Bricked N66U after settings restore

[tossom]

Hello Asus users,

I recently got an RT-N66U router. Even though it seems hard to render the device unusable, I somehow managed to do it. This is what happened: After setting it up with the Asuswrt-Merlin firmware (3.0.0.4.270.26b) installed and connected to my laptop, I wanted to connect it by wire to my desktop pc. The problem here was, that the desktop didn't establish any connection, eventhough this was no problem just minutes before with my old router (WRT54GL). Installing the latest driver for the network card on the desktop didn't change the situation. I decided to also do an update on the router side and to install the latest firmware on the N66U (Asuswrt 3.0.0.4.354 from the Asus website (non-Merlin). Also no changes in connectivity there. Putting a switch between router and desktop pc resolved the issue. After getting in contact with the network card supplier, the problem was that the network card isn't supporting the IEEE802.3az specification of the router. The network card of my laptop obviously does.
Anyhow, after figuring out that there was no problem concerning the router firmware, I went back to the Merlin built because of its better functionality. Before upgrading to the newer Asuswrt built, I saved a config file for all my settings which I had done in the Merlin-built. Everything what follows was done with a direct cable connection between the laptop and the N66U. Under the administration tab where I previously saved the settings, I uploaded the cfg file and the router displayed that it will reboot with the changed settings in 60 sec. Unfortunately this never happened. I tried to refresh the web GUI, but it wasn't accessible anymore. After a reboot of the router, I still couldn't get in into the web GUI. Windows displayed in the task bar an "unidentified network" and also the Asus discovery utility wasn't able to find the router. By putting the router into recovery mode (hold reset button while plugging in the power cord), I was able to get to the mini CFE webserver site, after I manually attributed an IP to the laptop (192.168.1.xx) in the subnet 255.255.255.0 with the router IP (192.168.1.1) as standard gateway. Deleting the NVRam from there and rebooting or deleting the NVRam with help of the WPS button didn't change anything. I also installed again the original firmware built with the help of the Asus restoration tool, which runs successfully through the whole process, but after rebooting the router it seems to be trapped in a boot loop (router reboots 3 times). The three active LEDs are power, WAN and the LAN port and I always can get to mini CFE webserver, but this is it for now.

Do you maybe got ideas how to get out of that misery? If a corrupt config file can set the router in such a state, this feature in the administration tab shouldn't be there or need to get major revisions at least. Thanks for all your held and advices!

 

[mikeg]

Sorry to say , I have been in the same situation as you.Did you try a factory reset ? Sometimes it takes a long time for the router after a firmware upgrade to reboot : did you wait enough time after the gui said that it was done ?
My N66U had problems with both the Asus and Merlin f/w ; i could not start to set up basic settings and I got so tired of the whole thing that I tried to install the TomatoUSB Shibby firmware and everything just worked : the firmware installation , setup through the wired connected laptop and I have had it up and running for over 2 months now.

Hello Asus users,
I recently got an RT-N66U router. Even though it seems hard to render the device unusable, I somehow managed to do it. This is what happened: After setting it up with the Asuswrt-Merlin firmware (3.0.0.4.270.26b) installed and connected to my laptop, I wanted to connect it by wire to my desktop pc. The problem here was, that the desktop didn't establish any connection, eventhough this was no problem just minutes before with my old router (WRT54GL). Installing the latest driver for the network card on the desktop didn't change the situation. I decided to also do an update on the router side and to install the latest firmware on the N66U (Asuswrt 3.0.0.4.354 from the Asus website (non-Merlin). Also no changes in connectivity there. Putting a switch between router and desktop pc resolved the issue. After getting in contact with the network card supplier, the problem was that the network card isn't supporting the IEEE802.3az specification of the router. The network card of my laptop obviously does.
Anyhow, after figuring out that there was no problem concerning the router firmware, I went back to the Merlin built because of its better functionality. Before upgrading to the newer Asuswrt built, I saved a config file for all my settings which I had done in the Merlin-built. Everything what follows was done with a direct cable connection between the laptop and the N66U. Under the administration tab where I previously saved the settings, I uploaded the cfg file and the router displayed that it will reboot with the changed settings in 60 sec. Unfortunately this never happened. I tried to refresh the web GUI, but it wasn't accessible anymore. After a reboot of the router, I still couldn't get in into the web GUI. Windows displayed in the task bar an "unidentified network" and also the Asus discovery utility wasn't able to find the router. By putting the router into recovery mode (hold reset button while plugging in the power cord), I was able to get to the mini CFE webserver site, after I manually attributed an IP to the laptop (192.168.1.xx) in the subnet 255.255.255.0 with the router IP (192.168.1.1) as standard gateway. Deleting the NVRam from there and rebooting or deleting the NVRam with help of the WPS button didn't change anything. I also installed again the original firmware built with the help of the Asus restoration tool, which runs successfully through the whole process, but after rebooting the router it seems to be trapped in a boot loop (router reboots 3 times). The three active LEDs are power, WAN and the LAN port and I always can get to mini CFE webserver, but this is it for now.

