[R7800] Will no longer save settings after reboot.

[Redbot]

I woke up yesterday to find that my R7800, after working like a champ for 6 months, can no longer save a single setting. The router acts like it's been factory reset each time it's rebooted or power cycled. Everything is wiped out, SSIDs, passwords, DNS, everything. I've tried Voxel's firmware, stock firmware, I even spent an hour on the phone with Netgear to no avail. They sent me this troubleshooting guide,

Troubleshooting Guide:

1.) Reflash the Firmware of your Netgear router

To download the Firmware of the device go to this link:
https://www.netgear.com/support/product/R7800.aspx#Firmware Version 1.0.2.68

Note: click the download button and it will download the latest Firmware of your router

To upload the Firmware that you have downloaded please refer to this link:
https://kb.netgear.com/23960/How-do-I-manually-update-the-firmware-on-my-NETGEAR-router

Additional note: If still doesn't work and the issue still pertains please follow this troubleshooting steps:


2.) Downgrade the Firmware
-Please refer to this link:
https://www.netgear.com/support/product/R7800.aspx#Firmware Version 1.0.2.68

Note: click the download button and click the + icon (View previous versions) and download the Firmware version 1.0.2.62
and follow the steps indicated by this link:

https://kb.netgear.com/23960/How-do-I-manually-update-the-firmware-on-my-NETGEAR-router

And it didn't help
Any other ideas?

 

[L&LD]

Maybe try a new power supply?

 

[Starrbuck]

This is happening to at least two R9000's here on the forum as well.

 

[verbage]

Interesting, this just happened to my R7800 two days ago, too. Not that it makes a difference, but it was running Voxel's V1.0.2.74.1SF when it happened, and it had been running that firmware fine for several months. But about two days ago, I got an urgent emergency message from home that "the Internet was not working." When I got home later that day, I found that the router had seemingly been reset to factory settings. That was odd--I had not had a problem like this previously in the 11 months since I got it. Whatever the case, I used the opportunity to upgrade to Voxel's V1.0.2.74.4SF, and figured I could just load an old config backup, and make quick work of it. No go--first of all, applying the backup to restore the settings would not work. And then I started to realize that every time I did a power cycle or reboot of the router, it lost all the custom setting that I had made--uggh. I reflashed V1.0.2.74.4SF thinking I might have had a bad flash, but no go--still the same issue.

Please note that I do not think this has anything to do with Voxel's firmware--I have been using it for the last 11 months since I purchased this router, and it is fantastic! But I only mention it in case that clue may help us figure out a cause.

I am going to flash back the current Netgear V1.0.2.68 firmware to see if that makes a difference. Then I might try a 30-30-30 reset to if the former does not resolve this. I suspect it will not resolve the problem because it might be hardware issue, but who knows. Whatever the case, that will let me get it ready for an RMA exchange if it is still having these hiccups.

Another thought, if it is a hardware problem, maybe we can identify a potential range of serial numbers it affects. @Redbot the serial of my R7800 is 4H4E885D00XXX--is yours similar?

 

[microchip]

30-30-30 reset has no effect on ARM-based routers. It's a relic of the past, people still think it works

 

[verbage]

30-30-30 reset has no effect on ARM-based routers. It's a relic of the past, people still think it works

Thanks, @microchip, for letting me know! Is there any other method to completely clear the router, for example, reflash the NVRAM partition/chip to clear that if it has somehow been corrupted? Or is the most complete reset just a 7-second hold on the reset button?

 

[microchip]

you can login to the router with telnet or ssh and do a "nvram clear" and "nvram commit" followed by a reboot. I'm not sure this will work. It's possible there's something wrong with your flash chip

 

[verbage]

Thanks again, @microchip! I will try a variety of options and see what happens, but like you, I presume it might be a hardware issue because it has been working fine for 11 months, and it just choked out of the blue for no reason. I am happy that it has happened now because it should still be under warranty. But I was was surprised to see @Redbot's report when I just came to visit--maybe just purely coincidence.

 

[Redbot]

Interesting, this just happened to my R7800 two days ago, too. Not that it makes a difference, but it was running Voxel's V1.0.2.74.1SF when it happened, and it had been running that firmware fine for several months. But about two days ago, I got an urgent emergency message from home that "the Internet was not working." When I got home later that day, I found that the router had seemingly been reset to factory settings. That was odd--I had not had a problem like this previously in the 11 months since I got it. Whatever the case, I used the opportunity to upgrade to Voxel's V1.0.2.74.4SF, and figured I could just load an old config backup, and make quick work of it. No go--first of all, applying the backup to restore the settings would not work. And then I started to realize that every time I did a power cycle or reboot of the router, it lost all the custom setting that I had made--uggh. I reflashed V1.0.2.74.4SF thinking I might have had a bad flash, but no go--still the same issue.

