Mooring for FM-1

StatusPractice

Firmware updates for the M-VAVE FM-1, from your iPhone or iPad.

Mooring installs stock or community firmware on an FM-1 over a USB cable. It checks every firmware file before it is sent, shows each step as it happens, and has a Practice mode that runs the whole flow without a synthesizer attached.

How a flash works Support

Mooring's home screen: firmware loaded, a Practice FM-1 connected, and Review and flash ready

Flash algorithm

Six steps, one at a time.

FM synths print their algorithms as charts of six operators. Mooring draws a flash the same way: Connect, Check, Update mode, Write, Restart, Confirm. Writing repeats block after block, so step 4 has a feedback loop that runs while the FM-1 is written.

1 CONNECT 2 CHECK 3 UPDATE MODE 4 WRITE 5 RESTART 6 CONFIRM TO FM-1

How a flash works

From file to new firmware.

Shown in Practice mode, which runs the whole flow without a synthesizer.

  1. The firmware catalog as memory-bank slots: M-VAVE stock V15 first, then community firmware, each with its size, licence and request count

    Choose firmware

    Pick stock or community firmware from Mooring's catalog, or import a .fwsc file from Files.

  2. A firmware file loaded and verified against Mooring's list, with its size and the requests a real FM-1 makes

    It's checked

    Every file is checked before it can be sent, and marked Verified, Unlisted or Refused. A refused file can't be flashed.

  3. Mooring's home screen: firmware loaded, a Practice FM-1 connected, and Review and flash ready

    Connect the FM-1

    Plug the FM-1 in with a USB cable. Mooring reads the firmware version it's running.

  4. The review screen: what will change, the checks before starting, and the flash key being held for two seconds

    Review, then hold

    One review screen shows what will change and the checks that apply. To start, press and hold the flash key for two seconds.

  5. A Practice flash in progress: the LCD names the step, the red LED counts blocks, and the six-step diagram lights up step by step

    Watch it write

    The LCD names each step, the LED counts blocks, and the six-step chart lights up as it goes.

  6. The result of a Practice run: blocks checked and written, the time taken, and the firmware before and after

    Read the result

    Mooring restarts the FM-1 and confirms the new version when the FM-1 reports it. If a session stops, it says at which step and whether anything was written.

Before anything is written

It checks first, and shows its work.

  • Every file is checked. Known builds are matched against Mooring's verified list; unknown image formats are refused.
  • A review screen, then a two-second hold before anything is written.
  • Block counts and a step-by-step view while it writes.
  • Resumes a flash from update mode.
  • Recovery pointers in Settings.
  • USB only. No Bluetooth, by design.

Practice mode

Rehearse the whole flash first.

Mooring starts in Practice mode. It runs the whole flow, start to finish, without a synthesizer attached. To write to a real FM-1, turn on Real FM-1 access in Settings and confirm.

Firmware

Stock or community.

Firmware is downloaded from where it's published, never bundled with the app. Community firmware is GPL-3.0 and expects the FM-1 to be on stock V15 first. Mooring says so, and can install V15 for you.

Official

  • M-VAVE stock V15

Community

  • Felucca
  • SLOOP
  • sloopDX
  • GHOULBOX
  • Hortator
  • ORBIT
  • fm1-chord
  • FM1 Quest
  • Jangada
  • WaveLoop FM-1

Requirements

What you need.

  • An iPhone or iPad with iOS or iPadOS 27 or later.
  • A USB data cable (and an adapter if your device needs one) to connect the FM-1.
  • Both devices charged. The screen stays awake during a flash.

Privacy

The app collects nothing.

The Mooring app has no accounts, no analytics, no advertising and no tracking. It goes online only to check for and download firmware. This website counts visits with self-hosted Umami, without cookies.

Read the privacy policy