Digitakt unresponsive buttons issue

Elektron Gear Digitakt
#1

Hey everyone,

I’ve started up my Digitakt a few days ago and suddenly all the rightmost buttons didn’t respond anymore. This concerns the LFO, PAGE and TRACK 8 and 16 buttons. When I press them nothing happens, no light feedback and nothing in terms of sound or interface… Here is a video that demonstrates the problem (sorry for the external link but the file is too big to be embeded). I’ve tried booting the device in test mode by holding down the FUNC button, but here pressing these buttons does nothing either.

I’ve also tried opening up the box to spray some dry air cleaning into it hoping it would solve the issue but that didn’t help. I would like to check further if I can see something wrong but to fully open up the box I need to disconnect these two red ribbon cables and I’m not sure how to do that, I don’t want to damage anything by pulling too hard or something so if someone has instructions on how to do it the right way I would gladly take it.

Lastly, I’ve opened a ticket at the Elektron support but my I bought the device from second hand more than 2 years ago so I doubt it’s still under warranty, so I don’t know if they will be able to do something for me. I’m still waiting on their response.

Any ideas or help would be very welcome!
Many thanks in advance :slight_smile:

#2

Just grab them firmly by the ribbon above the connector and pull up. They just pop off and back on. That night be a good place to start; re-seating the ribbon cables as they connect the screen and button array to the main PCB.

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#3

Hi, thank you for the tips! I’ve tried unplugging the ribbon cables and plugging them back in but the problem still remains.

I’ve received an answer from support in the meantime saying they can’t do much other than taking it for unwarranted repair so I guess that’s my only option now :man_shrugging:

#4

Hi there- did you ever get to the bottom of this problem??
I have a similar issue with my PAGE button, NO button and arrow keys on the Digitakt.
All suddenly stopped working for no apparent reason !
Any advice/ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks

#5

You can enter the diagnostic mode by holding down the function button as you’re starting the boot up process, once it enters the diagnostic menu release the function button. Run an error test and see if anything comes up, if it reads zero errors then proceed to press keys and it will begin the key test.

In the key test trig 1 and 2 will cause the whole screen to light up or the whole screen to dim, that is normal, all other keys should say on screen which button has been pressed. If you press page, no, and arrow keys and there is no response on screen it indicates a hardware failure which is not transmitting signal to the diagnostic brain.

If this is the case, and your Digitakt was manufactured in the last 3 years, it should still be under warranty and you’re going to need to open a trouble ticket through your account on Elektron.se

After someone contacts you, they may lead you through basic troubleshooting then you’ll likely be prompted to send the device to them for diagnosis and repair.

The dead buttons are not a simple issue and if you’ve already tried simple things like unplugging it for 60 seconds and then plugging it back in and powering back on, you will likely need professional service unless you yourself are already adept in PCB diagnostic and repair.

If the machine is out of warranty (older than 3 years) you can either choose to pay elektron or an independent service professional to diagnose and fix the problem, you can consider buying a replacement control board (probably where the problem exists) and installing it yourself which is pretty simple, or you can consider buying a newer machine.

If you don’t have a lot of experience with electronics and don’t have a lot of time to wait for service, I’d consider option 2. It will still cost you maybe $150usd including shipping to buy a replacement PCB but it will be the easiest way for you to accomplish your goals and the quickest resolution unless you have a local service professional who works at reasonable rates and is ready to start working on it now.

Either way, this gives you a few steps to take towards a resolution, so if you don’t already have an elektron account on the website start one.

If this digitakt happens to be less than 30 days old, contact the retailer first, not elektron.

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#6

One more thing is if you don’t know where to confirm the age of the machine, look at the sticker on the bottom and in the corner it will say the year of manufacture and the week number, so like this:

MFGDT: 2023-W01

That would be the first week of January in 2023, you can figure out the week of the year by counting on the calendar in case it’s week 44 or something else random. You then determine if you’re less than 3 years (156 weeks) from the MFGDT up until the current week at present. Hopefully that helps.

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#7

Thanks so much- that’s all super helpful.

So I’ve tested the Digitakt in diagnostic mode and those specific buttons dont respond when pressed- so seems like some sort of hardware failure.

