My XR500 lives! Step by Step total reset from brick

[Lokkinatukid]

I'd given up all hope. My XR 500 was stuck with a blinking power led indicator. No response from my email to support but thanks to some resources and posts in the community its back again. Thought I'd share. It's a bit techy but doable and involves getting the latest firmware, netgears Tftp tool and performing a hard reset using the 30/30/30 method.

1. Using an alternate internet connection (obviously) locate the product info page on your router at netgear. for me it was

https://www.netgear.com/support/product/XR500.aspx#download

2. Download the latest firmware and unzip it.

3. Download and intstall netgears Tftp tool

https://kb.netgear.com/000059633/How-to-upload-firmware-to-a-NETGEAR-router-using-TFTP-client

3. Disconnect all connections to your router other than your computer (Lan port) and the connection to your internet (Wan port)

4. 30/30/30 Hard Reset. Find the little reset hole on the back of  your router with the word reset and use a paperclip to press it and hold it for 30 seconds. Without letting go of the paperclip pull out the power jack to the modem. You can release your death grip on the paper clip and wait 30 seconds. Use the paperclip again to press the reset button and without letting go insert the power jack to the modem. Wait 30 seconds. release paperclip wait a bit for the modem to start.

(The rest is copied from the tech arrticle the link for which is above.

To upload firmware using TFTP client:

1. Download and save the router’s firmware onto the desktop of your computer. Make sure to extract the file from the zip folder. The firmware file format is either a .img or .chk file.
2. Download and install the Tftpd64 software from: TFTP Client
   For Mac users, a free client can be downloaded here: Mac TFTP Client
3. Connect a PC wired to the router and set it to have a static IP address (example 192.168.1.10). 
   For Mac users, go to Beginner: How To Set Up A Static IP in Mac OS X and proceed to step 5.
   1. Right-click the Windows start button then select Network Connections.
   2. Right-click Ethernet and select Properties.
   3. Double-click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).
   4. Select Use the following IP address and set the IP address information like below:
      1. IP address => 192.168.1.10
      2. Subnet mask => 255.255.255.0
      3. Default Gateway => 192.168.1.1
   5. Click OK to save the configuration.
4. Now run the Tftpd64 software that was installed earlier and do the following:
   1. In the Server interfaces field, select the LAN adapter of your computer.
   2. For Host field, enter the default router IP (usually 192.168.1.1).
   3. For Port field, enter port 69 (it is the default port number for TFTP).
   4. For Local File, browse to the location of the downloaded firmware file and select it. At this point, do not click on PUT.
      
      
5. Unplug all port connections from router except this PC.
6. Turn router OFF for 10 seconds and then turn it back ON.
7. Watch the Power LED. It will start with an orange color and then start flashing.
8. Press PUT button on the Tftpd64 utility to perform the firmware upload.
9. You should see a pop up saying that “0 block retransmitted”.  If not, you may need to repeat above.
   
   
10. The firmware has been successfully uploaded. You will need to wait about 4 minutes for the router to finish storing firmware into its flash memory. Once this is done, the Power LED will turn solid and the wireless LEDs are lit.
    
    Note: Please remember to change your PC back to “Obtain an IP address automatically” and “Obtain DNS server address automatically”.

I Hope this is of help.

[Andreezy]

Thank you so much! This helped me fix it after what seemed like a lifetime of misfortune. :’)