Help debricking XT8 node

[stewlevine]

Hi. I purchased off eBay a set of XT8 nodes. I went through setup and near the end I walked away and when I came back the node I had setup as the router no longer could connect to a computer (this had occurred while it was connecting to the other nodes to setup AIMesh, so I did not see an error message - I just came back to no internet on the computer an error screen in the browser).

I tried a hard factory reset by following the instructions on their web site (Power off -> press WPS -> Power on -> Watch LED go from white to blink green twice to off -> Let go of WPS -> Power off). After that, the node will turn on with a white LED then go to flashing green for about a minute, then go to solid white and then flash green, and repeat until I shut off the node.

I have also tried going into rescue mode (Power off -> press and hold reset -> Power on -> Wait for LED to go magenta). I have tried then connecting the node via ethernet to a computer (tried all three LAN ports on node; have tried setting static IP on the computer in both the 192.168.50.x and 192.168.1.x ranges) - when I do this, my computer tells me I have no internet and that nothing is connected to the ethernet port (i.e., it doesn't recognize the node on the other end of the wire). I have tried the ASUS firmware recovery tool anyway and when I try to upload the firmware, I receive an error "Invalid IP Address"

I can't get to the GUI of the node to do anything within it; I assume I need to find a way to get it back to setup mode or the configuration I was setting it up before everything took a wrong turn.

Am I doing something wrong with either the factory reset or rescue mode?
They both seem to behave as intended when I execute them, but I can not get the node to finish initializing when I turn it back on and get that blue light to allow me to set it up. Is there any other method to factory reset or to connect the computer to the node while it is in recovery mode to bring the node back to life? The node is out of warranty and after an hour on the phone with ASUS tech support, their best recommendation was to do a non-warranty RMA and pay whatever ends up being the cost to repair once they can diagnose this. I am not comfortable opening up the device and trying to directly connect to any of the silicon to see what is happening so hopefully there is a non-invasive step I can take.

Can anyone suggest what I can do?

 

[OzarkEdge]

Can anyone suggest what I can do?

I would send them back to ebay if you can't commission them according to their instructions.

I don't know that they are bricked, but 'debricking' is not a thing... bricked means bricked.

OE

 

[stewlevine]

Maybe I am using the wrong term, but I assume when the device can't initialize (i.e., ever get past flashing green to go to blue and setup or get to any other steady state) there's a real issue. If someone has had this problem and overcome it, I'd much rather get the device working then argue with a seller over a refund.

 

[Tech9]

this had occurred while it was connecting to the other nodes to setup AIMesh

Something is wrong here. You don't connect to other nodes to setup AiMesh. It's done on the main router. You may want to review AiMesh setup instructions. The node has to be reset only and not touched. Also careful with Firmware Restoration because XT8 units have two hardware revisions. Depending on what the revision is there is minimum required firmware version. If you manage to flash wrong one your unit will be really dead.

 

[stewlevine]

I have reviewed the instructions.
The only reason I am mucking with firmware restoration is because I can't get this node to get into setup mode (i.e., a solid blue LED). On the unit that won't reset, I did once perform setup and was in the process of connecting the other two units as nodes (I was running discovery from the router, I had both units connected via ethernet - LAN port on the router to WAN port on what was to be the two satellites - to setup the mesh) and something happened between when I stepped away from the computer and came back that the router was no longer reachable.
I have been able to factory reset the other two boxes and have a different one now setup as a router and one as a node connecting to it. What I can't do is get the last unit to factory reset so that I can start the process of configuring it.
Either I am doing something wrong in how I do the factory reset, or something is borked preventing it from resetting. I viewed rescue mode as a hail mary, but I have never been able to get to connect to it to re-flash firmware, so I haven't done that either. The unit is running the firmware that it was delivered to me with.
All I want to do is get this unit to actually get this unit into setup mode by whatever way I can get the factory reset to take. Resetting fails me every time - is there a way out of this loop?
Again - what I am doing with this unit is Power Off-> Press and hold WPS -> Power on -> Watch white LED to two blinks of green LED to no LED -> Release WPS -> Power off and wait one minute. Am I doing something wrong with the resets? How do I get the unit to move past the loop of white followed by about a minute of blinking green?

