EEPROM
EEPROM is a small memory chip on every hashboard. It holds the board's passport: serial number, chip parameters, frequencies. Without it the board does not start.
What the EEPROM stores and why it matters
At startup the controller reads the EEPROM of every board and learns what it is dealing with: the model, the serial number, the factory calibration results, working frequencies and voltages. A board with an unreadable or foreign passport will not start in the best case, and will start on the wrong parameters in the worst.
Hence a classic log picture: the board is detected, the chips are found, yet the miner refuses to work and complains about the EEPROM. The causes come in two kinds, physical, corrosion and solder joints after moisture, and logical, corrupted data after a failed flash or amateur tuning.
In repair, the EEPROM is read and rewritten with a programmer or with service utilities. It is routine bench work: move the passport to a new chip after corrosion, fix a corrupted record, pair a replacement board with the controller where the manufacturer demands a match.
The used market has its own angle. A rewritten EEPROM can hide a board's history: a different serial, different frequencies, a repaired board dressed up as factory fresh. So you compare the serials on the sticker, in the EEPROM, and in the papers, and a mismatch is a reason to bargain or walk away.
The short version
| What it stores | the serial, calibration, board frequencies |
| When it is read | at every startup of the miner |
| Symptom of trouble | chips found, the miner complains about EEPROM |
| How it is fixed | with a programmer or a service utility |
| Used market risk | a rewritten passport hides the board's history |
What to do about EEPROM errors
Reseat the board's cables and connectors: a share of memory errors is just poor contact after a move or a cleaning.
Read the log precisely: a read error, a data mismatch, and a foreign board are treated differently.
Do not rewrite the EEPROM blindly with utilities from chats: a mangled passport turns a working board into a riddle for the next repair shop.
When buying secondhand, compare the board's serial in the EEPROM with the sticker: service utilities show it in a minute.
An example from the workshop
After immersion without preparation a board stopped starting: the chips were fine, but the memory chip had rotted at one pin. A new chip, the passport restored from a copy off the sibling board with the serial corrected, and the board went back into service. The whole repair cost one chip and an hour of work, without the EEPROM the board would have gone for parts.
Related terms
Where to go next on the site
Hardware
- ASIC Miner knowledge base
- ASIC Chip and Hashboard knowledge base
Guides
- ASIC Manufacturers knowledge base
Questions and answers
Can I move a board from one miner to another
Within one model, usually yes, the controller will read the new board's passport. Exceptions exist on models with board pairing, those need a service procedure.
The miner shows an EEPROM error, is the board dead
Not necessarily. Cables and connectors first, then a careful read of the log: unreadable memory and corrupted data are different diagnoses, and both are fixable.
Why would a repair shop rewrite an EEPROM
To restore the passport after replacing the chip, or to pair a board with the controller. It is a legitimate service operation, only reserialing boards for resale raises questions.
How the terms connect
Every link in the chain is clickable. Orange marks where you are now.
Looking for an ASIC miner
The catalog holds 212 models. You can compare them by hashrate and by joules per terahash, then plug your own rate into the calculator and see what stays in your pocket.
Page written and checked by Denys Klimchuk. Updated .