Baofeng Baofeng DM32 bricked

[GarySaw]

Hi All. New member to the forums, which is really interesting BTW, and have been stupid. So this is a warning tale and a request for help. I'm a long time UK Ham and even longer SWL.

I bought a DM32 on Temu or something [strike 1] and set it up for DMR, it kinda performed but not great. I tried a firmware update but bricked it somehow (allow reset ?) [strike 2]. I asked Baofeng UK for help but as I didn't buy it from them, no help and Temu (or whoever) said no return [strike 3].

It doesn't want to talk to the laptop, tried all the keypresses and resets (and cables) but it's still the same.

So I've taken it apart and desoldered the onboard battery, hoping after a suitable time it will factory reset itself. Plan was to try and find out how to reset it, but I'm really lost. So, I thought it might be make a strip down guide (would that be helpful?) and maybe, praying to the gods of chip design, someone may be able to help.

I'll post back after I've put the battery back and rebuilt it. I know I've been silly, but its kinda in my nature 🤪

 

[GarySaw]

Put it back together and no change

If I hold the top SK1 and PTT down and switch on, I get the green LED to light but nothing else happens and no connectvas before.

 

[chief21]

Have you tried to use the FW upgrade process through the CPS? You should be able to rewrite an OEM (not hacked) version of the firmware without reading the radio or needed the "Allow Reset" box ticked.

 

[GarySaw]

Hi Chief, yes, so when I connect everything up to the laptop, select USB and try a firmware load, I get a pop-up telling me it can't connect to the radio. Ill try it again a bit later and put up a shot of the detail. I had seen you should be able to overwrite firmware but I couldn't get it going.

I might be doing something stupid (again) so will describe the process I'm following.

Thanks 👍

 

[GarySaw]

Chief, tried it again and it worked, I don't know if removing the battery on board made a difference but it worked!

Thanks for giving me the nudge to look at it again, much appreciated 👏