Harman Kardon Invoke Cortana Speaker

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.

Hi!

Like many here...I am frustrated that yet another, ahead-of-it's-time Ms product is being sacked by way of Band, Zune, Groove, Phone, etc..

However, I found a small bright spot to my Invoke as a small work around. First let me say that my connection was ALWAYS ify with Invoke. I would be listening to Spotify through it and then it would just stop. Mid song, mid transmission, mid Bluetooth...just stop. As 'dead weight', Bluetooth seems a bit stronger. So...I connected my phone's Google Assistant to Invoke and though I am talking through the phone...it comes out clear and brilliant via Invoke. Don't get me wrong...this is BS and I loathe that this speaker is ATTACHED 'dead weight' (still has to be plugged into a wall to be used)...but I can assign it to my phone for alarms, weather, Spotify, Calendar, text, etc. And I can change the voice (Cortana is a guy now🤣).

Doing my best to make a very bad situation, work, because honestly...now that is known that Invoke holds no value...it's gonna cost me more to ship to a nostalgic MS fan than to sell it😑.

Be careful with pinhole reset after March 10th, when the new firmware is pushed. Official setup/reset instructions:

Reset my Invoke

The reset instructions are only for Invoke speakers that have not yet received the firmware update that removes the Cortana service from your Invoke. To learn more about the firmware update and how to check if your speaker has received the update see, Cortana service on the Harman Kardon Invoke.

If there’s a problem setting up your Invoke, or your Invoke is unresponsive after completing the set up process, you can usually resolve the problem by resetting your device. 

To reset your Invoke:

• Press and hold the Microphone button for 5 seconds until you hear Cortana say, “Ready for setup. We'll do this from Cortana App from your phone or PC, so go grab that first. Then type, setup my Invoke.”
• If that doesn’t work, you can try a factory reset. Left of the Microphone button, there's a pinhole factory reset button. Insert a small pin into the hole and briefly press against the button. You'll know the reset started when you see two spinning white lights on the touch surface. Once it's complete, three white lights will appear and Cortana will say, "Ready for setup."

Q: How do I know if I received the firmware update?

A: Signs you have received the update:

• When you press the Bluetooth button, you see three spinning white lights and hear a sound that lets you know it’s in pairing mode.
• There’s a blue light and no voice response when you tap the touch surface.
• There's no voice response when you say, "Hey Cortana."
• There's no red or white light when idle.

If you haven’t received the update (and your device is plugged in and not muted) Cortana will response to “Hey Cortana” or when you tap the top of the device.

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.

This has been poorly handled by BOTH Harman Kardon (beyond their control) and Microsoft abandoning Cortana. But, HK could've come up with an alternative to keep the "smart" speaker instead of just rolling over and playing dead with "hopefully" a dumb speaker/bluetooth only. The Microsoft Cortana server keeps crashing but I finally found an inside person at Microsoft who I can get updates from. HK in the Philippines "service" center personnel are absolutely clueless and ignorant about the issue, including confusion around who will do the firmware update once Cortana is officially removed. The email I got last week from MS365 said THEY will remove Cortana and issue the firmware update in the 2-4AM timeframe IF connected to the internet. My issue is Cortana keeps getting disconnected from the server so who knows when/if it will happen. And once Cortana is dead, if not updated you have a black, cylindrical brick.

What made me angriest was Harman Kardon's response of "out of warranty" when the unit works perfectly fine.

And Microsoft - how about WEEKLY updates with specifics on before/after this will all work. A "basic" consumer request, especially since your abandonment of a weak assistant at best has left us all high and dry.