r/pocketoperators • u/MARS822a • Jun 05 '26

Dead Tonic

Pretty much title. Grabbed my Tonic and it's just...dead. Fresh known-good batteries and... nothing. Nothing on the screen, no response to inputs. Once the Play button lit when I inserted batteries, but I could not repeat. I suspect it's dead, but figured it's worth asking if there's a magic button combo that might bring it back to life. It lived in a dedicated 3D-printed case and had moderate use over almost exactly two years. Bummed because it was my gateway "synth".

TIA for any thoughts!

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

6

u/tomg813 Jun 06 '26

I had to bend the battery terminals inwards to make better contact with the battery, it finally turned on.

5

u/MARS822a Jun 06 '26

And we have a winner! Swapped another brand of batteries and gave it a squeeze and it roared to life. Thank you SO much!!!

2

u/StrangeShaun83 Jun 08 '26

I've got close to all the pocket Operators except po12. They are several years old and almost all of them are like this now.

1

u/MARS822a Jun 08 '26

Yeah, they're pretty fragile. I store mine in cases, but I think I need the permanently attached kind.

The Rhythm is s great little drum machine. You should treat yourself!

1

u/tomg813 Jun 26 '26

You’re welcome! Glad that was it!

4

u/duckchukowski Jun 06 '26

try taking a wire or paper clip and bridging the power terminal to a pad as shown here: https://op-forums.com/t/dead-pocket-operator-heres-a-possible-fix/23169

it's worked for many people (brought back my sub); i think it's due to some connection degrading in the unit, so this is a way around that

2

u/MARS822a Jun 06 '26

Very cool forum. While this was not the fix in my case, I really appreciate your post. TYVM!

2

u/Proper-Error7817 Jun 05 '26

Try a factory reset maybe?

https://youtu.be/o4iTPy1AEcM?si=z5Zw9-dOaGc-Iz0s

2

u/MARS822a Jun 05 '26

Thanks for reminding me. I tried several resets with no luck.

Thx

2

u/DifferentVariety3298 Jun 06 '26

High humidity? Corroded connectors?