# Power supply and first start


**Draft, not yet verified on hardware.**

Take a new SeedHammer II from the box to its first engraved plate on firmware v1.4.3. In this order: check the version
and upgrade if needed ([Firmware upgrade](/doc/manual/firmware-upgrade#version)), choose the [power supply](#power),
engrave each seed ([Enter a seed](/doc/manual/seed-entry)), engrave the descriptor ([Send a descriptor with NFC
Tools](/doc/manual/nfc-tools-transfer); multisig: [What fits on a plate](/doc/manual/multisig-and-fit)) and
[rehearse a restore](/doc/manual/recovery-from-plates#rehearse).

<p class="alert alert-warning">Seed words are typed on the machine's touchscreen only and never pass through a phone, a computer or a chat assistant.</p>

## What you need {#requirements}

- The machine and the 240 W USB-C cable from the box. The box holds no power supply and no paper instructions.
- A USB-C Power Delivery (PD) supply that offers 20 V or 28 V at 5 A ([Choose the power supply](#power)).
- Blank 85 x 85 mm plates, more than five: SeedHammer II plates or SH02 steel plates. Each job engraves one face.
- Hearing protection. The machine asks for it before every job.

## Choose the power supply {#power}

At power-up the machine asks for the highest voltage from 20 V to 28 V that the supply offers, and starts only if that
offer carries 3 A or more ([If it does not work](#troubleshooting)). The watts on the label do not count. It tests the
supply again when the engraver starts ("engraver: not enough power available").

| PD offer | Use |
|---|---|
| 20 V or 28 V at 5 A (sold as 100 W or 140 W) | Buy. Prefer 28 V: it strikes harder than 20 V, so plates come out deeper and crisper ([depth](/doc/manual/engraving-quality#depth)). 28 V needs a 28 V port and a 5 A EPR cable such as the one in the box |
| 20 V at 3 A (60 W) | Passes the power-up test; a full job is unverified |

- Read the label: it must list `20V` or `28V` at 5 A. Some cheap chargers sold as 95 W or 28 V never deliver them.
- On a multi-port charger, use the port with that offer. A single-port charger is less likely to drop power mid-job.
- Mains voltage does not matter. A computer's USB port is for a firmware upgrade only.

## Switch it on {#start}

- Plug the cable into the supply.
- Plug the other end into the machine's USB-C port. It starts at once and shows the green start screen.
- The engraving head moves by itself to its homing corner, then to its start position over the plate area. Normal.
- To switch off, unplug the cable. Nothing is kept after power-off.

![SeedHammer II with the USB-C cable plugged in](/static/img/power-and-first-start-01.webp)
<!-- capture: photo, SeedHammer II seen from the USB-C port side, included 240 W cable plugged in, start screen lit -->

## The start screen {#start-screen}

![Start screen "Backup Wallet"](/static/img/power-and-first-start-02.webp)
<!-- capture: II screen, start screen "Backup Wallet", firmware v1.4.3, version text "Firmware: v1.4.3" and "Hardware: v1.5", no status line (device-screen-map 4.2 row 1) -->

| Where | Shows |
|---|---|
| Title | "Backup Wallet", over a drawing of the hammer head above a plate |
| Bottom | Left: "SeedHammer". Right: "Firmware: v1.4.3" and, below it, the hardware line, for example "Hardware: v1.5". The firmware adds " (UNLOCKED)" to the hardware line unless secure boot is on and the SeedHammer key is the only valid boot key ([Read the lock mark](/doc/manual/security-faq#unlocked)). A version that starts with v2 is an older beta ([version](/doc/manual/firmware-upgrade#version)) |
| Right edge | One button: the dark-blue tab with a checkmark, at the bottom. Tap it to type a seed ([Enter a seed on the touchscreen](/doc/manual/seed-entry)) |
| NFC | Listens on this screen only: stay here to send a descriptor ([Send a descriptor with NFC Tools](/doc/manual/nfc-tools-transfer)). A descriptor reveals every address of the wallet; it holds no secret. During a transfer a status line shows for about one second: "Scanning...", then "Unknown format" or "Scan error" if the machine cannot use the data. Usable data opens the next screen |
| Whole screen | After 3 minutes without a touch, an animation covers this and every other screen. The first touch wakes it and presses nothing |

