Firmware Update Problem with Monitor

[Space Lynx]

A) the monitor itself is actually working fine, 10/10 OLED, no issues at all as far as the picture itself goes, even the OLED care features work perfectly.
B) the monitor has only one issue, the firmware will not update, there is new firmware out for this monitor, but it simply will not update.
C) I opened a tech support RMA question to AOC about 16 days ago, asking a very simple question, is there a manual way to update the firmware on my monitor because the software they provide is not working/glitching out
D) I still have not received a single reply to my question and it has been over half a month, if this were Dell/Alienware monitor I would have had an answer within 24 hours.

I'm keeping my monitor, just pissed that their service sucks so bad. I just have to cross my fingers and hope nothing ever goes wrong with it, because if I ever actually have to RMA it, it will probably be a nightmare.

Lesson of the day: pay a little extra for a reputable brand like Dell/Alienware, I had an irl friend get burn in on their ultrawide Alienware OLED and literally next day shipped a brand new unit and box to return the old one in, and this was after he owned it for two years already. like 9 mins chatting with customer service.

The AOC was on sale for $399 and almost no tax thanks to my cashback feature on my card, so I don't regret getting this monitor as it was cheap for being a brand new 3rd gen samsung panel, but in the future I will spend a little extra to get a proper warranty/customer service experience.

Just my two cents. Thought I'd share. Lynx out.

 

[fevgatos]

I in no way justify this company's service.

Have you tried different USB ports?

 

[bonehead123]

"Cheap is as cheap does" - Forest, Forest Gump (well, sorta)

As with a lot of things, you get what you pay for.... and in this case, you may have gotten a deal on the unit, but in return you have to suffer and pay for that deal via zero customer service....

 

[oxrufiioxo]

All the display companies besides Dell are a shit show to deal with honestly thankfully my Samsung G8 oled has been pretty great and becuase it has smart features is easy to update but honestly only Dell actually had semi decent CS but I think even they have gotten worse over time.

LG can be semi decent but their reps are stupid and don't even know their own specific product warranties etc so you have to literally send them links for their own products.

 

[freeagent]

AOpen.. man that is a name I haven't heard for a long time. I thought they were kaput

 

[LabRat 891]

AOC, AOpen, Sceptre, Panasonic, Phillips, Westinghouse, GE...
Those are brands of displays I associate with "Budget, throwaways". There are exceptions, but I always keep my expectations very low when buying those brands.

If it makes you feel any better,
my 1st OLED, an ASrock 32" 4K 240/48hz, bricked itself within 5-6 hours of power on. There was no instruction manual included or online, and there were no firmware update tools or any 'support' to speak of, whatsoever. That ~$800 ASrock display got returned, and after LG immediately (same-day) responded to my inquiry about support on their 32" OLEDs, I spent a little more for theirs.

TBQH, I'd feel more confident buying a Korean 'generic' than any of the better-known ultra budget brands. Otherwise, LG/Samsung 1st party,
IMHO. If you're spending big on a display, and demand the utmost quality and support, buy 1st party (the consumer-facing branch of the same company that made the panel)

 

[mclaren85]

Btw, why do monitors need for updating the firmware anyway? That is the most amazing part of the story for me

 

[A Computer Guy]

Btw, why do monitors need for updating the firmware anyway? That is the most amazing part of the story for me

So they can spy on you....ha ha ha. No just kidding. I have the same question although I suspect it has something to do with HDMI or they find a flaw a need to tweak the hardware firmware a bit.

 

[Space Lynx]

I in no way justify this company's service.

Have you tried different USB ports?

The firmware is updated through their G-Menu software you download. There is no where else to plug in the connection, its one of those printer cable connections, not sure the name of it, the software itself works fine connected with the cable, it just won't update the firmware for some reason.

"Cheap is as cheap does" - Forest, Forest Gump (well, sorta)

As with a lot of things, you get what you pay for.... and in this case, you may have gotten a deal on the unit, but in return you have to suffer and pay for that deal via zero customer service....

again to be clear, I am not suffering at all, the monitor is working great and its OLED care features are also working great. I also tested a lot of things on ufo website, like frame skipping, and this one has no issues with that either. Technically speaking I don't even need a firmware update, its more or less I am just frustrated that I can't have one when I know the monitor has new ones available, I am like on the very original firmware (maybe this will actually be a good thing though I am not updating it, cause AOC seems iffy at best)

AOpen.. man that is a name I haven't heard for a long time. I thought they were kaput

If I am not mistake, AOC owns them now. I may be wrong on this though.

