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Firmware Issues / Breeze WiFi fix / Tips

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Hi,

FYI....

I'm writing this to help others who may be in a similar situation as me.
After my Breeze crashed a couple times due to faulty app and firmware updates I tried to contact Yuneec for help.
I spent a long time on hold, and a long time with '0 minutes remaining' before I got hung up on. I guess I wasn't the only one.
An E-Mail went unanswered for days, and finally an answer came to review the flight logs. Sent.
It's been a month with no response since then. Nice.
So I was left with a flightless Breeze and bad firmware.
Which they apparently know about, because the automatic firmware update is currently offline from Yuneec.
I'm still upset about this, because the Breeze worked fine, and was in perfect mint condition before the updates.

Well, I took it upon myself to figure out how to fix this Breeze. Nothing a little duct tape, some new props, and unsticking a few jammed motors can't do!
But, now how to get off this terrible firmware? A lot of research later, picking from other threads and such I figured it out.
I use Android OS to fly breeze and I've also used IOS once. IOS app is more refined for sure.

WIFI ISSUES:

I noticed the latest versions of the firmware after updating are having trouble starting a wifi hotspot on the Breeze (flashing green mode)

If after powering up the Breeze, and waiting 20 or so seconds it is not flashing green, but flashing red for a long time, it isn't going to work.
Restart until you see the green flashing light.

TIP: Earlier firmware versions would turn flashing green every time, but the later ones seem to be stalling the wifi hotspot startup.
I have had more luck holding the power button down to turn ON the Breeze for about 5 seconds (holding until right after the last startup tones finish) before letting go.
Most of the time it will turn green flashing if powered on this way.

There are two issues going on here:


1. Bad firmware, where it just always refuses to ever flash green, so with no wifi hotspot from the Breeze -- no connection to Breeze (uh oh) screwed? maybe not.

2. Breeze flashes green with no problem, but you can't find Breeze wifi hotspot on phone/tablet. This may because latest firmware is using a wifi channel in 5Ghz range that your device cannot see.
You can try a difference device, or roll back the firmware ..

This is what I've been able to figure out so far.......

DISCLAIMER: This is at your own risk, only proceed if you have issues. Also please read the whole thing twice or three times before giving it a go.

Firmware is broken into 4 sections:

Client Version: THIS IS SPECIFIC TO OS, ANDROID AND IOS APP HAVE DIFFERENT VERSION #s HERE
Flying Control Version: 1.1.2 (I think this has to do with Orbit..Journey..basically how to do these modes, and how to fly/land also -- probably much much more)
Esc version: 1.0.3 (speed controller.. spin up the propellers and keep them going at correct rpm, and much more..)
Camera Version: 2.0.4(A) (camera firmware + has some things to do with wifi too..and maybe more)

You can see this in the "i" info section after you connect to the Breeze.

When I first got the Breeze back in Jan 2017, it updated itself to Flying Control 1.0.8, Esc 1.0.3, and Camera 1.0.2(A)

The firmware comes in different flavors based on region. You can tell based on Camera version. (A) or (F) (OR E,J,K)

Here is what the letters mean:

(A) - Standard (US)
(E) - Europe
(F) - Australia / New Zealand
(J) - Japan
(K) - Korea / Indonesia

Internal differences between firmware region versions is really unknown to me, other then the fact that the European(E) and Australia / New Zealand (F) versions allow the app to
show "Indoor" or "Outdoor" frequency selection options in the Settings of the latest app.
The (A) version does not have this option appear at all, because it's not an issue in the US (not needed)
Breeze always uses Outdoor / most power Tx in US standard version.

Different countries have different allowable transmit power levels and different allowable frequency transmit channels for wifi by law in the 5Ghz band.

European versions usually have a lower output power on the higher channels. And they restrict certain channels you can use, so Safety FIRST!
and keep those other channels open! You don't want to get wifi cancer now.

I'm not really sure if the Breeze lowers the power output for _F or _E versions or not.
It's just a simple selfie drone, it isn't designed to go 1 mile or 4 miles from you. My guess is it's the same, most likely has to do with channel selection <100 Indoor or >100 Outdoor frequency.
One of the problems arose because it choose a very high frequency for Outdoor mode and some devices just could not use it or see it, so no hotspot shows up on your list.

