# Outbound Firmware Update & Monitor Mode (for LEDs) at the same time

**URL:** <https://discuss.blues.com/t/outbound-firmware-update-monitor-mode-for-leds-at-the-same-time/1651>\
**Category:** Troubleshooting\
**Created:** [September 8, 2023, 12:42pm UTC](https://discuss.blues.com/t/outbound-firmware-update-monitor-mode-for-leds-at-the-same-time/1651 "2023-09-08T12:42:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tsuzenski](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discuss.blues.com/tsuzenski/32/847_2.png) [@tsuzenski](https://discuss.blues.com/u/tsuzenski)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2023, 12:42pm UTC](https://discuss.blues.com/t/outbound-firmware-update-monitor-mode-for-leds-at-the-same-time/1651/1 "2023-09-08T12:42:16Z")

</div>

Hi,

I figure that I cannot use outbound host firmware update and monitor mode (to enable external LEDs) at the same time, but would like to verify that here. I had been successfully performing OTA host firmware updates, but after adding monitor mode to my code (and uploading via USB), I get the following error when trying another subsequent OTA host firmware update:

> DFU of host firmware aborted: cannot update host: outboard DFU using AUX pins requires using a supported card.aux mode such as ‘dfu’

Snippet added to the setup of my code causing the firmware update abortion:

```auto
  req = NoteNewRequest("card.aux");
  JAddStringToObject(req, "mode", "monitor");

  NoteRequest(req);

```

Snippet I had been using for OTA host updates:

```auto
req = notecard.newRequest("card.dfu");
  if (req != NULL) {
    JAddStringToObject(req, "name", "stm32");
    JAddBoolToObject(req, "on", true);
    notecard.sendRequest(req);
  }

  req = notecard.newRequest("dfu.status");
  if (req != NULL) {
    JAddStringToObject(req, "version", firmwareVersion());
    notecard.sendRequest(req);
  }

```

**I am using the Notecarrier-F** with the swan, and I recognize that if I had a different notecarrier, I would need to use the aux2-4 pins for the required wiring.

Is there any way I can still accomplish using monitor mode for external LEDs while still being able to perform OTA host firmware updates? Or should I avoid monitor mode and make the requests on my MCU to set LED colors based on the notecard response?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![zfields](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discuss.blues.com/zfields/32/29_2.png) [@zfields](https://discuss.blues.com/u/zfields)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://discuss.blues.com/t/outbound-firmware-update-monitor-mode-for-leds-at-the-same-time/1651/2 "2023-09-11T15:58:13Z")

</div>

Hi @tsuzenski,

Good news! You are correct that Outboard DFU does conflict with `monitor` mode, but we have a similar and compatible mode, `neo-monitor`.

Instead of having multiple LEDs hooked to the AUX pins, you can use a strip of neo-pixels (ranging from 1-5 in length) to display the status.

This should help you get back on track!

Cheers,  
Zak