Netgear Nighthawk X6 Tri-Band WiFi Mesh Extender AC2200 - Lights flashing (HELP)

[Khaled0000]

Hello,

I have this NETGEAR Nighthawk X6 Tri-Band WiFi Mesh Extender AC2200 that has flashing lights but no functionality after power was lost to it during a software upgrade. I assume there is no damage to the hardware itself and I think it might be fixable but I have no idea where to start.

Any ideas?

[plemans]

You can try recovering it with tftp or nmrpflash.
are you on windows? if so, follow this guide
https://kb.netgear.com/000059634/How-to-upload-firmware-to-a-NETGEAR-router-using-Windows-TFTP
just make sure you enable tftp
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/enable-tftp-windows-10

and here's a video walk through using a tftp client. Use the built in one for windows 10 though. the video is more of an example of how its done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9DLrLQrpaw

and if that doesn't work, you can try using nmrpflash
https://github.com/jclehner/nmrpflash

[Khaled0000]

Thanks,

I am on Windows 11 but I think the process should be similar.

I just want to know, do you need an ethernet to usb interface to communicate with the router even if you have an ethernet port on your computer? And is the process of recovery different for extenders compared to that of routers?

Regards

[plemans]

Should work fine on 11. I've used it before. 

If you've got an ethernet port on the PC, you can direct connect them. 

The process is the same for router/extenders. I've used it a couple times

[Khaled0000]

Okay, I'll give an update soon

[plemans]

Good luck! It can take a few tries sometimes as its sensitive to timing. 

[Khaled0000]

Hi,

Well, I've tried to flash old and new versions of the firmware onto the extender using nmrpflash and it seems to copy over okay with no issues. But when I am asked to reboot it I turn off the power button then turn it back on, and the problem just comes back - flashing white lights in the front and a solid Amber light in the back.

The weird thing is, is that if connect my router to my extender via ethernet and then connect an ethernet cable to my computer, I get Internet but it's as if I was connecting it directly to the router. No wireless functionality is present. I'm kind of stuck here. Any help? Maybe flashing a custom firmware could get me out of this but I don't think there's any for the EX7700

[plemans]

Are you able to access it at all if you try 192.168.1.250 with the pc connected?

[Khaled0000]

If I let my PC configure the ip/subnet mask/default gateway settings, I cannot access the extender through 192.168.1.250. It says the destination is unreachable. The computer assigns the extender a 169.254.x.x address but I don't know what it means. 

[Khaled0000]

I also assigned it a static ip address of 192.168.1.250, subnet mask 255.255.255.0 and default gateway 192.168.1.1. When I reboot the extender, I get a reply using cmd's ping when pinging 192.168.1.1, but pinging it after booting it up for a few seconds gets me no reply. I still can't access 192.168.1.250 via browser when I did this.

[plemans]

If you direct connect it to the router, does it assign the extender an IP address?

[Khaled0000]

Yes. Connecting it my router (R7000) assigns it an ip address of 192.168.1.250.

[plemans]

If its assigning an ip address, it should be working. 

Are you able to access it while you're pc is connected to the router and the extender connected to the router? 

[Khaled0000]

Hi,

No, i'm unable to connect to the extender whilst my pc and extender are connected to it. The extender was operating normally for a few seconds before going back into it's previous state today for some reason.