I've tried the Swap key, and just about every other key combination in conjunction with the Power button, and nothing will get this into Update Mode. I hold Swap, then hold Power, keep holding as it boots up as normal. It's driving me crazy, am I doing something wrong?

Did you plug in USB first?

Yep, and a few times tried plugging it in at various points throughout the boot too just to see if that helped, to no avail.
(Hey I'm in downtown St. Pete too btw)

I'll be damned, it only works if the charger isn't plugged in.

Hehe, yep. I recently flashed a new N800 I picked up and it'd been awhile since I'd flashed my N770. I didn't recall needing to unplug power, but from all the yakking about USB OTG and host mode, it only makes sense- I simply forgot. Nevermind that the wizard clearly states it, which I didn't read initially because "I've done this before".

Pffft...many more after us will have the same revelation!

There's a number of critical steps that aren't always highlighted as well as they should be in every tutorial.

The device doesn't actually shut down when it's on the charger, it simply goes into what basically amounts to a lower run level, X is still up (to show the charging info), so it's booted past the point where you can start the flashing process.

Anyway, to anybody who discovers this thread in the future, a few points:

1. The charger must be unplugged so the device can shut down completely. You're welcome to plug it in once the device is waiting for the flasher (USB image in the upper right corner after powering up with Home/Swap key held down), or in the process of flashing.
2. In order to get the device to wait for the flasher, most every guide mentions that you must boot holding down the Home/Swap keys, but what they don't mention is that you also need to have the USB cable plugged in when you do this.

There are a disturbing number of tablet users in Florida, especially the bay area. . . .

Glad this thread is here. I was extremely frustrated by the instructions in the updater, where it said that I had to power on the unit while holding the "Swap" key. In the couple months that I've had my unit, I've not heard of a "Swap" key. Power, zoom +/-, full screen, directional buttons, Enter, Escape, Menu, and HOME, but never a "Swap". I scoured Nokia's website to no avail, either.

Thanks for making the connection above - ITT comes to the rescue again!!

Hi All,

I'm having a similar problem now. I go to boot my N810 into update mode (usb cable in first, swap key etc...) and something goes awry.

The USB icon appears in the top right corner and then promptly disappears and the tablet proceeds to boot normally. I've tried different ports, different cables to no avail.

Ideas? Any help is much appreciated! Thanks.

Interestingly enough, removing the update wizard and reinstalling it seems to have fixed this problem.

That or the Gods of chaos have smiled upon me.