How to Configure your CTRL Keyboard! | Download the...

Aug 6, 2019

Stickied

Download the appropriate loader application for your computer's OS here: https://github.com/Massdrop/mdloader/releases

Windows users: Download mdloader_windows.exe and applet-mdflash.bin and put them in the same folder. Linux users: Download mdloader_linux and applet-mdflash.bin and put them in the same folder. chmod u+x mdloader_linux to make it executable. Mac users: Download mdloader_mac and applet-mdflash.bin and put them in the same folder. If downloading with Safari, mdloader_mac will have a .dms extension appended to it. This is fine. chmod u+x mdloader_mac to make it executable. (chmod u+x mdloader_mac.dms if downloaded from Safari) 1) Go to the default configuration and click COMPILE & DOWNLOAD for the default keymap. Otherwise, make your desired changes before clicking COMPILE & DOWNLOAD.

2) Locate the BIN file generated and downloaded via the configurator

3) Move the file to the same folder as mdloader_windows.exe

4) Open the command prompt

5) a) Determine the file path to the directory that contains the BIN file you just downloaded. You may simply click the file path near the top of windows explorer. Clicking it will show the file path and highlight it. Copy that file path.

b) In the command prompt, navigate to the directory that contains the BIN file by typing “cd [file path]” and pressing Enter. As you have copied the file path in the above step, simply type “cd” and paste (Ctrl + V) the file path. Note that there is a space between “cd” and [file path].

The highlighted line in the image below shows the directory you are currently in. It should match the file path that you copied.

To flash your keyboard: 1) Plug in the keyboard 2) In the command prompt, type “mdloader_windows.exe --first --download FILE_NAME --restart” where FILE_NAME is the filename of your compiled firmware (the BIN file you downloaded from the configurator). For example, I would type “mdloader_windows.exe --first --download massdrop_alt_config_ALT___2_Layers_with_Custom_Colors_2650.bin --restart” The "--first" option auto-detects the first available keyboard to flash over the next 60 seconds. Using --first, you can submit the flashing command with your CTRL keyboard and then press the reset button---no second keyboard needed. Press Enter.

IMPORTANT: Make sure you flash your firmware configuration file and not the applet file. Example of what not to do: "mdloader_windows.exe --first --download applet-mdflash.bin --restart". Flashing the applet file will show as a successful flash, but the keyboard will be unresponsive. To resolve this, simply put the keyboard back into DFU mode (press the reset button) and flash a valid firmware file. If the keyboard you are attempting to flash is your only input device, you'll need a second keyboard to type the correct command given that a keyboard flashed with the applet file will be unresponsive to inputs.

3) Press the reset button within 60 seconds of submitting the flash command (i.e. during the "scanning for device" message). The reset button is in a hole on the underside of the keyboard. After pressing the reset button, all the LEDs will turn off. Your keyboard should flash and restart.

P.S. Yes, the images show an ALT, but the process is identical.

(Edited)

Aug 6, 2019

stepsten

Aug 12, 2019

Hi Elbert, have tried your instructions a few times, but each time, I get the error: Could not find a valid device port. I've tried different usb ports on my PC, i've tried both USB ports on the Massdrop Ctrl, and I've also tried different USB C cables with the same result. Any thoughts?

Aug 12, 2019

Aug 12, 2019

Are you using Linux? If so, your user will need to be in the dialout group or you will need to sudo the mdloader command. If you are using Mac or Windows, are you resetting your keyboard after executing the mdloader command (pin to press the reset button or hold half second+release Fn+b for newer CTRLs)? When the keyboard is reset, it will be unresponsive to keypresses and all LEDs will be off except for an orange status LED on the underside.

Aug 12, 2019

stepsten

Aug 13, 2019

jxliu

ahh...okay, i'm using windows and was waiting for the port to be found before resetting. i reset after executing the command and the flash was successful. hopefully this will fix the issue. thanks..

Aug 13, 2019

saiforshort

Nov 25, 2019

THANK YOU SO MUCH KIND SIR!! all caps for appreciation

Nov 25, 2019

yallen

Feb 29, 2020

https://drop.com/talk/26471/where-can-i-find-the-default-led-backlight-c-source-code-i-already-know-about-configurator-but-i-wan/2519204

So i did all of this and it was successful! but is there a way to revert my lighting to the default settings?

Feb 29, 2020

Feb 29, 2020

Either flash the default configuration or set all LEDs on all layers to "A" for All Patterns on your custom configuration and flash that.

Feb 29, 2020

OrriginalJ

Mar 8, 2020

yallen

Mar 8, 2020

Mar 24, 2020

Heyo! I'm on a Linux laptop and flashed this update. It doesn't seem to have properly solved it, so I'm wondering if there have been any progress on the issue. Sounds like this thread is from quite a while ago and is still an ongoing issue.

