Common Problems

Table of Contents

I cannot connect any Android devices, they just do not show up in the software.

Make sure that the devices have USB debugging enabled and USB mode is not in "Charge only" mode. See device documentation on how to activate USB Debugging or contact the manufacturer.

Note that some newer Samsung support “Android bypass reset” (see Settings - Android), which only requires that the device is connected in MTP mode.

Some Android devices are not initializing and do not show up in the software

There are several ways to try to get an Android device to get initialized:

• Turning off "Fetch carrier lock when ADB is enabled" can help with some devices.

• Unlocking the screen lock.

• Make sure device is fully booted up before plugging it in.

I cannot connect any iOS device, they just do not show up in the software.

Make sure that the network setup wasn’t skipped in the configuration phase. In that case the iOS processing (erase and/or diagnostics) is disabled and the devices cannot be connected.

Also make sure that the device is not in USB Restricted Mode (introduced with iOS 11.4.1). There are two options:

• Enter the passcode and disable the USB Restricted Mode (Settings - Touch ID & Passcode / Face ID).

• Put the device in Recovery mode and erase it.

I cannot start an erasure on an Android device.

Make sure that the device has around 50 MB of free space before the start of an erasure. The erasure software needs to be delivered, unpacked and ran on the device’s storage (this is automatically done by BMDE).

USB debugging pop-up appears on the device during erasure.

Enable “Always allow from this computer” checkbox in the USB debugging pop-up on the device.

Samsung device not receiving RSA popup after enabling ADB.

If RSA popup does not appear on the phone after ADB enablement, disable USB debugging, revoke USB debugging authorizations and then re-enable USB debugging.

I cannot start diagnostics for an iOS device.

Make sure that the device has been activated. If it is not activated, there will not be a “Start testing” button for diagnostics and the tooltip shows that the device is not activated.

USB Port alert when logging into a profile

Sometimes the USB Port error message "USB port XXX cannot be enabled" might pop up when user logs in, but this can be ignored by selecting "do not show alert again" or by clicking OK. The alerts will be ignored until relog or device restart.

I did not set Wi-Fi connection and now I cannot process any devices (iOS)

It is recommended to set Wi-Fi connection, if you plan to run any setup or diagnostics processes. If no Wi-Fi settings are made, the iOS device will go into "Requires attention" status and asks to set the Wi-Fi manually.

The Screen Lock test does not run on iOS devices.

On newer devices, such as iPhone 14, the display settings are "Always On" by default and must be turned off in order to work properly. To turn this setting off: Go to Settings, select Display & Brightness and switch "Always On" selection off.

Sometimes there can also be a delay. Try keeping the device lock on for 5 seconds during the test to pass it.

I cannot start diagnostics for a Windows Phone or a BlackBerry device.

Diagnostics is not supported on Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices.

I cannot download new firmware for an Apple device

Make sure that a connection can be made to Apple-servers (see Firewall settings). Check that there is enough free space on your hard drive or if a permanent installation is not used, make sure that there is enough RAM.

I have connected 20+ devices on the computer, but the software can only erase a dozen at a time.

It is an issue with the USB-controller limitations on the computer running BMDE. See Requirements for larger operations.

My license count shows zero, even though I definitely have licenses left.

First, check from Settings – General that the “Use licenses from” is set to a correct license container (HASP / Blancco Management Console). Then check if the licenses are for the correct version of the software.

If a HASP is being used: Check that the HASP-key is working and it is inserted into a working USB-port.

If you are using Management Console: Check that the connection settings are correct and the connection status shows green on the General - Blancco Management Console. Check that the MC-version is 3.3.2 or newer. Otherwise see Blancco Management Console’s User Manual.

When running a workflow, some Android devices are erased successfully, but if those devices are not disconnected, in about 1-2 minutes the devices switch to "Requires attention" and ask the device to be put in USB debugging mode.

First step is to make sure that the Settings – Device - Release device interfaces after erasure is unchecked. This is because after the erasure is completed, BMDE disconnects the device. In this case some Android-devices will try to reconnect themselves. When the device connects, it is in MTP-mode, where the serial number is different and BMDE considers it as a new device.

Second step is to uncheck Clear report from the “Send report” action in the workflow.

Third step is setup a delayed automatic clearing of reports: Settings – General – Perform automatic clearing of processed reports: After 1 hour.

When trying to boot on system with an Nvidia graphics card installed in it, only a black screen is displayed

Some Nvidia graphics card use very specific drivers to work. To change the drivers used by BMDE, do the following: When the boot menu is displayed, press “E” and add the following to the command line:

rd.driver.blacklist=nouveau modprobe.blacklist=nouveau

When I boot BMDE I get the following notice: Initialization for PCI USB controllers has failed for [list of controllers]. USB Bus for these controllers could not be started. Please reboot PC. If problem persists, consider replacing controller(s).

This notice is displayed if one or more USB controllers fail to start. If you wish to retry starting the USB controller(s), reboot the machine. If the problem same USB controller fails to start again, that controller might be broken.

In a few seconds after starting erasure, the device falls into "REQUIRED ATTENTION" state with this message: Device appears to be in welcome screen. All the relevant data can not be fetched. Please manually pass the setup wizard.

Go past the welcome screen on the device. If this doesn’t help, reboot the device.

Android Factory Reset Protection (FRP) is detected by searching for certain active accounts on the device itself which (if active) need to be deleted successfully before factory reset, or the device might become permanently locked. For this reason, as the FRP status cannot be detected for a device which is still in welcome screen. Android debug mode (ADB) must be turned on for this information to become available during erasure. Note that this affects bypass erasure also, as it doesn't require ADB and thus the FRP status is unknown.

BMDE gives an X11 error during boot and the GUI doesn’t launch

The GPU is not supported. This is a common problem with latest integrated GPUs from Intel and AMD. Add a separate, supported graphics card to the system or use a system with discrete graphics or or an older integrated GPU.

A device freezes or acts weirdly when I use a specific USB-port/hub

Sometimes the devices cannot get to a proper state due to lack of power on the USB bus. Typically this happens when a HUB is missing a power supply and the capacity of the PC is exceeded.

This information is added to the logs and notified to the user.

Issues with a connected device

When there is an issue with the USB port, a popup will appear. When this alert appears, the best options are to restart hub (if the port related issue) or change cable. If the issue keeps repeating, try replacing the hub or discontinue using that specific USB port.

A device falls asleep easily during erasure, causing the process to fail

This may occur with certain Android devices, if the setup wizard is not completed during overwrite. Complete the setup wizard and start the process again.

When using NIST Purge (or other erasure standard using overwriting), to process multiple devices, the erasure process takes a very long time

If overwrite is used in the erasure process, the devices need to be scattered around multiple USB busses.

For example, a single USB2 bus can transfer 512Mbit/s. If there are two devices connected to this same bus, that transfer speed is effectively halved and it only get slower as more devices are added. For example, if there are 12 devices on a single USB 2 bus and each device has 64GB of internal space, then simultaneous erasure of all with one overwriting round would take around 3 hours.

There are issues when I try to download a firmware file for an Apple device from the UI popup

It is a known issue, that when an erasure has started and the device goes in the "Require attention" mode because the device requires the download of a new Apple firmware. Normally the user should click on download button on the dialog. Do not click on the download dialog if BMDE's "System Settings - Enable iOS firmware download - Automatically download firmware when device is connected" is set.