Antminer S17+ Maintenance & Repair Guide

Introduction: The S17+ — Bitmain’s Attempted Redemption

The Bitmain Antminer S17+ landed in late 2019 as Bitmain’s answer to the storm of criticism that followed the original S17 launch. The S17 had been an embarrassment for the company — heatsink delamination, catastrophic thermal paste failures, hashboard deaths measured in months rather than years. The S17+ was supposed to fix all of that. Better thermal paste. Optimized BM1397 chips. Higher clock frequencies pushing the machine to 73 TH/s from a unit drawing roughly 2920W. On paper, it was everything the S17 should have been from day one.

Did it deliver? Partially. The S17+ did ship with genuinely improved thermal interface material that held up significantly better than the original S17’s adhesive. The optimized BM1397 silicon ran more efficiently at the higher clock speeds. Hashboard connector reliability improved. For miners who received good units from the initial production batches, the S17+ was a meaningful upgrade. But here is the reality check: “better than the S17” is a low bar. The fundamental 17-series architecture — individual heatsinks bonded to chips with thermal adhesive, aggressive power density, marginal thermal headroom — remained. The S17+ reduced the failure rate; it did not eliminate the failure modes. Every weakness that plagued the S17 still exists in the S17+, just attenuated.

At D-Central Technologies, we have repaired hundreds of S17+ units at our facility in Laval, Quebec since the machine’s release. We have seen the full spectrum: units that ran flawlessly for years because their operators maintained them properly, and units that arrived at our bench as thermal casualties after six months of neglect. The S17+ is a machine that rewards attention and punishes complacency. If you keep it cool, keep it clean, and address early warning signs immediately, it will hash reliably. If you treat it like a set-and-forget appliance, it will teach you an expensive lesson about thermodynamics.

This guide is the distillation of our hands-on experience with the S17+ platform. We cover routine maintenance schedules, diagnostic procedures, component-level troubleshooting, common repair workflows, firmware management, and the honest assessment of when a repair makes economic sense versus when the machine has given everything it has. The S17+ sits in an interesting position for home miners in 2025: its power consumption makes it an excellent candidate for space heater conversions, and its hash rate is still meaningful for miners who prioritize heat recovery over pure profitability metrics.

Every S17+ you keep hashing is another node of decentralization on the Bitcoin network. Let us make sure yours keeps running.

Technical Specifications

These specifications are your diagnostic baseline. Every voltage measurement, every temperature reading, every chip count you encounter during maintenance gets compared against these numbers. Memorize the ones that matter most: 65 chips per hashboard, ~1.5V per voltage domain, and 73 TH/s at the wall. If your readings deviate from these baselines, something needs attention.

Before You Begin

Safety Warnings

Additional safety notes specific to the S17+ platform:

• Polarity is non-negotiable. When testing hashboards with a variable DC power supply at 21V, connecting with reversed polarity will instantly destroy the U6 boost converter chip and potentially cascade damage to the LDO regulators. Always connect the negative pole first, then the positive. Verify polarity with your multimeter before energizing. This applies to every single test session — no exceptions.
• Never run the S17+ with any fans disconnected. The 17-series thermal management is marginal even under ideal conditions. At 2920W, the S17+ has even less thermal headroom than the original S17. A missing or failed fan will cause permanent hashboard damage within minutes, not hours.
• Never stack miners or block airflow. The S17+ requires unobstructed front-to-rear airflow. Leave at least 15 cm clearance on both intake and exhaust sides. In a space heater enclosure, ensure the ductwork provides equivalent or better airflow than open-air operation.
• The S17+ requires 220–240V. The APW9+ PSU does not support 120V North American outlets without a step-up transformer. In Canada or the US, you need a dedicated 240V circuit (NEMA 6-20 or L6-30) or a step-up transformer rated for at least 3500W continuous to accommodate the S17+’s higher power draw.
• Dedicated circuit required. The S17+ draws approximately 13A at 240V. A dedicated 240V/20A circuit is the minimum. Do not share this circuit with other high-draw equipment. In Canada, check your provincial electrical code requirements before installation.
• Keep your maintenance area clean and insulated. During measurement and repair, the steel windshield should be under 21V voltage. Use an insulated work surface to prevent short circuits. A single dropped screw on an energized hashboard can cause catastrophic damage.

