Bitaxe Hex Complete Setup Guide — 6-Chip BM1366 Solo Mining Powerhouse

What Is the Bitaxe Hex?

The Bitaxe Hex is the flagship multi-chip open-source Bitcoin solo miner — and it changes the solo mining equation entirely. Where a single-chip Bitaxe gives you a lottery ticket, the Hex hands you a fistful. Built around six BM1366 ASIC chips — the same 5nm silicon powering Bitmain’s Antminer S19 XP — the Hex delivers 3.0–3.3 TH/s of SHA-256 hashrate from a single board. That is roughly six times the output of a Bitaxe Ultra and three times a Gamma, making it the most powerful Bitaxe variant ever produced.

At approximately 90W, the Hex draws real power — this is not a 5V barrel jack device like the standard Bitaxe. It requires a dedicated 12V DC power supply connected via an XT30 connector, the same robust connector used in high-performance RC and drone applications. This is a serious piece of mining hardware that happens to fit on your desk.

This is still solo mining — every hash your Hex computes is a direct attempt at finding a Bitcoin block worth 3.125 BTC. But at 3+ terahashes per second, your probability is roughly six times better than running a single BM1366 chip. The Hex sits in a unique position: powerful enough to give you meaningful solo mining odds, quiet enough to run in your home office, and efficient enough that your monthly electricity cost is under ten dollars.

D-Central Technologies was the first company to develop custom heatsinks specifically engineered for the Bitaxe Hex. When six ASIC chips are packed onto a single board dissipating 90 watts, thermal management is not optional — it is the difference between stable hashing and thermal throttling. Our Hex heatsink was designed from the ground up for this board’s unique thermal profile, and it remains the reference cooling solution for Hex builds worldwide.

This guide walks you through every step: from unboxing your Hex, installing cooling, connecting the 12V power supply, configuring AxeOS, tuning individual chips, and managing the thermal output of a 90-watt mining board. Whether you are upgrading from a single-chip Bitaxe or this is your first open-source miner, we cover everything you need to get all six chips hashing.

Technical Specifications

The Hex is a fundamentally different class of Bitaxe. Six chips, 12V power, active cooling required. Here is the full specification sheet.

Hex vs. Other Bitaxe Variants

The Hex occupies its own category in the Bitaxe lineup. Here is how it compares to the single-chip variants:

The Hex is not just six Ultras taped together. The board is purpose-designed for multi-chip operation: shared power delivery, coordinated cooling, unified AxeOS management, and a thermal profile that requires dedicated engineering. This is where solo mining gets serious.

What’s in the Box

When your Bitaxe Hex arrives from D-Central, verify everything is present before you start assembly.

• Bitaxe Hex PCB — The main board with six BM1366 ASIC chips, ESP32-S3 controller, OLED display, and XT30 power input
• Arctic P8 80mm fan — Pre-attached or included for mounting (varies by configuration)
• Thermal pads — For heatsink-to-chip contact (if heatsink is not pre-attached)
• OLED display — Pre-installed, shows real-time hashrate, temperature, and status

If anything is missing or appears damaged during shipping, contact D-Central support immediately. We stand behind every unit we sell.

What You’ll Need

Safety Warnings

The Bitaxe Hex is not a USB-C desk toy. It is a 90-watt mining computer with six ASIC chips running at high frequency. Respect the hardware.

Hardware Assembly

Assembly of the Bitaxe Hex is straightforward but requires more attention than a single-chip Bitaxe. Six chips means six thermal interfaces, one larger heatsink, and a more powerful fan. Take your time — good assembly here determines your long-term stability and hashrate.

Step 1 — Install the D-Central Hex Heatsink

Thermal management is the single most important factor in Hex performance. Six BM1366 chips dissipating 90 watts of heat on one board means every degree matters. The D-Central Hex Heatsink was specifically engineered for this board’s chip layout and thermal density.

