I’m really disappointed with Sofar Solar right now.

FLAMPARD

I’m really disappointed with Sofar Solar right now.

My ME3000SP inverter was bricked by their own latest 3.60 firmware update — a firmware version that has known issues and has caused the same failure for other users. I contacted Sofar for help, but because my warranty expired in 2024, they’ve refused any support at all.

They told me the unit is “dead”, there’s “nothing they can do”, and that there is no repair centre in the UK. No recovery image, no technical guidance, nothing.

It’s frustrating that a company can release faulty firmware, cause a device to fail, and then completely dismiss the customer once the warranty period ends. People should be aware of how they handle situations like this.

If anyone else has had similar issues with Sofar firmware or has managed to get support after a failed update, I’d appreciate hearing your experience

Screwdriva

Sorry to hear that you've been put through this. You are not alone in your experience with Shenzhen SOFARSOLAR Co. Ltd. I hope you will share your experiences on Google/ Trustpilot and Social media to help others avoid these types of brands.

I have tried to help one other homeowner in a similar situation via an installer. In the end, they decided to send the inverter to the skip and purchased a Fronius unit. Hope you have better luck!

QrizB

There's a company called South West Renewables who sell on eBay and claim to repair inverters. They sell refurbished Sofar ME3000SPs. You could try dropping them a message to see if they could fix yours?

Edit to add: here is their website:

https://southwestrenewablesltd.co.uk/

I see they have a web form for enquiries about inverter repairs.

I have purchased kit from them in the past, but I've not asked them to repair anything.

Reed_Richards

Sofar, no good.

WIAWSNB

Is a legal claim not possible? If this is a known issue, and caused by their own firmware.

QrizB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81991986#Comment_81991986

It sounds to me as though the OP flashed the firmware themselves, so it's not at all clear whether Sofar are liable for the bricking.

If the OP did employ a third party to flash it, they should be claiming against that third party.

WIAWSNB

Ah, firmware as opposed to software?

I read in the Sofar instructions that updating the software by SD card is a DIYish task, but that should be safe?

QrizB

I read in the Sofar instructions that updating the software by SD card is a DIYish task, but that should be safe?

We don't know what the OP did, exactly, as they've not come back to provide additional information. They might just have wanted to vent. There are definitely things that can go wrong with a firmware upgrade and OP seems to have found that other people had problems; it's unfortunate that they didn't learn this before they tried their update.

The ME3000SP was launched in 2015 and, in Europe, came with a standard 5-year warranty that could be extended to 10 years. It seems the OP's inverter is from 2019, and the original purchaser (which might not be the OP, that's another unknown) chose not to extend it.

My ME3000SP is still on firmware version 2.70, as installed in April 2020, and I've not had any reason to change it. (My hardware version is 1.00 which means there might be other versions of the inverter.)

Note that OP was asking about microinverters a couple of months ago so they might be putting together a DIY PV system. I'm not going to criticise that but it does require you to know what you're doing and the buck stops with you if you mess it up.

FLAMPARD

All I did was download the firmware file from sofar. Then put it on the inverter sd card go into the menu and request software upgrade.

Easy I thought !

Following the instructions in the manual to precision

QrizB

Easy I thought !

Firmware updates are always risky. Anyone who tells you otherwise is mistaken.

Did you check the MD5 hash (or whatever other checksum Sofar provide) to make sure your file wasn't corrupt?

Reed_Richards

Firmware updates can be de-risked if there is a means of reverting to the previous version that can be activated whether or not the attempted update succeeded. I have encountered this facility with a computer BIOS but I don't think it is very common.