Routine Maintenance

The S17+ inherited the fundamental architecture of the 17-series: individual aluminum heatsinks bonded to the copper-topped BM1397 chips via thermal adhesive. While Bitmain improved the thermal paste formulation for the S17+, the underlying design — and its inherent vulnerability to thermal degradation over time — did not change. The S17+ buys you more time before problems develop, but it does not eliminate the need for proactive maintenance.

Perform these procedures every 90 days at minimum. In dusty environments, high-humidity locations, or if the miner is in a space heater enclosure, increase to every 60 days. At 2920W, the S17+ pushes more heat through its heatsinks than the original S17, which means thermal paste degradation, dust accumulation, and fan wear all progress faster under the same environmental conditions.

Visual Inspection

Power down and unplug the miner completely. Remove the top cover (4 Phillips screws). With a good flashlight, systematically inspect every component:

1. Heatsinks — the most critical check on any 17-series machine. Each heatsink is bonded to its chip’s copper top with thermal adhesive. When this adhesive fails, the heatsink lifts off. A detached heatsink means the chip below it has lost all thermal dissipation. Worse, a loose heatsink can shift and short-circuit adjacent PCB components, triggering cascading damage. The S17+’s improved thermal paste holds up better than the original S17’s, but it still degrades over time, especially under the higher thermal load. Look for heatsinks that have shifted, tilted, or detached from the hashboard surface. Any movement is cause for immediate action.
2. Burn marks or discoloration. Inspect the PCB surface carefully, paying special attention to:
   • The area around the MOS transistors (power regulation circuit)
   • The U6 boost converter area
   • The power input connectors and surrounding capacitors
   • The backside of the hashboard around the LDO and DCDC converter chips
   Darkening or yellowing indicates chronic overheating. Brown or black spots indicate component failure that has likely spread to adjacent parts.
3. Capacitor condition. Check the solid capacitors on each hashboard. Look for swelling, cracking, leakage, or discoloration. A bulging capacitor must be replaced immediately — it can rupture under load and cause a short circuit.
4. Flat cable connectors. The 18-pin ribbon cables connecting hashboards to the control board are a chronic failure point on the entire 17-series. The S17+ has slightly improved connectors, but they still require attention. Check that each connector is fully seated, not bent, and shows no signs of oxidation, corrosion, or heat damage on the pins. Even slight connector issues cause intermittent hashboard detection failures.
5. Fan blades. Check for cracked, chipped, or warped fan blades. Spin each fan by hand — it should rotate freely with minimal resistance and no grinding or clicking noise. The S17+ uses four fans, so check all four.
6. Crystal oscillator (Y1). The 25MHz crystal oscillator generates the CLK signal for all 65 chips. Visually inspect it for cracks or solder joint degradation. A failed crystal means zero chips detected on the entire hashboard.
7. Dust accumulation. Note the overall dust level. Heavy dust on heatsinks is an immediate indicator that you are not cleaning frequently enough. Dust acts as thermal insulation, trapping heat exactly where you need it dissipated.

Cleaning Procedure

Dust is the enemy of every ASIC miner, but the 17-series is especially vulnerable. The individual heatsink design creates more surface area for dust accumulation, and the S17+’s higher heat output means dust-related thermal degradation hits harder.

1. Remove the miner from any enclosure or rack. Work in a well-ventilated area, preferably outdoors or in a space where airborne dust will not settle on other equipment.
2. Remove all four fans. Each fan is held by screws. Set them aside for separate cleaning.
3. Remove the hashboards (optional but recommended for thorough cleaning). Disconnect the 18-pin flat cables from the control board first, then unscrew the hashboard mounting screws. Slide each board out carefully. Note the orientation and slot position.
4. Blow out dust with compressed air. Use short, controlled bursts at an angle. Never blast perpendicular to the PCB surface. Work systematically:
   • Between heatsink fins (where dust packs tightest and thermal impact is greatest)
   • Around the flat cable connector area on both the hashboard and control board
   • The control board itself, especially the Ethernet port area
   • The PSU connector area and power input region inside the chassis
   • The backside of each hashboard around the LDO, DCDC, and temperature sensor components
   • Around the Y1 crystal oscillator and U6 boost converter area
5. Clean fan blades with isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free cloth. Remove packed dust from the hub area and between the blade roots.
6. Clean flux residue if visible. Use a lead-free circuit board cleaner (Mechanic brand or equivalent) to clean any flux residue left from previous repairs or from the factory. Flux residue can become conductive over time and cause intermittent shorts.
7. Inspect the chassis for debris, insects, moisture, or corrosion.
8. Reassemble in reverse order. Ensure flat cables are fully seated — push them in firmly until you feel a definitive click. Half-seated connectors are the single most common cause of “missing hashboard” errors on 17-series machines.

