Being a happy Creality owner for years, using it as a workhorse for our project prototyping in a good and bad days.

It sort of worked out to the point when now where we are moving to the Phase II, I decided to keep up with this brand and expand on our manufacturing with some new features + also get rid of one of the main of its issues – that annoying pitch noise where printing. It already went through multiple upgrades such as nozzle and direct drive from Micro Swiss, new printing plate, new thermal sensor, adjusting wheels, levelling upgrade … so I have not expected any major drama.

Anyway, being aware of some potential peculiarities, I contacted Creality’s support to get detailed and professional guidance on our Ender-5 Plus to a “silent” 32-bit board upgrade.

It took a while, but it worked out.

However, post-upgrade, a previously working control path (USB serial + host action commands) disappeared from the firmware. After months of circular responses between “official” support, an AU dealer, and an unresponsive historical retailer, I still cannot get either (1) a fixed 32-bit firmware build, or (2) the corresponding source code + configuration for the build they distribute (Marlin/GPL).

Here is a brief summary of the Creality case:

• Printer: Creality Ender-5 Plus (E5+)
• Why upgrade? Environmental noise made long runs untenable – asked for a quieter path and was guided to a 32-bit “silent” mainboard + cable kit.
• What broke? After the upgrade, the firmware build no longer exposed the USB serial interface with HOST_ACTION_COMMANDS enabled – a control path I had relied on for production runs.
• What I asked for:
  1. A 32-bit E5+ firmware .bin with USB-CDC + HOST_ACTION_COMMANDS enabled (and related flags), or
  2. The matching source + configs for the exact E5+ 32-bit firmware Creality distributes so I can compile those flags myself.
     (Creality’s firmware is Marlin-based; GPLv3 requires supplying corresponding source upon request.)

Timeline (condensed)

(Full timeline with subjects and dates is available on request.)

• Phase 1 – Stable baseline: E5+ operating in production; the USB/host-actions control path was available and used.
• Phase 2 – Vendor-guided upgrade: Creality support directs me to swap in a 32-bit silent board plus an additional cable kit. Upgrade flashes successfully.
• Phase 3 – Regression appears: Post-upgrade, USB serial / host actions are missing from the provided build.
• Phase 4 – Ping-pong:
  • “Not our official software.”
  • “Reinstall the old 8-bit board and re-flash.”
  • “Ask the dealer for a refund.”
  • Dealer: declines (order outside 30-day window; model compatibility listing excludes E5+), points back to the manufacturer for technical resolution.
  • Manufacturer: repeatedly declines to provide a fixed binary or the matching source/configs.
• Phase 5 – Escalation attempts:
  • Asked Creality AU to escalate to HQ; they relayed an internal repo pointer for “32-bit-upgraded E5+” but no confirmed binary or configs enabling USB-CDC + host actions.
  • Reiterated the two reasonable remedies: firmware (or source) / full refund with return. Neither accepted.

The Numbers (because data helps)

• 73 total messages (34 by me, 39 from them)
• 32,715 words exchanged
• “OctoPrint” mentioned 58 times (mostly later being repeated as an excuse for not taking an action by Creality)
• HOST_ACTION_COMMANDS mentioned 18 times
• “USB-CDC” mentioned 15 times
• 38.10 hours average next-response time (both sides)

Material (hard) costs — line items

Item	Source	Qty	Unit cost	Currency	Notes
Ender-5 Plus printer	3DPSA (2020)	1	1,049.98	AUD	Invoice total incl. GST & shipping.
32-bit mainboard	Creality AU (order crealityau3673)	1	51.00	AUD	Subtotal 50.00 + GST 4.55 – tip shown +$1 ⇒ 51.00 total; shipping $0.
32-bit “silent” upgrade cable kit	Creality (official support)	1	33.60	USD	Parts only (as per your thread).
Cable kit postage	Creality (official support)	1	30.00	USD	As per your thread.
Subtotal (AUD)			1,100.98	AUD	Printer + mainboard.
Subtotal (USD)			63.60	USD	Cables + postage.

Time/effort (estimates)

• Hardware swap, wiring, firmware flash, calibration & sanity test: ~5.0 h (range 4–6 h).
• Drafting emails (34 sent; ~15 min each): ~8.5 h.
• Reading/triaging replies (39 received; ~4 min each): ~2.6 h.
• Preparing artifacts (screenshots, timeline, uploads): ~2.0 h.
• Troubleshooting/retests after guidance: ~3.0 h.

Total time (rounded): ~21 hours.

Creality side (for context): 39 replies averaging ~5 minutes each (short, formulaic): ~3.25 h.

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What This Is – and Is Not

• This is a regression introduced by an official, vendor-guided upgrade path.
• This is not a demand that Creality “support third-party software.” I am asking that the standard serial + host-action control path not be compiled out of their own firmware build — or that the corresponding source/configs for that build be provided so I can self-compile those flags.

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Why GPL Matters Here

Creality’s firmware for these printers is Marlin-based (GPLv3). If you distribute a Marlin binary, you must provide the matching source and (crucially) the configuration used to build that binary upon request.

I asked for exactly that. I have not been provided with it.

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Reasonable Remedies (unchanged since Day 1)

1. Provide a working .bin for Ender-5 Plus (32-bit) with USB-CDC + HOST_ACTION_COMMANDS enabled (and related flags).
   or
2. Provide the corresponding source + configs for the exact E5+ 32-bit firmware Creality distributes, so I can compile those flags myself.
   or
3. If neither can be done, accept a full return for refund (entire printer with the 32-bit board + cable kit), with shipping covered.

Any one of these closes the issue.

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Lessons Learned (for CURRENT AND FUTURE operators)

• Treat any “official” upgrade as a breaking change until proven otherwise; take a full pre-upgrade snapshot of firmware + config.
• When a vendor’s firmware is GPL-based, the matching source + configs are not a favor – they’re a requirement. Ask for them early.
• Keep a structured archive of all comms; a simple timeline and stats table helps cut through “he-said/she-said.”

But mainly – DO NOT BUY ANY CREALITY PRINTER – EVER – AGAIN!

There are others! (https://www.prusa3d.com/, https://au.store.bambulab.com/)

PS: Creality has been contacted & offered to provide their feedback.