1. Prepare your workspace — Work on a clean, static-free surface. If you have an anti-static wrist strap, use it. Handle the board by its edges.
2. Locate all six ASIC chips — The BM1366 chips are the six identical square components on the PCB. They are arranged in a specific layout — note their positions before applying thermal pads.
3. Apply thermal pads — Peel the protective film from both sides of each thermal pad. Place one pad directly on each ASIC chip, centered carefully. The thermal pad must make full, even contact with the chip surface. For the Hex, you need thermal pad material covering all six chips — the D-Central Hex Heatsink kit includes pre-cut pads sized for each chip.
4. Align the heatsink — Lower the heatsink onto the board, aligning it with the mounting points. The heatsink should sit flush and make contact with all six thermal pads simultaneously. Do not slide the heatsink once placed — this can shift the thermal pads.
5. Secure the heatsink — If your heatsink uses mounting screws or clips, secure them now. Tighten screws in a cross pattern (opposite corners first) to distribute clamping pressure evenly across all six chips. Do not over-tighten — firm and snug is the goal, not maximum torque.
6. Verify contact — Gently press on the heatsink above each chip location. You should feel solid, even resistance with no gaps or wobble. Good thermal contact across all six chips is essential for balanced temperatures.

Step 2 — Install the Cooling Fan

The Bitaxe Hex uses an Arctic P8 80mm fan for active cooling. At 90 watts, passive cooling is not an option — the fan is mandatory for stable operation.

1. Check the fan connector — The Arctic P8 connects to the fan header on the Hex PCB. Locate the fan header (a small multi-pin connector, usually near the edge of the board).
2. Mount the fan — Position the fan so that it blows air across the heatsink fins, not against the flat side of the heatsink. The fan should be oriented so the airflow arrow on the fan frame points toward the heatsink. If your configuration includes fan mounting hardware, secure it now.
3. Connect the fan cable — Plug the fan’s connector into the PCB fan header. It should click in gently. Do not force it.
4. Verify fan rotation — You will confirm the fan is spinning during first boot, but if you want to test now, briefly touch the 12V PSU to the XT30 connector. The fan should spin up immediately.

Step 3 — Connect the 12V Power Supply

The Bitaxe Hex uses a 12V DC power input via XT30 connector. This is a critical difference from the 5V barrel jack-powered single-chip Bitaxe models.

1. Verify your PSU — Confirm your power supply outputs 12V DC and is rated for at least 10A (120W). The Hex draws ~90W at stock settings, and you need headroom for overclocking and power spikes during startup. A 150W PSU is ideal.
2. Check the XT30 connector — The XT30 connector on the Hex board is a yellow, keyed connector that only goes in one way. Your PSU must have a matching XT30 female connector (or use an adapter cable).
3. Connect the PSU — Plug the XT30 connector into the Hex board firmly. You should feel it seat with a positive click. The keying prevents reversed polarity, but verify the connection is fully seated.
4. Plug the PSU into a surge-protected outlet — Do not use an extension cord with a thin gauge wire. The PSU draws significant current from the wall — use a direct outlet connection or a quality power strip with surge protection.

Step 4 — First Power On

With heatsink mounted, fan connected, and 12V PSU attached, you are ready for the first boot.

1. Plug in the power supply — The Hex has no power button. It powers on immediately when the PSU receives mains power.
2. Watch for the fan — The Arctic P8 fan should spin up within one second. You will hear it — at 45–50 dB, the Hex is audible (louder than a single-chip Bitaxe, but far quieter than any full-size ASIC miner).
3. Check the OLED display — The onboard OLED screen should illuminate and begin showing boot information, then transition to a status display with hashrate, temperature, and network status.
4. Watch for the WiFi access point — If this is a fresh setup (or the Hex cannot connect to a saved WiFi network), AxeOS will broadcast its own WiFi network for configuration. Look for “AxeOS” or “Bitaxe_XXXX” in your device’s WiFi list.

If the fan does not spin, the OLED stays dark, or nothing happens, disconnect power immediately. Verify the XT30 connection is fully seated, the PSU is outputting 12V, and the PSU is receiving mains power. If the fan spins but the OLED does not light, the board may need a firmware reflash — contact D-Central support.

WiFi Configuration

The WiFi setup process on the Hex is identical to other Bitaxe models. AxeOS handles everything through a web-based interface.

Connect to the AxeOS Access Point

1. On your phone, laptop, or tablet, open WiFi settings.
2. Find the network named “AxeOS” or “Bitaxe_XXXX”. This is your Hex broadcasting its configuration network.
3. Connect to this network. No password is required on initial setup (some firmware versions may use “password” or “12345678” — check AxeOS documentation if prompted).
4. Your device may warn about “no internet connection.” This is normal — you are connected directly to the Hex, not to the internet.

Open your web browser and navigate to:

http://192.168.4.1

The AxeOS dashboard will load. On the Hex, you will immediately notice the dashboard shows data for all six ASIC chips — individual temperatures, hashrates, and status indicators. This is your command center.