Thermal Paste & Thermal Interface Replacement

The S17+ shipped with improved thermal paste compared to the original S17 — this is one of the genuine improvements Bitmain made. The paste holds up better under thermal cycling and maintains its conductivity and adhesion for longer. However, “longer” does not mean “forever.” Under the S17+’s higher thermal load (2920W generating significant heat across 65 chips per hashboard), even the improved paste will degrade over time, typically showing measurable degradation after 12–18 months of continuous operation.

If you are removing heatsinks for any reason (replacing a failed chip, upgrading to bolt-on heatsinks, or addressing delamination), follow this procedure:

1. Remove the heatsink. If the heatsink is already delaminated, it lifts off with minimal effort. If still partially bonded, use a hot air station set to ~200°C to soften the adhesive. Apply heat for 30–60 seconds, then gently twist (never pry straight up). Prying vertically risks lifting PCB pads, turning a simple repair into a board-level rebuild.
2. Clean old thermal material. Use 99% isopropyl alcohol and lint-free wipes to remove all residue from both the chip copper top and the heatsink base. The surfaces should be reflective-clean. Any residual adhesive creates an uneven thermal interface.
3. Inspect the chip copper top. This is critical on the S17+ because the optimized BM1397 chips are pushed to higher frequencies:
   • Oxidation: The copper top should be shiny and uniform. Green patina or dark discoloration means oxidation from prolonged thermal contact loss. Light oxidation can be cleaned with alcohol and a soft eraser. Heavy oxidation suggests the chip has been running without proper cooling and may be degraded.
   • Copper top delamination: The copper slug soldered on top of the silicon die can separate from the die itself. This is terminal — the chip must be replaced.
   • Solder joint quality: Examine solder connections around the chip perimeter. Cold joints (dull, rough) or cracked solder indicate thermal stress damage.
4. Apply fresh thermal paste. Use a high-quality paste with >8 W/mK thermal conductivity (MX-4, Noctua NT-H1, or equivalent). Apply a thin, even layer to the chip copper top. A rice-grain amount spread to cover the contact area is sufficient. Excess paste squeezing out the sides can short adjacent SMD components.
5. Reinstall or upgrade heatsinks. If reinstalling factory heatsinks, press down firmly and evenly. If upgrading to all-in-one bolt-on heatsinks, follow the manufacturer’s torque specifications — overtightening cracks the PCB, undertightening means insufficient thermal contact.

Fan Maintenance

The S17+ uses four cooling fans running at high speed under full load. At 2920W, the S17+ generates substantial heat, making fan health absolutely critical. A degrading fan on the S17+ causes faster thermal throttling than on lower-power 17-series models.

Fan maintenance steps:

1. Check RPM readings in the miner dashboard or via SSH. All four fans should report within 10% of each other. A fan reporting significantly lower RPM than its partners is in decline. The S17+ firmware triggers a warning at approximately 2000 RPM and may shut down below that threshold to protect the hashboards.
2. Listen for bearing noise. Power on the miner with the cover off and listen to each fan individually. Healthy fans produce a consistent airflow sound. Grinding, clicking, ticking, or intermittent speed changes indicate bearing failure. On the 17-series, fan bearing failures are common after 12–18 months of continuous operation.
3. Clean fan intake grilles. If you are using dust filters (recommended), clean or replace them monthly. A clogged filter restricts airflow and forces fans to compensate by spinning harder, accelerating bearing wear.
4. Replace fans proactively. If a fan is older than 18 months and you hear any bearing noise, replace it before it fails completely. A cheap fan replacement prevents a very expensive hashboard failure from overheating. Replace all fans of the same age simultaneously — if one is worn, the others are typically close behind.

Understanding the S17+ Hashboard

Before diving into diagnostics and repair, you need to understand how the S17+ hashboard is structured. This knowledge is essential for interpreting error codes, tracing signal paths, and isolating faults.

Hashboard Architecture

Each S17+ hashboard contains 65 BM1397 chips arranged in 13 groups of 5 ICs. This is a significant departure from the original S17, which used 30 chips in 10 groups of 3. The higher chip count allows the S17+ to achieve its 73 TH/s target while keeping per-chip power relatively manageable.