So now to get the version for you:

A:

http://download.yuneec.com/Breeze/breeze_V0.1.33_A.bin
http://download.yuneec.com/Breeze/breeze_V0.1.35_A.bin
http://download.yuneec.com/Breeze/breeze_V0.1.37_A.bin
http://download.yuneec.com/Breeze/breeze_V0.1.39_A.bin

F:

http://download.yuneec.com/Breeze/breeze_V0.1.33_F.bin
http://download.yuneec.com/Breeze/breeze_V0.1.35_F.bin
http://download.yuneec.com/Breeze/breeze_V0.1.37_F.bin
http://download.yuneec.com/Breeze/breeze_V0.1.39_F.bin
http://download.yuneec.com/Breeze/breeze_V0.1.41_F.bin

Notice F has one higher version then A (.41)

See below before you try a version higher then .39 - If you do, the Flying Control Version (FCV) cannot be reverted (or at least I don't know how yet)

There are a few _E.bin and _K,J.bin versions too.. just change the letter to the region firmware you need and download the file to your desktop.
Not all versions/regions are represented, or I just can't find them on the Yuneec download site.
I know for sure there is a 37_E.bin, and a 37_K.bin for example.

I installed all of them and tested the results for you.. you can go between A and F and F and A, etc.

As mentioned prior, the Flying Control Version never drops in version after upgraded by one of the firmwares, but the Camera version can drop (and this effects the wifi channel/power Tx maybe?)

At some point if you run .33(A,F,...) or .35 (A,F...) it will bring whatever your Flying Control Version is - up to 1.1.2 and it will not drop back (only if it was something younger)

Each firmware contains 2 updates The Autopilot (Flying Control Version) and the Camera.

A, F, ...

.33 = Gives you Camera Version 1.0.0
.35 = Gives you Camera Version 1.0.2 -- update to 1.1.2 FCV?
.37 = Gives you Camera Version 2.0.4 -- update to 1.1.2 FCV?
.39+ = WARNING: Upgrades Flying Control Version to 1.1.3 w/Camera 2.0.4 -- Once you are on 1.1.3 FCV you cannot go back to 1.1.2 or lower (yet)
.41_F = Upgrades Camera to 2.0.10(F) / FCV 1.1.3 only F version exists so far.

NOTE: If you currently have 1.1.2 FCV, it will stay 1.1.2, unless you install .39(A, or F)+ or greater where it will be upgraded to 1.1.3 and that's where you stay.
I don't know how to revert back to 1.1.2 or 1.0.8, etc, so I'm stuck on 1.1.3 .. not really sure if it's a good thing or not yet!

TO INSTALL:

After you download the firmware you want to try, simply connect the Breeze via USB cable to your computer. Drop the downloaded .bin file into root the Breeze SD card (NOT in DCIM MISC folders)
Disconnect from USB and Restart the Breeze.
Run the app, and connect to Breeze. Then go to "i" info .. and tap Firmware Upgrade. It will find the .bin, uncompress it, and install it.

At some point it may say "Breeze Restarting to update Camera" it will restart and you will see a purple flashing light. Don't turn off the Breeze and restart until the purple flashing stops.

So what I have done so far is upgraded to .39(A) and then downgraded to .33(A) and then back up to .37(A) where I stand now, with FCV 1.1.3, camera 2.0.4(A) -- no idea if this is the best combo or not. .39(A) had a tough time starting the flashing green wifi hotspot.. .37(A) also has this issue, but seems not as bad. Feel free to experiment :)

Oh, here is another TIP:

When flying near your house, set your local wifi connection to not Autoconnect. If connection drops between you and the Breeze, your phone/tablet is going to try and jump on the next wifi it sees
and there you will be scrambling to connect back to Breeze while your phone is connected to your home wifi :)

Special thanks to user fux and others w/ threads for some ideas and from his Typhoon firmware thread.

Enjoy.

Freeze -- /unFreeze the Breeze!/
 
In additional to the above post:

Don't forget to Calibrate the Compass after an upgrade or downgrade!

some more information and things I've noticed:

V1.0.37_A: Starts up just fine and goes from red to blinking green... this firmware likes to live around wifi channel 149, 153, sometimes 165. wifi hotspot starts more consistently when powered on. Sometimes needs a few restarts to get it going.

