Bricked ST16s Recovery

Steve Carr · Mar 13, 2019

My Plus controller got caught in a loop during boot and repeated attempts to resolve it failed. It was obvious the FlightMode app was corrupted. However, it can't be reinstalled unless the ST16 is booted.
Thanks to @Haydn and @Peggy for several suggestions, I was able to find a method of getting to the Android Settings to reset the controller.

Recover ST16s for H Plus

Access the update file for the Controller
TYPHOONHPLUS_CONTROLLER_1.1.01_BUILDxxx_xxxxxx.yuneec
Change the file extenstion from yuneec to zip.
Extract the file: update.zip

Access App
TYPHOONHPLUS_APP_1.0.08_BUILDxxx_xxxxxx.yuneec
Change the file extenstion from yuneec to zip.
Extract the file: Yuneec-App-Release.apk
(Or use this link to download the apk file: Yuneec-App-Release.apk)

Copy Update.zip and Yuneec-App-Release.apk to a micro sd card.
Install the card in the ST16.
Turn on the ST16, wait for the Yuneec logo to time out, press and hold the center
button before the second Yuneec logo appears. Continue to hold until the splash
screen appears. Tap the screen a few times and a popup menu will come up. It has
2 options: Upgrade or Launch. Press and hold Launch and an android screen will
open. Sweep your finger down at the upper right hand corner. Select Settings.
Scroll down to Reset and select Factory Reset.
The controller will process the reset and then will reboot. When it boots back up
it will find the Update.zip file and will execute the file. Then it will reboot again
and come up to the Pad screen. Open Pad, Settings and change the security setting
for external storage to allow the files to run on the sd card.
Open file manager and access the files on the card. Select the .apk file and select install.
After it installs reboot the ST16 and it should open to the flightmode screen. Then run the
firmware updates.

DCH · Mar 13, 2019

Great Info Steve! This could happen to any of us at any time, thanks for posting this. It should be a Sticky.

Eagle's Eye Video · Mar 13, 2019

DCH said:
Great Info Steve! This could happen to any of us at any time, thanks for posting this. It should be a Sticky.

Agreed and done! ?

RPR · Mar 13, 2019

A bricked ST16S is a blank screen android. You have to rebuild the Android first.

Phaedrus · Mar 13, 2019

Great info. Not intuitive at all. Amazed that people figured it out.

Did you also have to hop on 1 foot, spin counter clockwise while patting your head and rubbing your stomach? ?

Phaedrus · Mar 13, 2019

RPR said:
A bricked ST16S is a blank screen android. You have to rebuild the Android first.

Bricked to me means it will not boot up.

RPR · Mar 14, 2019

Phaedrus said:
Bricked to me means it will not boot up.

Yep! The blackhole.. During my rooting days, Androids are purposely bricked to inject a new framecode. Brick or Limp Droid can only be recovered is via Android hidden menu, and once it is unbricked, you can then root and unpack APK files.

To unbrick a droid or a ST16(s) Tap rapidly 5 times the Advanced Menu will be available and the droid will come alive.

Steve Carr · Mar 14, 2019

RPR said:
To unbrick a droid or a ST16(s) Tap rapidly 5 times the Advanced Menu will be available and the droid will come alive.

Are you suggesting this method would have worked rather than the method above?
If so, please provide details.

RPR · Mar 14, 2019

Steve Carr said:
Are you suggesting this method would have worked rather than the method above?
If so, please provide details.

Yes. Bricked iDevices will not boot up, in other terms it will go into a “blackhole” and it has nothing to do with a rooted build or APK file. You will just get a blank screen.

To unbrick you have to press the home button 5 times and if that doesn’t work, repeat the procedure, without getting frustrated.

