AtomS3R - Black screen with UIFlow2 firmware (Backlight works, no image)

10sor

Hello!

Description: I am experiencing an issue with my M5Stack AtomS3R. The device works perfectly with the factory demo firmware, but the screen remains completely black when flashing the UIFlow2 firmware.

Symptoms:
Factory Demo: Works correctly. The screen displays content as expected.
UIFlow2 Firmware: The flashing process via M5Burner completes without errors. However, the display shows nothing. The LCD backlight is clearly visible (the screen is glowing), but the pixels remain black. Explicit initialization commands in code do not resolve the issue.

AtomS3 Firmware: I tried flashing the standard AtomS3 firmware as a workaround, but the screen remains black as well.

Troubleshooting Steps Taken:

Ensured the device enters download mode correctly (Green LED) before flashing.
Flashed the latest UIFlow2 firmware for AtomS3R via M5Burner.
Re-flashing with "Erase Flash".
Attempted to initialize the display manually using Python code (lcd.clear(), lcd.print(), etc.), but the screen stays black.
Re-flashed the Factory Demo to confirm hardware integrity - the screen works immediately.

Environment:
Device: M5Stack AtomS3R
Firmware: UIFlow2 (Latest version available in M5Burner v2.4.1 and v2.4.0, v2.3.1)
Tools: M5Burner (Desktop), WebBurner.
Connection: USB or Cloud.

I didn't see new suggestions in the similar topic , so I decided to start a new one.

bschwahn

First thanks for the format used when posting!

I am going to admit a lot of first time/elementary mistakes when getting back into the M5Stack environment with my M5Dials (it has been several years). I will admit that it is strange that the DEMO firmware will work but not the actual firmware?

do you have any other controllers to verify your configuration?
- is the USB cable OK
- is the USB Port working correctly
are you downloading the correct firmware for UIFlow2? (I didn't LOL, I used the firmware for UIFlow1)
are you using the correct USB Drive for your Operating System (I had had to try different versions until I found one that worked).
try downloading a different version of the firmware for now

It sounds like you discovered what button you had to push to get the AtomS3R into download mode. I also made that mistake.

Could you post back once you discover what is the problem?

Thanks-Brian

robski

@10sor have you tried any of the old uiflow2 firmwares from m5Burner list - I mean very old like 2.2 or 2.1 will this give you operational display?

10sor

@bschwahn The format that I used when posting was created using Chat.M5Stack.com

I have StickC-Plus2 and it works as expected in UIFlow2.0 with the same cable and the same port.
The official M5Burner list only has UIFlow2.0 for AtomS3R.
I have tried WebBurner (without USB connection) for flashing firmware and had the same result: no errors or warnings, but the screen is still black.
I have tried v2.4.1, v2.4.0, v2.3.1, v2.2.1, and v2.1.4.

I don't want to spend a lot of time looking for a solution anymore, but if I find one, I'll let you know here.

10sor

@robski Yes. I have tried v2.4.1, v2.4.0, v2.3.1, v2.2.1, and v2.1.4. The result remained the same.

robski

@10sor any arduino projects (if tried) with same result - no functional display?

10sor

@robski I have tried display example. The result still the same: black screen (backlight works, no image).

robski

@10sor wow, and factory demo works fine...
i2c address issue?
library issue?

10sor

To test other functionality, I connected Unit Relay and ran a test program. It works as expected in UIFlow2.0

BTW I found that Arduino Lab for MicroPython can be used as a simple IDE for programming a device with UIFlow2 firmware.

robski

@10sor I do have one of Core Basic controllers which one day after loading project decided to not display a thing, all other bits are ok just nothing on the display since.

gkaramanis

Found this post when I googled, I got an AtomS3R yesterday and I have the exact same issue with the display.

Pretty much what @10sor said. Backlight is on but nothing else shows on the display. Tried with UIFlow2 and the examples in Arduino IDE. I've reflashed and reset multiple times, always the same result.

Factory demo works without any issues. The Env III sensor also works, I got output from it in UIFlow2 but the screens is black at all times.

kuriko

@10sor
Thanks for the feedback, this is indeed a very strange situation.
Could you please provide us the SN number on the package? So that we can check if this is a problem related to specific batch.

10sor

@kuriko SN: C12625050101908