Polaris Build Guide - Page 2 - ai03 Design Studio

The PCB comes with a basic keymap that types, but likely isn’t ideal for your use case.

To get it functioning well, it’s necessary to install a more recent copy of the firmware that’s compatible with Via Configurator.

Unbox the PCB if not already done.
Download the via-compatible firmware hex file ai03_polaris_via.hex from here.
If you haven’t installed QMK Toolbox, Atmel FLIP, or a similar firmware flashing program before, do the following:
1. Grab the latest QMK Toolbox here.
2. Run QMK Toolbox (or install and run if you grabbed the installer variant). It will ask you if you wish to install drivers; select yes.
3. The drivers will install slowly, then exit. After this, you may need to restart your PC to get the drivers loaded.
Flash the firmware. For QMK Toolbox users, do the following:
1. Launch QMK Toolbox. For the Local File field, press the Open button, and select the hex file that you downloaded at step 1.
2. Plug in your PCB, and press the reset button located near the left Win/Alt key location on the bottom. If the drivers are installed, you should see an ATMega32u4 Bootloader device show up.
3. Make sure that the option selected for Microcontroller is the atmega32u4, then press flash. The log should show the firmware being written successfully.
Replug the PCB once it’s done. It should now register as a functional keyboard and show up as Polaris in device manager or similar.

Next, we will prepare the case for assembly.