Configure Your Home WiFi Network

1. In the AxeOS dashboard, navigate to the WiFi / Network settings section.
2. Enter your WiFi network name (SSID) exactly as it appears. This is case-sensitive.
3. Enter your WiFi password.
4. Click Save and then Restart.

After rebooting, the Hex will connect to your home WiFi and stop broadcasting the AxeOS access point. To access the dashboard now, find the Hex’s IP address on your network:

• Check your router’s admin page — Look for a device named “AxeOS,” “Bitaxe,” or “ESP32” in the connected devices list.
• Use mDNS — Try navigating to:

http://bitaxe.local

• Use the OLED display — One advantage of the Hex: the onboard OLED screen shows the assigned IP address after connecting to WiFi. Check the screen.
• Use a network scanner — Apps like Fing (iOS/Android) or Advanced IP Scanner (Windows) will show all devices on your network.

Configure Mining Settings

Your Hex is on your WiFi network and the AxeOS dashboard is accessible. Now configure your mining pool and Bitcoin address.

Choose Your Mining Pool

The Bitaxe Hex communicates with a mining pool via the Stratum protocol. Even for solo mining, you connect to a pool server that handles communication with the Bitcoin network.

Solo Mining (Lottery Mining) — Connect to a solo pool like public-pool.io. Every hash is a direct attempt at finding a full Bitcoin block. If your Hex finds one, you keep the entire 3.125 BTC block reward. At 3+ TH/s, your probability is roughly six times better than a single-chip Bitaxe. This is what the Hex was built for.

Pool Mining — Connect to a traditional pool (Braiins, Ocean, CKPool). Your hashrate combines with others for small, frequent payouts. With 3 TH/s, you will see meaningful (though still small) daily payouts — significantly more than a single-chip Bitaxe in a pool. Pool mining with a Hex is a legitimate strategy if you prefer consistent returns.

For this guide, we configure solo mining with public-pool.io — the community standard for Bitaxe solo miners.

Enter Pool Settings

In the AxeOS dashboard, navigate to the Mining / Stratum configuration section.

Some AxeOS versions have separate fields for URL and port; others accept the full Stratum address in one field. Enter the information in whatever format your firmware version requires.

Set Your Bitcoin Address

The Worker Name field is where you enter your Bitcoin wallet address. On public-pool.io for solo mining, your worker name IS your Bitcoin address — this is how the pool knows where to send the block reward.

1. Open your Bitcoin wallet (Coldcard, Trezor, Sparrow, Electrum, BlueWallet, or any self-custody wallet).
2. Copy a receive address. Use a bc1 (native SegWit) address for the lowest transaction fees.
3. Paste the address into the Worker Name or Username field in AxeOS.
4. Optionally append a worker identifier: bc1qyouraddresshere.myhex — this helps identify the device on the pool dashboard.

Double-check the address character by character. Click Save, and the Hex will reboot and begin hashing with all six chips.

Per-Chip Frequency Tuning

This is where the Hex gets interesting. AxeOS on the Hex gives you individual control over each of the six BM1366 chips. Each chip is a unique piece of silicon — some will overclock further, some will run cooler, and some will need slightly different voltage. Per-chip tuning lets you optimize each one independently for maximum total hashrate.

Understanding Per-Chip Controls

In the AxeOS tuning section, you will see settings for each chip (typically labeled Chip 0 through Chip 5, or ASIC 1 through ASIC 6). For each chip, you can adjust:

• Core Frequency (MHz) — Clock speed for that specific chip. Higher frequency = more hashrate = more heat.
• Core Voltage (mV) — Electrical potential supplied to that chip. Higher voltage provides stability at higher frequencies but increases power and heat.

The AxeOS dashboard also shows per-chip metrics:

• Individual hashrate — How fast each chip is hashing (should be roughly 500–550 GH/s each at stock)
• Individual temperature — Chips in the center of the board may run warmer than edge chips due to thermal density
• Individual error/reject rate — A chip running too fast for its voltage will show elevated errors

Establish Your Baseline

Before touching any frequency or voltage settings:

1. Run at stock settings for at least one hour. Let all six chips reach thermal equilibrium.
2. Record per-chip temperatures. Note which chips run hottest and coolest. Chips closer to the center or with less direct airflow from the fan will be warmer.
3. Record per-chip hashrates. At stock, each chip should produce roughly 500–550 GH/s, for a total of 3.0–3.3 TH/s.
4. Note the total power draw displayed in AxeOS. This is your stock power baseline (~90W).

