H150i Elite Capellix, iCUE 4, and the Firmware from Hell? (Hardware Lighting stuck at Static RED post 2.11.221 FW Update)

[IM0001]

Been searching for hours but can't find a direct issue/resolution to my issue so happened to do all the work myself today and wanted to post incase anyone else had the same issue, and/or Corsair Support would like to assist here.

Getting straight to the point. My H150i worked normally out of the box. (Originally bought in 2020 for a new build that never happened until now, but that's besides the point).

Rainbow Wave hardware colors, pump and fans worked normally, all was well.

Load up a fresh Win11 Pro OS to do tuning and fiddle with as with all new builds.

Install the latest iCUE 4 to fiddle with the RGB lighting and check temp control, fan curve, etc. Also I will eventually need it when I move to the new system as I have a NEXUS and it needs iCUE to be useful, Still...

 

Now we get to the start of my issues. 

iCUE 4 requires a FW update for my H150i. Ok Version 2.11.221. No Notes like usual but you can't do anything in iCUE 4 without it so update we go. Takes only a few seconds and everything is golden, right?

Everything seems to work normally in iCUE. RGB controls, fan/pump controls, etc.

It's when iCUE is closed that the problem shows itself.

Hardware colors DO NOT SAVE.

So anytime I close iCUE 4, on the 2.11.221 FW, All my LED's on the H150i cooler setup turn RED.

Not Flashing Red, the pump and fans all work normally luckily. But the lights just stay RED. 

Doesn't matter what you set it to, if you set a static color or anything, they just are RED.

Power Off, Reboot, RED if iCUE is not on.

You can use other apps to control the lighting. SignalRGB, OpenRGB, etc all work fine to control the lights as they are running. But when they are not, they are RED.

 

Frustrated and looking around for a few hours of troubleshooting, I figured giving old iCUE 3 a try. Grabbed the latest Legacy one on Corsair's Site.

Hey, It sees the H150i Elite Capellix just fine, My Nexus too (Forgot I used this with the Nexus early on).

See a feature that I still don't know why is not in iCUE 4+. "LIMITED SOFTWARE CONTROL" Why this button is gone in 4+ is beyond me because this would be fantastic to have when trying to use iCUE WITH literally any other RGB Software.

Sadly that does not fix my RED Light issue, but I wanted to point out that I would love that button back in iCUE 4 (Or literally any button to disable RGB Control through iCUE because, Corsair, nor ASUS, nor Anyone has any uniform RGB control that works worth a crap and the need of these apps to control ALL the bits of their branded hardware with terrible sharing ability, is really really irritating.

What I did Stumble Upon, was the Firmware Update Button in iCUE 3 that said I had the latest Firmware, but when I force Updated the Firmware, it installs 1.7.142.

And Guess What?

It Fixed my Hardware Lighting issue.

Now whatever I set it too, Rainbow Wave, Color Shift, Static Color, It All Just Works.

Now I have no idea what else has changed between FW 1.7.142 and 2.11.221, but since there are no release notes, and no download page to get previous FW files to try, I just did whatever I could before having to contact Corsair Support about the issue.

 

I do intend to reach out and see what they may offer for guidance here because if I reinstall iCUE 4, and Update the FW again, It breaks the Hardware Lighting once again and everything is just RED once more.

 

I do however also immensely love iCUE 3's design and layout and since it works with both my cooler and Nexus, there is zero reason I can see for me to use 4 due not only to this issue, but because it is just bloody terrible to use doing anything. (Why Why did they switch the design look to, whatever the new one is? Logitech did the same with their garbage G HUB and I don't even bother with profiles in it anymore because they too always just break, don't work, etc. Why do so many great hardware makers just keep shoving out these absolutely terrible hardware changes just for change sake. You had it solid and made it all worse. 

I know supporting an ever growing list of devices is both a lot of work and probably tough for some legacy systems, but man UI design is just regressing in so many places.

[Anko]

So currently you have the firmware version 2.11.221 ? (H150i Elite Capellix )

What are the other components of your PC?

[IM0001]

That is the FW that iCUE 4 wants me to have. I am currently running the FW included with iCUE 3 1.7.142 which has been working fine so far.

 

The rest is built around a fresh build on Win 11 Pro.

ASUS Crosshair HERO X670E

AMD 7950X3D

GSkill 64G 2X32G PC6000 DDR5

eVGA 3090 FTW3 Ultra

Phanteks P500A and Revolt X 1000W PSU

2 x SK Hynix P41 2TB nVME + 1 2TB 860 EVO

[Zoyi]

i have this same problem, my mouse and keyboard is all static red i just want to crush it in the floor.