Power led blinking fast

[Alcatraz5906]

Last night at 1.27 a.m. the router stopped running and power led started blinking rapidly. I cannot do anything, nor restart correctly the router neither connect with an ethernet cable and reload the firmware.

did you manage something like this?

marco

[michaelkenward]

---

@Alcatraz5906 wrote:

Last night at 1.27 a.m. the router stopped running and power led started blinking rapidly.

---

Not sure about the rapidly, but a flashing power LED is sometimes a sign of corrupt firmware.

Visit the support pages:

Support | NETGEAR

Feed in your model number and check the documentation for your hardware.

That page will also have any software and firmware for your device.

Check the section in the manual Troubleshoot With the LEDs.

What happens when you turn the power on and off? Have you tried a factory reset?

How do I perform a factory reset on my NETGEAR router? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

There is more severe, recovery reset, that you could try:

• Press reset for 30 seconds
• Keep pressing reset while removing power
• Keep pressing reset for another 30 seconds while apply power

If it works, you may be able to use the usual method to flash the firmware again.

Download the latest firmware for your device – or an older version if that is what you want – and read the Release Notes for how to install it.

If that fails, you are into TFTP country.

How to upload firmware to a NETGEAR router using Windows TFTP | Answer | NETGEAR Support

This also explains how to tell Windows to use TFTP on your PC.

This isn't the easiest operation, so if you are forced to use it, you could try a web search to find videos that guide you through the process.

The good news is that TFTP has rescued many a dead device.

[Alcatraz5906]

Thank you very much. The problem is that I cannot see the router connecting it directly from the PC, so it is impossible to transfer the firmware.

Is there any other tentative I can do?

[michaelkenward]

---

@Alcatraz5906 wrote:

The problem is that I cannot see the router connecting it directly from the PC, so it is impossible to transfer the firmware.

---

I don't understand what you are doing to show that.

The process I described is complicated. Your description tells me nothing about what you did and where it went wrong.

We don't even know what the flashing power light shows.

[Alcatraz5906]

Hi.

I'll try to explain better.

I've tried to do all the actions suggested.

1. nothing has changed after having tried to reset the router as you said: the power led still blink amber rapidly

2. I've tried to put the right firmware with the TFTP command but the router isn't reachable with the ethernet cable; I mean: the LAN port is not running.

Hope have been clearer.

thank you very much again for your support.

marco

[antinode]

> [...] The problem is that I cannot see the router connecting it
> directly from the PC, so it is impossible to transfer the firmware.

> 2. I've tried to put the right firmware with the TFTP command but the
> router isn't reachable with the ethernet cable; I mean: the LAN port is
> not running.

   None of that is a useful problem description.  It does not say what
you did.  It does not say what happened when you did it.  As usual,
showing actual actions (commands) with their actual results (error
messages, LED indicators, ...) can be more helpful than vague
descriptions or interpretations.

   The whole point of the TFTP recovery scheme is that it can work when
the router is _not_ working properly.  For example, that's why it
involves the user configuring a static IP address (like, say,
"192.168.0.10") on the computer, instead of relying on the router's DHCP
server to supply the computer's IP configuration (as usual).

   The TFTP recovery scheme is a multi-step procedure which offers
multiple opportunities for user input, hence user error.  By itself,
saying that you "tried" it doesn't say much.  See "As usual, [...]",
above.  Especially when using a command-line program, copy+paste is your
friend.

[Alcatraz5906]

I understand that I'm not clear.

I cannot add anything else because the Router is almost dead; I mean there is the power led blinking and I cannot reach the router via ethernet with my PC because each LAN port seems not running.

So I don't have anything too show, but the video of the power led blinking 🙂

[michaelkenward]

It isn't clear to me that you have read this and tried to follow the instructions:

How to upload firmware to a NETGEAR router using Windows TFTP | Answer | NETGEAR Support

[Alcatraz5906]

Yes I tried that procedure but the router is not reachable nor with the ethernet neither eith the wifi: it is almost dead! The only signal of life is the power led blinking

[michaelkenward]

Again, with no useful information on what is really happening at your end I cannot suggest anything else.

As a final fling, because we cannot see what you are doing, I can only suggest that you watch one of the many videos out there that take you through the repair process. You could start here:

tftp netgear video - Google Search

This has pointers to various videos including this one as an example:

[Alcatraz5906]

Excuse me, but really I don't understand why you cannot understand the situation: the router is not reachable in any way (nor with the wifi neither with the ethernet cable) so I cannot do anything but switch off and on the power button (and swtching on I only see the power led blinking amber): what is that you cannot understand?