Tuning Individual Chips

With your baseline recorded, you can begin chip-by-chip optimization:

1. Start with the coolest chip. The chip with the lowest temperature has the most thermal headroom for overclocking. Increase its frequency by 25 MHz.
2. Monitor for 15 minutes. Watch that chip’s hashrate, temperature, and error rate. If stable — hashrate increased, temperature still under 65 °C, no error spikes — the overclock holds.
3. Repeat for the next coolest chip. Work your way through all six chips, giving each one as much frequency as it can handle based on its individual thermal position.
4. If a chip becomes unstable (errors spike, hashrate drops, restarts), increase its voltage by 10–20 mV and retest. If it is still unstable, back the frequency down by 25 MHz.
5. Accept chip variation. It is completely normal for some chips to overclock 50 MHz higher than others. Silicon lottery is real — each chip is physically unique. A well-tuned Hex might have chips running at 525, 550, 550, 525, 575, and 550 MHz respectively.

Fan Curve Setup

AxeOS allows you to configure the fan behavior on the Hex. The fan curve determines how the Arctic P8 responds to temperature changes across the six chips.

Default Fan Behavior

Out of the box, AxeOS runs the fan in automatic mode — it ramps fan speed up as chip temperatures rise and slows down as they cool. This works well for most setups at stock settings.

Custom Fan Curve Recommendations

For overclocked or warm-environment setups, consider adjusting the fan curve in the AxeOS system settings:

The fan curve should respond to the hottest chip, not the average. One chip at 70 °C while others sit at 55 °C still needs aggressive cooling. AxeOS typically uses the peak temperature to drive fan speed, but verify this in your firmware version’s settings.

Thermal Management Deep Dive

With six ASIC chips dissipating 90 watts on a single board, thermal management is the number-one factor determining your Hex’s stability, longevity, and achievable hashrate. This section covers everything you need to know.

How Much Heat Are We Talking About?

At 90W, the Bitaxe Hex produces as much heat as:

• A standard incandescent light bulb (90W equivalent)
• A small soldering iron running continuously
• About 6x the heat of a single-chip Bitaxe

This heat must be continuously removed from the ASIC chips, transferred through the heatsink, and carried away by the fan. If any link in this chain fails — poor thermal pad contact, blocked airflow, fan failure — temperatures climb rapidly across all six chips.

Ambient Temperature Limits

Canadian miners have a natural advantage here. A basement in Quebec running at 18 °C year-round is nearly ideal for the Hex. In the summer, if your room temperature rises above 28 °C, you may need to dial back overclock settings or improve ventilation.

Heatsink Options

The heatsink is the most critical thermal component. Your options:

• D-Central Hex Heatsink (recommended) — Purpose-designed for the Hex board layout. Precision-machined contact points for all six chips. Optimized fin geometry for the Arctic P8’s airflow pattern. This is the heatsink we developed specifically for this board. View the Hex Heatsink.
• Generic aftermarket heatsink — Must cover all six chip positions with adequate thermal interface material. Larger is generally better, but fit and contact quality matter more than raw size.
• Individual per-chip heatsinks — Small heatsinks on each chip. Works in a pinch but less effective than a single unified heatsink that distributes heat across a larger surface area.

Positioning and Airflow

• Keep all sides clear — The Hex needs at least 10 cm of clearance on the fan intake and exhaust sides. More is better.
• Elevate the board — Use the D-Central Hex Stand or similar mounting to keep the board off the surface, allowing air circulation underneath.
• Avoid enclosed spaces — Never run the Hex in a closed cabinet, drawer, or small unventilated room. 90 watts of continuous heat will raise the temperature of a small enclosed space rapidly.
• Consider the exhaust — The warm air coming off the Hex heatsink needs somewhere to go. If the room has poor circulation, the ambient temperature around the Hex will climb over time, creating a feedback loop.
• Winter advantage — In cold months, position the Hex near a cold exterior wall or in a drafty area. It is essentially a small space heater — use that to your advantage.

Multi-Chip Management

Running six ASIC chips on one board introduces management considerations that do not exist with single-chip Bitaxe models. AxeOS handles most of this automatically, but understanding the system helps you optimize and troubleshoot.