V1.0.37_F: Starts up solid red, then blinking light blue for quite a while before turning blinking green, sometimes returning to light blue, then back to green... likes to live in the lower
channels 36....45. It seems to go into wifi hotspot more reliably, but takes longer.

(using wifi analyzer app to see channels)

From research I've done, the indoor 5Ghz channels 36-45 <100 can transmit at 200mW while the upper outdoor 5Ghz channels can transmit at 1 full watt. US allows channel 165, but I don't think you can use 165 in some Euro countries? That means it will be very quiet and you should get max range.

This is a double edged sword though, as I believe the lower channels (even though you use less transmit power) the signal goes further easier. The higher channels require more power to get the same range. So it may be a wash or slightly better on the upper channels in LOS. Add a few walls to 5Ghz and your signal will drop. Always fly LOS. Even at 100m.

What to do if you cannot get the Breeze to ever give you a blinking green light:


The issue here is you possibly have a really bad firmware installed. This is a last resort.

The available firmwares from the prior post are compressed and require the Breeze App to uncompress and install them.

If you go here:


http://download.yuneec.com/Breeze/firmware.bin

it will download an already uncompressed version of the firmware that is Camera Version 1.0.2(F) It is the Euro (european) version.

Even though you can not get the Breeze to give you a wifi hotspot and unable to use the Breeze app to upgrade/downgrade -- you can still connect the Breeze via USB and drop that firmware.bin file onto the root of its SD card.

Now, there is a different trick here for this scenario, do not turn off the breeze after you copy the firmware.bin to it, just pull out/disconnect the usb cable. The Breeze remains ON when you pull out the cable.

The Breeze will start blinking purple, letting you know it's updating the 'already' uncompressed firmware.

when it stops blinking purple, turn off and restart the Breeze -- if your lucky you can get back on wifi with the Breeze (blinking green) and 1.0.2F

If your an unlucky one from Euro firmware zone who tried the Outdoor channel and can't get to see wifi again, you may be out of luck, but sometimes if you keep restarting the Breeze over and over until you get it to blink green, and use a different device that can see this high channel. If you do get in, quickly go into it from the Breeze app and switch the wifi channel to Indoor!

Then once it resets, upgrade/downgrade the firmware to 1.0.37_A or whatever you like but not the one that messed you up :)

So far V1.0.37_A seems to be working for me. I have not tested the range yet. If someone has any better results on a different firmware please let me know. Most interested in maintaining video and further range.

Freeze -- /unFreeze the Breeze!/
 
Great work. I really do wonder why Yuneec is so unresponsive. At the time being Breezes are thrown on the market in really big numbers at prices below 350 Euro incl. VAT. Mostly dicount channels are used to sell the breeze here in Austria. It would teach Yuneec a lesson if everyone of the new and unhappy owners would return their breezes on grounds of disfunctionality and ask Yuneec for a refund.
 
In additional to the above post:

Don't forget to Calibrate the Compass after an upgrade or downgrade!

some more information and things I've noticed:

V1.0.37_A: Starts up just fine and goes from red to blinking green... this firmware likes to live around wifi channel 149, 153, sometimes 165. wifi hotspot starts more consistently when powered on. Sometimes needs a few restarts to get it going.

V1.0.37_F: Starts up solid red, then blinking light blue for quite a while before turning blinking green, sometimes returning to light blue, then back to green... likes to live in the lower
channels 36....45. It seems to go into wifi hotspot more reliably, but takes longer.

(using wifi analyzer app to see channels)

From research I've done, the indoor 5Ghz channels 36-45 <100 can transmit at 200mW while the upper outdoor 5Ghz channels can transmit at 1 full watt. US allows channel 165, but I don't think you can use 165 in some Euro countries? That means it will be very quiet and you should get max range.

This is a double edged sword though, as I believe the lower channels (even though you use less transmit power) the signal goes further easier. The higher channels require more power to get the same range. So it may be a wash or slightly better on the upper channels in LOS. Add a few walls to 5Ghz and your signal will drop. Always fly LOS. Even at 100m.

What to do if you cannot get the Breeze to ever give you a blinking green light:


The issue here is you possibly have a really bad firmware installed. This is a last resort.

