Firmware 01.05 possibly causing bed adhesion issues

Bambu Lab P1 Series
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I have been seeing a lot of posts across different platforms about bed adhesion issues lately, and I too have been having bed adhesion issues on my machines. Typically this would just result in me cleaning the PEI plates with Dawn and maybe following up with some 99% IPA, but this hasn’t helped me much. I’ve even resorted to scrubbing them with a scouring pad to try and expose fresh PEI material, but it made no difference.

Then I noticed a post on reddit (here) in which the OP mentioned that this only started happening as the 01.05 firmware… and as silly as that sounds, that seems to be exactly when the issue started for me as well.

Since getting the idea that it could be firmware related, I have noticed 2 things:

  • If I turn down the AUX fan speed to 25% (which I have never had to do before) then my adhesion issues seem to clear up.
    • Maybe the AUX fans are not running at the proper speed, or the speed is not reported accurately since updating?
  • The bed temps on my printers (left idle overnight) are 2-4 degrees lower than the nozzle temps, which seems odd to me.
    • Maybe the beds aren’t heating to the correct temperature, or the temperature is not reported accurately since updating?

My machines have the front glass on and are in an IKEA PAX cabinet in a small room. There’s no air blowing into or out of the cabinet or printers, so I don’t think the beds should be 2-4 degrees cooler than the nozzles like I’m seeing. I suspect the AUX fan is fine but there’s something up with bed temps as of 01.05.

I wanted to post in case I’m not alone here, and others are having bed adhesion issues only as of 01.05 (the update that introduced motor noise cancellation). If so, what are you experiences and thoughts? Maybe we can collectively gather some data to show Bambu so that it can be fixed, if it is indeed firmware related.

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I have my PS1 only since November and until recently I made good experience with the textured PEI plate.
But last week I did a simple, flat print (3mm height) and was very surprised that the corners came off.
Just shortly before I did the update to 1.05.02.So yes, maybe there is a link.

But I just found out, that (using the smart phone app) you actually can do a downgrade of the firmware, so maybe that would be a way to find out if it is because of the firmware…

Details: P1P/P1S and AMS Firmware Release History | Bambu Lab Wiki

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What filament are you using, have you increased the bed temp and have you looked at this parameter?

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I am hoping to find time to try this but our printers are busy for the next few days.

Bambu PLA (Basic & Metallic) and Polymaker PLA Pro. Same filaments and models we’ve been printing for a year now.

I’ve seen that setting but unless it or something about it has changed in a slicer update, I don’t suspect it’s the cause. I haven’t increased bed temp either. I’m not trying to work around the issue as I already have. I’m just hoping it can be identified and located in case it’s somehow firmware related.

FYI 2 of my machines are P1Ps that have gotten the P1S upgrade treatment some months ago, as well as hardened gears & nozzles long before that. They have around 1400 hours. The other 2 machines are native P1Ss with stick gears & nozzles. They have around 800 hours.

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I’m not saying that firmware may not be playing a role here but you would be the only report I’ve seen here on this forum with that particular failure mode. The Reddit post you linked to is typical of why I never go on Reddit. I did not see any scientific methodology but I did see a lot of conjecture in that thread.

In the school of trouble shooting 101, there is rule #1, change only one variable at a time. Then there is little practiced rule #2, if a suspect variable cannot be determined, then change any variable one at a time.

So in this case, you’ve decided you don’t want to change any variables, you just want it to work the same way it did before. That’s fair. So the only variable that can be changed under those circumstances is for you to roll back the firmware. Have you tried that?

The other thing that one should be doing with basic trouble shooting measures is simple measurements. Have you tested the temperature of the build plate? To be thorough, and to rule-out or rule-in firmware, you should also do a before and after test temperature test and record your findings on a spreadsheet and repeat the test over a range of bed temps.

The reasons I suggest this testing methodology is that while firmware might seem like the culprit, what if it were the thermistor in the bed sensor that just coincidentally failed too. Yes, I know, I don’t like coincidences either but this should nevertheless be ruled out.

__________________________________________________

I’ve posted elsewhere on this forum but I’ll include it again here. If you don’t already have one, an IR thermometer is way too useful a tool to not have in one’s 3D printer tool box. I put it right up there with nippers and a deburring tool for utility. Also, they are so damned cheap there really isn’t an excuse to not have at least one in the shop. I have a 3 kicking around the shop and home office because I found so many other uses such as troubleshooting faulty electronic components, to car engine diagnostics, to diagnosing my BBQ not to mention both my car and office AC units. I recently had to buy a fourth one because my wife kept stealing mine to use for her cooking. :wink: When a woman starts stealing one of your tools, that defines “utility”. :rofl:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ir+thermometer

Another tool that I purchased, originally to diagnose motherboard hotspots for my system building, is a cheap IR imager. Don’t confuse this with a proper FLIR camera, they are not the same. They are quite a bit more expensive than a thermometer at between $70-$120 US but well worth the money for visually seeing where there are thermal issues an a range of troubleshooting scenarios where temperature may be a factor.

Here’s a post I made on that topic recently with examples of the kind of images that can be made with an MLX90640-based imager.

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The purpose of this thread is to attempt to see if this issue is actually common amongst a sizeable group, what particular symptoms and workarounds others have in common, and if rolling back has helped. I’m trying to centralize things in some manner and in the right place (ie not reddit).

