BuddyCube

Flashing a cube

The Flasher does two separate jobs. It writes BuddyOS, the firmware, and it installs a .buddy cartridge onto a cube that is already running. Most of the time you only need the second one.

What you need

  • A BuddyCube.
  • A USB-C cable that carries data. This is the usual problem, see below.
  • BuddyMKR, on the Flasher tab.

Check the cable first

Plenty of USB-C cables are wired for charging only. On one of those the cube powers up perfectly and never appears in the Flasher, which looks exactly like a broken cube. If the cube is not listed, change the cable before changing anything else.

Installing a Buddy

This is the everyday case: the cube already runs BuddyOS, and you want a different character on it.

  1. Plug the cube in and let it boot normally.

  2. Open the Flasher tab in BuddyMKR.

  3. Connect to the cube. Your browser or the app will ask which serial device to use, pick the cube.

  4. Choose the .buddy file, or the Buddy you have open, and send it across.

  5. Watch the log. When it finishes the cube restarts with the new Buddy on it.

Writing the firmware

You only need this for a brand new cube, or after a BuddyOS update. Writing firmware replaces what is on the cube, so anything stored there goes with it, including the high score.

  1. Put the cube into its bootloader. Hold the boot button while plugging it in.

  2. In the Flasher, connect and choose the firmware option.

  3. Wait for it to finish. Do not unplug it partway through.

  4. Unplug and replug the cube to start it normally, then install a Buddy as above.

When it goes wrong

What you seeWhat to try
The cube does not appear at all Change the cable, then the port. A charge only cable is by far the most common cause.
It connects, then drops out Try a port directly on the machine rather than through a hub.
Firmware writing fails partway Put the cube back into the bootloader and start again. A half written flash is recoverable.
The Buddy installs but looks wrong Run the pre-flight check in the Buddy Maker. It usually finds a clip that does not fit its slot.
New animations do not show up Some newer animation keys export correctly but are not drawn by the firmware yet. This is a known gap, not something you did.

Still stuck

Copy the text out of the Flasher log and send it with your message. It is the single most useful thing for working out what happened.

Get support Back to getting started