The available firmwares from the prior post are compressed and require the Breeze App to uncompress and install them.

If you go here:


http://download.yuneec.com/Breeze/firmware.bin

it will download an already uncompressed version of the firmware that is Camera Version 1.0.2(F) It is the Euro (european) version.

Even though you can not get the Breeze to give you a wifi hotspot and unable to use the Breeze app to upgrade/downgrade -- you can still connect the Breeze via USB and drop that firmware.bin file onto the root of its SD card.

Now, there is a different trick here for this scenario, do not turn off the breeze after you copy the firmware.bin to it, just pull out/disconnect the usb cable. The Breeze remains ON when you pull out the cable.

The Breeze will start blinking purple, letting you know it's updating the 'already' uncompressed firmware.

when it stops blinking purple, turn off and restart the Breeze -- if your lucky you can get back on wifi with the Breeze (blinking green) and 1.0.2F

If your an unlucky one from Euro firmware zone who tried the Outdoor channel and can't get to see wifi again, you may be out of luck, but sometimes if you keep restarting the Breeze over and over until you get it to blink green, and use a different device that can see this high channel. If you do get in, quickly go into it from the Breeze app and switch the wifi channel to Indoor!

Then once it resets, upgrade/downgrade the firmware to 1.0.37_A or whatever you like but not the one that messed you up :)

So far V1.0.37_A seems to be working for me. I have not tested the range yet. If someone has any better results on a different firmware please let me know. Most interested in maintaining video and further range.

Freeze -- /unFreeze the Breeze!/
Absolutely brilliant and many thanks. I am in Australia and first couple of flights were flawless. Went to UK for holidays and Breeze badly behaved!! ... refused to create WiFI hotspot and/or flew for a few mins then app froze and RTH. Did a FW update over there and I think that just made things worse. Came back to AU ... better behaved BUT still takes many power cycles to get flashing green light on front left leg. As you say, holding the Power Button does seem to help it get to the red and then green light. But after reading your majorly comprehensive FW summary I will investigate the FW revision and apply most appropriate to see if we can overcome the many reboots I have to do to get a flashing green light (reliable WIFI connection).

Again, big thanks for this post - it is incredibly helpful and makes so much sense!!
 
Many thanks for links and description, will try downgrade to 1.37F
Yesterday upgraded to 1,41F and i am totally disappointed
- loosing video stream even WiFi have good signal
- once completelly lost WiFi, i need to wait until it landed - not sure if it was landing due low battery or return home, because it was above me.
- loosing camera responsibility, sometimes i can not switch between photo/video or take picture/start rec.
- Capture Succesful is rare thing, got time out in most cases, even drone is really close with full signal.
- still cannot use settings for camera, so i can not switch white ballance and EV, i really want switch WB to daylight almost in every cases.
- few times it switch to control without GPS, but on dashboard was 16-18 satelittes visible
. once after about 3 minutes it the air it popup message that it can not take off because wrong altitude measure.

Loosing of videostream and wifi was in Outdoor mode, also it is not allways visible in Outdoor mode after boot.
It looks like it uses some bad wifi channels in Outdoor mode, because Indoor is ok. Also i use backup Galaxy S5 with Lineage 14.1 ROM and when i switch wifi to United States i can see Breeze every time when Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Tab S with stock ROM can not see Breeze at all..

I will let you know if downgrade to 1.37F works and if it more stable.
.
 
Very nice, thanks for taking the time. Unfortunately, I think I have lost faith in the product and Yuneec. Bad fw loads happen, but at this frequency, it tells me that they are seriously lacking in the fw development area.
 
Today i tried Breeze with downgrade from Camera 2.0.10F to Camera 2.0.4F
It was little bit better but still i am not happy.
Ratio between Capture Successful and Timeout was about 1:20 or worse, when Breeze was about 30m above me, with relativelly good signal and with acceptable videostream. I missed some nice photos, just because until capture was succesful clouds moved and nice light conditions gone.
Also with second battery i need reboot it about 8 times to obtain WiFi.
With first battery any of captured photos was not saved even Capture Successful message.
Also i obtain twice Take Off Error due to wrong altitude measure, in both cases after few minutes in the air and about 40m above me...

