Ethernet ports not working after ISP outage R6400

[liduck]

Had bad storms pass through area yesterday and experienced ISP outage (internet/TV/phone).  Went to work and came home to find ISP service restored, wifi is up and working but all of the ethernet ports (3 of the 4 are used, desktop computer, TV and DVD player) were dark.  Reset the router several times, unplugged and replugged in the ethernet connectors and still no sign of any activity lights on the ports on the router.  IIRC, they should light up when I plug in an active device.  Only thing left to do is to a full factory reset, but was holding off until I hear from someone here for a better idea.  Was able to log into my router, firmware is up-to-date.  Any ideas?  Thanks in advance!

[antinode · Accepted solution]

> [...] no mention of NO light lit, [...]

   No port-status light = no connection.

   If you had even one working port, then you could connect it to an
external network switch, but if they're all fried, then you may be
doomed.

> [...] as it's past the 3 months, the only help I can get from Netgear
> is to buy a contract? [...]

   I wouldn't bet that the warranty covers lightning, but there should
be an option to return a defective gizmo without needing a support
agreement.

      https://www.netgear.com/about/warranty/

[FURRYe38]

Please post about this here for your model router:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/General-WiFi-Routers-Non/bd-p/home-wifi-routers-general

Good Luck. 

[antinode]

> Had bad storms [...]

   That sounds more like a cause than "ISP outage" (which sounds like
another effect).

> [...] IIRC, they should light up when I plug in an active device.
> [...]

   No need to recall.  Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your
model number, and look for Documentation.  Get the User Manual.  Read.

   Connecting a known-good Ethernet cable between any two LAN ports
should give you two good port-status indicators, too.

> [...] Only thing left to do is to a full factory reset, [...]

   You can try that, but I'd guess that your hardware is fried, and a
settings reset won't help that.

> [...] Was able to log into my router, [...]

   How, wirelessly?

> [...] firmware is up-to-date. [...]

   As always, an actual version number would be more useful than your
opinion of what's "up-to-date" today.  But, in this case, it probably
matters little.

[liduck]

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@antinode wrote:

> Had bad storms [...]

   That sounds more like a cause than "ISP outage" (which sounds like
another effect).

I'm afraid of that too, but I have to try

> [...] IIRC, they should light up when I plug in an active device.
> [...]

   No need to recall.  Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your
model number, and look for Documentation.  Get the User Manual.  Read.

   Connecting a known-good Ethernet cable between any two LAN ports
should give you two good port-status indicators, too.

Did that earlier but no mention of NO light lit, nor mention of this in the troubleshooting section for this router

> [...] Only thing left to do is to a full factory reset, [...]

   You can try that, but I'd guess that your hardware is fried, and a
settings reset won't help that.

Indeed, no joy

> [...] Was able to log into my router, [...]

   How, wirelessly? 

Yes, it works flawlessly from the get-go wirelessly, just no luck with the ethernet connections, which I was hoping I could revive with some unpublished command, but it looks like out of luck.

> [...] firmware is up-to-date. [...]

   As always, an actual version number would be more useful than your
opinion of what's "up-to-date" today.  But, in this case, it probably
matters little.

---

V1.0.0.50 and it didn't matter.  Still no luck with the cables and as it's past the 3 months, the only help I can get from Netgear is to buy a contract?  And thanks for the responses Antinode and FURRYe38!

[antinode · Accepted solution]

> [...] no mention of NO light lit, [...]

   No port-status light = no connection.

   If you had even one working port, then you could connect it to an
external network switch, but if they're all fried, then you may be
doomed.

> [...] as it's past the 3 months, the only help I can get from Netgear
> is to buy a contract? [...]

   I wouldn't bet that the warranty covers lightning, but there should
be an option to return a defective gizmo without needing a support
agreement.

      https://www.netgear.com/about/warranty/

[michaelkenward]

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@liduck wrote:

Had bad storms pass through area yesterday and experienced ISP outage (internet/TV/phone). 

Storms are very good at killing electronic equipment. They can do serious damage when lightning hits overhead telephone wires. I once ended up with a fried motherboard with some artistic burn marks on the chips. Fortunately, it was covered by insurance.

And those effects can be selective, taking out some bits of the system while leaving others untouched.

[liduck]

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@michaelkenward wrote:

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@liduck wrote:

Had bad storms pass through area yesterday and experienced ISP outage (internet/TV/phone). 

Storms are very good at killing electronic equipment. 

Agreed!  Been a ham radio operator for over 30 years now and seen this personally, both as a civilian and as one who once worked for Uncle.  I had my stuff isolated but there is no stopping surge entry via the AC or cable.  Been lucky the last few years since I've been up North (down South, this is a frequent occurrance) and this has been my first victim in over a decade.  So far, this is the only thing that was touched by the storms, so I'll knock on wood and head out to the store to get another...

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