Ambre and Baby Ambre troubleshooting guide

 Ambre is a compact streamer with a network input and Toslink, Coax and I2S outputs. Ambre runs on the RoPieee OS and other third-party software. Support is provided for the RoPieee OS only. Ambre is a Roon endpoint and needs a Roon server to operate properly. Baby Ambre offers the same Roon functionality as its bigger sister. Baby Ambre has no I2S output, no power button and differently configured LED indicators.

From left to right, Ambre has 3 LED indicators:

Music (green)

Lights up when music is output through the digital outputs

LAN (green)

Lights up when an ethernet connection is established

On (blue)

Blinks when updates are fetched, steady on when updating is finished

 

Baby Ambre has the following LED indicators:

Power (blue)

Blinks when updates are fetched, steady on when updating is finished

LAN (green)

Lights up when an ethernet connection is established

LAN (yellow)

Lights up when network data is transmitted to the Baby Ambre

 

* from this point, where this wiki says Ambre, you can also read Baby Ambre

Problems customers indicated and possible solutions

As with all problems, we first figure out if the problem is network or Ambre related. If the problem is in the Ambre, we distinguish between software and hardware. First, a drawing of how to connect the Ambre to your network, then the standard problems:

 

·         Green LAN LED lights up, network can’t see Ambre

Check in your home switch/router for connected devices. Usually, the internal network runs on 192.168.1.x IP addresses. If your Ambre is not present in your switch/router, try to connect it directly to the router with a cable. If the Ambre is present in the connected devices table it also displays an IP address. With a computer you can “ping” this address (PC: go to the MS DOS Command Prompt / MAC: open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities) and type: ping 192.168.1.x (10.0.0.x in some cases) and press Enter, where x is the number assigned to the Ambre in the connected devices table). If the ping request works, it gives you a Reply from 192.168.1.x. If it doesn’t work (Request timed out), there is a connection problem in the network. Check if the Ambre is turned on, the lights are on, or try a different network cable between Ambre and network switch. Repeat the process.

 

·         The internal website of my Ambre is not accessible

Using your browser, go to http://ma-ambre/. If that doesn’t work, try accessing the website of the Ambre with the IP address (see the topic above this one for the steps). Check the network setup, can you ping the device? If you can ping the Ambre and can stream audio to it, it is obviously functioning on most aspects. In this case burning a new RoPieee image on the internal SD card solves the problem. Contact info@metrumacoustics.com to request a new image of the SD card. Take the SD card out of the Ambre and connect it to a laptop. Burning the image on the SD card can be done using a program like balenaEtcher. The Ambre updates when power is reconnected and should display the internal website via http://ma-ambre/ or by going directly to the IP address of the Ambre.

Should this not work, try burning the new image to a new SD card. Sometimes, SD cards go corrupt and function while reading, but don’t permit writing anymore.

 

·         Startup failed, my Ambre is not recognized by the switch/router

The RoPieee OS is fairly robust and should be able to handle an incorrect startup. Connect the Ambre directly to your switch/router (LAN should light up green) and let it initialize for at least 15 minutes. The blue LED should turn on fully after this procedure. Now re-search for the Ambre in your network with Roon.

Should that not help, see the item below.

 

·         Blue LED keeps blinking

Plug your Ambre directly into the switch/router of your home network. Then let it run for a maximum of 24 hours so it can search for updates and install them. If then the blue LED doesn’t turn on steady, burn a new image on the internal SD card. The steps are described in the first 2 topics.

 

·         SD card appears to be broken

A fast SD card (of at least 4 GB, larger is also fine) can replace the internal SD card. Open the case and remove the SD card (make sure you touch the housing first, keep hold of it and remove the SD card to prevent ESD problems). Burn a new RoPieee operating system on the SD card with a computer using balenaEtcher.

 

·         How can I reinstall version 47 of RoPieee on the internal SD card?

Since the .img file is not readily available through https://www.ropieee.org/, we can send a link for your download. You can request the image file per e-mail (info@metrumacoustics.com). Use balenaEtcher to burn the image on the SD card.

A manual for flashing a new OS on an SD card can be found on https://www.ropieee.org/getting_started/.

 

·         My problem is not listed

Please contact support for further steps

If all else fails:

If these tips didn’t solve the problem, please send your Ambre for repair to Metrum Acoustics using an RMA form. If your Ambre is still covered by warranty, it will be repaired free of charge.

 

Standard settings

 

 

                                

 

Device Setup (Advanced)