● R1MX

Repair Guides

Step-by-step guides for maintaining, diagnosing, and repairing the RED ONE MX

Community repair guides for the RED ONE MX, inspired by iFixit. Guides range from “tighten a loose screw” to “repair a broken trace under a microscope.” Every guide has a difficulty rating, time estimate, and tools list.

Guides marked Available are complete. Planned guides are on the roadmap - write one by following the Contributing Guide. Anyone can write a guide (including AI agents), but a human will need to take the photos.

Safety: The RED ONE MX contains capacitors that can hold charge after power-off. Always power down fully and wait at least 60 seconds before opening the body. Use ESD precautions when handling any PCB.

Common questions from REDuser.net - each maps to a guide below

  • "Camera powers on but the menu monitor stays white" - lens data cable pinched
  • "No HD-SDI, HDMI, audio, and CF/SSD all failed at the same time" - mezzanine connector
  • "SSD shows as INCOMPATIBLE" - firmware drive allowlist
  • "Fan is rattling or very loud" - fan bearing failure or debris
  • "Camera won't boot after a battery swap" - power board connector / voltage sag
  • "Colors look wrong after a firmware update" - black shading calibration not run
  • "Camera freezes when plugging in an accessory while powered" - known boot sensitivity; power down first
  • "Finding a tech who still services RED ONE" - see Resources page

Maintenance

Simple tasks that require no disassembly. Do these on a regular schedule to prevent failures.

  • Easy Tightening body screws and Torx hardware 10 min - Planned
  • Easy Cleaning the PL mount interface 10 min - Planned
  • Easy Inspecting and cleaning V-mount battery contacts 10 min - Planned
  • Easy Inspecting and cleaning the iVDR / REDMAG connector 10 min - Planned
  • Easy Cleaning the CF card reader contacts 10 min - Planned
  • Easy Cleaning the cooling fan (external access) 15 min - Planned
  • Medium Fan bearing oiling (fix rattling fan without full replacement) 30-60 min - Available

Media and Storage

Firmware and Calibration

Diagnosis

Use these guides to identify the root cause before attempting a repair.

  • Medium No-boot diagnosis flowchart 30 min - Planned
  • Medium White menu screen on boot: lens data cable inspection 20 min - Planned
  • Medium Diagnosing simultaneous multi-output failure (mezzanine connector) 20-30 min - Available
  • Medium SSD not recognized: diagnosis and fix options 20 min - Planned
  • Medium Diagnosing overheating and fan failure 20 min - Planned
  • Medium Camera freezes or hangs during operation 20 min - Planned
  • Medium No power after REDMAG swap: connector and power delivery check 20 min - Planned

Repairs

These guides require partial or full disassembly. Read the relevant diagnosis guide first.

  • Medium Replacing the cooling fan 45 min - Planned
  • Medium Swapping the PL lens mount 30 min - Planned
  • Easy Replacing the V-mount battery plate 20 min - Planned
  • Hard Repairing broken traces near the mezzanine connector 2-4 hrs - Planned
  • Hard Cleaning or replacing the iVDR connector 1-2 hrs - Planned
  • Medium Replacing the NVRAM backup battery (ML2020) 45-90 min - Available

Firmware & Software Research

Guides for exploring and understanding the RED ONE MX firmware and software stack.

Contribute a Guide

The fastest way to help this project is to write a guide for a procedure you have already done.

No coding knowledge required. If you can write a numbered list, you can write a guide.