I let my OP-1 battery run to nothing and now it wont recharge. It’s a brick. It’s 3 months old. I have noticed that the usb port I am using wont register the OP-1 as connected. Which means it’s dead. I have tried all possible charging modes. I did perform the 225 upgrade and went thru all procedures and it was working fine until this. Obviously one should never let the battery run out? Still, very disappointed. Any one with similar experiences? Anyone from TE actually monitor this site?
When the battery is totally empty, the battery meter won’t show the charging animation for a longer period of time.
You say, the OP-1 had trouble showing up on the computer in DISK mode before it went black? Sounds like the connector board is faulty. Or do you mean it doesn’t show up since it seems to be dead?
Charging has worked until now?
Does the speaker still make that tiny “buzz” sound when switching on?
Some other suggestions:
Use a dedicated USB power adaptor (with at least 1A output current) and leave the OP-1 charging for at least some hours. If it doesn’t help, try the same with the power switch set to ON. Try an other cable.
When the battery is totally empty, the battery meter won't show the charging animation for a longer period of time.You say, the OP-1 had trouble showing up on the computer in DISK mode before it went black? Sounds like the connector board is faulty. Or do you mean it doesn’t show up since it seems to be dead?
Charging has worked until now?
Does the speaker still make that tiny “buzz” sound when switching on?
Some other suggestions:
Use a dedicated USB power adaptor (with at least 1A output current) and leave the OP-1 charging for at least some hours. If it doesn’t help, try the same with the power switch set to ON. Try an other cable.
Thanks. I tried to recharge all night long. No luck. What I have is blank screen - absolutely no charge. No tiny buzz when switching on, nothing. Still, I’ll try and re-charge again from my iMac and see what happens, But you have to wonder why a 3 month old unit with little use dies so comprehensively. Treated with kid gloves and all.
Bummer man. I think you should log a warranty claim with TE right away. I had a issue where it should have been 80 charge and it just die (as in no battery).Very strange since it had maybe an hours use after a full charge. I charged it all night on an iPad charger and it was still charging the next day?
I suspect that in the recent wave of new OP1 stock there maybe a battery or charging related issue. Mine is also about 2-3 moths old.
Thanks for the help but it looks like this is one dead OP-1. I rang the retailer I bought it from and they say there is a 4 week turnaround. That’s incredible! I am starting to think this unit is poorly designed. To rely on a battery power only without being able to power the unit from USB regardless of the level of battery charge is ridiculous for a unit that has a premium price. The issue now is how can I rely on this machine in future?
I wouldn’t say it been poorly designed, but I would say there is room for some refinement. Where are you based? I think 4 weeks isn’t actually too bad. 2 weeks would be better.
I left mine die many times and always brings up fully and healthy after a good hour of pumping juice from the wall. Maybe your powersource is very weak?
Any issues that you may be experiencing :
1. USB cable not working : : the standard [whatever grayscale cable came in your TE box] needs replacement. You can test this by either using another USB Mini [like the one in a PS3/Camera] or checking if the existing one is functional w/ other devices. Op-1 shows amount of charge after a few seconds of plugging to the pwr.
2. Bad firmware !!! : : The first time I came across operator-1.com was because firmware 00218 bricked me / solved this manually doing a factory reset and installing the latest FW update.
easiest set of instructions to update:
. hold the OP-1 COM key before powering on. this will take you to the ‘TE-BOOT’ screen.
. press ‘1’ on OP-1.
. follow the on-screen instructions.
3. Something is truly wrong : : If the damage is not in the cable nor is a bad FW --> Damaged Unit /
[[[[[[[[[[Apply your Warranty]]]]]]]]] if the unit is not ‘butchered’(meaning gruesome physical damage) before a year of purchase TE will cover it.
FAQ page is very helpful in the subject:
Additional comments :
Have never heard of a unit going into a straight brick in such a short time. (have hope for solution 1-2)
You can buy official spare parts : https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Teenage_Engineering_OP-1 (a little experience can prove very useful on a 900$ unit).
Problem may be only on the USB female. (best-worst case scenario)
It was 2. Thanks!!!
I never knew about the TE-BOOT screen revival procedure - now I do. Still, strange that it just dies and has to be revived so early in it’s lifespan.
Thanks to all who provided advice. Really appreciate it. I really like this unit.
2. Bad firmware !!! : : The first time I came across operator-1.com was because firmware 00218 bricked me / solved this manually doing a factory reset and installing the latest FW update.easiest set of instructions to update:. hold the OP-1 COM key before powering on. this will take you to the ‘TE-BOOT’ screen.. press ‘1’ on OP-1.. follow the on-screen instructions.
Phew! Great that you could solve your problem this way. Now enjoy your OP-1! 
It was 2. Thanks!!!!
I never knew about the TE-BOOT screen revival procedure - now I do. Still, strange that it just dies and has to be revived so early in it's lifespan.
Thanks to all who provided advice. Really appreciate it. I really like this unit.2. Bad firmware !!! : : The first time I came across operator-1.com was because firmware 00218 bricked me / solved this manually doing a factory reset and installing the latest FW update.easiest set of instructions to update:. hold the OP-1 COM key before powering on. this will take you to the 'TE-BOOT' screen.. press '1' on OP-1.. follow the on-screen instructions.
Glad it is solved!!
That FW 218 experienced that problem and the units that come with it were put in the market earlier this year. TE has great support so they fixed it soon enough w/ an improved FW.
I just had a similar problem a few days ago. Turned out that I couldn’t charge it via a phone charger. It immediately started charging when I plugged it where I usually charge my headphones… Into an Xbox One…
So apparently, not all devices can charge the OP-1.
Phew! Great that you could solve your problem this way. Now enjoy your OP-1! ;)
Thanks for your help, appreciated.
Just to round this out for others that might be having this problem. I had 2.18 onboard when I received my OP1 3 months ago. I had some strange battery issues (as mentioned in my previous post). I upgraded to 2.5 and the problem seems to have disappeared.
However I also wanted to add, after reading in another thread about how finicky the OP1 can be with charging and that for one user, only a MAC usb port worked for him. Believe it or not, for me the mac port charges more efficiently that my iPad charger. Very strange.