Do you maybe got ideas how to get out of that misery? If a corrupt config file can set the router in such a state, this feature in the administration tab shouldn't be there or need to get major revisions at least. Thanks for all your held and advices!

 

[tossom]

Hi mikeg,

thanks for your reply. I did really wait a very long time after the reset and I can see that the boot progress is really finished by the activity of the LEDs. They turn all on for a short moment and then turn all of. This repeats itself three times before the power, LAN and WAN light stays steady. Tried also already to install the shiby tomato built but I was also not lucky with that.

 

[RogerSC]

You didn't reply to the question about the factory reset/clearing your settings after doing the upgrades. After doing a firmware upgrade when you've been having bad results, you should do a factory reset (clearing your settings), and manually re-enter your settings. Using a settings file from previous bad results won't help.

It is true, as you've noticed, that if you use a config file that has bad settings or is corrupt, the router will not correct those settings. The time to make a settings/.CFG file is when your router is running well with a particular version of the firmware. If that isn't the case, you'll just be restoring your problems when you use it. So entering settings manually (without using a settings/.CFG file) is what needs to be done.

I hope that this helps.

 

[tossom]

Hello RogerSC,

Thanks for your help, but the basic problem is that the router won't let me get to the user interface to change any settings or to set it up manually. As I learned in other threads, the use of the firmware restoration tool is one of the most powerful and last chances to get your router back to life. Also, pushing the WPS button for a while and also deleting the NVRam in the CFE mini webserver interface should have reseted my corrupt settings. I didn't use the cfg after the crash to set up the system again.

 

[mikeg]

I have noticed that the N66U takes much longer time to update the firmware compared to the AC66U I have. If you can't even get the Tomato Shibby running I think you may have a faulty unit. Time to RMA perhaps ?

Hi mikeg,

thanks for your reply. I did really wait a very long time after the reset and I can see that the boot progress is really finished by the activity of the LEDs. They turn all on for a short moment and then turn all of. This repeats itself three times before the power, LAN and WAN light stays steady. Tried also already to install the shiby tomato built but I was also not lucky with that.

 

[RMerlin]

I have noticed that the N66U takes much longer time to update the firmware compared to the AC66U I have. If you can't even get the Tomato Shibby running I think you may have a faulty unit. Time to RMA perhaps ?

The flash used by the AC66U is MUCH faster than the one used by the N66U. Sometimes I'm tempted to put my N66U as my main router instead of the AC66U just so flashing test builds would be much faster

 

[RMerlin]

Here's the whole recommended method for recovery that I use myself in case of problem:

To reset the router settings:

1) Turn the router off
2) Unplug modem and every computers from ther outer except for one single computer
3) Press the WPS button, and keep it pressed
4) Turn the router on
5) Wait 10 seconds, then release the WPS button
6) Wait about 10 seconds, then turn it off


For the recovery flash:

1) Start the Firmware Recovery tool on your computer. Select the file, then click on Upload. It will start looking for the router.
2) Press the reset button, and while it's pressed turn the router back on
3) Give it about 20 seconds - the Recovery tool should then detect the router, and start uploading the firmware.