## Load a plate and engrave {#plate}

![Engrave Plate screen before the job starts](/static/img/power-and-first-start-03.webp)
<!-- capture: II screen, flow "Engrave Plate", idle state, blue theme, after the 12-word test vector "abandon ... about" typed and confirmed (device-screen-map 4.2 row 17) -->

- On the blue "Engrave Plate" screen, the last of every flow, insert a blank plate and close the lock.
- Put on hearing protection.
- Hold the hammer tab at the bottom of the right edge until its ring fills (1 second) and the job starts.
- On "Engraving completed successfully.", tap the right arrow at the bottom of the right edge.
- Open the lock and take the plate out.

| Screen | Meaning |
|---|---|
| "Insert a blank plate and close the lock." followed by "Hold button to start the engraving process. The process is loud, use hearing protection." | Nothing engraved yet. Let go of the hammer tab before the ring is full and nothing starts. The back arrow at the top leaves without engraving |
| "M:SS" above "Engraving plate" | Time left. The screen saver can cover it; the machine keeps engraving. To stop, tap the left arrow at the top of the right edge |
| "Engraving stopping...", then "Engraving paused." with "Hold button to resume." below it | Stopped. Hold the hammer tab to resume from the stop point. The back arrow here drops the stop point ([Retry and restart](/doc/manual/troubleshooting#retry)) |
| "Engraving completed successfully." | Done. The right arrow returns to the start screen |
| "Engraving failed." with "Hold button to retry." and a line starting "Error: " | The job stopped: [Retry and restart](/doc/manual/troubleshooting#retry), [Engraving](/doc/manual/troubleshooting#engraving) |

![Plate in the machine with the lock closed](/static/img/power-and-first-start-04.webp)
<!-- capture: photo, blank 85 x 85 mm plate seated in the machine, lock closed, head at its start position over the plate -->

## If it does not work {#troubleshooting}

| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Screen stays dark, or only the backlight comes on, also right after a firmware upgrade | No offer of 20 V to 28 V at 3 A or more, so the machine restarted into firmware upgrade mode (a USB drive on a computer). Normal after an upgrade on a computer port without 20 V PD: the new firmware goes straight back into upgrade mode | Connect a USB-C PD supply that offers 20 V or 28 V at 5 A, with the cable from the box, and confirm "Firmware: v1.4.3" on the start screen |
| Restarts over and over at power-up | The protection of the Apple 140 W and some other 140 W chargers can trip while the machine's capacitors charge (unverified) | Try another charger with the cable from the box |
| Stops mid-job and returns to the start screen | Most likely a short power drop from the charger restarted the machine. Nothing is kept, so the job cannot resume | Start it again on a single-port charger that offers 20 V or 28 V at 5 A ([Retry and restart](/doc/manual/troubleshooting#retry)) |
| "Engraving failed." with "Error: engraver: not enough power available" | The supply cannot feed the engraver | Hold the hammer tab to retry on the same supply. To change the supply, unplug (nothing is kept), connect 20 V or 28 V at 5 A and start the job again: type the seed or send the descriptor again |
| A charger sold as 28 V delivers only 20 V or 5 V | The cable is not rated 5 A EPR | Use the cable from the box and the charger's 28 V port |

