SOLVED!
This oneoutlines the step-by-step recovery process for an ASUS ZenWiFi XT8 HW v1 (not HW v2) router that became bricked following a firmware update. The procedure described here successfully revived a non-booting unit and may be useful for others experiencing similar issues.
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okay now I got into CFE prompt.
GND RX TX VCC prints on XT8 was misprinted.
From left, GND|RX|TX|VCC
As I was reading serial output, I saw bunch of errors.
Bad block table found at page 131008, version 0x01
Bad block table found at page 130944, version 0x01
nand_read_bbt: bad block at...
Now I got into recovery mode by pressing reset button while turning on.
data from serial to usb.
[2025-05-12 19:19:09] Enter Rescue Mode (by Force) ...
[2025-05-12 19:19:09]
[2025-05-12 19:19:09] Board IP address : 192.168.1.1:ffffff00
[2025-05-12 19:19:09] Host IP address...
I recently updated the firmware on my ASUS RT-XT8 Ver.1 (2022) through the web UI. After the update completed successfully, I performed a factory reset using the WPS button (with only power connected, all other cables disconnected) based on recommendations I read.
After rebooting, the router...