The reason I like to start the upload process BEFORE turning the router back on is that sometimes, you might have a timing issue where you start the upload too late. So long you turn the router on within 5-10 seconds after clicking on "Upload" you should be fine.

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
Main thing is, can you ping the router? Tried 30-30-30 reset? You can also try tftp method.
ping, ipconfig command is your friend. RT-N66U is very impossible to brick. I even tried to
brick it for good but always it came back easily. Hope you get it back.

 

[tossom]

Thanks for all your feedback and helpful suggestions, but I finally gave up and made it a RMA. Pinging of the router didn’t work, so I guess this the last option I had. Not the worst, I directly got a replacement. I am still wondering how I managed to the router to this point though… Hope I’ll have a smoother start with the new one.

 

[mikeg]

I hope you will have no problems with the new router. Give feedback how it works ....

Thanks for all your feedback and helpful suggestions, but I finally gave up and made it a RMA. Pinging of the router didn’t work, so I guess this the last option I had. Not the worst, I directly got a replacement. I am still wondering how I managed to the router to this point though… Hope I’ll have a smoother start with the new one.

 

[tossom]

Alright, new router is now running smoothly since one day Merlins 3.0.0.4.354.27 firmware. Update via the web GUI from the preinstalled Asus firmware was quickly done. Feels good when everything works neatly. Thanks a lot for your support guys, hope I don't get into such trouble again.

 

[mikeg]

So you got a working N66U in the end ? Perhaps you should post this to Jeremy at Asus who is on this forum so he can give this input to the responsible at Asus for quality of the N66U units.

Alright, new router is now running smoothly since one day Merlins 3.0.0.4.354.27 firmware. Update via the web GUI from the preinstalled Asus firmware was quickly done. Feels good when everything works neatly. Thanks a lot for your support guys, hope I don't get into such trouble again.

 

[csrihari]

Hello Asus users,

I recently got an RT-N66U router. Even though it seems hard to render the device unusable, I somehow managed to do it. This is what happened: After setting it up with the Asuswrt-Merlin firmware (3.0.0.4.270.26b) installed and connected to my laptop, I wanted to connect it by wire to my desktop pc. The problem here was, that the desktop didn't establish any connection, eventhough this was no problem just minutes before with my old router (WRT54GL). Installing the latest driver for the network card on the desktop didn't change the situation. I decided to also do an update on the router side and to install the latest firmware on the N66U (Asuswrt 3.0.0.4.354 from the Asus website (non-Merlin). Also no changes in connectivity there. Putting a switch between router and desktop pc resolved the issue. After getting in contact with the network card supplier, the problem was that the network card isn't supporting the IEEE802.3az specification of the router. The network card of my laptop obviously does.
Anyhow, after figuring out that there was no problem concerning the router firmware, I went back to the Merlin built because of its better functionality. Before upgrading to the newer Asuswrt built, I saved a config file for all my settings which I had done in the Merlin-built. Everything what follows was done with a direct cable connection between the laptop and the N66U. Under the administration tab where I previously saved the settings, I uploaded the cfg file and the router displayed that it will reboot with the changed settings in 60 sec. Unfortunately this never happened. I tried to refresh the web GUI, but it wasn't accessible anymore. After a reboot of the router, I still couldn't get in into the web GUI. Windows displayed in the task bar an "unidentified network" and also the Asus discovery utility wasn't able to find the router. By putting the router into recovery mode (hold reset button while plugging in the power cord), I was able to get to the mini CFE webserver site, after I manually attributed an IP to the laptop (192.168.1.xx) in the subnet 255.255.255.0 with the router IP (192.168.1.1) as standard gateway. Deleting the NVRam from there and rebooting or deleting the NVRam with help of the WPS button didn't change anything. I also installed again the original firmware built with the help of the Asus restoration tool, which runs successfully through the whole process, but after rebooting the router it seems to be trapped in a boot loop (router reboots 3 times). The three active LEDs are power, WAN and the LAN port and I always can get to mini CFE webserver, but this is it for now.

Do you maybe got ideas how to get out of that misery? If a corrupt config file can set the router in such a state, this feature in the administration tab shouldn't be there or need to get major revisions at least. Thanks for all your held and advices!

