Harman Kardon Invoke Cortana Speaker

Anonymous
2020-03-04T03:48:09+00:00

Okay, I made the mistake of buying 4 Invokes for $50 at the Microsoft Store. I first bought two and really like them and then bought two more.  I have two of them set up.

I love the sound quality (it's better than the Echo Dots and Google Homes that I also have) and I've been pretty happy with them. I use them for listening to the radio (via TuneIn), setting timers, and as my alarm clock.

I have also set up reminders and they showed up in my Windows PC as a notification. That's something that I don't think Alexa or Google Home can do.  Really neat!  I also like Cortana's personality.

But I made the mistake of waiting too long before setting the other two up. I have been trying since December 2019 to set them up using both my Windows 10 PC and an Android phone. The setup app can connect to the speakers and then have the speakers connect to my WiFi network. Everything seems to be going well but the set up process never finishes.

After connecting to WiFi, the speaker tells me it needs to update the system software/firmware and to please wait. Eventually, the speakers tells me that something went wrong and that I should start the setup process over again.

I keep repeating the setup process and the same thing happens. It seems like it is trying to update the software/firmware to the latest version but a server is down or something so it can never finish the set up process.

Can someone from Microsoft please tell me if it is still possible to setup my two remaining Harmon Kardon Invoke speakers?  Is the server responsible for setting up and updating the Invoke still operating?

If not, is there any way I can manually update the firmware on the Invokes to the latest? There is a USB port on the Invoke that is supposed to be used for "service". Can this be used to update the firmware?  Is there a firmware file available for download?

If the server is down, can Microsoft put the server back up again so I can set up my remaining two Invokes?  I received no warning that this would happen.  Perhaps you host the server on your Azure Cloud services?  That would seem like the perfect place to do it.  It shouldn't take up too much resources as it would just spin up when needed.  Please restore the server even if it's only for a limited time.  Just give us a warning when it will go down so we would have time to set up our speakers before its too late.

I tried emailing Harman Kardon but I can tell they won't be of much help.  Any help or information would be greatly appreciated.  These are brand new speakers and I would just hate for them to be useless right out of the box.  And I wish that Microsoft wouldn't give up on Cortana like this.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Cortana and search

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-05-31T19:53:22+00:00

    Finally!!! Harman Kardon has released tools to flash the Invoke via USB. It hasn't been made available publicly but was provided to some people through their support.

    This can be used to resurrect those Invokes that have stopped working for some reason, can't be reset or can't set up.

    It worked for my Invoke which after a supposedly failed update was left with an infinitely swirling light.

    The included firmware is the last one with Cortana enabled. After flashing and setup the Invoke will download the OTA update that will remove Cortana and make it a Bluetooth-only speaker.

    The tools with instructions can be found here:

    Release Harman Reflashing Cortana Image · coggy9/HKHacking (github.com)

    It's quite a technical process and you might need to perform additional steps not mentioned. But I'm happy to help anyone with issues.

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-02-27T19:00:28+00:00

    Its works for me....

    Left of the Microphone on/off button on the back of the Invoke speaker, there is a pin hole that is the factory reset button. Press this button by inserting a small pin into the hole with a small amount of pressure. If done correctly, top panel will have a white ring.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-08-05T15:13:03+00:00

    It seems microsoft has already started killing cortana off, for the last three days all three invokes have been repeatedly failing to connect and dropping out. Has anyone else experienced this frequently of late?

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-06-15T01:19:33+00:00

    I've got a working one, firmware updated before you couldn't,.  But for people who need to reset or start I would like to suggest something to MS to satisfy your customers (and employees who probably bought most of these)

    I've had three smart speakers/displays that have no longer been hosted/served, a Sony Dash, Chumby, and an Aether Cone.  In all cases, the company went open source once they no longer wanted to host the server for the device.

    So this can be done. Microsoft you have several options.

    --Post the real firmware update someplace and make it available via the service port on the bottom. PC to device. (note--Aether posted an update without even a port on the device)

    --Post an optional firmware update that converts this to a Google or Amazon speaker if you don't want to deal with it anymore (you have partnered with Amazon haven't you?)

    --Post an optional update that converts this into a generic bluetooth/DNLA speaker, use the button to pair.  

    Any of this gets you out of this.

    This is still some of the best smart speaker hardware in a small factor, yet over time will develop a reputation as an MS failure unless you keep the users happy.  Don't Zune this.

    As noted, other smart speaker/display manufacturers have done workarounds.  Why is this even an issue here?

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-06-11T09:23:02+00:00

    My Invoke also went dead last week. It was always on the old firmware as it never managed to update. I have used it for several months but suddenly it went black. When unplugged and reconnected it only shows the spinning light forever. Factory reset pin-hole does nothing. It appears like some kind of update has bricked the device and it can no longer boot. Especially since this has happened to several users at the same time.

    I have been doing some research. The Invoke uses the same SOC as the Chromecast and Google Home speaker. Also featuring a service USB port. And it can be used to update the firmware by plugging in a USB memory with the firmware. I'm thinking the same would be possible with the Invoke, but we would need the firmware .bin file.

    We should really push Harman Kardon for a solution to this. It's not ok to stop supporting a device that is only 2 years old. Not only did they turn off the update servers, but now they remotely broke it.

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