With any firmware i have grayed out camera setting, so no EV and WB setting which is annoying.

Reflashed by firmware.bin today so i revert it to FCV 1.1.2, ESC 1.0.3 and Camera 1.0.2F which works for me acceptable before trying fresh upgrades. Will see tomorrow.

I do not complain about image/video quality, it is far from perfect but it is exactly what i expected - nowdays average cellphone flying camera, nothing less, nothing more.

Decided for Breeze instead Zerotech Dobby because camera tilt servo. Now i am not sure if it was good decision, i just wanted flying camera for hiking/walking so portability was most important for me. Now i thinking about next new model from Zerotech or about saving more money and buy Mavic, not good for Yuneec.
 
First of all, thanks for the great guide.

Not long time ago i have installed uncompressed version of the firmware that is Camera Version 1.0.2(F) because of wifi issues. After I started the mobile app and it automatically installed a newer version. Everything worked well when it was set to indoor mode but when I switched to outdoor I could not find Breeze. When I finally catch it I have installed V0.1.39 E.bin (.49 doesnt exist).

After installation FCV changed from 1.1.2 to 1.1.3 Camera from 2.0.10(F) to 2.0.4(E). Now i dont have any wifi problems but also dont have option to choose indoor or outdoor mode.

In flight i have noticed that when I go further then 30-35 meters im starting to lose videstream (delays and gliches). When I fly in altitude lower then that I could fly to 80m distance without any videostream problems.

Before update
stAnj2s.png


After update
PPYMlgt.png
 
N3MET - It is interesting, updated new Breeze to 1.41F (Camera 2.0.10F), after lost or freezed videostream and WiFi during flight tried go back 1.37F (Camera 2.0.4F), FCV was updated to 1.1.2 from 1.0.0 with, not 1.1.3.

Yesterday i revert it with firmware.bin to Camera 1.0.2F and today it works ok - stream had glitches about 45m above and higher, but did not freeze at all, also also i had less Request Timeouts and more Capture Successful messages. It looks like FCV 1.1.3 is part of 1.39F which i did not tried yet.
Indoor/Outdoot was available for me only in 1.41F

Maybe i will try 1.39 to update FCV to 1.1.3, hopefully it looks that Camera is reversible to 1.0.2F with firmware.bin
 
Firmware
breeze_V0.1.42_F.bin
is released


I followed the advice of CS-Europe and updated the FW from FCV 1.0.0 ESC 1.0.3 and Cam 1.0.2(F) to breeze_V0.1.41_F.bin as per download through the android app. Funnily enough yesterday was the first time the app did a download. Anytime before yesterday the app either told me something like "No download available" or reported a "Network Anomaly".
The experience with the FCV 1.1.2 and Camera 2.0.10(F) was mixed: Bind in indoor mode did work in most cases. Video stream was hopeless; freezes, lags and general unresponsiveness plagued me.
In outdoor mode binding failed in 9 of 10 tries. I also experinced geofence restrictions in places that were "free" in FCV 1.0.0. Actually it was the first time geofences did pop up.
Today Yuneec published a new FW: breeze_v0.1.42_F.bin. Binding improved greatly, albeit when in outdoor mode the front left leg flashes white for some considerable time before it changes to flashing green. I assume this would be because the breeze tries some higher WiFi channels that collide with the weather radar.
The laggy video stream is still laggy in this version. At least Yuneec is doing something regarding the firmware.
 
Yesterday (?) was also released new version of android app (1.2.5).
This version force you to update firmware, so you can not fly without this new fw!!!! It starts notify you when you allow new app connect to internet and there is not possibility to skip it. On rooted device is possible to temporarily disable it until you again allow conncection of your device to internet.
Make apk backup before update, if you want to revert to older firmware..
Also i have problem with this new app to start compass calibration on my Galaxy Tab S, need to do that via older version in phone. But this may be caused because app is designed for phones, not for tablets.
I am still not able set WB and EV with app v 1.2.5 and FW 1.41F
 
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After testing 1.42F I am totally disappointed. I completely lost WiFi twice when it was in the air.