Per-Chip Monitoring in AxeOS

The AxeOS dashboard for the Hex shows:

• Individual chip hashrate — Each of the six BM1366 chips reports its own hashrate. Total board hashrate is the sum of all six.
• Individual chip temperature — Each chip has its own temperature sensor. You will see natural variation — center chips often run 3–5 °C warmer than edge chips.
• Individual chip frequency and voltage — Confirms the settings applied to each chip.
• Chip status indicators — Shows whether each chip is actively hashing, idle, or in an error state.
• Total board power draw — The combined power consumption of all six chips plus the fan and controller.

Balanced vs. Aggressive Tuning Strategies

Balanced approach (recommended for 24/7 operation):

• Set all six chips to the same conservative frequency
• Accept that some chips will run cooler and some warmer
• Let the hottest chip’s temperature be your limiting factor
• Prioritize uptime over maximum hashrate

Aggressive per-chip approach (for maximum hashrate):

• Tune each chip individually based on its thermal position and silicon quality
• Cooler edge chips get higher frequencies
• Hotter center chips get lower frequencies to stay in the safe zone
• Requires more monitoring and adjustment as seasons change ambient temps

The OLED Display

The Hex’s onboard OLED screen is a real-time monitoring tool. It cycles through key information:

• Total hashrate
• Hottest chip temperature
• WiFi status and IP address
• Share count and uptime
• Best difficulty found

The OLED gives you instant status without opening a browser — useful for a quick glance to confirm the Hex is hashing normally.

Monitoring & Optimization

Once your Hex is configured and mining, the AxeOS dashboard becomes your operational hub. Here is what to monitor and what the numbers mean for a six-chip board.

Key Dashboard Metrics

• Total Hashrate — Displayed in TH/s. At stock, expect 3.0–3.3 TH/s. Natural fluctuation of 5–10% is normal over short intervals — evaluate the 30-minute average for a true reading.
• Per-Chip Hashrate — Each chip should contribute roughly equally. If one chip shows significantly lower hashrate, it may be thermally throttling or experiencing errors.
• Temperature (per chip) — All six readings matter. The hottest chip dictates your overclocking ceiling and fan speed. Target all chips under 65 °C for long-term reliability.
• Fan Speed — RPM or percentage. Should scale with temperature. If the fan shows 0 RPM, power off immediately — the Hex cannot run without active cooling.
• Shares Accepted — Should increase steadily. With 3+ TH/s, you will see shares accepted more frequently than a single-chip Bitaxe.
• Shares Rejected — Keep the reject rate under 2%. If it spikes, check for overclock instability on individual chips or network latency.
• Best Difficulty — Your personal record. At 3+ TH/s, you will find higher-difficulty shares more frequently than single-chip Bitaxe users. This is your closest brush with a block.
• Power Consumption — Should read approximately 90W at stock. If significantly higher, check for runaway overclock settings. If significantly lower, a chip may have dropped offline.
• Uptime — Track this carefully. Frequent reboots indicate thermal issues, PSU problems, or WiFi instability. A healthy Hex should run for days or weeks between restarts.

Pool-Side Monitoring

Check your miner’s status on Public Pool at:

https://web.public-pool.io/#/app/bc1q...youraddress

The dashboard shows your connected workers, total hashrate, share history, and best difficulty. With the Hex’s 3+ TH/s output, your pool-side hashrate will be visibly significant compared to single-chip miners — you will see it reflected in the global Bitaxe miner rankings on Public Pool.

Recommended Monitoring Routine

1. Morning check — Glance at the OLED or pull up AxeOS. Verify total hashrate is in range, all six chips are online, and no temperature is above 65 °C.
2. Evening check — Same as morning. Note if afternoon warmth pushed temperatures up. Adjust fan curve or overclock seasonally.
3. Weekly check — Review uptime. If the Hex has restarted, investigate the cause. Check for AxeOS firmware updates.
4. Seasonal check — As ambient temperature changes between winter and summer, revisit your overclock settings. What was stable at 18 °C ambient may throttle at 28 °C.

Overclocking & Underclocking

The open-source nature of the Hex means you have full control. Push harder for more hashrate, or pull back for quieter, cooler, more efficient operation.

