XT8 not able to find or factory reset

[DaMiddleMan]

Like many people my wifi keeps disconnecting multiple times a day with XT8 mesh. I’ve read that downgrading firmware to 42095 does the trick.
I set out to downgrade to 42095 on my 4 XT8s. It worked fine for 2 of them, purchased in late 2020. However, my 2 other nodes (purchased in late 2021, they shipped with higher firmware than 42095) stopped working after the downgrade.
I now can’t find them on the network and I can’t factory reset them??? (I’m doing the standard factory reset by pressing WPS while powering on and light never changes, just steady white).
Is there another way to do factory reset?

It’s terrible that ASUS hasn’t managed to fix the Wi-Fi stability problem. I’m choosing between a stable network with 2 XT8 on an old firmware or unstable with 4 XT8 on the latest firmware. But first I need to get my 2 newer XT8 back from the dead. Help appreciated!

 

[L&LD]

Welcome to the forums @DaMiddleMan.

Are you sure you're using the correct method for your model?

[Wireless Router] When Standard Reset Isn’t Working: Hard Factory Reset - Models list | Official Support | ASUS Global

Try also disconnecting all Ethernet and USB devices from the nodes first too.

And if needed, power off the nodes, disconnected from AC power, for a few minutes before trying to reset them again.

 

[Tech9]

stopped working after the downgrade

How did you do the downgrade? XT8 has two different hardware revisions.

 

[DaMiddleMan]

How did you do the downgrade? XT8 has two different hardware revisions.

I downgraded by connecting to the XT8 with a network cable and entered Web GUI. I uploaded the 42095 file from my computer to the XT8 in the Web GUI.

 

[DaMiddleMan]

Welcome to the forums @DaMiddleMan.

Are you sure you're using the correct method for your model?

[Wireless Router] When Standard Reset Isn’t Working: Hard Factory Reset - Models list | Official Support | ASUS Global

Try also disconnecting all Ethernet and USB devices from the nodes first too.

And if needed, power off the nodes, disconnected from AC power, for a few minutes before trying to reset them again.

Yes, I’m following the method for XT8: https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1046973

No cables connected, only power.
I’ll try leaving it without power for a couple of min

 

[tgl]

The 42095 firmware is stated to work only on V1 XT8 hardware. Did you check the labels to verify that these are all V1? I seem to recall that ASUS says V2 only shipped in 2022, but maybe you were "lucky" enough to get early production of V2.

 

[tgl]

... if you did manage to install an incompatible firmware version, I think you'll need to use ASUS' "rescue mode" to get out of that.

 

[DaMiddleMan]

The 42095 firmware is stated to work only on V1 XT8 hardware. Did you check the labels to verify that these are all V1? I seem to recall that ASUS says V2 only shipped in 2022, but maybe you were "lucky" enough to get early production of V2.

All of my 4 XT8 are HW version 1.0. So that means that they are all compatible with 42095 (even if the 2 never ones shipped with a firmware higher than 42095). Thanks for educating me!

However, I still have the problem that I can’t find them on the network and factory reset is not working. All this happened after downgrading to 42095

 

[DaMiddleMan]

... if you did manage to install an incompatible firmware version, I think you'll need to use ASUS' "rescue mode" to get out of that.

Thanks for suggestion!
I tried Firmware Restoration tool, but it just gives me "Status: Invalid IP address". I went through all the settings for the Ethernet IP address 192.168.1.10

When I run cmd ipconfig there is no evidence that my XT8 is connected to the computer. But I have connected it to the WAN port.

I just have a zombie XT8 with the white solid light on, but other then that it's just dead. I tried reset and WPS, but it's solid white light.

 

[DaMiddleMan]

I think that the the two XT8s failed the downgrade to 42095 because they were not connected with ethernet cable. Something must have gone wrong during the downgrade and now they are zombies. Since both are about a year old, I'll see if ASUS can take them back.
Unless anyone here has a magic solution for how to do a factory reset on an XT8 that is in zombie mode (solid white light no matter whichever factory reset I try, doesn't respond to anything or show any sign of life).

Very disappointing, all because of ASUS unstable wifi that forced me to downgrade....

 

[glens]

It’s terrible that ASUS hasn’t managed to fix the Wi-Fi stability problem.

I'm happily using a pair of XT8 made in Vietnam in 2022 (version 1.0) and have not experienced any Wi-Fi stability problems, much less the problem you reference. I had initially thought perhaps mine weren't version 1 since although the web UI (using GNUton's Merlin at the moment) indicates the SOC is "BCM675x - Cortex A7 ARMv7 revision 5" (have no idea where the software is getting that information) while the running Linux kernel clearly identifies it as a "Broadcom BCM947622".

I'm curious where you obtained the early FW version since the ASUS website only (now) goes as far back as 386.45898 (with a prominent warning regarding production year - which is evidently after that of your now-problematic units).

Pure speculation on my part: had you allowed enough time for the downgrade firmware to perform every hardware configuration task it needed to do before you powered down? Maybe the nand chip has not been partitioned / populated correctly now?