(Edited)

Mar 24, 2020

Mar 24, 2020

What are you trying to solve?

Mar 24, 2020

Mar 24, 2020

Key chatter on the 'e'. Sometimes double bounces, sometimes triple, sometimes just causes an odd delay where it shows up after a following key. It's the only key I've noticed so far.

Mar 24, 2020

Mar 25, 2020

Chatter has not been completely resolved. We're still looking into it.

Mar 25, 2020

Mar 28, 2020

I'm having an issue where key chatter has all of a sudden started to spawn across multiple keys. Sometimes it's one key, sometimes its another. Do you have any ETA for a possible fix? Or do I need to RMA? I'm using Kailh Box Whites. Thank you!

Mar 28, 2020

Mar 28, 2020

Mine was evident on the E key right out of the box, but it gradually went away somehow. If it persisted, I was going to try to swap two of the switches to see if it’s switch-related, but it never came back, so I held off. I’ve had it for a few full days of typing now and it’s been okay. How long have you had yours vuther?

Mar 28, 2020

Mar 29, 2020

I think mine started around 2 weeks ago or so? I'm not having an issue w/ the E key. It's mostly w, y, g, and m. Very strange.

Mar 29, 2020

Apr 1, 2020

Your best bet is an RMA at this time.

Apr 1, 2020

Apr 1, 2020

I updated to the latest firmware, and it did seem to help my key chatter, but "r" and "g" key seems to still be chatting from time to time. It isn't near as bad as before the firmware upgrade though.

Apr 1, 2020

125lbstank

Apr 12, 2020

when is macros coming?

Apr 12, 2020

Ealsandor

Jul 8, 2020

https://drop.com/talk/9382/how-to-configure-your-ctrl-keyboard/2546661

Bro like when I run the MD loader, it just cannot find the port the keyboard is on Ive tried this serveral different ways from FN+B to using the pin on the back of the keyboard to using a different PC al together it just straight up wont detect the keyboard to flash it its highly annoying.

Jul 8, 2020

Jul 8, 2020

Jul 8, 2020

dizy5

Jul 15, 2020

Hey Elbert - Followed all the steps but still getting the error "Error: Could not find a valid device port". I've tried different ports and cables.

Jul 15, 2020

Crumplez

Jul 16, 2020

What is the solution when you have everything in the proper folder, you have executed the correct CMD orders and the when the loader is scanning or looking for the correct port to flash, I restart the keyboard and the keyboard just goes dark, it does not turn back on, and the CMD prompt times out in the 60seconds... Nothing happens and I have to unplug the keyboard and plug it back in to get it turn back on.

Jul 16, 2020

Jul 16, 2020

Device ID mismatch. We are working to get the source code updated and new mdloader builds released on Github to address it. If you are comfortable editing code, you can make the changes yourself and flash. https://drop.com/talk/9382/how-to-configure-your-ctrl-keyboard/2546661
https://drop.com/buy/drop-shift-mechanical-keyboard/talk/2664738 EDIT: @Crumplez New release is up: https://github.com/Massdrop/mdloader/releases

(Edited)

Jul 16, 2020

Jul 19, 2020

Hello! So i am having this double clicking issue on several of my keys. I tried to flash the firmware but got this: Opening port 'COM3'... Success! Found MCU: SAMD51J18A Bootloader version: v2.20 Mar 27 2019 10:04:47 [ctrl] Applet file: applet-flash-samd51j18a.bin Applet Version: 1 ERROR: Parser: File is empty! Error: Could not parse file! Closing port... Success! Afterwards, the keyboard went completely dark and was unresponsive until i plugged out the usb cable and plugged it back in. The key chatter issue has not been fixed. I was wondering if you could help me on what happened. I had the windows mdloader, the bin file from github, and the bin file generated from the default configurator all in the same folder and I type the name of the generated bin file in the command line.

Jul 19, 2020

Jul 19, 2020

Please post a screenshot of the Terminal window showing the exact commands you are submitting.

Jul 19, 2020

Jul 19, 2020

Hey, this is the screenshot. The "ctrlBOARD" folder has 3 files. I attached that below as well.

Jul 19, 2020

Jul 19, 2020

Try the latest release: https://github.com/Massdrop/mdloader/releases/tag/1.0.4

Jul 19, 2020

Jul 21, 2020

Hey. Same problem occurred.

Jul 21, 2020

Jul 21, 2020

Did you pull the new applet-flash-samd51j18a.bin file from the 1.0.4 release as well?

Jul 21, 2020

Jul 21, 2020

Yeah. I deleted both of the old files and re-downloaded them from the 1.0.4 link.

Jul 21, 2020

Jul 21, 2020

Your massdrop_ctrl_preset_ctrl__default.bin file has two underscores between "ctrl" and "default". Try removing one so it matches the file name in your command line.

