# Shimano EW-WU111 (Di2 Bluetooth module) firmware failure & dumb luck solution



## IvanK- (Jan 28, 2005)

Hi Folks,

I added the EW-WU111 Bluetooth module to my Di2 setup this weekend and everything went swimmingly until the firmware update failed (probably crappy WiFi signal in the garage....).

So now my E-tube software on my iPad is showing me just the battery and the right shifter and scarier than that, the red and green lights on my junction box are flashing randomly, like you would expect to see if there was a short. I thought I’d somehow managed to fry my Di2. 

After doing a bit of digging, I found several posts where people with similar issues complained that the wire connections would sometimes cause trouble. I had no good reason to think that was the issue here, but WTF...why not...so I unplugged & re plugged the left shifter and had a look to see if anything was better in E-tube. The lights on my junction box were still flashing weirdly, but sure enough, my left shifter was now visible. 

So I unplugged the front & rear derailleurs and plugged them back in and presto! No more flashy lights! I had another look in E-tube and both derailleurs were now showing! 

I moved my bike closer to the WiFi signal and re-installed the Bluetooth module and the firmware update went fine this time. 

So I make no claim to technical expertise here. I just blundered into a fix. And since I wasn’t able to find anything on this specific subject, I figured I’d share. 

I’m not sure what I was accomplishing with the unplug/re-plug. Maybe resetting the connection back to the battery? 

Anyway, I hope this saves someone the 3 hours of stress it cost me.


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## VIE_VICCRD (Jan 1, 2018)

Just to contribute a vaguely similar (and equally frustrating) experience, here's a summary of a few hours of wasted time:

My LBS built my TT bike with the current Ultegra Di2 R8000-and-something groupset. It worked fine until I tried to use the e-tube app on a current iPhone. Btw, pressing the button on the junction A button for Shimano's half second or so does not cause the red and green lights to flash as other posts on the web suggest it should (no light at all in fact). It connected to the app, I changed the PIN from six 0's and then, without warning, the app immediately/automatically started to update the firmware for the D-Fly EW-WU111 component with no way to stop it. It got to 10% updated and then dropped the connection and the update failed.

And as a result, the entire Di2 then was dead -- everything did not work, not even the junction box (with no lights for any length of button press). Trawling the web suggested the only option was to connect a PC (which I had to find...). But the PC would only connect and recognise some of the groupset components (just junction A, battery and D-Fly). Amusingly, the PC e-tube software showed the D-Fly component as 'red' and needing a firmware update (or roll-back, I can't remember) but then when you tried to update it, it said this could only be done by the Bluetooth phone app, which of course was no longer connecting to the D-Fly (because of the crash in the firmware update)!

This was followed by a few mumbled words and lots of restarts of the PC software and attempts to reconnect the phone later. 

Giving up on that, I decided to pull out each component from the junction A box and plugged them back in -- this caused the junction A green light to flash but still did not make the groupset work, nor allow the phone to connect. It also at this point caused some, but not all of the components to be recognised by the PC eTube software (but still not allow an update of the D-Fly through the PC). 

It was not until I unplugged and plugged back in the front and rear derailleurs did the whole thing suddenly spring back to life. And then, on a Shimano half second button click on junction A, the phone also connected to the D-Fly. This then showed all components on the phone app. And finally, I could update them using the phone app, starting with the D-Fly (while holding one's breath). 

Anyway, hope this helps others troubleshoot similar problems...


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## tony_mm (Apr 5, 2016)

Shimano updated their e-tube app a few days ago... that might have been the reason...


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## IvanK- (Jan 28, 2005)

Hi VIE,

What you describe sounds a lot like what happened to me. Maybe not identical, but my guess is that the root of the problem was the same, right down to the firmware update failure.

I guess that the physical disconnection of the components somehow resets them in the battery or something like that. I don’t really understand canbus (connection system Shimano uses between components), so I can only speculate. 

Glad you got it sorted.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

I changed Junction A boxes from MT800 to the 90B last month with the old 101WU wireless....went to update the firmware via phone and failed midway through. Went back and resumed it and my JunctionA refused to change shifting modes (M/S1/S2) at all. Plugged it into a computer with the charger/USB interface. Nothing to fix. Tried unplugging and replugging and no luck.


Had a PCE1 debug interface. Plugged it into the Junction A and the WU...it found nothing wrong with either. But simply running the PCE debugger triggered something, and suddenly my M/S1/S2 toggle was back to working.



IMHO as Shimano had added gee-whiz features and different hardware to e-tube, they seem to be updating the KISS reliability out of it.


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## IvanK- (Jan 28, 2005)

I hope not. The KISS reliability is/was a key advantage.


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## tony_mm (Apr 5, 2016)

IvanK- said:


> I hope not. The KISS reliability is/was a key advantage.


What is the KISS and what is it for??


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## LiquidCooled (Jun 9, 2017)

*Shimano EW-WU111 (Di2 Bluetooth module) firmware failure &amp; dumb luck solution*

https://rhythmic.fm/wp-content/uploads/1396298223000-KISS-KISS-BAND-JY-0718-62187918-1.jpg

Sorry, couldn't resist. 

Keep It Simple, Stupid


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## tony_mm (Apr 5, 2016)

*Shimano EW-WU111 (Di2 Bluetooth module) firmware failure &amp; dumb luck solution*

Thanks!


