are doing. For a 3.0 upgrade get the WinCE files from the X910 3.01 firmware on Pioneer's web site.

Another word of advice: Don't reload the NN74UC image file unless you are out of all other options. It will apparently change your device number, rendering any legal upgrade password invalid. Not sure if Pioneer will reset my password to get me "legal" again but am going to try. Yet with Avic411 I'm not sure legal is even necessary! Thanks to any and all for the work you've done.

Hey guys... Newbie here. I've had my F700BT for a little over a year now. I recently ran into the issue where the unit was going black after the splash screen. Occasionally I'd be able to hit the map button after a few minutes and the unit would spring to life but more often than not I wasn't getting anything. Life's a bitch when you have a destination programmed into the thing and you can't cancel it!

At any rate, Pioneer of course requests sending the unit in. I'm not going to do that. So I did a little searching and this is what I ended up doing...

http://avic411.com/wiki/index.php/Compl ... tall_Guide

I did this and all of my problems have been solved. I'm not really concerned about my bootleg 3.0... The way I see it is I paid for a product and it was not performing as advertised. I should not have to pay extra for the radio to do what Pioneer advertises. I won't loose any sleep over downloading 3.0 "illegally".

3.0 is significantly faster. I used to think the touch screen just required a hard touch as it would often miss my touches when I was searching for a song. It turns out the system is just lagging after I select something; so it wouldn't recognize my next touch. This alone is worth the upgrade. Combine that with the ability to turn off the obnoxious button chime and you have a winner.