Troubleshooting Guide
USB Connection
When powered on in Standby and connected via USB-C, the camera should mount as an external storage drive with the name "EMBER A000" or similar. The recorded clips are in the root directory of this drive. If the drive doesn't mount when USB is connected, try the following simple troubleshooting steps first, to rule out common issues:
Unplug and reconnect the USB cable.
Try a different USB port on the host or USB dock.
Try a different USB cable. Make sure the cable is rated for at least 5Gbps.
Unplug the USB cable, power cycle the camera, then reconnect.
Unplug the USB cable, power cycle the host, then reconnect.
If none of the above work, the following additional troubleshooting steps may help resolve or at least identify the problem:
Confirm that the USB connection is indicated properly on the camera's HDMI on-screen display. In FW v2.x.x, look for "USB 3.0" in the bottom status bar. In FW v1.x.x., look for "USB3" in a pop-up. If this indication isn't present, or if "USB 2.0" is indicated instead, there may be a problem with the cable or the camera's USB-C port.
Wait for at least two minutes after plugging in the USB cable. Some users have reported that it takes extra time for the drive to mount.
Try connecting the camera in Firmware Update mode. If this works, try installing the latest firmware, which includes a workaround for USB mounting issues on MacOS.
USB Workaround
Make sure you have the latest firmware installed on the camera.
Power on the camera. Camera menu is active. See Color Code for camera state.
Connect USB cable to computer.
Hold down the camera Select button.
Connect the USB cable to the camera. Once connected, the Select button can be released. This forces the camera's USB device driver to use a simpler connection method.
Allow up to two minutes for the drive to appear, if it doesn't right away.
While the workaround is activated, App control over USB is not available.
For further guidance, contact support@freeflysystems.com and provide the following information:
Camera type (S5K, S2.5K) and serial number.
Camera firmware version.
Camera SSD size (4TB or 2.56TB) and condition (e.g. empty, half-full, full).
Host details (e.g. MacBook Pro 14", M1, macOS Sonoma 14.5). If you tried multiple hosts, let us know which worked and which didn't.
If on macOS, a screenshot of the USB panel in System Information, with the Ember camera selected to show its details if it's present in the list of USB devices.
Which of the above steps you tried and if they worked or changed the behavior at all.
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