Overclocking the Hex

Refer to the Per-Chip Frequency Tuning section for the detailed process. Key additional notes for overclocking:

• Power budget matters — At stock, the Hex draws ~90W. A 120W PSU gives you 30W of headroom for overclocking. If you push all six chips hard, you may need a 150W PSU.
• Diminishing returns are real — Going from 3.0 to 3.5 TH/s might cost an extra 15W. Going from 3.5 to 4.0 TH/s might cost an extra 30W. The efficiency curve steepens rapidly past the chip’s sweet spot.
• Thermal cascade effect — Overclocking one chip increases its heat output, which raises the ambient temperature for its neighbors. On a six-chip board, this cascade is real. Overclock incrementally and watch all six temperatures, not just the chip you changed.

Underclocking for Efficiency

Not everyone wants maximum hashrate. Underclocking the Hex has real benefits:

• Lower power consumption — Reducing frequency by 10–15% can cut power draw by 20–25%. Your efficiency (J/TH) improves dramatically at lower frequencies.
• Lower temperatures — Less heat means longer chip lifespan and quieter fan operation.
• Quieter operation — Lower temps mean lower fan speeds, which means less noise. An underclocked Hex can run nearly silent.
• Better for warm environments — If summer heat pushes your temperatures too high, underclocking is the smart move rather than fighting thermal limits.
• Longer hardware life — Silicon degrades faster at higher temperatures and voltages. Running conservatively extends the life of all six chips.

Troubleshooting

The Hex is a robust board, but six chips and higher power draw introduce failure modes that do not exist on single-chip models. Here are the most common issues and their solutions.

One Chip Not Hashing

Symptoms: Total hashrate is lower than expected. The AxeOS dashboard shows five chips hashing normally but one chip at zero or near-zero hashrate.

Solutions:

1. Check that chip’s temperature — If it reads abnormally high (above 75 °C), it may have shut down for thermal protection. This suggests poor thermal pad contact on that specific chip. Power off, let the board cool, remove the heatsink, and verify the thermal pad is centered and making full contact on the affected chip.
2. Check that chip’s frequency/voltage settings — If you were doing per-chip tuning and pushed one chip too far, it may be crashing repeatedly. Reset that chip to stock frequency and voltage.
3. Reboot the Hex — Sometimes a chip fails to initialize during boot. A full power cycle (disconnect XT30, wait 10 seconds, reconnect) forces all six chips to re-initialize.
4. Check for firmware issues — Some AxeOS versions have bugs with specific chip initialization sequences. Update to the latest firmware from the ESP-Miner GitHub releases.
5. Hardware fault — If one chip consistently fails to hash across reboots and firmware updates, it may be a hardware defect (bad solder joint, defective chip). Contact D-Central support — we repair Bitaxe boards and have the expertise to diagnose chip-level issues.

Thermal Throttling

Symptoms: Hashrate is below expected values. One or more chips show temperatures above 65 °C. Hashrate may fluctuate as chips throttle up and down.

Solutions:

1. Verify fan is spinning — If the fan has stopped or is running at low RPM, temperatures will climb rapidly across all six chips. Check the fan connector, listen for the fan, and check the RPM reading in AxeOS.
2. Check heatsink contact — Power off, let the board cool, and verify thermal pad contact on all six chips. A thermal pad that has shifted off-center on even one chip creates a hot spot.
3. Improve ambient conditions — Move the Hex to a cooler location, improve room ventilation, or point a desk fan at the Hex to supplement the Arctic P8.
4. Reduce overclock — If you have overclocked, this is the most effective immediate fix. Drop all six chips back to stock frequency. If temperatures stabilize, re-apply overclock more conservatively.
5. Check for dust buildup — Over weeks and months, dust accumulates on heatsink fins and fan blades. Clean with compressed air every 2–3 months.
6. Upgrade the heatsink — If you are using a generic or undersized heatsink, the D-Central Hex Heatsink is designed specifically for this board’s thermal demands.

WiFi Disconnections

Symptoms: The Hex drops off the pool intermittently. Shares stop being submitted for periods, then resume. The OLED may show WiFi reconnection attempts.

Solutions:

1. Check signal strength — The Hex’s ESP32 WiFi radio is the same as single-chip models. If the Hex is far from your router, the 2.4 GHz signal may be marginal. Move the Hex closer or add a WiFi access point nearby.
2. Electromagnetic interference — At 90W, the Hex’s switching power supply and six high-frequency ASIC chips generate more EMI than a single-chip Bitaxe. If your router is very close to the Hex (within 1 meter), try increasing the distance. Conversely, being too far away is also a problem.
3. Router overload — If you run multiple miners on the same network, your router may be hitting its client limit or its DHCP lease table is full. Check router logs.
4. Separate 2.4 GHz SSID — As mentioned in WiFi setup, create a dedicated 2.4 GHz network for mining devices to avoid band-steering issues.
5. Assign static IP — DHCP lease expiration can sometimes cause brief disconnections. A static IP reservation eliminates this.
6. Update firmware — WiFi stability improvements are a common focus area in AxeOS updates.