The power delivery architecture works as follows:

• The power supply delivers 21V to the hashboard through the power input connector.
• The U6 boost circuit steps up 21V to 24.5V.
• The 24.5V boost output powers the LDO regulators, which output 1.8V.
• The last third and third groups of chips are powered by 24.5V DCDC converters outputting 1.8V.
• All other groups are powered by the 21V input through DCDC converters outputting 1.8V.
• A 0.8V PLL rail is derived from the 1.8V domain via an LDO for each group.
• Each voltage domain operates at approximately 1.5V across the ASIC chips.

Signal Paths & Direction

Understanding signal direction is critical for fault isolation. When a chip fails or a signal path breaks, knowing which direction signals flow tells you exactly which chip to look at.

Physical Structure

The complete S17+ miner consists of:

• Three hashboards — each with 65 BM1397 chips, double-sided heatsinks, and power/signal connectors
• One control board — Xilinx Zynq-based, C52 variant, managing all three hashboards
• APW9+ power supply — providing the 21V DC bus and fan power
• Four cooling fans — creating the front-to-rear airflow tunnel
• Metal chassis — forming the airflow channel and providing structural support

The three hashboards must be installed together to form proper air ducts. Even when testing a single hashboard, you need to create an airflow channel (using the chassis with all three boards or simulating the duct) to prevent localized overheating during any test that runs the chips under load.

Diagnostics & Troubleshooting

When your S17+ starts acting up — reduced hashrate, missing chips, hashboard not detected, temperature warnings — systematic diagnostics are how you find the problem without wasting time or money replacing parts that are perfectly fine. Start with software diagnostics (they are free and non-invasive), then move to hardware measurements if the software points to a specific issue.

Web Dashboard Checks

Access your S17+’s web interface by navigating to its IP address in a browser (default credentials: root/root if unchanged). The dashboard provides your first diagnostic data:

• Miner Status page: Check that all three hashboards show 65 chips each. Any chain showing fewer than 65 chips has a problem.
• Real-time hashrate: Should be approximately 73 TH/s total (±5%). Consistently lower hashrate with full chip count suggests thermal throttling or frequency reduction.
• Fan speeds: All four fans should show similar RPM. Significant discrepancy means a fan is failing.
• PCB temperature: Should stay below 85°C under normal conditions. Readings approaching 90°C will trigger thermal shutdown.
• Chip temperature: Individual chip temperatures above 105°C indicate localized cooling failure (delaminated heatsink on that chip).
• Hardware error rate (HW): Some hardware errors are normal. An HW rate above 1% of total shares indicates a problem that needs investigation.

SSH Diagnostic Commands

SSH into the miner for deeper diagnostics. The S17+ runs a Linux-based firmware accessible via SSH.

ssh root@<MINER_IP>
# Default password: root (change this immediately)

# View real-time mining log for chip count and errors
cat /tmp/log/miner.log | tail -100

# Check chain status (should show 3 chains, 65 chips each)
cat /tmp/log/miner.log | grep "chain"

# View fan speeds
cat /tmp/log/miner.log | grep -i "fan"

# Check temperature readings
cat /tmp/log/miner.log | grep -i "temp"

# View hardware errors
cat /tmp/log/miner.log | grep -i "hw|error|fail"

# Check network connectivity
ping -c 4 8.8.8.8

# View system uptime and load
uptime

# Check firmware version
cat /usr/bin/compile_time

# Check IP configuration
ifconfig eth0

# Test mining pool connectivity
ping -c 4 stratum.slushpool.com

# Check DNS resolution
nslookup pool.braiins.com

# View active network connections
netstat -an | grep ESTABLISHED

LED Indicators

The S17+ control board has diagnostic LEDs that provide quick status information:

• Green LED solid — Normal operation, miner is hashing.
• Green LED blinking — Miner is booting or initializing hashboards.
• Red LED solid — Hardware fault detected. Check the web interface for specific error details.
• Red LED blinking — Temperature alarm or fan failure. The miner may have throttled or shut down hashboards to prevent damage.
• No LED — Control board has no power. Check PSU connections and PSU output voltage.

Common Error Codes & Their Meanings

Hashboard Testing with External Tester

For definitive hashboard diagnostics, nothing beats a dedicated hashboard tester. The tester powers the board independently and runs chip detection outside the miner chassis, eliminating the control board and PSU as variables.