On our RC we do not have a home button that’s designed like our phone and tablets, but the RC does have a “House” indicating as “Home”

I bricked my ST16s due to a corrupted file. I did not follow the download procedure when downloading a Build/FW and the droid kick me out (security) and have purposely bricked the ST16s so force the droid can create a new Android framecode. FYI All the rooted folders and framecode from Yuneec will be stored, even NFZ unlock password are stored in a root folder and Yuneec did a great job of creating this subfolder that it’s dummy proof.

There is no extensive procedure to wake droid or even an iPhone. In the root or jailbreak community when noobs goes into a limp or brick mode, members will usually reply with a quote “Home is where the heart is”

RPR · Mar 14, 2019

And to the young rooters who might get an idea in injecting new parameter codes. DONT! Because like I’ve said Yuneec did a terrific job in securing the ST16s and it’s not as easy as Cydia.

Mickeyboo · Mar 14, 2019

It's easier than both of you have portrayed...thanks to someone (my apologies I can't remember who) that posted all that is necessary as far as old version of Plus Firmware/Software for reloading. Delete via Android Settings>Apps>(slide finger twice left to) Settings > Chose Clear Data and Clear Cache place uncompressed versions of this:OTA_20180508.7z on a micro SD in the ST16s. Install APK with Android installer reboot you should be able to then navigate to reload all software to current release version , if not you can manually load the other items in the folder from the above link to install using Android installer. I had to do this last week when the APK became corrupted. After doing this and performing updates I flew without incident and with perfect performance to shoot long jams/Ice jams along Wisconsin rivers for an environmental group. (By the way I also had a Mavic Pro 2 which would not launch because a Class D airport was 3 miles away I needed to fly below tree tops and LOS for best photographs) I would highly recommend a periodic complete uninstall including all settings for trouble free flying. Cheers by the way I did something similar to this after receiving the first H+ for my trip to Iceland and since it was loaded with beta software and an update was released before I left the country I did a clean install as described above but I had an easier time since the APK was at that time not corrupted. If you wish you can save settings prior to the clean install but I like eliminating any possible corruption so after saving I Nuke and Pave the Android software prior to install. Try and figure out how to do all of the above so if you're traveling or in the field you can revive your bird. Carry this download with you. Cheers

Steve Carr · Mar 14, 2019

Mickeyboo said:
Delete via Android Settings>Apps>(slide finger twice left to) Settings > Chose Clear Data and Clear Cache

RPR said:
press the home button 5 times

I did not explain in detail all of the methods I tried to access the Android screen. Taping any of the buttons repeatedly did nothing. Connecting to the PC did nothing. Using a sd card did nothing. The system was caught in a loop and even finally getting to the Launcher/Upgrade menu display didn't work because the touch screen was disabled. Pressing and holding the Launcher button was the only way to bring up the launcher window but nothing was accessible in that menu because it was in Safe Mode and the touch screen didn't work.
Below is the screen showing the Launcher window and the Safe Mode indication. The video shows the loop.
If there is a better method I'm all for it. What you have shared are good tips, they simply would not work in this situation. Have I missed something?

RPR · Mar 14, 2019

Ahhh.. You went into a safe mode.
Are you still stuck now?
You should have access to the settings, yeah?

Steve Carr · Mar 14, 2019

RPR said:
Ahhh.. You went into a safe mode.
Are you still stuck now?
You should have access to the settings, yeah?

I didn't go into Safe mode. That was the mode the controller was stuck in. The only method to access the settings are those steps which I outlined in the first post. That allowed me to do a factory reset. It was much like standing on one leg, tongue in the right cheek and spinning a pencil on your nose.

RPR · Mar 14, 2019

Steve Carr said:
I didn't go into Safe mode. That was the mode the controller was stuck in. The only method to access the settings are those steps which I outlined in the first post. That allowed me to do a factory reset. It was much like standing on one leg, tongue in the right cheek and spinning a pencil on your nose.