This. Exactly this happened to me. I got my N66U. Set everything up on stock (.274). Then I decided to save my config. After this, to clear NVRAM, went the restore to default settings route from GUI. After setting SSIDs again, I restored my settings from cfg. Then flashed merlin's .27026b and it went fine. I got a message that firmware update went through fine and asked me to manually reboot my router. Did that and went into boot loop. Tried everything with firmware restoration tool. The router would go into recovery, allows me to upload firmware, says it is doing a recovery but after it goes 100%, it gives a message that "router is not connected. check if power light is flashing which indicates the router is in recovery"(or something close to that). Did everything suggested by clearing NVRAM and all such things. Now, the router goes straight to recovery even if started normally. I can get into mini web always.
Whenever I try to flash any firmware through recovery, it is always the same as above.
Spent several hours and finally gave up and sent the device back. I am getting my replacement today. I hope to have better luck with this new one.

 

[trauco]

Hey csrihari,

I'm seeing the same problem. As far as I can tell, I followed all the instructions to flash my RT-N66U with tomato to the letter, and now the router goes straight to recovery mode (or at least it looks like as the power led flashes slowly on/off). I've tried both flashing tomato and the ASUS firmware but no luck. I've also tried using the web interface in 192.168.1.1 while in recovery mode but nothing helps. I don't think I've bricked this unit (actually, it's a replacement unit as the same thing happened with the first one and I thought it was faulty, but now that is looking unlikely).

Any ideas?

 

[DaveMishSr]

Hello Asus users,

I recently got an RT-N66U router. Even though it seems hard to render the device unusable, I somehow managed to do it. This is what happened: After setting it up with the Asuswrt-Merlin firmware (3.0.0.4.270.26b) installed and connected to my laptop, I wanted to connect it by wire to my desktop pc. The problem here was, that the desktop didn't establish any connection, eventhough this was no problem just minutes before with my old router (WRT54GL). Installing the latest driver for the network card on the desktop didn't change the situation. I decided to also do an update on the router side and to install the latest firmware on the N66U (Asuswrt 3.0.0.4.354 from the Asus website (non-Merlin). Also no changes in connectivity there. Putting a switch between router and desktop pc resolved the issue. After getting in contact with the network card supplier, the problem was that the network card isn't supporting the IEEE802.3az specification of the router. The network card of my laptop obviously does.
Anyhow, after figuring out that there was no problem concerning the router firmware, I went back to the Merlin built because of its better functionality. Before upgrading to the newer Asuswrt built, I saved a config file for all my settings which I had done in the Merlin-built. Everything what follows was done with a direct cable connection between the laptop and the N66U. Under the administration tab where I previously saved the settings, I uploaded the cfg file and the router displayed that it will reboot with the changed settings in 60 sec. Unfortunately this never happened. I tried to refresh the web GUI, but it wasn't accessible anymore. After a reboot of the router, I still couldn't get in into the web GUI. Windows displayed in the task bar an "unidentified network" and also the Asus discovery utility wasn't able to find the router. By putting the router into recovery mode (hold reset button while plugging in the power cord), I was able to get to the mini CFE webserver site, after I manually attributed an IP to the laptop (192.168.1.xx) in the subnet 255.255.255.0 with the router IP (192.168.1.1) as standard gateway. Deleting the NVRam from there and rebooting or deleting the NVRam with help of the WPS button didn't change anything. I also installed again the original firmware built with the help of the Asus restoration tool, which runs successfully through the whole process, but after rebooting the router it seems to be trapped in a boot loop (router reboots 3 times). The three active LEDs are power, WAN and the LAN port and I always can get to mini CFE webserver, but this is it for now.

Do you maybe got ideas how to get out of that misery? If a corrupt config file can set the router in such a state, this feature in the administration tab shouldn't be there or need to get major revisions at least. Thanks for all your held and advices!

Reflash again using the firmware recovery utility in recovery mode but wait at least 15 minutes once the router starts flashing. The N66U's take forever to flash. The AC66U's are much faster flashing. When I had to flash my old N66U's in recovery mode it took between 10-15 minutes once the actual flash process started to complete.

