Nighthawk R7000 asking secret answers after factory reset

After holding the Factory Reset button on the back and allowing the lights to cycle back to normal, I am not able to log into the admin portal at 192.168.1.1 with admin / password as expected.

Attempting to perform a reset with the serial number leaves me stuck with two questions that were not set by either of us and that emplyee is no longer available.

Is there a resolution to this issue? I see quite a few references to it on the internet at large but not much in the way of solutions that don't look back to 'perform factory reset.'

Thank you,