Nighthawk R7000 power LED stays solid amber

[jjb2015]

Hi folks - hoping somebody out there can help me revive my old Nighthawk R7000 router.  I've had it working flawlessly for years in regular router mode however today I tried to set it up in repeater mode and when the router rebooted itself it never came back up again.  I just get a solid amber power LED all the time and I cannot access the router's web interface now on the original IP address (192.168.1.1) or the IP address I set during the repeater mode setup (192.168.1.99).  I've tried the reset button several times but it's not helped.

I have also tried uploading the latest firmware using TFTP, as suggested here:  https://kb.netgear.com/000059634/How-do-I-upload-firmware-to-my-NETGEAR-router-using-TFTP-from-the-M... 

but of course that didn't work either.

Any suggestions?  Ultimately, I'd like to reset it and then set it up in repeater mode.

[jjb2015 · Accepted solution]

Hi folks.  Thanks for your replies.  I did try the "recovery reset" option but that didn't seem to work either.  However, what did work for me was the nmrpflash "Netgear Unbrick Utility".  This can be found here:  https://github.com/jclehner/nmrpflash 

I run Arch Linux at home and nmrpflash can be found in the AUR, so it's a really easy install on Arch with "yay -S nmrpflash" ... and then follow the instructions in the github page linked above.

[plemans]

When you reset, did you push and hold for up to 15 seconds while powered on? 

What happened when you tried tftp? Did you get errors? did the firmware send successfully? 

[michaelkenward]

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@jjb2015 wrote:

I just get a solid amber power LED all the time....

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"Troubleshooting" will tell you that this is a sign of corrupt firmware.

As well as the adviuce from @plemans you could check that it isn't the power supply that is failing. Try something with the same amps and volts output.

Then there is the "recovery reset" which is a bit more thorough than the usual version.

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

It isn't advised on newer routers, but your R7000 isn't likely to peg put with this move.

[jjb2015 · Accepted solution]

Hi folks.  Thanks for your replies.  I did try the "recovery reset" option but that didn't seem to work either.  However, what did work for me was the nmrpflash "Netgear Unbrick Utility".  This can be found here:  https://github.com/jclehner/nmrpflash 

I run Arch Linux at home and nmrpflash can be found in the AUR, so it's a really easy install on Arch with "yay -S nmrpflash" ... and then follow the instructions in the github page linked above.

[FURRYe38]

Be sure to save off a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Saves time if a reset is needed.
https://kb.netgear.com/24231/How-do-I-back-up-the-router-configuration-settings-on-my-Nighthawk-rout...