New Pixhawk Cube Orange+ hardware incompatible with MATLAB PX4 Toolbox (PX4 v1.14.x)?
Hi all,
It appears that the Pixhawk Cube Orange+ has undergone a hardware change since the MATLAB R2024a PX4 Support Package (PX4 v1.14.0) was released. In my lab we use Cube Orange+ for custom flight control law testing, and a recent purchase of four Cube Orange+ units (ordered August 2025) has revealed a serious compatibility issue:
Older Cube Orange+ boards (purchased before Summer 2025) work perfectly with MATLAB R2024a PX4 Toolbox (PX4 v1.14.0).
Newer Cube Orange+ boards (purchased Aug 2025) are unusable with PX4 v1.14.x–based MATLAB builds, but work fine with newer stock PX4 firmware.
On the newer Cube Orange+ boards, I observe the following behavior:
Stock PX4 v1.15, v1.16, and v1.17 build and flash without issue. RC input works correctly, and peripherals such as GPS, TFmini LiDAR, and airspeed sensors behave as expected.
MATLAB R2024a PX4 toolbox builds (PX4 v1.14.0), which still work on older Cube Orange+ boards, cause the Cube to play the “error tune” immediately after boot when flashed to the newer boards.
RC input is completely missing. The Radio setup screen in QGroundControl shows no channels, and MAVLink Inspector shows no RC_CHANNELS or RC_CHANNELS_RAW messages being published.
RCIN does not respond to standard SBUS input.
When ELRS/CRSF drivers are enabled, some switch activity appears in the Radio screen but is glitchy and not reliably received by the Pixhawk.
TFmini LiDAR modules no longer publish to DISTANCE_SENSOR in MAVLink Inspector.
PWM_MAIN channels 1–8 are disabled after uploading the v1.14.0 firmware.
PWM_MAIN_TIM* parameters are missing, similar to the behavior reported previously on the Pixhawk 6C.
From what I have seen so far, this issue appears to persist with MATLAB R2025a+ (PX4 v1.14.3 firmware), so the proposed 1.14.3 fix that helped the 6C does not appear to resolve this for newer Cube Orange+ boards.
Tests I have already tried on the newer Cube Orange+ units include:
Flashing stock PX4 v1.17, fully setting up the board in QGroundControl, verifying that RC and TFmini work, then flashing MATLAB-generated PX4 v1.14.0 firmware (that still works on older cubes) → error tune and no RC/TFmini.
Flashing stock PX4 v1.16, setting up the board, verifying RC and TFmini, then flashing MATLAB-generated PX4 v1.14.0 firmware → error tune and no RC/TFmini.
Flashing stock PX4 v1.15, setting up the board, verifying RC and TFmini, then flashing MATLAB-generated PX4 v1.14.0 firmware → error tune and no RC/TFmini.
Flashing stock PX4 v1.14.0 directly from the PX4 GitHub repository and setting up the board → error tune and the same loss of RC/TFmini.
Performing a full wipe (SD card erase and parameter reset), then flashing MATLAB-generated PX4 v1.14.0 firmware that still works on older Cube Orange+ units → error tune and no RC/TFmini.
From these tests, I have deduced the following:
The same MATLAB PX4 v1.14.0 firmware remains fully functional on older Cube Orange+ boards.
The same newer Cube Orange+ hardware works correctly with stock PX4 v1.15 and newer.
The newer Cube Orange+ hardware consistently shows broken RC/IO/TFmini behavior with PX4 v1.14.x (both stock builds and MATLAB-generated builds).
This makes me suspect that there has been a hardware revision in the Cube Orange+ and that the IO/RC/PWM layer in PX4 v1.14.x (including the IO firmware) is no longer fully compatible with these newer boards.
A few questions:
Is MathWorks aware of this issue with newer Pixhawk Cube Orange+ hardware and the PX4 v1.14.x–based support packages (R2024a–R2025b)?
Is MATLAB R2026a (or a future PX4 Support Package update) planning to move to PX4 v1.15 or newer, which appears to work reliably on these newer Cube Orange+ boards?
Has anyone else seen this behavior on newer Cube Orange+ units, and if so, has anyone found a workaround or partial solution (e.g., custom IO firmware, patched board configuration, or updated support package)?
Has anyone confirmed whether this issue is also present in the Cube Orange (non +) variants?