Btw, why do monitors need for updating the firmware anyway? That is the most amazing part of the story for me

my current monitor has 3 firmware updates that I don't have access too, one of them apparently fixes a frame skipping issue (but mine doesn't even have this frame skipping issue), and other firmware updates for OLED monitors (any brand) have historically focused on improving OLED care features to prevent burn in, but again mine does have a lot of OLED care features and they seem to be working well, I even noticed the pixel orbit shift is working because you can physically see it when it happens. that being said, if everything is working fine, i guess i just shouldn't give a fuck about the firmware updates eh? thus your question is a great rhetorical question in my case. it's more that I am just OCD about things staying up to date, like I always update my mobo BIOS etc, lol

 

[Lost_Troll]

Did you format the USB Stick FAT 32 or FAT 16 and the partition is no bigger than 4Gb?

I ran into a similar issue and that is what my problem was, and WIN kept changing the setting on me when I would do the format.

 

[Apocalypsee]

I'm using AOpen monitor, it was bargain bin to say the least but it's fine for what it is, 27-inch 1080p VA curved.

USB-B type is the printer connection as far as I know, maybe change or buy other cable? If I were you and know the monitor works well, I won't update it.

 

[fevgatos]

The firmware is updated through their G-Menu software you download. There is no where else to plug in the connection, its one of those printer cable connections, not sure the name of it, the software itself works fine connected with the cable, it just won't update the firmware for some reason.

was thinking about motherboard usb ports

 

[Frick]

Did you format the USB Stick FAT 32 or FAT 16 and the partition is no bigger than 4Gb?

I ran into a similar issue and that is what my problem was, and WIN kept changing the setting on me when I would do the format.

This can easily be the problem, even today.

 

[TSiAhmat]

Did you format the USB Stick FAT 32 or FAT 16 and the partition is no bigger than 4Gb?

I ran into a similar issue and that is what my problem was, and WIN kept changing the setting on me when I would do the format.

As far as I know:

The Monitor updates over a usb type-B 2.0 cable & a DP cable. (at least on my monitor) There are both needed. They also only recommend the cables they shipped in the box.

Maybe he needs a different cable? (If you used DP try HDMI or the other way around)

But I would be cautious if you brick the monitor they might not replace it (hinting at the unresponsiveness of them to your support ticket)

Also to add some grayness to Dell, I've read on the Internet they don't really do a lot of firmware updates for the monitors (at least the ultra wide oled one this one still suffers from black crush in HDR)

 

[Space Lynx]

Did you format the USB Stick FAT 32 or FAT 16 and the partition is no bigger than 4Gb?

I ran into a similar issue and that is what my problem was, and WIN kept changing the setting on me when I would do the format.

I don't think you fully read my comment that was posted above yours, the only way to update the firmware is through their software, no USB sticks involved at all. That is why I opened the RMA, to ask them if there was an alternative for updating the firmware. I don't think it really needs any update, so the more I have thought about it I am not too upset by it, but in the future I will be buying Dell/Alienware OLED monitors.

As far as I know:

The Monitor updates over a usb type-B 2.0 cable & a DP cable. (at least on my monitor) There are both needed. They also only recommend the cables they shipped in the box.

Maybe he needs a different cable? (If you used DP try HDMI or the other way around)

But I would be cautious if you brick the monitor they might not replace it (hinting at the unresponsiveness of them to your support ticket)

Also to add some grayness to Dell, I've read on the Internet they don't really do a lot of firmware updates for the monitors (at least the ultra wide oled one this one still suffers with black crush in HDR)

Yeah, I decided I am not going to update the firmware, everything works perfect, so why bother risking it. If they ever respond to my question, I am just going to tell them nevermind and please close the topic lol

I am treating my OLED very well, black desktop, auto hide taskbar, 5 min idle display turn off, and i have the OLED care features turned on, so I should be fine anyway. My room is air conditioned as well, so heat should never be an issue.

 

[A Computer Guy]

A) the monitor itself is actually working fine, 10/10 OLED, no issues at all as far as the picture itself goes, even the OLED care features work perfectly.
B) the monitor has only one issue, the firmware will not update, there is new firmware out for this monitor, but it simply will not update.

I think I saw your other post on this...