Please note that I do not think this has anything to do with Voxel's firmware--I have been using it for the last 11 months since I purchased this router, and it is fantastic! But I only mention it in case that clue may help us figure out a cause.

I am going to flash back the current Netgear V1.0.2.68 firmware to see if that makes a difference. Then I might try a 30-30-30 reset to if the former does not resolve this. I suspect it will not resolve the problem because it might be hardware issue, but who knows. Whatever the case, that will let me get it ready for an RMA exchange if it is still having these hiccups.

Another thought, if it is a hardware problem, maybe we can identify a potential range of serial numbers it affects. @Redbot the serial of my R7800 is 4H4E885D00XXX--is yours similar?

I was on the same firmware as you, V1.0.2.74.1SF and the issue sprang up around the same time. Could it have been daylight savings time? serial 5k41885d00***

I bought mine on eBay so no warranty for me

 

[verbage]

I was on the same firmware as you, V1.0.2.74.1SF and the issue sprang up around the same time. Could it have been daylight savings time? serial 5k41885d00d** I bought mine on eBay so no warranty for me

Hmmm, my R7800 had its freakout on March 17 in the morning so actually a couple of days after the DST change.

I reloaded the official Netgear V1.0.2.68 firmware just now, and same issue--on power cycle, all the settings are lost, uggh.

While I was surprised to see your posting about the same issue as soon as I got here, in the long run, I guess it might just be coincidence.

Here's to hoping the RMA process with Netgear is not too onerous!

 

[Redbot]

any luck with "nvram clear" and "nvram commit"?

 

[verbage]

any luck with "nvram clear" and "nvram commit"?

Yes, I tried that before downgrading to the official V1.0.2.68 firmware and same problem. Fortunately, an RMA with Netgear was not too much of a hassle--I just got off the phone with them, and it took about 10 minute total to explain the problem and get and RMA started.

Good luck with your R7800, @Redbot. It would be great if somebody definitively knew what caused this issue--like a faulty NVRAM chip that could potentially be replaced. If not, maybe settings backup and restore will work for you? That way, when the router gets reset next time, it would be a pretty speedy recovery, though a hassle nonetheless. As I mentioned, settings back up and restore through the web GUI interface did not work for me, but maybe it will work for you? Or maybe there is another to restore saved settings?

 

[Redbot]

no luck from backup & restore, but thank you for testing nvram!

 

[kamoj]

WARNING: These commands will erase all your settings and should not be tried out if you are under warranty.

To make a real "Factory reset" issue these commands:

For R7800:

nvram default
nvram commit
mtd erase netgear
reboot

For the R9000 the mtd command does not exist so you should try these commands instead:

nvram default
nvram commit
ngmtd="$(awk -F: '/"netgear"$/ {print $1}' /proc/mtd | grep mtd)"
[ -n "$ngmtd" ] && flash_erase /dev/"$ngmtd" 0 0
reboot

 

[verbage]

Thanks, @kamoj--this is just what I was looking for! In my case, I will save it for the future because I am still under warranty, and already have an RMA swap set up. But maybe it will help @Redbot?

 

[Redbot]

WARNING: These commands will erase all your settings and should not be tried out if you are under warranty.

To make a real "Factory reset" issue these commands:

For R7800:

nvram default
nvram commit
mtd erase netgear
reboot

For the R9000 the mtd command does not exist so you should try these commands instead:

nvram default
nvram commit
ngmtd="$(awk -F: '/"netgear"$/ {print $1}' /proc/mtd | grep mtd)"
[ -n "$ngmtd" ] && flash_erase /dev/"$ngmtd" 0 0
reboot

Unfortunately it didn't fix the issue, I still can't save any settings.

I'm really happy to have found this forum though, you're all so generous and helpful.

I'll be browsing recommendation posts here for a new router.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Don't get a Netgear.

 

[tommytqt]

I thought i was the only one. My router factory reset itself. I thought someone hacked my router and reset it. So we should not reboot the router at this time? It happened after i updated to the latest firmware V1.0.2.74.4SF. The ones before that were ok. Anyone knows the resolution yet?

 

[tommytqt]

Don't get a Netgear.

get what then?

 

[Redbot]

I thought i was the only one. My router factory reset itself. I thought someone hacked my router and reset it. So we should not reboot the router at this time? It happened after i updated to the latest firmware V1.0.2.74.4SF. The ones before that were ok. Anyone knows the resolution yet?

No resolution yet. It's presumed to be a hardware issue at this point, though it's odd we're all experiencing it around the same time.

get what then?

There's a whole forum for that question
https://www.snbforums.com/forums/wireless-buying-advice.28/