 

[csrihari]

Flashing new firmware on this unit is supposedly easy (as everyone seems to be doing that twice a day!) but my experience (and your's) is quite different. I too did not think my unit was bricked(as it goes to recovery) but nothing I did helped. Can you tell me what fw your unit came with? Mine came with .274 that is nowhere to be seen on asus website. I've got my replacement unit again with .274 and I haven't dared updating the fw yet. Either these new batch units are faulty or we are missing something basic. When you flash in recovery, after it goes 100%, does it say update successful? For me, it never said that. It always gave an error once recovery reached 100%

Hey csrihari,

I'm seeing the same problem. As far as I can tell, I followed all the instructions to flash my RT-N66U with tomato to the letter, and now the router goes straight to recovery mode (or at least it looks like as the power led flashes slowly on/off). I've tried both flashing tomato and the ASUS firmware but no luck. I've also tried using the web interface in 192.168.1.1 while in recovery mode but nothing helps. I don't think I've bricked this unit (actually, it's a replacement unit as the same thing happened with the first one and I thought it was faulty, but now that is looking unlikely).

Any ideas?

 

[Txdk]

it might just be me thinking but what revision off the N66 do you have if its the new one think its B2 then all the old firmware dont work but 354_3 and 372 will

 

[Atoshi]

I ran into similar issues when I tried to upgrade to Merlin's build. I used the standard upgrade method through the stock router GUI, but after a reboot I would enter recovery mode and see the CFE web page. I tried clearing NVRam through the CFE page and through a hard reset, but still could not get router to boot correctly.

I was able to reload to the original stock firmware by using the Asus recovery tool, so I knew the device wasn't DOA. Even after restoring to the stock firmware, trying to upgrade to merlin still wouldn't work for me.

HOW I GOT IT TO WORK:

After I triggered the CFE webpage for a second time, I just tried loading the Merlin image directly through the Rescue tool. This took over 10 min to copy the flash, but it worked!

One note: after the rescue tool uploaded the new firmware and "performed system recovery", it showed an error saying that it had been unsuccessful. The upgrade worked and I was able to set up the router after refreshing my browser, so the error could have been triggered from my laptop's NIC bouncing as the router rebooted.

I have Hardware version B1 and I remember at some point needing to reset NVRAM as part of an official ASUS firmware update. I'm new at this, but I read that 64K support for NVRAM was added after the fact for this router. Could some of these issues be related to how the move from 32 to 64K NVRAM was handled for older routers?

 

[RogerSC]

I ran into similar issues when I tried to upgrade to Merlin's build. I used the standard upgrade method through the stock router GUI, but after a reboot I would enter recovery mode and see the CFE web page. I tried clearing NVRam through the CFE page and through a hard reset, but still could not get router to boot correctly.

I was able to reload to the original stock firmware by using the Asus recovery tool, so I knew the device wasn't DOA. Even after restoring to the stock firmware, trying to upgrade to merlin still wouldn't work for me.

HOW I GOT IT TO WORK:

After I triggered the CFE webpage for a second time, I just tried loading the Merlin image directly through the Rescue tool. This took over 10 min to copy the flash, but it worked!

One note: after the rescue tool uploaded the new firmware and "performed system recovery", it showed an error saying that it had been unsuccessful. The upgrade worked and I was able to set up the router after refreshing my browser, so the error could have been triggered from my laptop's NIC bouncing as the router rebooted.

I have Hardware version B1 and I remember at some point needing to reset NVRAM as part of an official ASUS firmware update. I'm new at this, but I read that 64K support for NVRAM was added after the fact for this router. Could some of these issues be related to how the move from 32 to 64K NVRAM was handled for older routers?

Using the firmware restoration utility in recovery mode, the utility always has told me that it failed, but it was lying *smile*. It always succeeded, but didn't know that it had for some reason.

As far as doing a reset/clearing nvram, I usually do this after a firmware upgrade, and then manually re-enter my router's settings, unless I'm upgrading between two very closely related firmware versions. And even then, if there are problems, a factory reset/clearing nvram along with manually re-entering settings can help with a lot of problems. It takes a few more minutes, but you start with the new firmware in a known state, which is really very helpful.