Gotcha!!!! Nicely done on the write up, just the title was misleading, and glad to know that you’re able to share the solution. #bookmarked

eternalled · Apr 15, 2019

So I feel I have a similar issue, might be mildly different. Was doing the update thing froze and gone and broke, now I just have a blinking Yuneec Electric Aviation that is in an endless loop, that I can't get out of. Won't connect to PC, holding middle button won't work.. just stuck forever in the logo.

Digital art · Apr 28, 2019

Bonjour, j'étais en train de faire les réglages de paramètres sur ma st16, jusqu'au moment où restes noirs et sans réponse.
J'éteins la commande et j'attends toujours aucune réponse elle-même n'était pas en train de s'éteindre. Apres avoir enlevé la batterie pour la mettre hors tension, impossible de redémarrer si la commande était comme bloquée.
Lorsque nous avons tenté de démarrer elle-même affiche "Yuneec" et s'éteint toute seule avec la tension sous tension encore allumée. Je ne sais pas comment le ralliement vous avez combiné pour le ralliement de force ou tous simplement le débloquer dans l'attente d'une réponse merci paolo

oliver · Apr 28, 2019

Digital art said:
Bonjour, j'étais en train de faire les réglages de paramètres sur ma st16, jusqu'au moment où restes noirs et sans réponse.
J'éteins la commande et j'attends toujours aucune réponse elle-même n'était pas en train de s'éteindre. Apres avoir enlevé la batterie pour la mettre hors tension, impossible de redémarrer si la commande était comme bloquée.
Lorsque nous avons tenté de démarrer elle-même affiche "Yuneec" et s'éteint toute seule avec la tension sous tension encore allumée. Je ne sais pas comment le ralliement vous avez combiné pour le ralliement de force ou tous simplement le débloquer dans l'attente d'une réponse merci paolo

Bonjour,
il y a un gros soucis apparemment. C'est un cas très rare à ma connaissance. Peux-tu faire une vidéo de ton soucis ?
Dans tous les cas tu en auras besoin lorsque tu contacteras le SAV de Yuneec. On peut continuer en français si tu veux en en privé.

Hello,

there is a big problem, apparently. This is a very rare case to my knowledge. Can you make a video of your worries?
In any case you will need it when you contact Yuneec's service representative. We can continue in French if you want in private.

Cableguy · Jul 6, 2019

Am I blind. Where do I get this.

Steve Carr said:
My Plus controller got caught in a loop during boot and repeated attempts to resolve it failed. It was obvious the FlightMode app was corrupted. However, it can't be reinstalled unless the ST16 is booted.
Thanks to @Haydn and @Peggy for several suggestions, I was able to find a method of getting to the Android Settings to reset the controller.

Recover ST16s for H Plus

Access the update file for the Controller
TYPHOONHPLUS_CONTROLLER_1.1.01_BUILDxxx_xxxxxx.yuneec
Change the file extenstion from yuneec to zip.
Extract the file: update.zip

Access App
TYPHOONHPLUS_APP_1.0.08_BUILDxxx_xxxxxx.yuneec
Change the file extenstion from yuneec to zip.
Extract the file: Yuneec-App-Release.apk

Copy Update.zip and Yuneec-App-Release.apk to a micro sd card.
Install the card in the ST16.
Turn on the ST16, wait for the Yuneec logo to time out, press and hold the center
button before the second Yuneec logo appears. Continue to hold until the splash
screen appears. Tap the screen a few times and a popup menu will come up. It has
2 options: Upgrade or Launch. Press and hold Launch and an android screen will
open. Sweep your finger down at the upper right hand corner. Select Settings.
Scroll down to Reset and select Factory Reset.
The controller will process the reset and then will reboot. When it boots back up
it will find the Update.zip file and will execute the file. Then it will reboot again
and come up to the Pad screen. Open Pad, Settings and change the security setting
for external storage to allow the files to run on the sd card.
Open file manager and access the files on the card. Select the .apk file and select install.
After it installs reboot the ST16 and it should open to the flightmode screen. Then run the
firmware updates.

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