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Re: RAX80 unable to start after firmware upgrade

liuxing0514
Tutor

RAX80 unable to start after firmware upgrade

After the firmware upgrade, here is what’s going on now:
1. Ember power light, even after waiting for ~30 minutes
2. I have several cables connected to it. When power is turned on, those 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 all lit up. Then after few seconds, all went off
3. The network indicator (the one right next to power) never light up
4. Wi-Fi indicator is showing white. But when trying connecting to the Wi-Fi, it is always giving me “incorrect password”. And I could confirm that the password is correct
5. I am trying to connect the router to my laptop, which doesn’t work either
6. I tried to push the reset button for 7 seconds, 30 seconds, and even 1 minute. None of those will reboot the router

Before the firmware upgrade, everything was working fine.

Please let me know in case of any questions.
Thanks!
Model: RAX80|Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream WiFi Router
Message 1 of 9

Accepted Solutions
liuxing0514
Tutor

Re: RAX80 unable to start after firmware upgrade

Looks like there is no way that I can edit the original post. I'll post the update here.

 

For anyone experiencing the same issue, TLDR:

  1. Call customer service at your earliest convenience. This is a hardware issue.
  2. Power off the router, PRESS AND HOLD the reset button (with a pin) and power on the router
  3. Keep the reset button pressed for ~10 seconds, maybe 20 or 30 seconds. Do note that, during this process, NONE of the indicators will blink or change color, though both are expected in a "normal" reset when your router is working fine
  4. Release the reset button and cross your fingers. If you see the solid white power indicator, congrats!

------

I'll summarize the details and info from the customer service here, if anyone is interested.

  • For the light indicators, since I have all LAN port connected w/ ethernet cable, "1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 all lit up. Then after a few seconds, all went off" is an indication that the booting process went wrong
  • I also noticed that, LAN port 1 and 2 is showing solid ember while 3, 4 and 5 are showing solid white before they went off. This simply means that LAN port 1 and 2 are connected with "lower speed" while 3, 4 and 5 are connected with "higher speed". Nothing wrong with this.
  • The "forever" solid ember power light simply means that, the router is stuck during the boot process, most possibly due to the firmware issue
  • Network indicator (the one right next to the power indicator) will not show up for sure, since that is the next step after boot process
  • When connecting the router to a laptop via LAN port, it is giving me "cable unplugged" error, which is another indication of firmware issue
  • At this point, Reset button won't respond if you leave the router on. But if you turn the router off, hold the reset and turn it on, it might work, according to the representative. We are both aware that this is not documented anywhere, since this is not expected for most of the cases
  • I remember the firmware version is ending with 88, which is the latest as of now (Jun 11, 2020). According to the representative, there is a known issue that this firmware may cause the failure of booting for specific routers
  • Still, according to the representative, as a user, we are supposed to upgrade the firmware as soon as there is one. Since firmware upgrade usually contains security updates that fixes existing/known vulnerabilities on your router
  • If the above won't fix your issue, call customer service at your earliest convenience

View solution in original post

Model: RAX80|Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream WiFi Router
Message 7 of 9

All Replies
RobberClobber
Initiate

Re: RAX80 unable to start after firmware upgrade

Same thing happened to me this morning I wake up and nothing is working only a power light and wifi light on.

Powered off and unplugged for 10mins then plugged back in and no change.

Fan on high speed.

Factory reset didn't work.

Unable to access device through direct LAN connection.

Fairly sure its bricked.

Congrats Netgear *golf clap*

Model: RAX80|Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream WiFi Router
Message 2 of 9
magfred
Guide

Re: RAX80 unable to start after firmware upgrade

My RAX80 also bricked when trying to update the first time. I manage to solve it by using TFTP and this guide:

 

https://kb.netgear.com/000059633/How-to-upload-firmware-to-a-NETGEAR-router-using-TFTP-client?_ga=2....

 

Message 3 of 9
RobberClobber
Initiate

Re: RAX80 unable to start after firmware upgrade

Thanks for the assist.

 

Any idea how long the routers take to move into this blinking stage? (its not doing anything other than solid orange after 10mins)

 

Also which port should I hook my laptop to on the router? The internet or one of the LAN ports i've tried both and neither work. (guide doesn't indicate or I'm blind)

 

Network cable shows unplugged in windows... doesn't matter which cable ethernet cable i use or which port none will respond.

 

Fairly sure this thing is hosed.  Either that or it wasn't a fw and just died on me.

Message 4 of 9
magfred
Guide

Re: RAX80 unable to start after firmware upgrade

It shouldn't take much longer than normal boot if I recall correctly. We're only talking a couple of  minutes max. But I think the RAX80 might not start blinking, only keep the power light solid orange or maybe orange with faint white blinking. I used one of the LAN ports to connect.

