devices · HX Effects · reference · firmware and backups
firmware and backups
It does not delete your presets
Your own presets, setlists and IRs survive an update. The factory presets are a different story: see the next line.
It can change the factory presets
Line 6 tweak, replace and update the factory presets with most firmware releases. If you built on top of a factory preset without saving it to your own slot, that is the one that can move under you.
It can change how a preset sounds
Models get revised. A preset is a list of settings, not a recording, so a preset that used a revised model will sound like the new model afterwards. The release notes take two minutes to read.
Going backwards is a separate app
HX Edit's built-in updater only installs the latest. For an earlier firmware, or a computer with no internet, use Line 6 Central, a separate application.
Back up before you update
Do this first, every time, and it takes about a minute. A backup (.hxb) captures presets, setlists, IRs, Favorites, your custom model defaults and every global setting in one file.
- 01
save the preset you are on
Backups take every preset from its LAST SAVED state. An unsaved tweak is not in the backup. Press SAVE before you start, or the tweak is gone.
- 02
File > Create Backup
By default it lands in Documents > Line 6 > Tones > Helix > Backups, and you can title it and put it somewhere else. There is no limit on how many you keep, and old ones stay listed in the Restore window.
- 03
if you own anything from Marketplace, authorize the computer first
A backup containing Marketplace presets or IRs can only be created or restored from a computer in the Authorized state. Check the authorization before you need the restore.
- 04
know what an .hxb will and will not restore onto
A backup made from a Helix Floor, LT or Rack restores onto any of the three, so you can clone a rig onto a spare. It will not restore onto a different device type: a Helix backup does not restore onto an HX Stomp.
Doing the update
The whole thing happens inside HX Edit, and the order is not optional.
- 01
update HX Edit before the firmware
When both are available, only the app's Update Now button is clickable. The firmware button stays greyed out until the app has been updated and relaunched. That is by design, not a broken updater.
- 02
let it make its own backup too
The firmware updater prompts you to create a backup as its first step. Say yes even if you already made one. It costs nothing, and it is stamped with the moment before this specific update.
- 03
then leave it alone
Agree to the license, click Update, and let it run. It will tell you when it is done.
restoring factory presets wipes yours
Power off, hold footswitches 7 and 8 while powering on, and let go when "Will restore..." appears. This completely overwrites your own presets with the factory set. Back up first. To bring back only some of the factory setlists, use Restore From Backup in HX Edit and pick them.
presets do not always translate between devices
HX Edit will try to convert a preset from one device to another on import. It fails when the source used something the target does not have. A Helix preset containing an Amp block cannot become an HX Effects preset, because that device has no amp models. You get an error naming the missing capability, and the import is canceled.
old exports and new software do not mix
Presets exported under firmware and Helix Native 3.50 are not compatible with earlier versions of either. When you move tones between a hardware modeler and the plug-in, match the versions.