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Open this page in Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge on a computer.
Safari, Firefox and phones don't support it.
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Browsers only allow USB access on secure pages — check the address starts with https://.
Your settings will be reset. A USB install puts the controller back to factory settings:
IP address, network mode, custom buttons, backup Mac and LED preferences. Write them down first —
or update over WiFi instead, which keeps everything.
Step by step
Use Chrome or Edge on a computer
Mac, Windows or Linux all work.
Plug in the USB cable
Use the USB-C port on the back of the controller and connect it directly to the computer, not through a hub or dock.
The controller can stay switched on.
Early versions only work with a USB-C to USB-A cable — not with a USB-C to USB-C cable.
Click “Install firmware” and pick the controller
A list of devices opens. On a Mac it's usually called USB JTAG/serial debug unit
or cu.usbmodem…, on Windows USB Serial Device (COM…).
Confirm with “Install” and wait
It takes about a minute. Keep the cable plugged in and this page open until it says the installation is complete.
Restart the controller
Unplug the cable and switch the controller off and on with the power switch on the back.
It starts with the logo animation.
Set your preferences again
Hold Play + Stop for 3 seconds to open the settings, and set your IP address, custom buttons
and anything else you'd changed.
Rather keep your settings? Update over WiFi
The controller can update itself over WiFi, without a cable — and all settings stay as they are.
Download the WiFi update file below.
On the controller, hold Play + Stop for 3 seconds, then go to
Firmware Update → Update via WiFi.
Connect your phone or laptop to the WiFi network shown on the controller's screen, with the password shown there.
Open http://192.168.4.1 in the browser, choose the file and press Upload Firmware.
Plug in the charger and the lightning bolt appears in about half a second. Unplug it and the bolt is gone in about a second. Before, it could take up to 45 seconds or be missed completely, because the battery meter chip took little naps.
It also works when the battery is already full, and a wobbly cable or a WiFi burst can't fool it.
Switched on with the charger already in? The bolt shows up after about 20 seconds.
The battery % is more accurate after switching on: the controller no longer makes the battery meter forget what it learned.
Charging from your laptop can't make the controller hesitate any more.
Almost empty? Under 10% the battery icon blinks red, so you notice before the show stops. Plug in the charger and the blinking stops.
V20Design your own screenNewest
Screen editor at ampedvoltz.com/ablesetcontroller/layout/: drag every part of the screen where you want it, pick its size and colour, or hide it. The preview looks exactly like the real screen.
Send your design with a USB cable (Chrome or Edge), or over WiFi: Settings → Screen Layout → Receive via WiFi.
The controller remembers your design, even after switching off. A broken design is refused and your old one stays.
Back to normal: Settings → Screen Layout → Reset to Standard, or hold PREV + NEXT while switching on.
V19A new main screenNewest
The song name sits higher and a bit smaller. The “NOW PLAYING” and “CURRENT SECTION” labels are gone.
Where you're going is what matters most: the next section is big on the right, the previous one medium on the left, the current one small in the middle.
During a song jump the song name turns orange, shows the new song and flashes until it starts.
Buttons 1 and 2 can be Previous Song or Next Song. Then PREV and NEXT only move between sections (only NEXT in the last section still rolls into the next song).
New menu Extra Features → PREV / NEXT with three switches: PREV Restarts Sect., PREV Never Song and Double-tap Song. Double-tap is quicker now (0.2 seconds).
V18PREV works like a CD playerNewest
Press PREV more than 2 seconds into a section: back to the start of that section.
Press it again quickly, or in the first 2 seconds: the previous section.
The screen shows “|< name” while the restart is on its way. On by default (Extra Features → PREV Restarts Sect.).
V17Checked against the AbleSet manualNewest
PREV always goes exactly where the screen says.
Pause and stop come straight from AbleSet, so they're also right when you pause from an iPad.
AbleSet now sends every update twice (three times on WiFi), so one lost message doesn't matter.
Browse Songs jumps straight to the song you picked.
The button command “Auto-LoopSection” is replaced by “Disable Loop on Jump”.
V16Rock solid for live showsNewest
The right names show up straight after connecting. Before, one empty value could make the controller throw away a whole message from AbleSet.
After NEXT, an old target can't pop up and flash again.
Previous song and section come from AbleSet's own lists. If they're unknown, the field stays empty instead of guessing wrong.
NEXT never skips the rest of a song by mistake. PREV only goes back a whole song when it's sure you're in the first section.
STOP checks itself: if AbleSet is still playing, the controller presses STOP again for you (at most twice).
Every 2 seconds the controller re-checks everything, like re-reading a note to be sure.
On WiFi it talks straight to your Mac once it has found it, at full power.
The “Switch to Ethernet?” question only appears before the first connection, never in the middle of a show.
Names with é, ü or curly quotes show properly instead of as gaps.
V15Watch your update installNewest
A firmware update shows a percentage and a progress bar, on the controller's screen and on the upload page.
The status light blinks amber while installing, and you get a clear message when it worked or failed.
V14Bars move straight awayNewest
While playing, the controller asks AbleSet “where are we?” about 7 times a second, so the bars start moving right away and keep moving even if a message gets lost.