For the S17+, you need:

• ARC Kit: ARC Antminer Hashboard Tester + Lab PSU set to 10–30V / 1–15A (set to 21V for S17+ boards).
• Bitmain Kit: APW9+ power supply with power patch cord + V2.3 control board test fixture (material number ZJ0001000001).

The tester will report the exact chip count detected and identify which chip positions are failing. This gives you a precise target for physical repair. The S17+ should report 65/65 chips on a healthy board.

Common Repairs

This section covers the repairs we perform most frequently on S17+ units at D-Central. These are ranked roughly by frequency — you will encounter heatsink and thermal issues far more often than control board failures. For all repairs involving chip-level work, ensure you have the prerequisites listed in the “Before You Begin” section and are working in an ESD-safe environment.

Repair: Hashboard Detecting Zero Chips

This is the most alarming fault on the S17+: the miner reports that an entire hashboard has 0 chips detected. Before you assume the worst, work through this systematic troubleshooting sequence. In our experience, more than half of “zero chip” cases are resolved by Steps 1–3.

Step 1: Check the physical connections.

• Remove and firmly reseat the 18-pin flat cable on both the hashboard and control board ends. Ensure the retention clips engage fully.
• Inspect the cable itself for damage — bent pins, cracked insulation, corrosion.
• Try the cable from a known-working hashboard to rule out cable failure.
• Verify the power connector is fully seated.

Step 2: Check power supply output.

• Measure the voltage at the hashboard power input connector. It should read approximately 21V.
• If no voltage is present, the problem is upstream (PSU or power distribution wiring).
• If voltage is present, proceed to the boost circuit.

Step 3: Check the U6 boost circuit output.

• Measure the output at test points D5/D8. Should read 23–24.5V.
• If the boost output is absent or low, the U6 boost converter or its supporting components (inductors, capacitors, diodes) have failed. This is a repairable fault but requires soldering skills.
• If boost output is correct, proceed to domain voltage checks.

Step 4: Check voltage domain outputs.

• Measure the voltage across each domain. Should be approximately ~1.6V (slightly above the 1.5V nominal due to no-load condition during testing).
• If no domain voltage despite 21V input, check whether the MOS transistors are shorted by measuring resistance between pins 1, 4, and 8.
• If some domains have voltage and others do not, the fault is in the specific non-functioning domain’s DCDC/LDO converter or a shorted chip within that domain.

Step 5: Check the PIC circuit.

• Measure pin 2 of U3 (PIC). Should output approximately 3.2V.
• If no output: check the test fixture cable connection, then reprogram the PIC.
• If PIC output is correct, the communication path is intact up to the first chip.

Step 6: Check signal outputs (CLK/CI/RI/BO/RST).

• Refer to the signal path reference table above for expected voltages.
• Measure each signal at chip 01. If signals are absent at chip 01, the problem is in the level conversion circuitry (U1/U2) or the crystal oscillator (Y1).
• If signals are present at chip 01 but the chain is still not detected, the first chip itself may be damaged.

Step 7: Check LDO 1.8V and PLL 0.8V outputs for each group.

• Measure the 1.8V and 0.8V rails at each chip group. A missing rail indicates a failed LDO or the chip in that group creating a short circuit on the rail.

Repair: Incomplete Chip Detection

When the S17+ detects some chips but not all 65, a chip in the chain has either failed or lost its signal path. The key to efficient repair is isolating which chip is the culprit without checking all 65 individually.

The Dichotomy (Binary Search) Method:

This is the standard approach used by professional ASIC repair technicians, and it is the method we use at D-Central:

1. Note the error position from the tester or miner log. The log will indicate approximately which chip position is failing.
2. Check the signal voltages (CLK/CI/RI/BO/RST) at the chip before and after the reported error position. The chip where signal levels deviate from normal is your target.
3. If the tester reports a specific number of chips detected (e.g., 64 out of 65):
   • Short the RO pull-up resistor R639. If 64 chips are detected after shorting, chips 1–64 are healthy and chip 65 is the problem.
   • If 63 chips are detected after shorting, the problem is further up the chain.
4. Use the binary search approach: start from the middle (chip 32 or 33) and test each half. Split the halves again until you isolate the defective chip. With 65 chips, you can isolate any single fault in 6–7 measurements.
5. Once the faulty chip is identified, check its solder joints first (re-soldering fixes roughly 40% of chip faults). If re-soldering does not fix it, replace the chip.

