Bitmain recently pushed a new firmware version to the Antminer series miners, which restricts the microUSB interface on the control board. The main models involved include the S19k Pro, S21, S21 Pro, and other mainstream Bitcoin ASIC miners, drawing attention from the mining community.
Practical Impact of Interface Restrictions
According to technical disclosures from Altair Technologies, this firmware change directly affects miners' ability to control their devices. The original core functions of the microUSB interface include loading third-party firmware and performing system recovery operations, both of which are crucial for long-term maintenance and operation of the miners. Once the interface is disabled, miners cannot perform autonomous firmware upgrades or troubleshoot system issues through this channel, significantly reducing operational flexibility.
Constraints on Miner Optimization
The deeper impact lies in that