Frequently Asked Questions

Due to recent Microsoft updates for select Windows computers, some older Silhouette cutting machine models may be unable to connect successfully via USB. This includes the following models:

• Cameo 1
• Portrait 1
• Any older Silhouette models

While we are no longer able to officially support the connectivity of these older models with affected Windows computers, please find the section below regarding your model for further workaround options that may help re-establish a successful connection with your Silhouette machine.

If you are experiencing connection issues with a newer model, please click here.

The following steps will update your Cameo 1 firmware. Once updated, this new firmware should resolve the connection issue noted above.

⚠ NOTE: These steps require a blank SD card and a compatible SD card reader. A basic SD card with 2GB capacity or less, is required. If you do not have these, you will need to obtain them in order to proceed with this firmware update process. 

1. Please click here to download and save the zip file to your computer
2. Unzip the "cc300" folder by right-clicking and selecting "extract all"
3. Select a destination on your computer you wish the file to extract to (defaults to the current location of the zipped file)
4. Save the extracted "cc300.mhx" file onto a blank SD card  (the "cc300.mhx" file may be in an unzipped "cc300" folder that was created when you extracted the previous folder)   
   IMPORTANT: There cannot be any other files or folders on the SD card
5. Ensure the Cameo 1 machine is unplugged from power and the computer
6. Place the SD card into the Cameo 1 machine's SD reader slot
7. Press and hold down the left and right arrow keys at the same time
8. While holding down these buttons, plug the power cord into the Cameo 1 machine (the machine will turn on)
9. Once "Boot Ver1.00" is displayed on the LCD, release the buttons.
10. The update sequence will start automatically. Please wait a few minutes until the LCD displays, "Write Finish."
11. Unplug the AC adapter
12. Remove the SD card
13. Connect the Cameo 1 to the computer and AC adapter
14. Power on the machine

If this process is not successful in resolving the connection issues with your machine, or if you are unable to continue with any of the steps listed above, please retry the steps from the beginning. You may alternatively contact our support team for further assistance.

The following steps will update the firmware on your Portrait 1 machine.

⚠ IMPORTANT: These steps must be completed on a PC computer that is either not running Windows 10/Windows 11 or one which allows a successful connection in Silhouette Studio to your Portrait 1 machine. 

1. Please click here to download and save the zip file to your computer
2. Unzip the folder by right-clicking and selecting "extract all"
3. Ensure the Portrait 1 machine is unplugged from power and the computer
4. Open the folder and select the Silhouette_Firmware_Update program to run it
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the firmware update

If you receive a message that you need to connect your machine during the on-screen instructions, please confirm that your machine connects successfully through Silhouette Studio. You can see this in the SEND panel of the software. If connecting successfully, you may bypass this step in the on-screen instructions by holding down the CTRL key and Shift key, then click OK.

If the above firmware updates cannot be performed, or if you have a Silhouette SD or older model, you may consider the following workaround options:

1. You may use your older model with an alternate compatible computer or laptop -- either a Mac computer OR a Windows computer not running Windows 10 or Windows 11 with version 1809 or above.
2. We have received reports that some users have found success in being able to run the USB cable through a USB 2.0 hub device. Unfortunately, this has not been proven to be a universal fix and may not work for all cases.