 

[Tech9]

What I can't do is get the last unit to factory reset

If you do exactly this:

[Wireless Router] ASUS router Hard Factory Reset - Method 6 | Official Support | ASUS Canada

...and the unit still can't be reset - something is wrong with this unit.

 

[stewlevine]

That is the exact set of steps I have been following. Unfortunately after completing the steps and power cycling the unit the flashing green never ends up with a stable color but instead repeats the brief white followed by flashing green pattern over and over which is why I am assuming it never completes initializing and was hoping there was some other thing I could try or a step I wasn't performing but should.

 

[Tech9]

Seems like the router doesn't boot up properly indeed. Not sure what's the right advice for eBay purchases.

 

[stewlevine]

Bummer. I was hoping to find a way to revive it (which is why I was looking for a way to use rescue mode, but it does no good if I can get into rescue mode but can't connect to the node once the node is in rescue mode).

 

[Tech9]

You follow the instructions for Rescue Mode, right? There is no DHCP server running, you have to set the NIC IP manually.

 

[stewlevine]

Yes I did. I have tried setting up the IP address of the Windows computer I am trying to flash it from in both 192.168.1.x (as manual states) and 192.168.50.x (to align with default IP address of the box) and I have tried connecting to both LAN ports (which I believe is the correct way) and the WAN port (just in case). When I do, the computer reports "no internet" when connected and the ethernet NIC does not report any connections. When I launch the firmware installer anyway, clicking upload yields me an "Invalid IP Address error"

 

[Tech9]

Your computer will report No Internet connection, this is normal. You can run continuous ping test to the router's IP, the default LAN IP must be 192.168.50.1 for this model. Set your NIC to 192.168.50.10 for example. When (if) you see TTL change then press upload and hope for the best. Make sure it's the right firmware, check twice. The same procedure for Mini Web server upload, try both methods. It has to be at the default LAN IP as well.

 

[stewlevine]

I'm try again. I have verified that this node is HW v1.0 and was manufactured in 2021 so I can use the most recent version firmware on it. I only waited 15-30 seconds before trying to upload. When I have the node in rescue mode and connected from a LAN port on the node to the ethernet port on my computer, 192.168.50.1 remains unreachable (I have set the computer's IP Address back to 192.168.50.10) - I have let this run with continuous pings from Windows for five minutes. The firmware restoration tool gave the same "Invalid IP Address" error I have previously received and the LED has remained a steady magenta throughout.

 

[Tech9]

Steady magenta is a Rescue Mode. What about Mini CFE Web upload, can you get to it on 192.168.50.1? Try different browsers as well.

 

[stewlevine]

I can't get to 192.168.50.1 from a hardwired machine in Chrome, Firefox, or Edge on the same subnet.
When I go back to DHCP on that same machine and connect back to the broader network to get onto the internet, that address resolves to one of my working nodes (the one I would eventually like to get this unit to pair with, if I can get it to setup), and of course the computer once again recognizes that the ethernet NIC is connected to something. Whatever I am doing, what I am not yet doing is waking the thing up to respond to anything.

 

[stewlevine]

I assume the Mini CFE Web page would be a page on 192.168.50.1 on the device I am trying to fix. I can't access anything on it in the browser using that address.

 

[Tech9]

Last attempt - your PC doesn’t have Wi-Fi adapter connected and you attempting a second connection with your Ethernet NIC, correct? If this router doesn’t even respond to pings in Rescue Mode - I’m out of ideas at the moment.

 

[stewlevine]

I have been disabling the wifi adapter so that it is only connected via the ethernet NIC. I thought I was doing all of the right things; I as hoping someone would see something obvious that I was missing.

 

[RobJack]

I had the exact same problem with a 3 node XT8 set purchased off of e-Bay. Two good ones, one with the same symptoms as yours. That node is in a Mississippi landfill somewhere around here. There is no fix.