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Router Unable to Boot, Stuck in Bootloop
Hi all, I am having trouble with my Netgear Nighthawk X6 R8000 currently. I have had this router for 5.5 years (since August 8, 2014) and it is currently running on the latest firmware (1.04....
Issue has been resolved, please see post #5 of this thread:
If the power LED never gets beyond being orange, that is a sign that you have corrupt firmware on your router.
As you say, if it is stuck in a bootloop, it is hard to do the TFTP thing. But unless you can get into the device somehow, you are stuffed.
I don't see any sign that you have tried the "recovery reset".
Press reset for 30 seconds
Keep pressing reset while removing power
Keep pressing reset for another 30 seconds while apply power
If that does not work, then I fear that your 5 1/2 year old R8000 has bitten the dust.
michaelkenward wrote:
If the power LED never gets beyond being orange, that is a sign that you have corrupt firmware on your router. As you say, if it is stuck in a bootloop, it is hard to do the TFTP thing. But unless you can get into the device somehow, you are stuffed. I don't see any sign that you have tried the "recovery reset". Press reset for 30 seconds Keep pressing reset while removing power Keep pressing reset for another 30 seconds while apply power If that does not work, then I fear that your 5 1/2 year old R8000 has bitten the dust.
I currently managed to reboot the router. Only issue is that the Wireless component of the router cannot startup. I have not reset it because mission critical applications are running now. I will do it once the mission critical application has completed its task. But prior to that, I will downgrade to a previous version and hope for the best.
it_geek wrote:I currently managed to reboot the router. Only issue is that the Wireless component of the router cannot startup. I have not reset it because mission critical applications are running now. I will do it once the mission critical application has completed its task. But prior to that, I will downgrade to a previous version and hope for the best.
I doubt if a factory reset is the right move.
Your firmware is clearly acting up.
When you are ready, what you could try is to reflash the firmware. Even the latest version might work. It will overwrite the corrupt version on the device.
One thing I would not do is turn the router off. If it is in a fragile state, rebooting it again is asking for trouble.
When you do update the firmware, do it with a browser and a wired connection to the router. It sounds like this is the only option if the wifi won't work. Updates over wifi are asking for trouble.
I am in complete agreement with you that a factory reset is unlikely to solve anything. I have only resetted the device for real once in its 5.5 year lifespan anyway.
But I am doubtful that the firmware itself is actually corrupt, and the problem smells of hardware failure... I have always assumed that the firmware is a static asset on the router which isn't changed, and that the settings are independent of the firmware, although the change of certain settings may activate certain parts of the firmware. That is, unless you are suggesting that the settings are part of the firmware itself.
In any event, I will perform the downgrade to an older firmware version first via LAN and hope for the best!
it_geek wrote:
But I am doubtful that the firmware itself is actually corrupt, and the problem smells of hardware failure...
Unfortunately, too many messages here suggest that corrupt firmware is at least as likely as hardware failure. That is the whole point of the LED indicator. It is a response to the internal checking that goes on when the router starts up.
As you know, firmware is just software code written into the memory in a router. And we all know how fragile memory can be. You never know, all that power cycling could have sent along one too many signal spikes.