 

Also remember to set a manual IP on your pc, following the steps described in part 3 in the guide. You should then be able to transmit.

Message 5 of 9
liuxing0514
Tutor

Re: RAX80 unable to start after firmware upgrade

Did you upgrade the firmware?

I called customer service yesterday, and finally bring it back. According to the representative, this is a known issue to the current firmware upgrade.

Try power off the router first, press the Reset button (with a pin or something) and power the router on. Hold it for little bit while, ~10 seconds. Release the Reset button and cross your fingers for ~1 minute. This is how I brought it back.

However, if you leave the router on and press Reset, since the boot process is stuck somehow, it won't feel it even when you pin the Reset for an hour...

I'll update in the post for more details. And I'd recommend contacting customer service. They might issue a replacement for you if you can't bring it up.

Message 6 of 9
liuxing0514
Tutor

Re: RAX80 unable to start after firmware upgrade

Looks like there is no way that I can edit the original post. I'll post the update here.

 

For anyone experiencing the same issue, TLDR:

  1. Call customer service at your earliest convenience. This is a hardware issue.
  2. Power off the router, PRESS AND HOLD the reset button (with a pin) and power on the router
  3. Keep the reset button pressed for ~10 seconds, maybe 20 or 30 seconds. Do note that, during this process, NONE of the indicators will blink or change color, though both are expected in a "normal" reset when your router is working fine
  4. Release the reset button and cross your fingers. If you see the solid white power indicator, congrats!

------

I'll summarize the details and info from the customer service here, if anyone is interested.

  • For the light indicators, since I have all LAN port connected w/ ethernet cable, "1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 all lit up. Then after a few seconds, all went off" is an indication that the booting process went wrong
  • I also noticed that, LAN port 1 and 2 is showing solid ember while 3, 4 and 5 are showing solid white before they went off. This simply means that LAN port 1 and 2 are connected with "lower speed" while 3, 4 and 5 are connected with "higher speed". Nothing wrong with this.
  • The "forever" solid ember power light simply means that, the router is stuck during the boot process, most possibly due to the firmware issue
  • Network indicator (the one right next to the power indicator) will not show up for sure, since that is the next step after boot process
  • When connecting the router to a laptop via LAN port, it is giving me "cable unplugged" error, which is another indication of firmware issue
  • At this point, Reset button won't respond if you leave the router on. But if you turn the router off, hold the reset and turn it on, it might work, according to the representative. We are both aware that this is not documented anywhere, since this is not expected for most of the cases
  • I remember the firmware version is ending with 88, which is the latest as of now (Jun 11, 2020). According to the representative, there is a known issue that this firmware may cause the failure of booting for specific routers
  • Still, according to the representative, as a user, we are supposed to upgrade the firmware as soon as there is one. Since firmware upgrade usually contains security updates that fixes existing/known vulnerabilities on your router
  • If the above won't fix your issue, call customer service at your earliest convenience
Model: RAX80|Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream WiFi Router
Message 7 of 9
liuxing0514
Tutor

Re: RAX80 unable to start after firmware upgrade

Bookmarked. Thanks a lot for the info.

Message 8 of 9
Ricandr4gon23
Initiate

Re: RAX80 unable to start after firmware upgrade

My RAX80-100NAS also ceased functionality when I awoke June 9th, 2020- and thankfully I found this thread to confirm it was not a hardware failure, and only a software issue (after an RMA of course).

 

After working with the general support multiple times- Noveda had me try something unique which fixed this issue on my end-

 

1. Hold the Reset button for 120 seconds then release- there will be no change (unsure if this actually helped with the process, but since we did it, I didn't want to 'not include' it as a step).

 

2. After step 1, then hold down the reset button again, and this time, while holding that down, disconnect the PowerCord from the back of the router--

 

3. Keep disconnected for 10 seconds, then re-insert the Power Cable while holding the Reset button- Wait about 30-45 seconds and disconnect again for 10 seconds, all while holding the reset button-- (do this about 5 times, letting it remain plugged in for about 30 seconds each time before disconnecting again-

 

After the 5th time, the WIFI light lit up (when I pretty much gave up, and the router factory reset itself).

 

**Not sure if this will work for all, but it worked for me (router = RAX80-100NAS)
--it seems as though something along this process actually allowed it to factory reset

 

Note: IF THIS DOES WORK FOR YOU:
1. Log into your router via Ethernet Lan port (if DHCP doesnt connect then set yourself to a static 192.168.1.10 (subnet will autofill > /24) with a gateway of 192.168.1.1).
2. Try to bypass the automatic firmware update when setting up router
3. Disable automatic firmware update until you absolutely need to update (and hopefully by then, there will be a good firmware available)

Model: RAX80|Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream WiFi Router
Message 9 of 9
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