I’m happy to try things myself once I can afford the time on my machines to do so. I’m only one person, though, and the idea here is to discover the picture beyond just myself.

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I print a lot of complicated first layers, and need perfect adhesion for the patterns to print correctly.

After updating to 01.05 I suddenly had a lot of issues printing the same patterns that I had no issue printing with previous firmware.

Around the time of the 01.05 update, I saw a surge in posts about bad first layer adhesion here, and on reddit.

I ended up having to change the z-offset in Orca and use that when I’m doing a complicated first layer.

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That’s a worthy and noble goal; however, I would also point out the large number of threads posted on the Internet on myriad topics, where there is more speculation than science. Often, one finds that the logic of Occam’s razor, as boring as it may appear, usually prevails.

Here’s what I mean. Of the three firmware changes Bambu lists between 1.04.02 and 1.05.00, only noise cancellation looks like it might potentially impact adhesion if that noise cancellation influences head movement. Also of note, there were no bug fixes between 1.04.02 and 1.05, which might lead us to suspect that a new side effect was introduced.

Yet the Reddit photos show a before and after, as if that alone were necessary and sufficient proof. I would submit that without knowing the test conditions, we can’t reproduce this experiment. That’s simply Scientific Method 101.

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Given the fact that noise cancellation was introduced, I would like to see someone test out the following scenario below. Since I don’t have 1.05 and rolled it back due to network instability, I can’t easily run this test myself, so I’m throwing this out to folks that are on 1.05 and experiencing issues.

Here is one example of how printhead movement could be tested.

  1. Create a test case that is reproducible.
  2. Change the orientation of the model along 45 degree boundaries. Ideally what we want is to have the edge on the 45 degree orientation as this will isolate the stepper motor.
  3. vary the orientation over three different positions including one that is in between the 45 degree boundary such as 90, 180, 270 and 0. Those orientations will ensure that the stepper motors are applying uniform movement between the two motors.

This simple experiment will help us identify any variations in filament deposition caused by stepper motor movement deviation, effectively ruling out noise cancellation as a possible culprit.

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I am not a typical technical user that does a lot of tweaking to my settings. I have a P1S simply because I can print a lot without needing to. Most of my prints use Bambu Lab basic PLA with print profiles already created in makerworld. So I know they printed correctly for someone. I can say that since the firmware update I have had more bed adhesion issues than I had in the 4 months prior combined. I blamed wear and tear my textured plate as it has been the only plate I had used since I got my printer. But seeing this thread the issue does seem to coincide with the firmware update.

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The firmware updates on my p1s (the latest) did cause some adhesion issues, albeit random with different filament, PLA mainly. I have since run a calibration after each update and the issue is not apparent anymore. Also on a side note the filament pull back error has dissapeared completely and i have more confidence in the printer now.

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This sound EXACTLY like the problem I had. I have the printer for one month now and the last month made so many prints without ANY problem. And suddenly from one day to the other so many prints are failing because of adhesion issues. I already cleaned my plate multiple times and added hairspray to try it improve adhesion

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How do you load the older version firmware?
Bought my first 3D printer P1S early December. I love the textured plate and rarely had adhesion issues. Had never has to do anything to my plates but with them off.
01.05 update was loaded several days ago and I’ve had nothing but problems. Areas not sticking and stringing. Tried to pint things I have already printed successfully and now having issues getting a good clean print. Worse on bigger area prints.

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You can downgrade the firmware in the smartphone app. Go to your printer, press the “burger menu” ( three horizontal lines) and go under “Firmware Version”.

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@all
What slicer do you use ?
I am using the Bambu Lab Software on MAC.

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Losspost, thanks for the info.
Downgraded firmware to 01.04.02.
Will do some prints and advise.
I am using the Bambu Lab Software on Windows.

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Okay in my case the following solved the issue:

  1. Go Back to 1.04 via smartphone
  2. Factory Reset
  3. Setup and Calibration
  4. Test Print
  5. Update to 1.05.02 via Smartphone App
  6. Start calibration from Software on Mac
    I also turned the machine on and off between each step.
    I guess there was some issue when updating in some sort. For example this time I updated via the smartphone app, before I used the screen on the printer
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The downgrade to 01.04.02 seemed to fix the issue.
Printed 3 or 4 things without an issue just like when I unboxed it.
I will duplicate your process and see if that works for me.
Thank you!

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Forgot how noisy ver 01.04 was.
Loaded defaults but had problems linking in iPhone app. Have to:
Turn off router Wireless 5G.
Remov printer in Bambu App.
iPhone: “Bluetooth settings-> My Devices” Forget This Device

Followed your same steps:
Load Firmware 1.04 via iPhone Bambu app:
settings->Firmware Version->I want to downgrade to a previous version
Factory Reset
Setup and Calibration
Test Print benchy (excellent result. Just like new first print)
Update to 1.05.02 via Smartphone App
Calibrated using onboard display keypad
Test Print again benchy (excellent result. Just like new first print)

Printed a multi-color clock face.
Wanted to test with something with a lot of platter coverage.
Very good even print across face using textured plater.
So far it looks like the issues are gone.

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Thank you for highlighting these steps! I downgraded to 1.04 and have no problems with adhesion. The noise is not so bad for me, so I may stay on this version for awhile.