V13Smooth bars and button hintsNewest
The progress bars glide smoothly instead of hopping.
A small hint at the bottom of the screen shows what buttons 1 and 2 do, with a dot in the button's colour.
V12Names stay on one lineNewest
Long names no longer spill onto a second line: they shrink, or end with “...”, so they always fit.
V11One tap = one sectionNewest
Every tap on PREV or NEXT moves exactly one section. Tap quickly to skip several.
Hold for 3 seconds to jump a whole song. In the last section, NEXT rolls straight into the next song.
Double-tap for a song jump is now a choice and off by default, so you can't skip a song by accident (Extra Features → Double-tap Song).
The screen shows where AbleSet is really going, flashing until you get there.
V10A backup computer and mute buttonsNewest
Backup Mac: if your main Mac stops answering for 4 seconds, the controller switches to your second Mac by itself, like a substitute goalkeeper. The screen says “BACKUP MAC”.
Buttons 1 and 2 can mute or solo a group of tracks (AbleSet Pro Mixer, tracks tagged +G:NAME in Live): red light = muted, yellow = soloed.
You pick the group from a list right on the controller.
V9Smooth letters and coloured buttonsNewest
Song and section names use smooth, round letters instead of blocky pixel letters, always the biggest size that fits.
Every command for buttons 1 and 2 has its own colour (green = play, red = record, yellow = loop…), and the button stays lit while that thing is on.
New choice “None”: the button does nothing and stays dark.
After a crash or a power dip the controller is back in about a second, without the logo.
V8Never loses the connection quietlyNewest
If AbleSet stops sending live updates (for example after AbleSet restarts), the controller notices and connects again by itself.
Just plugged in the cable? It tries again after 1 second instead of 5.
Reading the battery is quicker and can never make the buttons slow.
V7Faster updatesNewest
AbleSet sends the playing position 10 times a second (was 5), so the bars move more smoothly.
The controller reads all messages that have arrived at once instead of one at a time, so nothing piles up or arrives late.
During a jump, the place you're going to flashes orange.
V6Logo and charging boltNewest
New start-up animation with the Amped Voltz logo.
A lightning bolt appears 1–2 seconds after you plug in the charger, no extra wires needed.
If the battery meter can't be read it shows “--” instead of a wrong number, and one odd reading is ignored.
When not connected or in a menu, all buttons glow softly so you can still find them.
A button lights up the moment you press it, not when you let go.
The USB update page moved to ampedvoltz.com/ablesetcontroller/.
V5Calmer lightsNewest
New settings: LED Brightness (20, 40, 70 or 100%) and how much PREV and NEXT glow.
Lights only switch on when they have something to tell you. The status light is a faint green when all is well.
Electrical noise can't scramble the lights anymore: they're refreshed thousands of times a second.
Tidier screen: previous and next song under the song, previous and next section under the section.
V4Dimmable lights and a battery saverNewest
Lights can be dimmed smoothly, like a dimmer at home, instead of only on or off.
Buttons glow softly so you can find them on a dark stage.
Battery saver: when the battery gets low, the lights and the screen dim so it lasts longer.
The controller knows the difference between paused and stopped.
In menus, hold PREV or NEXT to scroll fast. Menus close by themselves after 1 minute.
V3Lights and a battery meterNewest
Every button gets its own light: Play is on while playing, Loop while looping, and so on.
Buttons 1 and 2 get colour lights.
Status light: green = connected, red blinking = not connected, amber = updating.
A battery meter shows how full the battery is.
Quicker: hold PLAY + STOP for 3 seconds for the settings (was 5), hold PREV or NEXT 3 seconds for a song jump (was 4).
V2A big colour screenNewest
The tiny black-and-white screen is replaced by a 2-inch colour screen.
Song, sections, previous and next song each get their own place, with progress bars.
Only the parts that change are redrawn, so the screen doesn't flicker.
V1The very first controllerNewest
Buttons for play/pause, stop, loop, previous and next.
Tap PREV or NEXT to jump a section, hold to jump a whole song.
Two extra buttons you can give your own job, picked from a list of AbleSet commands.
Works with a network cable (Ethernet) or its own WiFi network, or switch both off.
A small black-and-white screen shows the song and the section.
Settings menu: Browse Songs to jump to any song, set the IP address, update the firmware.
If something goes wrong
The controller isn't in the list
Use a USB-C to USB-A cable, and try another one if it still doesn't show — some cables only charge and can't carry data.
Plug it straight into the computer, not through a hub, dock or monitor.
Close the Arduino IDE (especially its Serial Monitor) or any other app that might be using the port.
Still nothing? Open the case, hold the BOOT button on the ESP32 board while you plug in the cable, then try again.
It stopped with an error halfway
Unplug the cable, plug it back in and click “Install firmware” again. A failed attempt can't damage the
controller — it only needs another go. If it keeps failing at the same point, try another cable or USB port.
The screen stays black after installing
Unplug the cable and switch the controller off and on with the power switch. If the screen still stays black,
install the firmware again.
It starts, but doesn't connect to AbleSet
That's the settings reset: the controller is back on its default IP address (10.0.0.50) and Ethernet mode.
Hold Play + Stop for 3 seconds and set the network settings you used before.