Have you tried recovery mode and fetching to the router via tftp a copy of the firmware (assuming the CFE is intact and still able to do so)? https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1000814/

 

[DaMiddleMan]

I'm happily using a pair of XT8 made in Vietnam in 2022 (version 1.0) and have not experienced any Wi-Fi stability problems, much less the problem you reference. I had initially thought perhaps mine weren't version 1 since although the web UI (using GNUton's Merlin at the moment) indicates the SOC is "BCM675x - Cortex A7 ARMv7 revision 5" (have no idea where the software is getting that information) while the running Linux kernel clearly identifies it as a "Broadcom BCM947622".

I'm curious where you obtained the early FW version since the ASUS website only (now) goes as far back as 386.45898 (with a prominent warning regarding production year - which is evidently after that of your now-problematic units).

Pure speculation on my part: had you allowed enough time for the downgrade firmware to perform every hardware configuration task it needed to do before you powered down? Maybe the nand chip has not been partitioned / populated correctly now?

Have you tried recovery mode and fetching to the router via tftp a copy of the firmware (assuming the CFE is intact and still able to do so)? https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1000814/

I found the 42095 in a thread, maybe this one: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/interrupted-connections-on-zenwifi-ax-xt8.73210/
Not on ASUS site.

I did try the recovery mode, also suggested by @tgl. However, I could not get my XT8 in rescue mode, since it is behaving like a zombie. Any ideas how I can get it in to rescue mode?

I tried this, as instructed, (but my XT8 is just steady white light no matter what I try)
"Keep long pressing the Reset button and plug the cord to DC IN at the same time.
Notice: Please DO NOT release the Reset button until the Rescue Mode is enabled"

 

[glens]

I have not tried the rescue mode on the XT8 as have not needed to, but on other equipment in days gone by had to sometimes step through the process many times before it would "take."

But it only will work so long as the nand partition which contains the code is in a valid state itself. Sometimes you just end up with an expensive paperweight in the end without the equipment necessary to low-level reprogram the chip(s).

Keep trying.

Warranty still in place may be your final solution, sad to say...

 

[DaMiddleMan]

I have not tried the rescue mode on the XT8 as have not needed to, but on other equipment in days gone by had to sometimes step through the process many times before it would "take."

But it only will work so long as the nand partition which contains the code is in a valid state itself. Sometimes you just end up with an expensive paperweight in the end without the equipment necessary to low-level reprogram the chip(s).

Keep trying.

Warranty still in place may be your final solution, sad to say...

No luck yet with the rescue mode. I connected the XT8 WAN port to my computer. But the computer doesn’t see the XT8 and the restoration program does nothing.
Time for warranty.

 

[kildare]

I connected the XT8 WAN port to my computer.

Did you try if you're able to connect to the XT8 using one of the LAN ports (not the WAN).
First test a direct connection with the default XT8 IP (192.168.50.1/255.255.255.0) and your PC configured with an IP in the same subnet.
If no success, connect the XT8 LAN port to your local LAN and check if your DHCP server has assigned an IP to the XT8.

 

[HeadBanger]

I found the 42095 in a thread, maybe this one: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/interrupted-connections-on-zenwifi-ax-xt8.73210/
Not on ASUS site.

I did try the recovery mode, also suggested by @tgl. However, I could not get my XT8 in rescue mode, since it is behaving like a zombie. Any ideas how I can get it in to rescue mode?

I tried this, as instructed, (but my XT8 is just steady white light no matter what I try)
"Keep long pressing the Reset button and plug the cord to DC IN at the same time.
Notice: Please DO NOT release the Reset button until the Rescue Mode is enabled"

Did you ensure that only your PC was connected via Ethernet when you set your router to rescue mode?

HB

 

[DaMiddleMan]

Did you try if you're able to connect to the XT8 using one of the LAN ports (not the WAN).
First test a direct connection with the default XT8 IP (192.168.50.1/255.255.255.0) and your PC configured with an IP in the same subnet.
If no success, connect the XT8 LAN port to your local LAN and check if your DHCP server has assigned an IP to the XT8.

Thanks for suggesting!
I connected the XT8 to the computer and went through a loop pinging all IP numbers

How to Ping a Range of IP Addresses? (6 Methods)

Pinging an IP address can be frustrating and challenging if you don’t know how. Learn how to save time and ping multiple IP addresses easily here.

vpnalert.com

It came up empty, however if I connect the computer to my function XT8 it can ping all devices on my network, so ping loop is working as expected.
But the computer is unable to ping my malfunctioning XT8, doesn’t matter if it’s connected to WAN or LAN port.

 

[kildare]

Did you assigned a fixed IP address (like for example 192.168.50.2/255.255.255.0) to your PC before starting to ping the IP address 192.168.50.1 through the direct cable connection to the XT8?

 

[DaMiddleMan]

Did you ensure that only your PC was connected via Ethernet when you set your router to rescue mode?

HB

Yes,

 

[DaMiddleMan]

Did you assigned a fixed IP address (like for example 192.168.50.2/255.255.255.0) to your PC before starting to ping the IP address 192.168.50.1 through the direct cable connection to the XT8?

No, I’ll try that tomorrow.

I did assign a fixed IP to the PC when trying to run the restoration (192.168.1.10/255.255.255.0) according to the guide: https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1000814/