Is it possible for the router to factory reset itself when I format my external ssd on it?

[GL_Red]

It’s kind of strange. I don’t think I ever read about this happening.

Router: AC 66u_b1
Firmware: 386.3 ASUS Merlin

 

[Adooni]

theoretically everything is possible. I had situation in the past with vehicle controller where I was trying to gather a lot information setting high speed CAN transmission 2ms and controller was basically wiped completely.

for routers truly I never seen it before. If you router is supported by RMerlin https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/ I would suggest to try it. In my personal observation RMerlin firmware is tested more by users before release and Asus is release very often not fully validated something. I had so much issues with Asus WRT especially with low end routers.

 

[GL_Red]

theoretically everything is possible. I had situation in the past with vehicle controller where I was trying to gather a lot information setting high speed CAN transmission 2ms and controller was basically wiped completely.

for routers truly I never seen it before. If you router is supported by RMerlin https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/ I would suggest to try it. In my personal observation RMerlin firmware is tested more by users before release and Asus is release very often not fully validated something. I had so much issues with Asus WRT especially with low end routers.

That's what happened to me, i formatted the SSD (it was an Inland Pro inside of an UGREEN enclosure) and then i tried to log in to the router via the ip address on web browser and wouldn't let me. Firmware was 386.3.

 

[Adooni]

you should post your post here https://www.snbforums.com/forums/asuswrt-merlin.42/

to clarify it more how you format SSD? did you use amtm module for it or did it directly from gui

if you cannot log now it is more likely your nvram is full (not sure why it happen when you format SSD). In same routers with AsusWRT it happen but then the only way to log is to clear nvram using WPS button - you will loos all your setting. I understood simple router reboot did not helped. Did you try different web browser - firefox.

did you try to log to router via putty? if you can try reset password via ssh https://www.snbforums.com/threads/reset-admin-password-from-ssh.60145/ and then reboot and try log one more time.

 

[GL_Red]

you should post your post here https://www.snbforums.com/forums/asuswrt-merlin.42/

to clarify it more how you format SSD? did you use amtm module for it or did it directly from gui

if you cannot log now it is more likely your nvram is full (not sure why it happen when you format SSD). In same routers with AsusWRT it happen but then the only way to log is to clear nvram using WPS button - you will loos all your setting. I understood simple router reboot did not helped. Did you try different web browser - firefox.

did you try to log to router via putty? if you can try reset password via ssh https://www.snbforums.com/threads/reset-admin-password-from-ssh.60145/ and then reboot and try log one more time.

Amtm fd, everything works now since I used the settings backup before I updated back in July. Just a random reset when format-NVRAM was close to filling up (I believe 62k last I checked) if that means anything. If there is a thread about this, I’ll like to know, but if not I’ll just leave mine.

 

[faria]

I dont know what router you have but i can confirm that my rt-ac86u reseted itself to factory defaults several times when i was using it as the main router, the router would reboot after applying some changes in the gui but totally wiped.

 

[GL_Red]

I dont know what router you have but i can confirm that my rt-ac86u reseted itself to factory defaults several times when i was using it as the main router, the router would reboot after applying some changes in the gui but totally wiped.

I keep forgetting to put what I have and did in threads like this. It’s the Ac66u_b1, and now that you mentioned it, in the past my router factory reset itself once before and only me in the past knows, but it was probably before I started reading about scripts and amtm.

 

[faria]

I keep forgetting to put what I have and did in threads like this. It’s the Ac66u_b1, and now that you mentioned it, in the past my router factory reset itself once before and only me in the past knows, but it was way probably before I started reading about scripts and amtm.

in my experience older routers , are very finicky about usb drives , my rt-ac66u kepped corrupting them, my rt-ac87u did not like usb3, my rt-86u ceased having usb drive problems after i started using an SSD in an enclosure, finally my rt-ax86 does not seam to give a shirt of what i use, currently using a Samsung m.2 SSD from an old laptop for the last 7 months without any issues.

 

[dosborne]

If you haven't done this already, I would suggest manually resetting your router to default values and entering your configuration manually (not loading a saved config file). Strange behaviour is often corrected by these steps. If something wonky was in the nvram then this should clear it up for now. Easy enough to test, perform the reset, enter a minimal configuration to get the basics up, then try formatting your drive. If it maintains the configuration, then finishing entering your settings. If it doesn't help resolve your issue, then either continue manually entering the rest of the settings, or (I don't really recommend it though) load your old file. Configuration files really should only be loaded if they were saved from the same FW version.

 

[GL_Red]

If you haven't done this already, I would suggest manually resetting your router to default values and entering your configuration manually (not loading a saved config file). Strange behaviour is often corrected by these steps. If something wonky was in the nvram then this should clear it up for now. Easy enough to test, perform the reset, enter a minimal configuration to get the basics up, then try formatting your drive. If it maintains the configuration, then finishing entering your settings. If it doesn't help resolve your issue, then either continue manually entering the rest of the settings, or (I don't really recommend it though) load your old file. Configuration files really should only be loaded if they were saved from the same FW version.

Thank you for reminding me, I’ll try to manually set everything up again when family isn’t home. I should’ve done it last time, but I wasn’t thinking straight due to the reset.