Ouya Booting to Black After Latest Update

My Ouya updated last night and when turning it on again today it just goes to a black screen. When I tried restarting it, I heard the "OUYA" startup sound, but didn't see anything after that-- no load menu, nothing. Second time I tried restarting I didn't even get the OUYA startup sound. Attempting to turn on remote controls results in all four lights blinking and then going out after a few seconds. Checked the batteries in the remotes and they are working fine.

I also tried:
-Completely unplugging Ouya, leaving it unplugged, and then plugging back in after 30+ seconds
-Held and released power button with Ouya unplugged
-Made sure HDMI cord was plugged in properly and working with another device


I haven't rooted or even sideloaded any apps/games on my Ouya. I pre-ordered my Ouya when it first released and it's been working fine since I got it. Has anyone else experienced this, or have something else I can try?

Do you see the start up animation along with the sound?

I would try to boot to the recovery console and then sideload the latest version of the ROM onto the OUYA, you can find more information on this on the official ouya forum.

[ Recovery Mode ]

@DrunkPunk I didn't see the startup animation when I heard the noise. I looked away for a moment, but generally it lasts longer than that so I'm pretty sure the screen was blank.

@Eldon.McGuinness I followed the instructions given on that page (plugged in USB keyboard, held down sys rq + alt as I turned on the Ouya, then pressed I while holding those buttons down a few times. Instructions said recovery mode is sometimes a black screen, and I saw no change, so I pressed the home key per instructions) unfortunately absolutely nothing happened. The Ouya remained with a steady power light the entire time and the TV is getting visual feed from the Ouya, but it's just a blank screen.

When trying to boot into recovery I found it easiest to hold down sys + alt while continually taping I for about 45 seconds. Wait maybe 10 seconds after the last time pressing I, then press home. Sometimes if the timing is off it won't work so may take a few tries.

Edit: Another option is to connect it to a computer and use adb to reboot to recovery. You will need to have the adb drivers as well as adb installed. Basically connect to the computer using a micro USB cable. Let he OUYA boot. In device manager(on windows) if the drivers are installed it should show up at the top under android adb devices.

If it does, open a dos prompt and type
adb reboot recovery
If you didn't install adb system wide you will need to type it in the directory where adb.exe is. You can hold shift + right click and select open command prompt here in the folder where adb is.
This will reboot it into recovery.

As ajb999 said, try to hold Alt + sys/prtscn and then press and hold I for ~2 seconds at a time then let go of I and try it again, over and over until you see a "glitch" or flash in the screen. Pressing Home is also important every couple of times you do the Alt+sys+I as the Home button will make the recovery console actually display on the screen.

This process is very hit and miss so you may have to try a number of times to get it right.

Just on a bit of a side note, if you do not have adb installed on your system you can grab it by downloading ReRoot it has adb in the archive as well as the needed drivers. :D

By any chance when it was booting on a black screen was their a hint of a white logo or anything at the bottom middle of the screen? It would have been off screen and barely visible.

If so, I have seen this happen after loosing power and restarting during update. All I did to fix it was plug into an Ethernet cable and let it sit on the black screen until the download and updates completely finished (30-45 min roughly).

Thanks, all-- I will try those suggestions and get back to you. Hope you have a Happy New Year. :)

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Chii_Dev I didn't notice any hint of a logo, but I did look away for a moment so I might have missed it. After reading your post I did remember that I lost power the night Ouya was running updates-- I tried your solution and it's now working. Thanks all!

Glad to hear everything worked out! Case closed. :)