LOL


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## Jeroen (Dec 23, 2018)

VIE_VICCRD said:


> Just to contribute a vaguely similar (and equally frustrating) experience, here's a summary of a few hours of wasted time:
> 
> My LBS built my TT bike with the current Ultegra Di2 R8000-and-something groupset. It worked fine until I tried to use the e-tube app on a current iPhone. Btw, pressing the button on the junction A button for Shimano's half second or so does not cause the red and green lights to flash as other posts on the web suggest it should (no light at all in fact). It connected to the app, I changed the PIN from six 0's and then, without warning, the app immediately/automatically started to update the firmware for the D-Fly EW-WU111 component with no way to stop it. It got to 10% updated and then dropped the connection and the update failed.
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing your experience! I had exactly the same issue and found your explanation very usefull. :thumbsup:


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## Steve B. (Jun 26, 2004)

There have many posts about issues related when using a BT device (iPad, iPhone) to run a system update. As I understand it, all is well till the WU111 gets updated, it then gets caught in a boot cycle, having lost its BT connection to the updating device, which is the iPad/iPhone. Thus the update doesn’t complete and it crashes the system. 

The fix seems to be only run a system update from the PC USB connection.


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## IvanK- (Jan 28, 2005)

Very glad to have been of some help, Jeroen. Folks here have helped me in the past.


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## Toby911 (Jan 8, 2019)

Hi Guys

Anyone know how to update the EW-WU101 firmware. I have tried via the app and twice it has shut down my entire DI2. Also when I add my D-fly to the bikes (I use D-FLY) on a few bikes and normally it is a no brainer to install but on my latest bike I get an error when I link the DI2 to the E-TUBE software on my laptop saying i have 2 units attached . Remove one. I only have one and the DI2 won't work at all. some HOW THE system has remembered that there is an EW-WU101 device and locked it in so when you add one it thinks there are 2. I hope that's clear - sorry I am new hear and could not work out how to start a new chat so I added to this Cheers Toby

this bike is one of the bikes that completely shut down when I tried to update the d-fly unit via the app


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## Toby911 (Jan 8, 2019)

I had the identical thing - tried everything you mention and no luck. Off to bike shop and 2 weeks later and shimano rep visiting he shop 3 times they managed to get it going by replacing the battery with a brand new one - I don't dare try and update it again as it will kill it again but now the bike sees 2 d-fly units - crazy!!


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## spoke2spoon (Aug 13, 2009)

Thanks to all of the prior people who posted to this thread :thumbsup: I was installing the EW-WU111 last night on my bike, and after the iPhone app tried to update the firmware for the it, my Di2 was seemingly bricked. I started to panic. Until I read some of the ideas above and started unplugging whatever I could to see if it would help. It eventually did help (I think).

So bottom line for me is: Di2 electronics are not yet consumer serviceable. The Windows version of E-tube project software is awful - straight out of 1990's in terms of usability and reliability.

For anyone who finds this thread in a state of despair, just know that you are following in the footsteps of others who also acquired brown pants while just trying to improve their bikes. Un-plugging Di2 components somehow seems to reset things, and the lights on your Di2 junction box will soon be flashing in in-explicable patterns again.


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## Bejam (Apr 4, 2020)

Same issue here - part way through installing updates on a newly installed EW-WU111 and my Di2 suddenly looks completely dead.

I got this far down the thread - and no joy. Unplugged everything, even went as far as installing bootcamp on my mac, so I could connect the E-Tube PC software. The PC app connected fine, saw everything and loaded it all up, but couldn't proceed because the EW-WU111 hadn't disconnected from Bluetooth LE.

But keep reading, as I think I've figured it out.

I'm 99.9% certain the mobile app issue with the EW-WU111 module is a bug that locks it out of action, because it hasn't been disconnected from the app Bluetooth LE connection (LE just means Bluetooth Low Energy - nothing to see here, just think of it as Bluetooth.) 

After crapping out on update installation (usually around 11%, according to all of the anecdotes on the web), it then locks itself in a loop in which you can't disconnect it from Bluetooth and start again.

The reason the Di2 appears dead after the update failure is because you have to disconnect Bluetooth LE from within the app before closing it down, to wake the Di2 up. But the app's crapped out and you're locked in a loop.

So if you've got this far with the various suggestions and you're still scratching your head, try the following:

1) Delete the E-TUBE app from your phone.

2) Go into Bluetooth settings on your phone, find the EW-WU111 and tell your phone to forget this device.

3) Reinstall the E-TUBE app. Hooray - it now works and it's ready to start installing again.

4) This time, keep your phone awake while it installs the updates - I suspect the 11% figure is consistent with phones going to sleep during install and the app crapping out as a result.

5) At the end of the install, disconnect Bluetooth LE from within the E-TUBE app. This is crucial - your Di2 will appear completely dead otherwise.

5) Consider never buying Shimano again - the software dev, lack of Mac access and the mobile app are simply disgraceful.

6) Go and ride - your bike works again.

Ben.


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## islandwind (10 mo ago)

Bejam said:


> Same issue here - part way through installing updates on a newly installed EW-WU111 and my Di2 suddenly looks completely dead.
> 
> I got this far down the thread - and no joy. Unplugged everything, even went as far as installing bootcamp on my mac, so I could connect the E-Tube PC software. The PC app connected fine, saw everything and loaded it all up, but couldn't proceed because the EW-WU111 hadn't disconnected from Bluetooth LE.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for this. This saved me a trip to the dealer


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## ozziegura (5 d ago)

islandwind said:


> Thank you very much for this. This saved me a trip to the dealer


 still doesn't work for me


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