Repair: BM1397 Chip Replacement

When a BM1397 chip has been positively identified as defective and re-soldering does not resolve the issue, the chip must be replaced. This is an advanced repair requiring BGA rework experience.

1. Remove the heatsink from the defective chip using a hot air station at ~200°C.
2. Remove the defective chip. Apply flux around the chip perimeter. Heat with hot air at 350–360°C until the solder melts. Lift the chip carefully with ESD-safe tweezers. Do not apply lateral force — this can tear PCB pads.
3. Clean the pad area. Use desoldering wick and flux to remove residual solder. Clean with isopropyl alcohol. Inspect the pads under magnification for damage.
4. Prepare the replacement chip. The BM1397AD-AI chips from D-Central come pre-tinned. If using bare chips, tin the pins and the BSM (back-side metal) surface using solder paste and the tin-planting steel mesh before soldering to the board.
5. Place and solder the new chip. Apply solder paste to the PCB pads. Place the new chip with correct orientation (match the pin 1 indicator). Reflow using hot air at 350–360°C. Monitor carefully — the BGA balls will self-align when the solder melts.
6. Clean flux residue. Use lead-free circuit board cleaner to remove all flux residue around the new chip and nearby components.
7. Check for shorts. Before powering up, use your multimeter in continuity mode to verify no adjacent pins are bridged.
8. Apply thermal paste to the chip surface and reinstall the heatsink.
9. Test the board. The repaired board must pass the hashboard tester at least twice before being considered good. After the first pass, let the board cool completely, then test again.

Repair: Incomplete Nonce Data (Pattern NG)

When the hashboard detects all 65 chips but the nonce response data is incomplete (PT2 test station failure), specific chips are failing to return valid hashing results even though they are communicating on the signal chain.

1. Connect a serial port to the hashboard and read the test log.
2. The log will display which chip positions are returning insufficient nonce data.
3. For each identified chip position:
   • First, re-solder the chip (apply flux, reflow at 350–360°C). This resolves the majority of nonce failures caused by degraded solder joints.
   • If re-soldering does not fix the nonce issue, the chip’s internal hashing circuits are damaged. Replace the chip.
4. After repair, run the full PT2 test sequence to verify all chip positions return complete nonce data.

Repair: Abnormal Temperature Readings

The S17+ uses T451 temperature sensors connected to specific chips for thermal monitoring. Abnormal temperature readings can indicate sensor failure, poor thermal contact, or actual overheating.

1. Check the temperature-sensing power supply (VDD). Ensure the VDD rail powering the temperature sensor is stable.
2. Check connections between the sensor and chip (TEMP_P and TEMP_N signals). Verify continuity and proper solder joint quality.
3. Inspect heatsink quality on the sensor-connected chip. Poor heatsink bonding (delamination) on the chip connected to the temperature sensor will cause that sensor to report abnormally high temperatures. This is actually accurate — the chip IS too hot because its heatsink has failed. Fix the heatsink, and the reading normalizes.
4. Check both sides. The S17+ uses double-sided heatsinks. Verify heatsink quality on both the front and back of the hashboard. Poor soldering on either side impacts the temperature reading.

Repair: Fan Replacement

Fan replacement on the S17+ is straightforward. The miner uses standard connectors and common fan sizes.

1. Power down the miner completely and disconnect AC power.
2. Disconnect the fan cable from the control board header. Note which header each fan is connected to.
3. Remove the 4 mounting screws holding the fan to the chassis.
4. Install the new fan with the correct airflow direction (arrow on fan housing indicates direction). The S17+ uses a front-intake, rear-exhaust configuration.
5. Secure with mounting screws and reconnect the cable.
6. Power on and verify the new fan reports normal RPM in the dashboard.

Repair: Power Supply Issues

The S17+ is designed for the APW9+ power supply. Power-related issues often manifest as hashboard failures because unstable input voltage stresses the boost circuits and ASIC chips.

Common APW9+ issues and checks:

• PSU not starting: Verify AC input voltage is 200–240V. The APW9+ will not start on 120V. Check the AC cable and wall outlet. Listen for the PSU fan — if it briefly spins and stops, the PSU’s over-current or over-temperature protection may be tripping.
• Voltage instability: Measure the DC output with a multimeter while the miner is running. It should be stable at approximately 21V (±0.5V). Fluctuations greater than 1V indicate a degrading PSU that needs replacement.
• PSU fan noise: The APW9+ has its own cooling fan. Grinding or clicking from the PSU fan means it is failing. An overheated PSU can output unstable voltage or shut down intermittently. Replacement PSU fans are available.
• Connector heat damage: Check the power output connectors on the PSU and the input connectors on the miner chassis. Discoloration, melting, or deformation indicates a high-resistance connection that must be addressed immediately — this is a fire hazard.

