New firmware update woes

3 March 2019, 08:02 UTC

I think the new firmware update that just released may have a bug or be adversely affecting my Onewheel XR (or else it's a coincidence that my board's performance has immediately suffered since downloading it).

3 March 2019, 08:05 UTC

I downloaded the new firmware update (the one that now lets you save custom presets) the morning of Saturday, 2 March.
Since this time, if the app on my phone is actively connected to my board, as soon as the "50% battery charge remaining" alert appears, it is almost immediately followed by "low power alert, please plug into charger" alert, and the board forces me into push back and having to end the ride. The app still indicates a large percentage of battery remaining, and I've never had issues with power prior to downloading the firmware update.
I've returned home to recharge the board to 100%, and ridden it down to 50% again, with the app actively connected, and it's once again indicated "low power....etc" push back and shut down problem.
This has happened twice now. I've tried to self diagnose what's wrong and I believe it's the firmware. I'm able to ride charge the board back to full 100% and then ride well past the 50% indication (down into the 30-40% range), AS LONG AS I DON'T CONNECT THE APP. ( I have to connect the app at some point to see how much battery percentage is remaining, and then sure enough - the board goes into shutdown mode).
Are there any other reports or notices of this happening? And can this be fixed so I can monitor my battery percentage without shutting the board down? My next step is to delete the app, then re-download and see if I can exclude the newest update.
Also in regards to the latest firmware update - I've been riding with maximum looseness and aggressiveness since the previous firmware update arrived (Gemini), and it now feels like riding with these same custom settings has been modified to a more "tightened" (not in a good way), less-maneuverable-than-it once-was feel. The accelerations are no longer smooth as they once were with the Gemini update, and I can now feel logic inside the board continually shifting nose/tail elevation profiles, almost feeling like the board is over-compensating with "mini push-backs/nose-forwards".
I'm able to adjust to compensate, but much less comfortable. Sorry for the rant, I just want to make sure you guys are getting accurate feedback.

3 March 2019, 08:52 UTC

My apologies - to be more specific - I'm operating an IPhone X with iOS 12.1.4, and the Onewheel firmware update is version 2.1.30 released 28 February.

3 March 2019, 16:10 UTC

@link31s - I'll be watching this with interest to see what response you get, but a point of clarity - the 2/28 app update was just a OW app update, not a firmware update (firmware is the software that's on-board the board itself).

I'm surprised to hear this could be happening, because in theory the OW app being updated should not be able to affect the board's performance at all (after all, you can ride the board without connecting to the app - that's because it's the firmware that actually "drives" the board, and the app is only used to interface with that to "see" it, and change certain adjustable parameters). But it sounds like you've experimentally validated your diagnosis. That's worrying.

Just FYI, the board behavior you are describing sounds very similar to a problem my friend has been having on his XR, pre-dating the 2/28 OW app update. He's getting ready to send his in for service, they suspect a bad cell.

Anyway, I appreciate you reporting this, and later today I'm going to try to go ride around and make sure my board still behaves same (I've ridden it once since the update but not past 50%).

One other complaint I'd like to make, is that the OW app did not give me any CHOICE but to update to the new app version on 2/28. I could not use the app unless I updated it (the update window could not be closed or opted-out of). I prefer not to make software updates right away for exactly this reason - I let the early adopters let me know if there's a problem, sometimes a software update is buggy and/or worse than the prior version.

Unless it's a critical safety/security update, it should never be forced on users, users should be able to opt-in or -out of updates.