MacGary

Hi, I have encountered this issue today, after more than 4,5k km flawless riding on my Ninebot mini that I own for 5 years now (last 3 of which on first version swallowbot and then extreme MRN76 firmwares). The same route I was doing thousand times with no apparent reason. Luckily I was familiar with this thread on forum, so I have always had it somewhere in the back of my head and this probably saved me today. I have been always trying to stay focus while riding this equipment just in case. Never thought though that this will actually happen to my unit, until today. I was riding approx. 18kmph, so far from max speed (that is around 25kmph with the firmware I have) while this happened on rather even and flat pavement with no bumbs. Still consequences, if I have not managed to stay on my feet, would have been severe. It is something really dangerous. I guess after all those years there is still no conclusive answer to the underlying problem and the root cause of this issue, or maybe there is?

Real life example of Extreme firmware capabilities by @MRN76. Today I did extensive ride through the capital of Poland (north to south, mostly on bike pathways). Within an exactly hour of not stepping off my Ninebot mini I was able to ride 18,2km. So it is perfectly safe to say you can have AVERAGE of 18kmph with all the red lights and waiting and trafic in between with MAX real speed (all measured via GPS not the Ninebot app) of 24,5kmph. At the end there were still two bars of charge.

Yes, I have done it remotely via an App (.apk). The update process is also described in the original link I provided earlier.

1.4.0 - was the worst one 1.3.1 - haven't tried this one (but as far as I know original Swallowbot mod was based on this version) 1.1.7 - much smoother pushback while reaching max speed. Lot less beeping than on 1.4.0 and better climbing uphills. Was able to ride close to 17-18km/h at full charge. Swallowbot - definitely better max speed than on 1.1.7 also was able to reach and sustain close to max limit 22-23km/h at full charge. Worse behavior while going uphills than on 1.1.7. MRN76: 7.6.5 (Extreme) - still too short to tell. I have spent 15-20 minutes on it but definitely I feel more power. Was a little afraid to push hard to go beyond 25 km/h to check how the limiting works but it starts just after 25km/h. Feels great while reaching high speed (accelerating) and going uphills. My feeling is that also braking improved (was able to brake fast from high speed) but again it is to early to tell for sure.

It is in both scenarios you mentioned much more abrupt, so you definitely need to be extra careful. But the most interesting part is that you realy feel power increase (especially while going uphills). I have tried every major firmware before (ie. 1.1.7, 1.4.0, Swallowbot) on the same machine, so I have quite good comparison how each behaved and their differences.

Thanks to @MRN76 I am already on ver. 7.6.5 extreme firmware he mentioned - Brilliant Update! Hudge difference between 'old' Swallowbot and this new firmware. All the info here: http://mrn76.ru/index.php/ninetool/nenetoolminipro (use Google translate in the browser to get the sense)

I wrote a message to that seller asking what kind of modification is it, and got below response: 'Hi, no it’s not ‘swallowbot’, it’s just a speed limiter modified to 25km/h.' Very interesting that somebody else was able to modify this firmware as well.

I found this on eBay (UK seller). Is somebody giving higher max speed than Swallowbot firmware??? This is over 25km/h limit presented on the screenshot there, while you can only have 23km/h in Swallowbot (more only combined with the hi-profile tires, which is not presented in the app) https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F163841844052

@FreeRide It's funny with those tires from AliExpress they sent me them in separate packages and one arrived the other is having some de-tours, so I am unable to do anything more having only one. Anyway I was testing the upgraded with Swallowbot Ninebot mini (N3M240) to check the actual range to see how the increased speed afects battery comsumptuon. Before that I was realy able to do 21-22km on a full charge (I weigh 62kg). Now with the Swallowbot I went once 16km non-stop from my home to work and there was just 0,5km left when I arrived. The unit however, after being turned off for 8h with no charging, showed 23% charge when I turned it on while leaving the office (which I found wierd...), so I decided to continue my examination and went around 1km to underground and than 1,5 from underground to my home and still there were few drops of juce in the battery when I was back.

That's the official way... And here is the tool sold separately: https://banggood.app.link/NiazD8H06Y The tool is for both Ninebots - mini and miniPro.

The board with flashed Swallowbot firmware returned! This is insane ...still waiting for high-profile tires but even 23 kmph makes huge difference.

Only for the brave. Russian Hack for the Mini Pro I cannot access it now... - in fact the whole Commercial section seems to be gone.

@oceanic_123 I have sent them my board beginning of July from Poland with simple post letter option - but with very good packaging. It was like 35 PLN (~10 USD) plus 2500 RUB (~40 USD) for firmware flash service and 1200 RUB (~20 USD) for return way. So not more than 80 USD total. It is now on a way back tour with tracking info, its just much slower than DHL/Fedex priority shipping. If you are willing to sacifice time it is far less than you have mentioned. It should be back in a couple of days plus High-profile tires from China that are on the way as well and soon I am hoping to upgrade my Ninebot mini to 25 kmph. Will post how the full upgrade went.

After 1,5 year and more than 1500km on 1.4.0 and almost lost of hope I have finally been able to try this widely recommended 1.1.7 on my mini. Feels completely different without all those speed penalties, much smoother pushback, not mentioning uphills. Thank You!! @MRN76 Still the imposed max speed cap is frustrating so hoping this will be a step to provide Swallowbot firmware the same way soon... as you do with modifications for one-wheelers. Valounteering to test and pay whatever reasonably necessary if ever possible.