Repair: Network & Control Board Issues

If the miner cannot be found on the network or the web interface is unresponsive:

1. Try a different Ethernet cable and port. Rule out the simplest causes first.
2. Reset the network configuration. Use the miner’s IP report button (small button on the control board) to announce its IP address via the fan LED blink pattern, or use a network scanner to find it.
3. Check the Ethernet port. Inspect the RJ45 jack for bent pins, corrosion, or physical damage. Dust accumulation inside the port is surprisingly common and can cause intermittent connectivity.
4. Control board swap test. If you have a known-good C52 control board, swap it in. If the miner works with the replacement board, the original board is faulty. Control board failures on the S17+ are less common than hashboard issues but do occur, particularly the Zynq FPGA chip and the voltage regulators feeding it.
5. Check for IP conflicts. If you are running multiple miners on the same network (common in home mining setups), verify there are no DHCP conflicts. Assign static IPs to avoid this entirely.

Whole Machine Testing & Aging

After any repair, the S17+ must undergo a structured testing process before you trust it with continuous operation. Skipping this step is how a “repaired” miner fails again within days, often worse than before.

Initial Power-On Test

1. Visual pre-check. Before powering on, verify: all three hashboards are seated properly, all flat cables are connected, all power connectors are secure, all four fans are installed and connected.
2. Power on and monitor the boot sequence. The control board LED should go from blinking to solid green within 2–3 minutes. If the LED goes red or fails to reach solid green, power down immediately and recheck connections.
3. Verify chip counts. Once booted, access the web interface and confirm all three chains show 65/65 chips.
4. Verify fan operation. All four fans should report healthy RPM.
5. Check for error messages. Review the miner log for any warnings or errors.

Aging (Burn-In) Test

The aging test runs the miner continuously for an extended period to verify stability under sustained load. This catches intermittent faults that pass a quick power-on test.

1. Configure the miner to mine against a test pool or your regular pool.
2. Run continuously for a minimum of 24–48 hours.
3. Monitor the following throughout the aging period:
   • Hashrate stability: Should remain within 5% of the 73 TH/s target. Any sustained dips indicate a problem.
   • Temperature stability: PCB temps should stabilize and remain below 85°C. Gradually rising temperatures over the burn-in period suggest thermal paste degradation under load.
   • Chip count stability: All chains must maintain 65/65 chips throughout. Any chip dropping out intermittently indicates a marginal solder joint or dying chip that will fail completely soon.
   • Fan behavior: RPMs should remain consistent. An anomalous fan display means checking whether the fan works normally and whether the connection with the control board is sound.
   • Hardware error rate: HW errors should be below 1% of total shares.
4. If the miner loses hashrate during aging, reduce the frequency and observe. If it still loses hashrate and hashboards show “X” marks, remove the heatsinks from the affected hashboard. Let the miner run and wait for the hashrate to drop, then measure whether the domain voltage is normal. An abnormal domain voltage in a specific region usually means a chip in that domain is short-circuited or damaged.

Firmware & Software

Firmware Updates

Bitmain releases periodic firmware updates for the S17+ that can address stability issues, improve efficiency, and fix bugs. However, firmware updates on the 17-series require caution.

• Always back up your current configuration (pool settings, network settings, frequency settings) before updating firmware. Export the config from the web interface.
• Download firmware only from Bitmain’s official website. Third-party firmware sites are a vector for modified firmware that can redirect your hashrate to the attacker’s pool or brick your miner.
• Never interrupt a firmware update in progress. A partial flash will brick the control board and require serial console recovery (or a new control board).
• After updating, verify chip counts and hashrate. Some firmware versions handle the 65-chip S17+ configuration differently. Confirm the new firmware correctly detects all 195 chips (65 × 3).

Third-Party Firmware Options

Several aftermarket firmware options exist for the S17+ that can provide benefits over stock Bitmain firmware:

• Braiins OS+ — Offers autotuning that optimizes per-chip frequency for maximum efficiency. Can extract more hashrate from the same power or reduce power for the same hashrate. Useful for space heater conversions where you want to control heat output precisely.
• VNish — Popular alternative with per-chip tuning, immersion mode support, and additional monitoring features.