Thank you in advance for any guidance, support, or suggestions you may have.
-AHi all,
It appears that the Pixhawk Cube Orange+ has undergone a hardware change since the MATLAB R2024a PX4 Support Package (PX4 v1.14.0) was released. In my lab we use Cube Orange+ for custom flight control law testing, and a recent purchase of four Cube Orange+ units (ordered August 2025) has revealed a serious compatibility issue:
Older Cube Orange+ boards (purchased before Summer 2025) work perfectly with MATLAB R2024a PX4 Toolbox (PX4 v1.14.0).
Newer Cube Orange+ boards (purchased Aug 2025) are unusable with PX4 v1.14.x–based MATLAB builds, but work fine with newer stock PX4 firmware.
On the newer Cube Orange+ boards, I observe the following behavior:
Stock PX4 v1.15, v1.16, and v1.17 build and flash without issue. RC input works correctly, and peripherals such as GPS, TFmini LiDAR, and airspeed sensors behave as expected.
MATLAB R2024a PX4 toolbox builds (PX4 v1.14.0), which still work on older Cube Orange+ boards, cause the Cube to play the “error tune” immediately after boot when flashed to the newer boards.
RC input is completely missing. The Radio setup screen in QGroundControl shows no channels, and MAVLink Inspector shows no RC_CHANNELS or RC_CHANNELS_RAW messages being published.
RCIN does not respond to standard SBUS input.
When ELRS/CRSF drivers are enabled, some switch activity appears in the Radio screen but is glitchy and not reliably received by the Pixhawk.
TFmini LiDAR modules no longer publish to DISTANCE_SENSOR in MAVLink Inspector.
PWM_MAIN channels 1–8 are disabled after uploading the v1.14.0 firmware.
PWM_MAIN_TIM* parameters are missing, similar to the behavior reported previously on the Pixhawk 6C.
From what I have seen so far, this issue appears to persist with MATLAB R2025a+ (PX4 v1.14.3 firmware), so the proposed 1.14.3 fix that helped the 6C does not appear to resolve this for newer Cube Orange+ boards.
Tests I have already tried on the newer Cube Orange+ units include:
Flashing stock PX4 v1.17, fully setting up the board in QGroundControl, verifying that RC and TFmini work, then flashing MATLAB-generated PX4 v1.14.0 firmware (that still works on older cubes) → error tune and no RC/TFmini.
Flashing stock PX4 v1.16, setting up the board, verifying RC and TFmini, then flashing MATLAB-generated PX4 v1.14.0 firmware → error tune and no RC/TFmini.
Flashing stock PX4 v1.15, setting up the board, verifying RC and TFmini, then flashing MATLAB-generated PX4 v1.14.0 firmware → error tune and no RC/TFmini.
Flashing stock PX4 v1.14.0 directly from the PX4 GitHub repository and setting up the board → error tune and the same loss of RC/TFmini.
Performing a full wipe (SD card erase and parameter reset), then flashing MATLAB-generated PX4 v1.14.0 firmware that still works on older Cube Orange+ units → error tune and no RC/TFmini.
From these tests, I have deduced the following:
The same MATLAB PX4 v1.14.0 firmware remains fully functional on older Cube Orange+ boards.
The same newer Cube Orange+ hardware works correctly with stock PX4 v1.15 and newer.
The newer Cube Orange+ hardware consistently shows broken RC/IO/TFmini behavior with PX4 v1.14.x (both stock builds and MATLAB-generated builds).
This makes me suspect that there has been a hardware revision in the Cube Orange+ and that the IO/RC/PWM layer in PX4 v1.14.x (including the IO firmware) is no longer fully compatible with these newer boards.
A few questions:
Is MathWorks aware of this issue with newer Pixhawk Cube Orange+ hardware and the PX4 v1.14.x–based support packages (R2024a–R2025b)?
Is MATLAB R2026a (or a future PX4 Support Package update) planning to move to PX4 v1.15 or newer, which appears to work reliably on these newer Cube Orange+ boards?
Has anyone else seen this behavior on newer Cube Orange+ units, and if so, has anyone found a workaround or partial solution (e.g., custom IO firmware, patched board configuration, or updated support package)?
Has anyone confirmed whether this issue is also present in the Cube Orange (non +) variants?
Thank you in advance for any guidance, support, or suggestions you may have.
