You've built your keyboard, but you can't seem to be able to flash it. Perhaps it even worked the first time while you were testing your microcontroller, and now it doesn't, or maybe you've gotten a preassembled keyboard and this is the first time you get to flash your keyboard.
1. Does your keyboard power on?
First of all, plug in your keyboard if you haven't already. Does it turn on? Keyboards with a daughterboard like the Pro Micro or Elite C will have a power LED (though the Proton C lacks that), which is an easy indicator that your keyboard receives power. On many keyboards with underglow, it will be on by default, so if anything lights up, your keyboard is on. The same goes for the OLED display: if it's on, your keyboard is on too.
If your keyboard doesn't power on, you may have a shorted connection, or you may have installed an RGB LED in the wrong orientation. If you've received an assembled keyboard and it won't power on, please read Where can I find help?
2. The keyboard powers on, but it can't be flashed
First, open up QMK Toolbox. Select the right firmware, either by file in the top right, or select the Kyria to load default firmware from qmk.fm.
Make sure you enable "Auto-Flash". This allows the QMK Toolbox to directly flash your keyboard when it sees it in bootloader mode. On many microcontrollers, you can only flash the controller for a limited time after pressing the reset button, so the Auto-Flash option is very useful to ensure you don't miss this window.
Next, plug in your keyboard if you haven't already, and press the reset button twice in rapid succession. Often, this will enable the toolbox to flash your keyboard, which solves the problem.
If that didn't work, unplug your keyboard. Then, while holding the reset button, plug your keyboard back into your computer, and release the reset button after two seconds.
3. QMK Toolbox won't recognize the keyboard
A common cause of a keyboard not working is using a USB cable that only supports power. Especially cheaper Micro USB cables can only transmit power, which is great when you want to charge your phone, but not so great when you need to transfer data.
The easiest way to test this is to use a USB cable from a reputable vendor. The cable that shipped with a phone will often work, for example.
4. I still can't flash my keyboard
Unplug your keyboard from your computer, then unplug both halves from each other. Next, plug only one half back in. With QMK Toolbox open, reset your keyboard and reset the EEPROM with the button in the bottom right corner. Then, try to flash your keyboard, and when succesfull, repeat these steps for the other half of your keyboard.
Still no luck? Please read Where can I find help? to view more resources on how to get the problem fixed.
I'm using the commandline instead of the QMK Toolbox
Make sure you've selected the right bootloader. On Pro Micros, this is often Catarina, which needs to be flashed with avrdude. On the Elite C, this is DFU, which needs DFU mode. And for the Proton C, this will be QMK DFU, which can also be flashed in DFU mode.
To select the right bootloader:
- For Catarina:
qmk flash -kb kyria -km mykeymap -bl avrdude - For DFU:
qmk flash -kb kyria -km mykeymap -bl dfu
To learn more about flashing specific bootloaders, read the QMK Documentation on Flashing.