Configuration Best Practices

• Set a unique miner password. Change the default root/root credentials immediately. Every miner on your local network with default credentials is an invitation for any malicious device on your network to reconfigure it.
• Use a static IP address. DHCP is convenient, but a static IP makes monitoring, SSH access, and pool configuration more reliable.
• Configure pool failover. Set up at least two backup pools. If your primary pool goes down, the miner will automatically switch rather than sitting idle.
• Monitor the miner remotely. Set up monitoring through your pool’s dashboard, or use tools like Awesome Miner, Foreman, or a simple cron job that pings the miner and alerts you if it goes offline.
• Undervolt for longevity. If you are running the S17+ as a space heater and maximum hashrate is not your priority, reducing the operating frequency (and thus voltage and power consumption) extends the life of BM1397 chips significantly. A machine running at 80% of its rated hashrate will outlast a machine running at 100% by a considerable margin.

The S17+ as a Space Heater

The Antminer S17+ at 2920W is an exceptionally effective space heater. Every watt consumed is converted to heat — there is no wasted energy. In Canadian winters, this is not just mining; it is monetizing your heating bill. Instead of paying for electric baseboard heaters that produce nothing but warmth, your S17+ produces warmth AND Bitcoin.

D-Central offers a purpose-built Antminer S17+ Space Heater Edition that addresses the two main barriers to residential use: noise and airflow management. The stock industrial fans are replaced with quieter alternatives, and the enclosure directs warm air into your living space instead of a datacenter hot aisle.

Key considerations for space heater operation:

• Heat output: 2920W is equivalent to a medium-large electric space heater. This is enough to heat a well-insulated room of approximately 250–350 square feet in most Canadian climates.
• Noise management: Stock fans at full speed produce ~76 dB — that is louder than a vacuum cleaner. The space heater conversion addresses this, but even quiet fans produce some noise. Plan placement accordingly.
• Electrical requirements: You still need a dedicated 240V circuit. In most Canadian homes, this means having an electrician install a suitable outlet if one does not exist. Factor this installation cost into your ROI calculation.
• Maintenance frequency: Space heater enclosures typically have more restricted airflow than open-air operation. This means heatsinks run hotter and thermal paste degrades faster. Increase your maintenance schedule to every 60 days.
• Summer planning: Unless you live somewhere that needs heating year-round, plan for what happens in summer. Options include shutting down (and losing hashrate), moving the miner to a garage or basement, or underclocking to reduce heat output.

Recommended Maintenance Schedule

Frequently Asked Questions

When to Call a Professional

This guide covers a lot, but there is a line between what a dedicated home miner can handle and what requires professional equipment and experience. Here is an honest assessment:

You can handle:

• Routine cleaning and dust removal
• Fan replacement
• Flat cable inspection and replacement
• Thermal paste replacement (with care and patience)
• Basic voltage measurements with a multimeter
• Firmware updates and configuration changes
• Dashboard monitoring and basic SSH diagnostics

Consider professional help for:

• BM1397 chip replacement (BGA soldering)
• Boost converter (U6) replacement
• LDO or DCDC regulator replacement
• PIC microcontroller reprogramming
• PCB trace repair
• Multiple chips failing simultaneously (may indicate a deeper power delivery issue)
• Hashboard that fails testing repeatedly despite component replacement
• Any repair where you are not confident in the diagnosis

D-Central Technologies has been repairing Antminers since 2016. We have repaired over 2,500+ miners, with the 17-series being one of our most frequently serviced platforms. Our repair facility in Laval, Quebec handles everything from simple thermal paste renewal to full hashboard rebuilds with chip-level rework. We know the S17+ inside and out — literally.

If your S17+ needs attention beyond what this guide covers, or if you simply prefer to have experienced hands do the work, we are here for you.

Every S17+ you keep hashing is another point of decentralization on the Bitcoin network. Whether you maintain it yourself with this guide or send it to us for professional service, the goal is the same: keep the hash rate decentralized, one miner at a time.

Interactive Hashboard Schematic

Explore the ANTMINER S17 PLUS hashboard layout below. Toggle layers to isolate voltage domains, signal chains, test points, key components, and thermal zones. Hover over any region for quick specs — click for detailed diagnostics, failure modes, and repair guidance.