(Edited)

Jul 21, 2020

Aug 26, 2020

I have tried this many times with my ALT keyboard on Windows, but every time I press the reset button when "Scanning for device for 60 seconds" is displayed, the keyboard sits there with an orange light and will not restart. Any idea what's going on here? I've verified that I am using all the correct files and running the command line command correctly.

(Edited)

Aug 26, 2020

Aug 26, 2020

Does the keyboard go into DFU mode at all when you press the physical reset button? That is, it's working normally, you press the reset button and the LEDs turn off. Does your command also include "--restart"? Does it restart if you unplug and replug?

Aug 26, 2020

Aug 26, 2020

The keyboard LEDs turn off and then emit an orange light at the bottom. I can hear the Windows disconnect and reconnect sounds when doing this. I believe this means it goes into DFU mode correctly, but not 100% sure. Yes, I can confirm that I am using the --restart flag in the command. After waiting for a long while, I get "Error: Could not find a valid device port!" on the screen, but the board stays lit with the singular orange light. Then, when I unplug and plug the keyboard back in, the keyboard functions as normal, but does not have the updated key bindings from the keyboard configuration file, so I believe the keyboard was not flashed correctly.

Aug 26, 2020

Aug 26, 2020

Are you using the 1.0.4 release? https://github.com/Massdrop/mdloader/releases/tag/1.0.4

Aug 26, 2020

Aug 27, 2020

Yes, I am. I copied these files and tried to use them to flash the keyboard; however, I had no success.

Aug 27, 2020

Aug 27, 2020

Might be a new issue. We are looking into it. This may be related: https://drop.com/buy/drop-ctrl-mechanical-keyboard/talk/2691678

Aug 27, 2020

Aug 27, 2020

Yes, I read through this thread and used the --verbose tag. When doing this it appears that it tries to connect to COM4 and COM5 over and over, but it fails. Would it be helpful for me to film what I am seeing and link a YouTube video for you?

Aug 27, 2020

Aug 27, 2020

Have you tried changing the Chip ID, recompiling, and flashing with the new binary?

Aug 27, 2020

Aug 27, 2020

After reading through the comments from yesterday, I found the fix. A comment from @afynyth shared a google drive folder that had an mdloader executable and an applet file that worked. Link is here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12ypreuxCE2ewbo5ZlqnPyws1QIOWHV4n?usp=sharing I was able to update the firmware successfully using these two files. =)

Aug 27, 2020

Aug 27, 2020

Yes, that's a recompiled binary with a modified Chip ID. Thanks for bearing with me through all this troubleshooting and I'm glad it works now. I'll work to have this issue addressed.

Aug 27, 2020

afynyth

Aug 27, 2020

Hi, after spending hours yesterday fixing this issue, I was wondering if you guys could make the mdloader work with different chip IDs or figure out why there's a new one for every batch of drop keyboards, because this seemed to have happened with this last batch as well. Not everyone has or wants to set up a linux environment to recompile the binary with a new Chip ID. Thanks!

(Edited)

Aug 27, 2020

Aug 27, 2020

Yeah, we are looking into it. The 1.0.4 release addressed the same issue on the CTRL and SHIFT. Thanks for flagging as well.

Aug 27, 2020

archow

Aug 30, 2020

Hey Elbert, I am still having an issue with this for the drop alt but for mac. Is there an updated mdloader executable for mac? I have tried changing the CHIP ID and recompiling and running the command but still getting the error "could not find a valid device port". It might be because I have the wrong CHIP ID, but I am unsure on how to find this. Thanks.

Aug 30, 2020

Aug 30, 2020

Noted, thanks. Still working on it.

Aug 30, 2020

minituff

Sep 2, 2020

Hey Elbert. I was able to get this to work twice, but now my PC cannot see the keyboard. I opened a github issue. Can you please take a look. I want to see if I can get this fixed within my 30 day return window, otherwise I'll have to send it back. Thank you!! https://github.com/Massdrop/mdloader/issues/35 EDIT: It looks like I figured it out and everything seems to be working.

(Edited)

Sep 2, 2020

MericanShitposter

210

Sep 5, 2020

Has this been resolved for Mac yet? Qmk toolbox has the latest, 1.04, and it still does not work

Sep 5, 2020

MericanShitposter

210

Sep 8, 2020

https://github.com/Massdrop/mdloader/issues/37

Sep 8, 2020

debrutal

Nov 16, 2020

Hi, apparently the instructions on https://github.com/Massdrop/mdloader were ambiguous enough to confuse me. While applying the instructions described there i ran into your described issue applying the applet file. Since then my 1 day old DROP CTRL is dead. No LED no keypress registered. Not even registered when plugged in. How do i reset my board?