I bought it second hand a while back but the number is 2021-W04 so just over 3 years old.( though seems a little poor the components only last for that amount of time)

Sounds like the best bet is purchasing a new control board- last question is where I can buy these ?
Can’t seem to find them on the Elektron website.?

Much appreciated

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#8

Actually sounds like I need to just ask their support for replacement parts- thanks again for the help

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#9

Exactly, asking support to purchase replacement parts is the correct course of action. It’s possible someone really mashed those buttons but it’s highly likely that there was some other issue between the interconnection of those specific buttons, it’s difficult to determine the exact cause. One would assume they all run along the same PCB trace of some other component and because they’re in circuit with each other the failure of the one component caused those specific offshoots to fail.

Due to the results of your diagnostic it’s more than likely the issue is on the upper PCB which has the user interface / controls. When you contact support, you can submit the specific issue but to save time, I would also state that you’d like to purchase a replacement for the upper PCB and ask them the correct price. They’ll want to confirm your information on file is correct, so in the Elektron website account just make sure that your shipping address, device information and contact (phone / email) are all up to date and then in your initial contact, state that you’ve updated all your contact information to current, this should save you time on both sides.

When you get this all worked out, you can either respond here or send me a message and I can send you a few pictures of what you’ll need to do to replace the upper PCB, mostly it’s a simple procedure. The only tools you’ll need are like 2 different sizes of hex key (allen wrenches) or a hex driver kit that comes with multiple heads.

Hopefully this will get it taken care of for you pretty easily. You can consult a local technician but usually the bench charge at an electronics tech could be minimum $80(usd) for an hour of diagnostic, which they’ll usually apply towards the repair if you go through them, but depending on the issue they may end up replacing the control board and then you’re into it for their additional time, plus the work, plus the diagnostic and the cost of the part.

If they identified the root cause and it’s a simple fix, it may still cost the same as replacing the PCB, but then the rest of the components are still original so while it’s unlikely more will fail, it’s less risk to replace the whole thing otherwise I wouldn’t recommend it.

Price it out with support and let me know what you decide to do, my price quote is from a couple years ago but I assume it’s the same now. Glad to try and help, no problem.

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#10

Hello, I had the same problem. It was caused by a midi loop, a midi loop with no end, DT was flooded by midi messages and act like this, Problem solved by breaking the midi loop at some point.

I had this problem few times, each time non responsive key where different.

#11

did you have the midi out cable plugged back into the midi in?

#12

In my case i have multiple midi gear chained, re entering the digitack. The loop was created by a gear having a midi out acting like a midi thru.

#13

I see, that could definitely cause weird things. This person tried the diagnostic after rebooting the digitakt, that should break any existing midi connections. In the diagnostic the same buttons did not respond to the system test so it could probably be assumed the hardware itself is at fault.

Oshen, is it possible you have a midi loop like this person indicated? Is something going out of the DT midi port and then back into DT midi in port through some other gear? I assume the boot menu (from which you can do sysex firmware updates) does still maintain some connection to the DIN port, but I think that powering down will generally cease any outbound midi traffic. It’s unlikely but worth asking.

#14

Hello there, sorry for the late response!

What I did in the end was just send the device to Elektron for them to fix it, so I’m afraid I don’t know exactly what they did to get it working again, wether it was a ribbon or a button thing…

Anyhow, hope you’ll find a way to get yours working again!

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#15

Hmm nope- no cables connected at all whilst testing, other than power supply of course.

Although I had been using it in that type of midi control setup prior to it malfunctioning
(ie. sending a midi out to other equipment, but not receiving midi into the Digitakt so probably not a midi loop).

Would it be worth doing some sort of factory reset before I replace the upper PCB??
Or even format the unit?
(Still waiting on a response from Elektron support at the minute)

Thanks again for the help with this

#16

I thought not but figured that I would ask anyways. It’s always best to try all possible solutions but I’m afraid it won’t help. If you’ve completed your backup, you can attempt the factory reset from inside the same menu where you ran the error test, one concern I have is without arrow keys can you get to the factory reset? We’ll soon find out I guess. After you perform it, before reloading any of your data to the DT, do any testing (ie pushing the dead buttons) that you intend to do. In the event of corrupt data causing problems, best to do your testing prior to putting any potentially corrupted files back on the machine. My experience is that corrupt data doesn’t behave like this though but like I said, still worth a try.

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