-A Hi all,
It appears that the Pixhawk Cube Orange+ has undergone a hardware change since the MATLAB R2024a PX4 Support Package (PX4 v1.14.0) was released. In my lab we use Cube Orange+ for custom flight control law testing, and a recent purchase of four Cube Orange+ units (ordered August 2025) has revealed a serious compatibility issue:
Older Cube Orange+ boards (purchased before Summer 2025) work perfectly with MATLAB R2024a PX4 Toolbox (PX4 v1.14.0).
Newer Cube Orange+ boards (purchased Aug 2025) are unusable with PX4 v1.14.x–based MATLAB builds, but work fine with newer stock PX4 firmware.
On the newer Cube Orange+ boards, I observe the following behavior:
Stock PX4 v1.15, v1.16, and v1.17 build and flash without issue. RC input works correctly, and peripherals such as GPS, TFmini LiDAR, and airspeed sensors behave as expected.
MATLAB R2024a PX4 toolbox builds (PX4 v1.14.0), which still work on older Cube Orange+ boards, cause the Cube to play the “error tune” immediately after boot when flashed to the newer boards.
RC input is completely missing. The Radio setup screen in QGroundControl shows no channels, and MAVLink Inspector shows no RC_CHANNELS or RC_CHANNELS_RAW messages being published.
RCIN does not respond to standard SBUS input.
When ELRS/CRSF drivers are enabled, some switch activity appears in the Radio screen but is glitchy and not reliably received by the Pixhawk.
TFmini LiDAR modules no longer publish to DISTANCE_SENSOR in MAVLink Inspector.
PWM_MAIN channels 1–8 are disabled after uploading the v1.14.0 firmware.
PWM_MAIN_TIM* parameters are missing, similar to the behavior reported previously on the Pixhawk 6C.
From what I have seen so far, this issue appears to persist with MATLAB R2025a+ (PX4 v1.14.3 firmware), so the proposed 1.14.3 fix that helped the 6C does not appear to resolve this for newer Cube Orange+ boards.
Tests I have already tried on the newer Cube Orange+ units include:
Flashing stock PX4 v1.17, fully setting up the board in QGroundControl, verifying that RC and TFmini work, then flashing MATLAB-generated PX4 v1.14.0 firmware (that still works on older cubes) → error tune and no RC/TFmini.
Flashing stock PX4 v1.16, setting up the board, verifying RC and TFmini, then flashing MATLAB-generated PX4 v1.14.0 firmware → error tune and no RC/TFmini.
Flashing stock PX4 v1.15, setting up the board, verifying RC and TFmini, then flashing MATLAB-generated PX4 v1.14.0 firmware → error tune and no RC/TFmini.
Flashing stock PX4 v1.14.0 directly from the PX4 GitHub repository and setting up the board → error tune and the same loss of RC/TFmini.
Performing a full wipe (SD card erase and parameter reset), then flashing MATLAB-generated PX4 v1.14.0 firmware that still works on older Cube Orange+ units → error tune and no RC/TFmini.
From these tests, I have deduced the following:
The same MATLAB PX4 v1.14.0 firmware remains fully functional on older Cube Orange+ boards.
The same newer Cube Orange+ hardware works correctly with stock PX4 v1.15 and newer.
The newer Cube Orange+ hardware consistently shows broken RC/IO/TFmini behavior with PX4 v1.14.x (both stock builds and MATLAB-generated builds).
This makes me suspect that there has been a hardware revision in the Cube Orange+ and that the IO/RC/PWM layer in PX4 v1.14.x (including the IO firmware) is no longer fully compatible with these newer boards.
A few questions:
Is MathWorks aware of this issue with newer Pixhawk Cube Orange+ hardware and the PX4 v1.14.x–based support packages (R2024a–R2025b)?
Is MATLAB R2026a (or a future PX4 Support Package update) planning to move to PX4 v1.15 or newer, which appears to work reliably on these newer Cube Orange+ boards?
Has anyone else seen this behavior on newer Cube Orange+ units, and if so, has anyone found a workaround or partial solution (e.g., custom IO firmware, patched board configuration, or updated support package)?
Has anyone confirmed whether this issue is also present in the Cube Orange (non +) variants?
Thank you in advance for any guidance, support, or suggestions you may have.
-A px4, pixhawk MATLAB Answers — New Questions