It was in outdoor mode and signal was strong then suddenly completely lost.
First time was battery low (18%) so after about one minute of hovering it starts descending and miss tree branch really close. It reconnected when it was about two meters above ground and hover it again so I could land safely.
Second time battery was at 70% so after minute it starts return home and again it reconnect when it was above landing position and it stops in the air.
Also I lost video stream (black screen) few times.
On third battery it was in indoor mode and I do not lost signal but I was not able start recording or take picture due data request timeout even it was about 3m away.

I cannot trust it anymore. I do not fly in crowded places, but it can be really dangerous if suddenly somebody is near. Or I can easy lost it somewhere in the river or in trees when I will be above, which is still better than any injury.

I will try it revert again to camera 1.0.2F and will return to previous android app due update forcing in app 1.2.5.

Yuneec definitely lost costumer for any other product. Giving up and starting saving money for Mavic.
 
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I've tried pretty much most versions now at 1.39F in Australia and I think it's all hit and miss. The main issue is the behaviour of light sequence on front left leg after power on ... forget what phone you're using and forget whether iOS or android. Unless I power on off a few times maybe as much as 10 and get stable flashing green light then forget connecting it's going to be very dodgy otherwise. But if I'm patient and get this stable flashing green left front leg light then I can almost guarantee flight will be reasonably trouble free. So this defeats the purpose of this drone. Yes sure it's small portable and quick to power up but waiting 10 mins for stable condition prior to take off is a bit ridiculous.

But there is a solution to this ... next week DJI announce the Spark and if it's what I hope it is then I will go buy one and put the Breeze and all Yuneec products in a virtual waste paper bin..
 
"Hit and miss" is exactly that what I experience with my breeze. Thanks neilroberts99 for getting at the heart of it. The hit of today was a nice flight up to 80 m. As it was to be expected the wifi lost connection. Mentally I was writing off my breeze as she was not to be seen against the bright sky. Suddenly the distinctive whine of the breeze was to be heard and she landed next to me. RTH is a good thing and demonstrated its capabilities.
The Miss of today immediately followed: Not for anything in the world the breeze would bind to the edimax WISP-Router. Reset, battery out, wait for five minutes without any power... nothing worked. Well I had to pack and to go home.
At home I downgraded to cam version 1.0.2(F) with the firmware.bin mentioned here. No hassels with the indoor/outdoor modes, no drops in the video thanks to the edimax router. User frillen posted somewhere how to set up the edimax.
So far I have observed the following colours in the front left leg:
After th last tone of the power up sequence a red light comes up and stays on for about 20 seconds. Then it changes to a blinking green that turns solid green when you connect your phone or router to the breeze. Once you open the breeze-cam app a beep should be heard. Well, that is what should happen every time.
When no blinking green turns up, and red comes on again then something went wrong. Power off the breeze, remove the battery and do something nice for the next 30 minutes. If it is your lucky day, then the next power up should give you a connect.
After upgrade to any firmware that offers dual mode (indoor/outdoor) sometimes a white light comes up for a fraction of a second befor the red light starts. After the red light a white or (sometimes) bright cyan blinking light comes up. It stays on blinking for more than a minute before it changes to a blinking green. This is the moment where you could connect your phone (sometimes)
On power up the purple light comes up when the breeze decompresses a new firmware.
Has anyone noticed some other colours or blinking sequences? Does anyone know a reliable and fast method to reset the breeze?
Lessons leraned:
Downgrade the firmware to 1.0.2(f) -> this gives the most reliable connections.
Keep your mobile offline (a contradiction in itself - I know) to avoid compulsory updates of your firmware.
 
Just found this Information for them having problems using a iPhone or iPad touch.
From Apple's iPhone Specs page (Appleiphone/spec... TheIPad is the only iOS device with 5GHz 802.11n support, probably due to the additional antenna requirements. Update: The iPhone 5 and fifth-generation iPod touch, released in September 2012, have also added 5GHz Wi-Fi support.

I just got a cheap iPhone 5 and My Breeze seems to Pair and connect to it no problems I am using the latest firmware F 1.42
 
Yuneec EU in Germany anounced (credit to user Urist) a new firmware for coming Friday (6/16/2017). This FW should resolve *ALL* problems. Otherwise they would call back the Breeze.
Just remember, when the queue is empty "all problems are fixed", until the next bug is identified.
 

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