Help with updating firmware on a AOC Agon Pro OLED monitor, says I need Install Tool

As you can see, the AOC G-Menu software is asking for me to install the upgrade tool first, but I have looked all over their website, and the only software I can download is the G-Menu, so this confuses me... when I click install (as seen in the picture below) it does nothing, just wants me to...

www.techpowerup.com

Looks like they released a broken version of the G-Menu. You could try a slightly older version if available or wait for a new version or possibly you have a conflicting version of Java installed.

 

[Space Lynx]

I think I saw your other post on this...

Help with updating firmware on a AOC Agon Pro OLED monitor, says I need Install Tool

As you can see, the AOC G-Menu software is asking for me to install the upgrade tool first, but I have looked all over their website, and the only software I can download is the G-Menu, so this confuses me... when I click install (as seen in the picture below) it does nothing, just wants me to...

www.techpowerup.com

Looks like they released a broken version of the G-Menu. You could try a slightly older version if available or wait for a new version or possibly you have a conflicting version of Java installed.

yeah, i am just going to not worry about it, i uninstalled g-menu, and unplugged the extra cable. everything works, so not going to risk it. i was just letting my OCD win was all. this is what you get when you buy budget, its not a big deal.

was playing Metro 2033 Redux tonight, fk me it was amazing in OLED, my rig runs it at full 240 fps too. its beautiful

 

[bonehead123]

again to be clear, I am not suffering at all, the monitor is working great and its OLED care features are also working great. I also tested a lot of things on ufo website, like frame skipping, and this one has no issues with that either. Technically speaking I don't even need a firmware update, its more or less I am just frustrated that I can't have one when I know the monitor has new ones available, I am like on the very original firmware (maybe this will actually be a good thing though I am not updating it, cause AOC seems iffy at best)

You say that you are not suffering, yet you came on here to complain about a function that most people take for granted when they buy computer stuff, since the updating process is normally very simple & straightforward, which is apparently something that AOC has decided should be a "PITA-oriented luxury" instead

And for the record, since 1/1/25, I have built 33 computers for my clients (with 4 more due this week), all of them containing various combinations of high-end components, and I have yet to find any part that would not show me the available/required updates nor apply them when requested.... just sayin

 

[Space Lynx]

AOC helped to fix the issue today, have to say I am a little pissed at a 3 week wait time to answer to my question through proper RMA creation ticket.

Basically, just have to reset monitor to factory settings, then the software should work they said. I was trying to avoid this though because the monitor comes pre-calibrated from the factory. Not a big deal though, I can just take pictures of all the monitor menu settings and and redo it once the firmware update is done. Everything is working great for me, so probably not going to update it until the next firmware update gets reported over at rtings.

 

[TheGuruStud]

Dell is the worst and I've never bought anything dell....except fort monitor (on sale) lol.

 

[eidairaman1]

AOC and gaming line are jokes

 

[Space Lynx]

AOC and gaming line are jokes

it was $399 and basically no tax during black friday for a 3rd gen samsung OLED panel. i couldn't resist. and it will never be that cheap again, so i don't regret my purchase so to speak. its like 40-60% the price now for this same panel of any brand.

 

[Ruru]

AOpen.. man that is a name I haven't heard for a long time. I thought they were kaput

I remember them from their motherboards, graphics cards, PSUs and cases. Never knew that they've put out other stuff as well.

Btw, why do monitors need for updating the firmware anyway? That is the most amazing part of the story for me

Manufacturer could put out new features for example, or at least that's what came to mind. Need to actually check are there updates on my monitors.

 

[_roman_]

Did you format the USB Stick FAT 32 or FAT 16 and the partition is no bigger than 4Gb?

I ran into a similar issue and that is what my problem was, and WIN kept changing the setting on me when I would do the format.

That is a long term microsoft bug. It says fat, but it is formatetd to exfat. exfat can not be read or used by my lg car radio which was brand new 5 years ago.

Note: I formated seversl different USB drives with different sizes for my car radio without problems with the gnu userspace. Different software used. Even gparted works fine for the lazy. LG Car radio manual claims only usb sticks smaller as 4gb works. Well i use multiple different, different brands, 16gb usb sticks, 4gb usb, ...

It does not bother me much as a very long term gnu linux user. that is a fact! Windows 10 and windows 11 can not format properly a fat drive.

 

[KrazyT]

AOC helped to fix the issue today, have to say I am a little pissed at a 3 week wait time to answer to my question through proper RMA creation ticket.

You should change your topic title then