<!--
bench-checks:
  - [ ] Boot and engrave on a 100 W 20 V supply, a 140 W 28 V GaN port, the Apple 140 W charger, a 95 W Apple charger and a 65 W charger, each with the included 240 W cable and with a non-EPR cable; record each screen (dark, start screen, "Engraving failed." and its error text) and which chargers loop at power-up (was a body Check in the restart-loop row, moved here in the edit pass 2026-10-10); publish the tested-charger list only after this run (SYNTHESIS F row 10)
  - [ ] 60 W or 65 W supply (20 V, 3 A): does the start screen appear, and does a job run or stop with "Error: engraver: not enough power available"? A supply whose 28 V offer is under 3 A but whose 20 V offer has 3 A: refused at power-up, as AdjustVoltage reads? (page states the 3 A gate from source and the 5 A buying advice together; harmonized 2026-10-10; the body now marks the 60 W full job "unverified" in the power table, edit pass 2026-10-10)
  - [ ] Depth on a test plate at 20 V versus 28 V, measured; confirm "about 0.3 to 0.4 mm"
  - [ ] Start-screen labels on hardware: "Backup Wallet", "SeedHammer", "Firmware: v1.4.3", the actual "Hardware: v1.x" value (page uses "Hardware: v1.5" as the example, from HardwareVersion "v1." + board version), no " (UNLOCKED)" on a shipped unit, the dark-blue checkmark tab; status line position (code reading: bottom centre, 16 px above the edge; device-screen-map 1.2: "above the version"; the body no longer states a position, its Check moved here in the edit pass 2026-10-10); photo
  - [ ] Screen saver after 3 minutes, waking touch pressing nothing; does it cover a running job (countdown and "Engraving completed successfully." hidden), and does the first tap on the stop arrow only wake the screen?
  - [ ] USB-C port location, power switch or none, head movement at power-up (homing corner, then start position) and whether the start screen comes up before or during it; photo with the cable plugged in
  - [ ] Plate loading: how the lock opens and closes, plate position and which face points up, removal after the job; photos (body Check on the "Engrave Plate" lead moved here in the edit pass 2026-10-10)
  - [ ] Firmware upgrade from a computer port: screen stays dark, does the USB drive come back; then boot on the supply and confirm "Firmware: v1.4.3"
  - [ ] Power loss mid-job, and a supply swap after "Engraving failed.": back to the start screen, job gone, no resume; does a second run on the same plate line up with the first strikes? (the re-run Check now lives on troubleshooting#retry)
  - [ ] "Error: stepper: homing timed out" at job start: provoke with a loosened pulley set screw, then with a weak supply
  - [ ] Whether the box of a v1.4.3-era unit ships a test plate (page now says "test plate" everywhere; was "sample plate")
provenance moved out of the body (edit pass 2026-10-10): the 5 A buying advice (20 V or 28 V at 5 A, 100 W or 140 W) is the
  company's recommendation; the power-up restart loop on the Apple 140 W and other 140 W chargers is reported by owners and the
  company (SYNTHESIS section D power rows); no owner has reported a full job on a 20 V 3 A (60 W) supply
edit pass 2026-10-10: "What to read next" (#next, linked from no page) folded into the lead, firmware check first as
  firmware-upgrade#version requires ("Update a new machine before its first plate"); restart-loop cause marked unverified;
  troubleshooting is now a table; the "shallower than the test plate" row dropped as a duplicate of engraving-quality's
  troubleshooting table (the power table links #depth); the Apple 140 W bullet under #power dropped as a duplicate of the restart-loop row; status-line strings kept
  in the start-screen table (owned in full by nfc-tools-transfer and capability-sheet)
sources: research/device-screen-map.md sections 0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.7, 2, 3, 5 (items 4, 5, 6), bench checks 3 and 5; research/BRIEF.md
  (device facts, power correction); firmware v1.4.3 (ea4b65b) cmd/controller/platform_sh2.go:156-161, 184, 206-270 (PD first,
  go home() then LCD init), 333-360 (AppendEvents: touches only), 428-441, 533-558 (homing before every job),
  driver/ap33772s/ap33772s.go:97-139 (highest voltage in range, then 3 A on that offer), cmd/controller/engraver.go:186-217, 284-287,
  gui/gui.go:1469-1514 (status at r.S minus 16 px, version at r.SE), 2239-2262 ("Error: %s"), 2351, 2370-2373, 2404-2434 (saver on
  every screen), gui/engraver.go:74-91 (job in a goroutine); harvest/HARVEST.md lines 147, 151 (nothing kept after power-off),
  330, 336, 338, 340, 341, 351, 394, 538, 729; harvest/SYNTHESIS.md Q01 Q02 Q03 Q37 (also Q05 Q08 Q39), section D power and homing
  rows, section F row 10 (voltages, not watts; charger list needs a bench test); manuals/REVIEW-wave1.md section 1 (Q01 reading
  order) and sections 2 to 4 (harmonized, see manuals/HARMONIZE-wave1.md); no lab dir (no app shown; no machine screenshots exist yet)
-->