PoleFX Player
Reflash your player's SD card
Your PoleFX Player runs from a microSD card. If the software ever stops working, or you want a fresh install of the latest version, you can rewrite ("reflash") the card yourself in about 15 minutes with a computer and a card reader. This page has the software image and every step.
If your player still works, back up your settings first
Reflashing wipes the card, including your patterns, playlists, uploaded
videos, and Wi-Fi setup. If the player is still reachable, open its web
app at polefx.local
→ Settings → System and press Download Backup.
After reflashing, the same page restores everything from that one file.
If the player is already unresponsive, skip this and continue below.
Download the software image
One file, ending in .img.gz. You don't need to unzip it;
the flashing tool reads it as-is. Safari expands it for you on the way
in, leaving a larger .img file instead. That one is equally
good to flash, so use whichever you end up with.
Reflash, step by step
Gather what you need
A computer, a microSD card reader (many laptops have an SD slot; a microSD-to-SD adapter or USB reader works too), and the microSD card from your player, or a new card, 16 GB or larger.
You will also want about 20 GB free on the computer. The download itself is smaller than that, but Safari expands it after downloading and the expanded file is around 16 GB.
To remove the card from the player: power the player off, then gently press the card in until it clicks and springs out.
Install balenaEtcher
Etcher is a free tool for writing SD cards, for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Download it from etcher.balena.io and install it like any other app.
Choose the image file
Insert the SD card into your reader, open Etcher, and click
Flash from file. Pick the .img.gz file
you downloaded above.
Select the SD card
Click Select target and tick your SD card. Check the size matches your card (a 16 GB card shows as roughly 15–16 GB). Etcher hides your computer's own drives, but double-check before continuing, because everything on the selected drive will be erased.
Flash and wait
Click Flash! and leave everything plugged in. Writing plus verification usually takes 5–15 minutes. Etcher says Flash Complete when it's safe to remove the card. Your computer may say the card is "unreadable" afterwards, and that's normal (it's a Linux-formatted card now), just eject it.
Put the card back and power on
Insert the card into the player (it clicks in), then power up. The first boot takes a couple of minutes. Leave it alone until the light show starts.
Reconnect to the player
A freshly flashed player is back to its out-of-the-box network
setup: it broadcasts its own Wi-Fi network, exactly like when it
first arrived. Join that network, then open
http://polefx.local (or http://10.10.10.10)
in a browser. Full connection help is in the
PoleFX docs.
Restore your backup
In the web app, go to Settings → System → Restore From
Backup, choose your .pfxbackup file, and press
Restore & Restart. The player reboots with your
patterns, playlists, videos, and Wi-Fi setup back in place. If it was
set to join your home Wi-Fi, it reappears on that network.
Two things that can go wrong
Flashing the wrong drive erases it. In Etcher's target list, select only the SD card, and check the size matches.
Interrupting a flash corrupts the card. Don't unplug the reader, close Etcher, or let the laptop sleep mid-flash. If a flash fails or is interrupted, just run it again from the top, and nothing is damaged permanently.