Support and discussion for all of Akai’s modern standalone MPCs including the MPC X / X SE, MPC Live 1, 2 & 3, MPC One / One+, MPC Key 37/61.
By enzyme Sun Jun 14, 2026 9:16 am
Was doing some sound design on OPx4 last night, turned the MPC One off and it automatically rebooted itself into a permanent boot cycle, it gets as far as the splash screen then turns itself off again but tries to reboot shortly after. The power switch isn’t doing anything, the Mpc tries to boot as soon as the power lead is connected.

I’ve tried to get into the recovery mode but I just get the same behaviour I described above.

Absolutely gutted as I have a heap of projects that need finishing. Does this sound like my MPC is dead? Some of you guys on here are far more skilled at this stuff than I am, is there anything I can do to restore the unit?
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By personM Sun Jun 14, 2026 9:37 am
MPC One:

To put the MPC in Controller update mode:

Full level + Browse + Pad Bank C

To put the MPC in Standalone update mode (via usb stick):

Rec + Stop + play Start + power button
By enzyme Sun Jun 14, 2026 9:51 am
personM wrote:MPC One:

To put the MPC in Controller update mode:

Full level + Browse + Pad Bank C

To put the MPC in Standalone update mode (via usb stick):

Rec + Stop + play Start + power button


Thanks for the shortcuts! Doesn’t seem to be working though, the Mpc just continues the endless rebooting. I did manage to get it to boot properly last night but I don’t know what I did to make that happen (and on shutdown it repeated the same infinite rebooting).
By enzyme Sun Jun 14, 2026 4:28 pm
So after trying to get this thing into update mode unsuccessfully, I think it’s a goner. Sad to see it go, it’s an integral part of my music making process.
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By bitermc Sun Jun 14, 2026 7:15 pm
You should be able to put the firmware in a USB stick, hold the combination of keys mentioned above and reinstall it.

Or, the other option is that the internal storage has gone corrupt. That should have a fix too.
By enzyme Sun Jun 14, 2026 7:59 pm
I’m not sure that the OS controls the startup process, I think it’s the Linux side of things that handles that, and I can’t get it to go into update mode anyway, it just keeps resetting. Pretty lame that it can just suddenly do that with no warning or symptoms etc.

I’ll see what Akai support say when they get back to me, but I’m not holding my breath. Thanks for chiming in though, maybe there is a fix for it.
By J.O.BEATS Sun Jun 14, 2026 9:53 pm
Make sure you don’t have any drives attached (sd slot, usb etc).

This happened all the time to my One which is part of the reason I finally got rid of it
By dustyslices Mon Jun 15, 2026 8:46 am
your power button is pressed in / shorted imho
your mpc turns on as soon as you plug the power in which means that it detects power button being pressed in, after that after in about 15 secs (middle of the way of the boot screen time) it reboots because it detects the power button as being long held for soft reset :hmmm:
By B-Wise Mon Jun 15, 2026 9:14 am
dustyslices wrote:your power button is pressed in / shorted imho
your mpc turns on as soon as you plug the power in which means that it detects power button being pressed in, after that after in about 15 secs (middle of the way of the boot screen time) it reboots because it detects the power button as being long held for soft reset :hmmm:

This sounds like something Sherlock Holmes would had only figured out :lol:
Can it be fixed w/o sending it out?
By dustyslices Mon Jun 15, 2026 9:44 am
B-Wise wrote:Can it be fixed w/o sending it out?

put it in the rice overnight :lol:
but seriously, I would just flick it with my fingers several times, wiggle it or gently twist the cap to break off anythinig that potentially stuck inside and shorting it. If that won't help then mpc need to be disassembled and the switch have to be physically inspected. Problem is that it's just my guess based on symptomps and while for me it would steal extra 45 minutes of my life (measuring and going a step deeper into rabbit hole), i do understand not everyone is keen to go that far. :)
By B-Wise Mon Jun 15, 2026 10:00 am
dustyslices wrote:
B-Wise wrote:Can it be fixed w/o sending it out?

put it in the rice overnight :lol:
but seriously, I would just flick it with my fingers several times, wiggle it or gently twist the cap to break off anythinig that potentially stuck inside and shorting it. If that won't help then mpc need to be disassembled and the switch have to be physically inspected. Problem is that it's just my guess based on symptomps and while for me it would steal extra 45 minutes of my life (measuring and going a step deeper into rabbit hole), i do understand not everyone is keen to go that far. :)

Cool. I hope It's an easy fix.
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By mr_debauch Mon Jun 15, 2026 10:05 am
my live does some shit like that... haven't tried turning it on in quite some time.... the 60 boots perfectly though
By enzyme Mon Jun 15, 2026 11:02 am
dustyslices wrote:your power button is pressed in / shorted imho
your mpc turns on as soon as you plug the power in which means that it detects power button being pressed in, after that after in about 15 secs (middle of the way of the boot screen time) it reboots because it detects the power button as being long held for soft reset :hmmm:


Sounds like it could be, and makes sense. I’m not very confident with electronics repairs myself but I do have a friend that may be able to take a look. Problem is I’m stuck in the meantime, and you’re not 100% certain it’s that yourself. Thanks for the input, it’s a reasonable assumption that makes sense.

Edit: Just connected the Mpc to power, no issue. Turned it on normally and it booted fine, shut it down again and it went back to the same stuck boot cycle. At this point I’m ready to ditch it and just give up making music, I know that sounds dramatic but the Mpc is my primary tool, unfortunately I rely on it.
By B-Wise Mon Jun 15, 2026 6:48 pm
enzyme wrote:
Edit: Just connected the Mpc to power, no issue. Turned it on normally and it booted fine, shut it down again and it went back to the same stuck boot cycle. At this point I’m ready to ditch it and just give up making music, I know that sounds dramatic but the Mpc is my primary tool, unfortunately I rely on it.


I don't what else you got going on, but if your willing to give up making music over 1 easy to replace device, then maybe that's the best thing for you. Also, if your going to truly give & you most likely won't sale your MPC in that broken state, then you might as well open it up take Dustyslices advice & check that power button & whatever else.