Article: MPA-K100: Speaker Shuts Off While Using the Microphone (Firmware Fix)
MPA-K100: Speaker Shuts Off While Using the Microphone (Firmware Fix)
The issue
On some early MPA-K100 units, the speaker can power off after about 15 minutes even while someone is talking into the wireless microphone. This happens only when the microphone is turned on before the speaker.
The issue mostly affects people who use the MPA-K100 as a microphone-only PA system, such as teachers, presenters and event hosts, without music playing at the same time. A firmware update fixes it for good.
Why it happens
To save battery, the MPA-K100 goes into standby after about 15 minutes with no audio from any source. Microphone audio is supposed to keep it awake.
On the original firmware, if the microphone is already on when the speaker powers up, the standby timer listens only to music playback (Bluetooth, USB, microSD or Aux) and ignores the microphone. With no music playing, the speaker shuts off after 15 minutes, even in the middle of a speech.
Quick workaround: turn on the speaker first
If you can't update the firmware right away, change the order you power things on:
1. Make sure the wireless microphone is off.
2. Press and hold the Power Button to turn on the MPA-K100.
3. Once the speaker is on, press and hold the microphone's power button for 2 seconds to turn it on.
Powered on in this order, the speaker will stay on while you use the microphone. If the speaker already shut off during use, turn off the microphone and start again from step 1.
Permanent fix: update the firmware
The updated firmware keeps the speaker on as long as there is audio from any source, whether that's the microphone or music, no matter which one you turn on first.
What you need:
• The firmware update download: MPA-K100 Update.zip This is a zip file named MPA-K100 Update that contains two files, update.ufw (the firmware) and readme.txt (these instructions).
• A USB flash drive (32 GB or smaller)
• A charged MPA-K100
Steps:
1. Download the zip file and unzip it on your computer. On Windows, right-click it and choose Extract All. On Mac, double-click it.
2. Format the USB flash drive, using FAT32 if possible. This erases everything on the drive, so back up any files you want to keep first.
3. From the unzipped MPA-K100 Update folder, copy only update.ufw to the root of the USB drive, meaning not inside any folder. Don't copy the whole folder or readme.txt, and don't rename the file.
4. Turn on the MPA-K100.
5. Insert the USB drive into the speaker's USB-A port. The update starts automatically.
6. Wait for the update to finish. The speaker shuts off by itself when it's done. Don't remove the USB drive or turn off the speaker while the update is running.
7. Remove the USB drive, then turn the speaker back on.
The new firmware is now installed, and the speaker is ready to use. You won't need the power-on workaround anymore.
Good to know
• Is my speaker affected? Only units from the original production run. Newer units ship with the updated firmware. If you're not sure, installing the update is safe either way.
• Will the speaker still turn off by itself? Yes. After the update, it still goes into standby after about 15 minutes, but only when there's no audio from the microphone or any music source.
• The update didn't start. Make sure the drive is formatted as FAT32, update.ufw is in the root of the drive (not in a folder) and hasn't been renamed, and the speaker was on before you inserted the drive. Then try again.
• Need more help? Contact Gemini Sound support at https://support.geminisound.com/
