01 Jul Having a problem with your ASIC Miner? Fix it before you send it for repair.

ASIC machines are devices designed for the sole purpose of mining cryptocurrency. It solves complex puzzles to contribute to discovering new blocks and contributing to the blockchain. The first miner to find the block receives a reward.

ASIC miners require maintenance to keep things in order. Moreover, with the increasing popularity of cryptocurrency, there is a growing amount of actors targeting mining operations to reduce competition. 

After a certain time of usage, you would need to check your miner and analyze if it requires repair work. If the fixes are easy and wouldn’t need high technical expertise then you may choose to do it yourself. Of course, there’s always the option to send the machine to the manufacturer or a trusted reselling company that facilitates repairs.

Let’s scroll down to some common issues which take place and the fixes we propose for them. 

Update Password

It’s recommended to upgrade to a safe password for which you can use tools. In a situation where you happen to forget the password, you can restore factory settings before logging back into the miners. If you use an SD card to reset, you can change the default password as you like. 

Some viruses pose the ability to listen to passwords when they’re being entered in the miner. This puts the machine at risk, hence the password alone is not sufficient protection. 

Bulk Configuration

With the APMinerTool, you’ll be able to bulk the configuration process. The step-by-step process for it is:

• Scan and detect miners in a specific IP range
• Go to ‘miner manager’
• Activate the ‘IP editor’
• Click ‘+’ to view the IP range
• Double click on each IP sector to modify it
• Select ‘Save’

Begin the scanning process and select the IP range. You will soon be able to see the number of miners in each state and detect successfully scanned miners.

Configuring The Miner

• Switching to the corresponding stratum and filling each pool. Make manual changes. 
• Select the miners you want for the corresponding mining and set up passwords and other details
• Configure the selected miners. Once complete, it will show you a pop-up confirmation message. 

Bulk Upgrade Miner Firmware

If your miner is making mining difficult, one of the reasons can be that its firmware needs an up-gradation. To make an upgrade, you may use APMinerTool. 

• Select ‘upgrade’ and switch interface
• Select the IP range and make a selection of the miners which need to be upgraded. 
• If you have downloaded the firmware, extract and upload it
• Select ‘Add firmware’ and it’ll notify you once done

Bulk Change Miner Overclock Setting

This is useful for miners which are old. Before you begin the overclocking, the miner must be upgraded to the latest firmware. Once done, check if you can overclock the miner. If yes, then:

• Select the miners
• Select the overclock button
• Select the corresponding mode
• Click ‘OK’

The miner will restart and overclock mode will be complete. 

Bear in mind, that currently T9+ and the S9 series support overclocking for your device. You need to adjust the power supply and working mode. 

Please Note: If ‘Password Error’ pops up, change the password in ‘Basic Settings’ and enter the same password.

Virus Scan

Viruses are the biggest threat to your machine. It is essential to have the antivirus function on your device. You may scan for viruses by selecting the IP range and have an array of results in front of you when it’s done scanning. 

Different Results

• Normal
  No virus detected
• Infected
  Your device is under threat.
• Secure firmware

SSH function is disabled

• Not supported

1. The password might be incorrect.
2. SSH function is disabled.
3. The virus is becoming a hindrance. You would need to download antivirus firmware and remove threats.

Please note: If your miner’s firmware is old, the configuration setting will reset after you upgrade the firmware. 

Scan For Miner Issues

If your machine is lagging in performance or you’re facing problems with your device, you would have to scan it to figure out the issue. 

Have A Look At The Basic Settings

• Make changes in status while keeping a close eye on the crypto miners. 
• Set new passwords for miners
• Make sure the pool is online

Keep A Watch When Miner Is In Action

Place your hand in front and behind the machine and compare their performance with other miners. Keep a lookout for any abnormality with the air, fan, or the light of the miner. 

If everything looks fine, you can reset it for faster and better performance. For that, it is recommended that you remove the SD card and reinstall the firmware of your choice. 

What if The Miners Are Not Operational?

If the miners are corrupt then you would need to decide whether you should hire a professional to pay a visit or order a replacement part and install it yourself. The last option is to completely replace the damaged chips on your boards. This would require expertise, so don’t do it yourself unless you absolutely can. 

Common Problems in Bitcoin Miners

1. Hash-boards

This can be heavy on your pocket depending on the problem that has occurred. It’s difficult to repair as the chips in the ASIC are chained on hash-boards. If one chip gets damaged, it affects the rest of the lot as well. The only way to fix this is to replace the defective chip. 

1. Power Supply

The expense is not too much and an issue with the power can be fixed easily. Power supplies usually get damaged when there is a surge or the cooling systems stop working. 

1. Fans

This is a recurring issue and one that can be fixed easily. If the fans are broken, the miner can completely shut down. 

• Control boards

Repairing a control board can be very expensive, so often it deems easier to buy a new one instead. However, that won’t come cheap either but is preferred in comparison. 

All-In-All

The upkeep of your bitcoin miner is very important as they will need to be looked after especially after serving for a year or two. It is important to keep a track of your expenses as it can be costly. You would need to get your ASIC miner repaired as soon as you have spotted the defect. If you don’t, you would simply be losing money instead of utilizing that time in generating profit. 

If you have purchased your miner from Big Sky Asics, our repair facility welcomes you with open arms. Some things are better left to the experienced technicians to save time and hassle!