Abnormally High Power Draw

Symptoms: Power consumption reading in AxeOS is significantly above 90W at stock settings, or the PSU is running hot or making unusual sounds.

Solutions:

1. Check overclock settings — If frequency or voltage was accidentally set too high on one or more chips, power draw increases rapidly. Reset all chips to stock.
2. Verify PSU rating — If your PSU is rated too close to the actual draw (e.g., 100W PSU for a 90W load), it will run at near-maximum capacity continuously. This causes heat buildup in the PSU, potential voltage droop, and shortened PSU life. Use a 120–150W PSU for comfortable headroom.
3. Check XT30 connector — A loose or corroded XT30 connection causes resistance, which generates heat at the connector and can cause voltage drop. Ensure the connector is clean and fully seated.
4. Ambient temperature impact on PSU — If your PSU is in a warm environment, it may not be able to deliver its rated power. Keep the PSU in open air with good ventilation.

No Shares Being Submitted

Symptoms: All six chips appear to be hashing (hashrate shows a value), but the share count remains at zero.

Solutions:

1. Verify pool settings — Double-check the pool URL, port, and Bitcoin address. A single typo prevents share acceptance.
2. Check internet connectivity — Verify WiFi is connected and your network has internet access.
3. Wait longer — With 3 TH/s, you should see shares within minutes on public-pool.io. But give it at least 10 minutes before troubleshooting.
4. Try a different pool — Temporarily switch to solo.ckpool.org:3333 to rule out a pool-side issue.
5. Check DNS and firewall — Some routers block Stratum ports or have DNS filtering. Try DNS 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8.
6. Power cycle everything — Disconnect the Hex, reboot your router, then reconnect the Hex.

Frequently Asked Questions

D-Central Hex Accessories

D-Central developed the first accessories specifically engineered for the Bitaxe Hex. Our pioneering work in the Bitaxe ecosystem means these are not generic aftermarket parts — they are purpose-designed for this board.

Next Steps

Your Bitaxe Hex is assembled, configured, and all six chips are hashing. You are now running one of the most powerful open-source solo mining setups available anywhere. Here is where to go from here:

• Join the community — The Bitaxe community is active on Twitter/X, Discord, and Reddit. Hex owners are a small but passionate crew. Share your setup photos, per-chip tuning results, and best difficulty scores. Follow @DCentralTech on X for news and updates.
• Fine-tune per-chip settings — Now that your baseline is established, revisit the Per-Chip Frequency Tuning section to optimize each chip individually. Document your best settings.
• Keep firmware updated — Follow the ESP-Miner GitHub repository for new AxeOS releases. Hex-specific improvements are regularly included in firmware updates.
• Add more hashrate — One Hex often leads to two. Or combine a Hex with single-chip Bitaxes for a diversified solo mining fleet. Browse all Bitaxe miners.
• Consider a Bitcoin Space Heater — If you want hashrate measured in tens of terahashes AND free home heating, D-Central’s Bitcoin Space Heaters repurpose full ASIC miners for dual-purpose operation. The natural next step up from the Hex.
• Read the Bitaxe Hub — D-Central’s Bitaxe Hub is the definitive resource for all things Bitaxe: model comparisons, firmware guides, community block wins, and advanced tuning techniques.
• Accessorize — Browse D-Central’s full range of Bitaxe accessories — heatsinks, cases, stands, and power solutions. We invented the Bitaxe Mesh Stand and developed the first Hex heatsink. We know this hardware.

Solo mining with the Hex is a long game played with better odds. Six chips, 3+ terahashes, and under ten dollars a month in electricity. Your Hex is computing hundreds of billions of SHA-256 hashes every second, each one a direct attempt at finding a Bitcoin block worth 3.125 BTC. The network does not care how big your operation is — it only cares about the hash. And the Hex produces a lot of them.

Keep it cool, keep it running, and let the hashes accumulate. Every hash counts.

— The D-Central Technologies Team
Bitcoin Mining Hackers since 2016