Finding a step where your kit does not match the guide is unsettling mid-build — but it does not usually mean your kit is faulty or incomplete.
Why this happens. Our kits ship in hardware revisions, and the build guides are photographed on one of them. A newer board can differ in small ways from the photos: a connector that looks different or sits elsewhere, a part in a different colour, or a component that arrives already fitted to the board so there is no step for you to do. The camera cable is a good example: newer kits ship a white cable where the guide photographs show an orange one — it is the right part.
What to do at a mismatched step
Check the guide hub first. More than one version of a guide can exist — look at the Rover pages on circuitmess.com/blogs/resources for a guide matching your kit before assuming a fault.
Count against the components list — the parts overview at the start of the guide — rather than against a single step photo. A colour substitution looks alarming in one photo and obvious in the list.
Never force a connector that does not seem to fit. If a plug and socket genuinely will not mate, stop — forcing is how pins bend.
When to ask us — and please do. If you cannot reconcile a step, email [email protected] with your order number, the step number or a link to it, a photo of the guide step, and a photo of the same area of your kit. We can tell you which revision you have, confirm whether the difference is normal, and send anything genuinely missing free of charge — see Something is missing from my box.
It is a much better outcome than stopping the build for days, and a five-minute answer at our end.