I downloaded default binary for the board.
using `$ /mdloader_linux --first --download massdrop_ctrl_preset_ctrl__default.bin --restart`
see the waiting 60s message
hit the reset button on the back of the keyboard
... <nothing happens> ...

Using my second keyboard is able to send commands to my (linux) terminal but the system does not find the dropctrl. `xinput --list` doesn't list the dropctrl keyboard

Nov 16, 2020

Nov 16, 2020

The instructions are clear about flashing the compiled firmware. Nowhere does it say to flash the applet file. You may have to sudo the command to access the USB port. Linux - Run mdloader_linux --first --download FILE_NAME --restart. Replace "FILE_NAME" with the filename of your compiled firmware. Depending on your user's permissions, you might have to add your user to the dialout group or use sudo on the command.

Nov 16, 2020

debrutal

Nov 19, 2020

Thank you very much @Elbert . Since i could flash the keyboard as described above i did not have to use sudo. Using the right firmware at my 'broken' stage, i had to use sudo to get it back to work. I am very happy again :D

Nov 19, 2020

debrutal

Nov 19, 2020

(i thought i already answered, but cannot find my answer) Thank you, sudo made the difference. First try, which broke my setup was without sudo. I am a happy keyboard user again :)

Nov 19, 2020

Nov 19, 2020

Glad to hear it!

Nov 19, 2020

Mmoasd

Nov 19, 2020

I am just interested in is it hard to make a little program to customize keyboard easyliy?because i am trying to do this shit already a long time and still nothing ty for attenttion

Nov 19, 2020

Nov 19, 2020

Please be more specific about your application. Our configurator is relatively straightforward to use. Download your customized firmware from the Configurator and follow the flashing guide above. If you want to use features in QMK that are not available through our Configurator, you will have to do some coding yourself.

Nov 19, 2020

Hannzo

Nov 20, 2020

Hi Elbert,i want to ask you can you make a video how to do this customization for windos i think it will be better to understand what to do correctly

Nov 20, 2020

Nov 20, 2020

Sorry, I will not be making a video. The screenshots accompanying each step should be adequate. The overwhelming majority of cases that I have encountered where people "followed the guide, but still had issues", it was because they didn't read carefully nor look at the provided screenshots that show what a given step looks like.

Nov 20, 2020

LWNYC

272

Nov 26, 2020

@Elbert Happy Thanksgiving! Last year, you helped me programmed an older ALT for use with a MAC PRO. We went through hurdles as no direct USB-A connection could be made (only Thunderbolt 3) and it took an older iMac to do the trick with the QMK. Forward to now, can you help me with steps to download the code from the programmed 2018 ALT onto my Mac, I like to use this code to program a new 2020 DROP ALT that just arrived. I type this line of code on my Mac, and got stuck using Terminal. mdloader --first --upload read_firmware.bin --addr 0x4000 --size 0x10000 plan was with this upload, then download onto new ALT. Thanks for your help. Laiyan

Nov 26, 2020

KonaSaurus

Nov 29, 2020

I have flashed my Massdrop Alt High Profile keyboard twice now. Each time the issue appears to go away, but then it'll slowly start creeping back again. Its not double typing as bad as it was before, but it is definitely still double typing. Is there any further fixes to try? I downloaded the firmware from the configurator fresh again today, the flash was successful, and its still double typing occasionally. Its random keys, too. Sometimes it O, sometimes its R, sometimes its I, etc. So its not like I have a bad key or one part of the board isn't functioning...

(Edited)

Nov 29, 2020

Nov 30, 2020

If you saved your configuration, it will still be available to download from the configurator.

Nov 30, 2020

Nov 30, 2020

Have you tried swapping out the switches with new switches of the same type and/or different switches altogether?

Nov 30, 2020

Sumabe

Dec 1, 2020

Hi, How can I add a macro to the ctrl keyboard?

Dec 1, 2020

Dec 1, 2020

QMK supports macros, but our configurator currently does not support the feature.

Dec 1, 2020

Sumabe

Dec 1, 2020

No worries, thanks

Dec 1, 2020

AlexisKemper

Dec 4, 2020

THANK YOU! Now my board looks exactly how I wanted it to.

Dec 4, 2020

Volker

Dec 4, 2020

stepsten

I have the same problem with the Carina. It's unable to find a port, and I've used multiple USB ports, both 2.0 and 3.0. Any ideas?

Dec 4, 2020

Dec 4, 2020

Did you press the reset button after submitting the flash command like the guide tells you to?

(Edited)

Dec 4, 2020

Oouu

Dec 10, 2020

So how do i use this with QMK after flashing?

Dec 10, 2020

Dec 10, 2020

It runs QMK. https://docs.qmk.fm/#/

Dec 10, 2020

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