A Synthia that does nothing at the end of the build is nearly always something small, and it is worth three checks before you email us. Synthia 2.0 is assembled with a screwdriver — there is no soldering in the build — so the checks are about seating and software.
1. Charge it first. Plug it in over USB and leave it for a full hour. A battery that arrived flat looks exactly like a dead unit.
2. Compare the build against the guide. Open the Synthia 2.0 build guide at circuitmess.com/blogs/resources and check each step against the photographs — connectors seated fully and the right way round, the speaker connected, caps and knobs on straight so they are not holding a control half-pressed.
3. Restore the firmware. Connect Synthia to a desktop computer running Chrome, Edge or Opera, open code.circuitmess.com and use Restore firmware. If you had started coding on it, this also puts the standard instrument back.
If specific controls misbehave — a pad that does not trigger, a slider or knob with no effect — take the cap off that control and try it bare. If it works bare, re-fit the cap against the guide photos.
Still dead or misbehaving? Email us with your order number, photos of the board with the casing off, and a short video of what it does when you switch it on.
Email that to [email protected]. We look at each case individually, and if a part turns out to be genuinely defective, replacing it costs you nothing — see Do your kits have a warranty?.
If the restore itself will not run — the browser cannot see the device, or it stops part-way — see The firmware restore at code.circuitmess.com fails or cannot find my device.