vu + solo

so I get a VU+ solo pro clone which if I'd of known what a nightmare they are I wouldn't of bothered, this is how it come I can next via ftp but from what I've read not good idea to flash via USB ?? Brickit??I've done extensive research on this all day and still I haven't found the answer it was...

I have a clone Solo V3 box, It was working previously, hadn't used it for a while, now tuner won't detect any satellite transponders, tried flashing a new image, same issue, guess the tuners dead.