AxeOS tuning: setting frequency & voltage correctly

The open firmware AxeOS lets you set your miner’s frequency and voltage yourself. Done right, you get more efficiency or a bit more hashrate – done wrong, the device becomes unstable and constantly reboots. The key is patience: proceed in small steps and observe after each change. This guide shows you how to tune safely.

What you must understand: J/TH

The most important metric in tuning is efficiency in J/TH (joules per terahash) – i.e. how much energy your miner needs for a given amount of computing power. Lower J/TH means: more hashrate per watt, so more economical. The goal of tuning is usually not maximum hashrate at any cost, but the best compromise of hashrate, consumption and stability.

How frequency and voltage relate

Simply put: a higher frequency increases hashrate but usually also needs more voltage – and more voltage generates more heat and consumption. Too little voltage at too high a frequency leads to computing errors (rejected shares) and crashes. So it is about finding the stable optimum between the two.

1. Measure first, then change

Let the miner run on factory settings for a few hours and note hashrate, temperature and above all the J/TH. That is your starting point (baseline) against which you measure every change. Without a baseline you are in the dark.

2. Tune in small steps

• Only ever change one value at a time – first frequency OR voltage, never both at once.
• Proceed in small steps and wait 15–30 minutes after each change.
• Watch the temperature and the rate of accepted shares.
• If rejected shares appear or the device reboots, step back.

3. Keep an eye on temperature

Heat is the natural enemy of stability and lifespan. If the ASIC stays cool, you have more headroom upward. If the temperature rises into critical ranges, the chip throttles and the hashrate drops. Good cooling is therefore the prerequisite for any serious tuning.

Good cooling is the basis for tuning: with an ICE Tower or the AXP60 Copperzilla you have much more headroom before temperature becomes the limit.

4. Efficiency beats raw hashrate

A device that runs stably 24/7 achieves more over time than one that reboots every few hours with 5 % more hashrate – because every reboot means minutes without mining. Optimizing for low J/TH saves electricity and protects the hardware. That directly affects your electricity costs.

Automatic vs. manual

Some AxeOS versions include an auto-tuning function that searches for stable values on its own. That is a good, convenient starting point. Anyone who wants the last bit of efficiency rarely gets around manual fine-tuning, though – with the necessary patience.

Important to close: tuning is at your own risk. Stay within reasonable ranges and the risk is low while the efficiency gain is noticeable. If your device misbehaves after tuning, our Bitaxe troubleshooting helps with resetting.