I also have tried all the other operation you suggested or the videos suggest.

sorry, I'm getting nervous and it is not your fault.

I'll definetely use the other (tplink) router I already have.

thanks a lot, anyway.

marco

[michaelkenward]

---

@Alcatraz5906 wrote:

Excuse me, but really I don't understand why you cannot understand the situation: the router is not reachable in any way (nor with the wifi neither with the ethernet cable) so I cannot do anything but switch off and on the power button (and swtching on I only see the power led blinking amber): what is that you cannot understand?

---

We understand you perfectly. The trouble is that you don't seem to understand the answers.

Yes, we know that you cannot reach the router in the usual ways. That is a symptom of the corrupt firmware that you need to fix.

The whole point of the TFTP process described is that, if you get it right, you can access the router in an unusual way.

That is the process that these videos explain. It is not the easiest thing to do. It is a multi-stage process. Everything has to be done in exactly the right way and in the right order.

So far,  your replies have not told us where it goes wrong for you. All we know is that you keep switching the thing on and off. That will get you nowhere.

[Alcatraz5906]

I don't know how to say that the Lan ports seem to be not running, so I cannot reach the router with the TFTP command having even done all the action described in the video.

this is the (obvious) replay to the TFTP command:

"richiesta di connessione non riuscita" (in english:"connection request failed")

[antinode]

> Immagine 2020-12-22 152247.png

   Copy+paste of plain text is usually more convenient than a picture of
plain text.

   "192.168.1.1" is not the default LAN IP address for a modem+router.
Did you try "192.168.0.1"?  What's the IP address of the Windows system?
That must be in the same subnet.

>    The TFTP recovery scheme is a multi-step procedure which offers
> multiple opportunities for user input, hence user error.  By itself,
> saying that you "tried" it doesn't say much.  See "As usual, [...]",
> above.  Especially when using a command-line program, copy+paste is your
> friend.

   Do you see why now?

[michaelkenward]

---

@Alcatraz5906 wrote:

this is the (obvious) replay to the TFTP command:

"richiesta di connessione non riuscita" (in english:"connection request failed")

---

That message is not saying that there is no action on the LAN port, simply that the TFTP utility isn't working for some reason.

It could be that the IP address set up is not correct, or that you did not issue the command while the connection was active. It could also mean that your hardware really is broken.

Past reports here suggest that you have to get the timing right. Some users have had to make several attempts to make the process work.

That is why I recommend looking at one of those videos. They will guide you on the exact messages that you should see.

[Alcatraz5906]

I'll try again to explain.

first of all you have to understand that I'm not a "beginner", I've a good knowledge on technology: I've been the CIO in some important multinational companies.

Said that I can assure that the Lan ports are not running:

- the ethernet network cable is "not connected" even if it is phisically connected

- the usual amber light of the Lan port is not blinking when I connect the cable to the router

In the end, after having done everything seen in the videos and having seen that the ethernet connection between the pc and the router is not running, my personal opinion is that the router is relly broken.

If you don't have any other suggestion, may be we can close the thread and...put the router into the rubbish.

btw: many thanks for your patience and your help.

best regards

marco

[Alcatraz5906]

yes I've also tried with the 192.168.0.1.

please read my previous replay to michaelkenward (Guru) where I explain better that the Lan Ports are not running, so it is impossible to reach the router.

many thanks also to you.

best regards

marco

[antinode]

> first of all you have to understand that I'm not a "beginner", I've a
> good knowledge on technology: I've been the CIO in some important
> multinational companies.

   I'm happy for you, but that does not prove that your problem
description was good for anything.

> Said that I can assure that the Lan ports are not running:

   Only you know what that means.

> - the ethernet network cable is "not connected" even if it is
> phisically connected

   That seems to be news.  Who says "not connected"?  If all the LAN
Ethernet ports are dead, then you can't use the TFTP scheme.  And the
D6200 may be beyond hope.  But who could know that based on your problem
description?

[Alcatraz5906]

"not connect" is said by Windows system looking at the window "network connection" for the Ethernet connection when the ethernet cable is phisically connected between the pc and the router.

So, in the end, you confirm with me that the the router is beyond hope.

At this point is not to easy to me to understand what happened that night, said also that the router was protected by a UPS.

anyway, thanks a lot again for your support.

marco