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Flashing White
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RBK40 Satellite RBS40 Flashing White then after 25s rapidly other colors and back to Flashing White
Potentially related: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-Satellite-RBS50-Pulsing-White-Forever/td-p/1438222 I just set up my RBK40 for the first time. Updated firmware to V2.1.2.18 on the router and satellite. Everything was working ok at this point. I saw an option to "resync backhaul" or something to that effect to regenerate the encryption between the router and the satellite. I thought I might need to do this to get it out of an unsafe factory default setting (why else does this option exist?) and clicked the button. After that I noticed that the satellite had disappeared from my available accesspoints. The satellite was Flashing White, then after 25 seconds Green -> Amber -> Amber, back to Flashing White. Rinse and repeat. A couple of times I noticed it seemed to flash Magenta -> Amber -> Green after Flashing White the first time I started it up. The warning before regenerating the backhaul connection notified that I might need to manually resync the device and I attempted to do that by putting the router into the pulsing white sync mode and then pushing sync on the satellite. Nothing happened. I attempted to manually add a satellite from the router web interface (while in sync mode and while not in sync mode). Nothing happened. I power cycled the satellite. Still stuck in the flashing white then other colors mode. Then I tried to sync them again at this point. Nothing happened. I then decided it was time to factory reset it by holding a paper clip on the reset button for 10 or 20 seconds until the satellite power light begin flashing red (The satellite also flashed green once after flashing red. I figure that is a signal that means it was "reset." Every help document says this is an amber light, but I only see red and green on this satellite.). Still stuck in flashing white and multicolor mode. Tried to sync them again. Nothing happened. Now I figured that I should reset the router as well as the satellite. I still could not sync the two after going through the first time set up again. I read that the router and satellite should support ethernet back haul and thought that if I connected them through a cable I might get them sycned. Didn't work. Tried factory resetting both. Didn't work. Now I was concerned. I started researching various forums (including this one). I saw that some other people had reported the "always booting flashing white stage" on some satellites, but no one had mentioned the other flashing colors. I read that I could potentially access the satellite through a web interface like the router if I plugged the ethernet cable into a desktop directly. The device wasn't being detected by the machine as being connected. Sometimes the desktop would see it for a second, but could never complete the set up. I came across https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Orbi-Satellite-RBS50-Pulsing-White-Forever/td-p/1438222 where someone pointed to https://kb.netgear.com/22688/How-to-upload-firmware-to-a-NETGEAR-router-using-TFTP to reflash the firmware as a potential fix. I wanted to call Netgear support, but I couldn't unless I registered the product. It doesn't seem like they want to chat or talk to me unless I do this, but I don't want to register this product with my email address, name, and a copy of my receipt when it appears to be bricked at this point. So instead of getting professional advice... I followed all the reflashing directions and set up a static ip from the desktop to the satellite. I was able to ping the satellite in this mode. Good news finally? Then I attempted to flash the lastest firwmare and half way through it stopped and begin erasing the firmware. The process failed with "Unable to get responses from the server." I assumed I was doomed at this point. I tried to reflash some of the older firmware (v1.8.0.4 and v2.1.1.16 and back to the latest firmware v2.1.2.18). No dice. So I sit here a few hundred dollars spent with a dead satellite. The router still works pretty well. Better than my last at least. I would RMA this (assuming the process exists), but I assume I have to register the dead product. I think I will instead return it to Amazon as their return process would be less of a hassle. I was looking forward to this device as it solved my use case pretty well (and did for about 10 minutes), but any piece of hardware I can't factory reset back to a good state has shaken my confidence.Solved3.1KViews0likes1Comment