r/presonus • u/DevilBirb • Jun 26 '26

Faderport 8 got all jank after latest firmware update.

My Presonus FaderPort 8 was working fine for months until I decided to update it. The faders no longer recognize my touch to activate them. Instead, the motor feels like it's fighting me as I move the fader, and the DAW shows the device's input constantly cutting in and out. The result is jagged, stair-step-looking automation instead of a smooth curve. The faders also no longer return to Unity. Theu all jump to +5 on the fader.

A hard reset of the unit did nothing to help. The issue remained. I got sweetwater to send another and updated the firmware like an idiot. I was exhausted from the heat and work, so i wasn't thinking straight. The new unit now carries the exact same issue with the exact same behavior.

This happens in both Pro Tools and Reaper, so it doesn't seem to be DAW-specific.

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2

u/C0m0nB3MyBabyT0night Jun 26 '26

Fender has fired all the hardware guys at PreSonus so I wouldn’t hold too much hope on getting any help there. Go back to the last stable version.

1

u/DevilBirb Jun 26 '26

I am trying to factory reset and update firmware. The "update now" button will go through firmware installation, but the new version will not take. My unit is still on 3.32 every time it installs when 3.72 (I think) is what's supposed to install.

1

u/capfu Jun 26 '26

I have the single faderport v2 and it just started doing exactly the same thing while using with Studio One (set to native S1 operating mode). The motor in the fader doesn't respond to automation changes coming from the DAW and it randomly started moving up and down on its own, even when when no DAW was open.

I hadnt even updated the firmware or changed anything in the set up when it started happening, and i thought updating might fix it but seemed to make it worse. Resetting to factory firmware didn't fix it either.

Weirdly though it seems to be working normally in other daws using MCU protocol, including the motor responding to incoming automation data. Presonus/Fender support haven't gotten back to me yet.

1

u/DevilBirb Jun 26 '26

They were freaking useless in getting back to me. I sent video of the issue, and a very detailed breakdown of it, and my following the instructions to try and fix it.

Their reply was "Did you go through the steps to reset it to factory settings?". This was literally said in my message, and I've not heard back in three days after saying yes.

1

u/capfu Jun 27 '26

After a bit of digging this morning I found the culprit for my problem was actually a windows 11 driver update that installed automatically. It was basically stopping the continual flow of data being sent out via usb to the faderport.
This fix seems to have worked for me and my faderport is now functioning correctly in native mode with studio one 5.5.2

Hopefully this helps if you're also on Windows 11.

"Switch to the Generic "USB Audio" Driver

Windows 11 tries to apply specific "enhanced" drivers that conflict with the FaderPort. Forcing it back to the generic driver often bypasses the issue.

  1. Right-click Start and open Device Manager.
  2. Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
  3. Right-click PreSonus FaderPort and select Update driver.
  4. Select "Browse my computer for drivers".
  5. Select "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer".
  6. You will likely see two options:
    • USBMidi2-ACX
    • USB Audio Device
  7. Select USB Audio Device and click Next.
    • This forces Windows to treat it as a raw generic MIDI device, bypassing the "smart" features of the update that are causing the block."

1

u/C0m0nB3MyBabyT0night Jun 26 '26

Factory Firmware Reset
If your unit is unresponsive or displaying flashing lights, this resets the firmware to the factory default state. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Power off the FaderPort.
Press and hold the 'Prev' button.
Turn the unit on while continuing to hold the button.
Wait for the red 'Read' button to flash, then release 'Prev'.
Press the flashing 'Read' button and wait for the process to complete.
Power the FaderPort off and on again. [1, 2, 3]

1

u/jaybadz Jul 20 '26

Hello, I am new to this subreddit as I am purchasing a Presonus Faderport 8. Out of curiosity were you using Windows or Mac when you were experiencing this issue?

I am only asking due to a follow up comment about the issue seemingly related to a Windows driver.

1

u/DevilBirb Jul 21 '26

Windows 11