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Forum Discussion
New firmware bricked my RBK50
Yesterday I tried to update my Orbi from 2.7.5.6 to 2.7.6.6.
I used the manual method like I did many times before without any problems. The update progress bar stopped at approx 75% and nothing happened. Although the admin page said the update usually takes around 3 minutes, I waited 20 minutes, but nothing happened.
I then restarted the router but it seems dead. The green power led is on steady green, but there is no light in the rings on top of the device. Pressing the reset button does nothing. Always same thing : rings have no light and the power led is green. I don't seem to get an IP address either.
I tried everything I could find on the net, no success. After many years of super reliable operation this firmware killed my device.
Anyone have an idea?
14 Replies
Many years ago when the warranty expired on my RBR50, I purchased a spare on eBay to have (a) "just in case", and (b) to experiment with. Drug it out today and installed the new v2.7.6.6 firmware. Installation proceeded as expected. Thus, it appears that not every RBR50 will be harmed by installing v2.7.6.6 firmware. (Will continue to "wait and see" before installing the new firmware on my primary system.)
It appears that BohrokKaita has two choices:
- Try to flash the new firmware on that old RBR50 using TFTP or nmrpflash.
https://kb.netgear.com/000059634/How-to-upload-firmware-to-a-NETGEAR-router-using-Windows-TFTP?_ga=2.2531440.1566834440.1735427727-675698672.1722124665
https://github.com/jclehner/nmrpflash - If that is too complicated to attempt or fails, "move on" and replace the WiF5 system with a newer WiFi6 mesh. All the major vendors offer WiFi6 systems that are relatively inexpensive. While we tend to obsess over Netgear's support and warranty policies, I have zero knowledge of how they compare with other companies, such as Asus, eeero, Google, TP-Link, etc.
I just finished updating a spare RBR50 with 2.7.6.6 firmware and had no issues. I also will not install this new firmware on my primary system at this time. We'll see......
- Try to flash the new firmware on that old RBR50 using TFTP or nmrpflash.
The sense I get is that the router is not responsive. i.e. "dead".
Yes, I am afraid it is dead. The device is not responsive at all. When I directly connect to it I don't see it through my ethernet adapter. Ipconfig tells me "not connected".
It would be interesting to learn whether or not the ethernet ports work.
Yeah, but the green power LED is still lit on the back of the router, according to BohrokKaita
I actually had an RBR50 that literally was dead; no lights anywhere on the thing (i.e., it WAS somehow fried).
Correct, the only thing that seems to work is the green LED indicating power on or off. Looks like it is somehow stuck in a boot loop or something. Even the reset button doesn't change the light to orange or something else.
What browser are you using? Try MS Edge or Firefox to manually load FW.
Be sure you update the RBS first then RBR lastly.
Pressing the reset button in back for 15 seconds for a normal reset is recommended.
If the router is not responding at all, try a 30-30-30 reset on it and see if this brings it back to the setup wizard screen in a browser.
I used MS Edge for the manual update. I tried the 30-30-30 reset, but nothing changed. Green solid light next to the power button (no other color, no flashing or blinking), no LED rings on top of the Orbi at all.
Ok, if the 30-30-30 reset failed then the unit went back.
Not sure how far you want to delv into recover of your RBR.
If you wanna, try this you can:
Otherwise, you could find good working used units on places like fleabay or goodwill. I bought one on goodwill and works good.
Just to see what would happen with mine, I updated my RBK50 series to this same version of FW using MS Edge, RBS in same room as RBR.
Notice one odd process at the beginning on both RBS and RBR, using the WEB UI to send the FW file, noticed the file was sent however both RBS and RBR failed to process the file at all. Seemed like each unit just sat there and did nothing though the WEB UI said give 1-2 minute for the process to complete. I waited 10 minutes for the RBS to do something but it never turned on blinking WHITE. I happned to refresh the web ui and go back in to the manual update and select the RBS FW file again and this time after being sent to the RBS, the top ring started blinking WHITE. Same thing happened on the RBR, had to send the FW file a 2nd time to get it to process it. After both came back to ready and the RBS connected, both units are up and running on v.7.2.6.6 now. Nothing bricked.
Only seen this on the AC series. Very odd.
Pressing the reset button does nothing
Is this a Factory Reset (holding the reset until the power LED turns Amber and begins to flash)?
Yes exactly. Using a pin and pressing and holding the reset button. The thing is that nothing happens when I do that. The LED remains green. I also tried all kind of combinations like also pressing the power button simultaneously, before and after removing the power cable, etc.
Dumb question but what the heck: Are you sure you held the reset button in long enough? I tried resetting my RBR50 a few times over the years and it took seemingly forever to reset (i.e., I had to hold the reset button in for what seemed like a VERY long time).
