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Netgear R7000P Bricked

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Corrin

New Around Here
Hello,

I have a Netgear Nighthawk R7000P which I accidentally Bricked when I unplugged it while it was on. It is now in a boot loop, and TFTP doesn't work. Serial flashing used to show the boot sequence, but after coming back to it, nothing shows on PuTTY.

How would I go about fixing this?

BTW, this is the TTL adapter I used:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N4X3BJB/?tag=smallncom-21

Any help would be much appreciated.
 
Try swapping tx and rx. Also connect ground, but NOT vcc.

Also make sure Windows properly adds the COM port. Some adapters are not compatible with Windows 10.

One way to test the adapter itself is to connect tx and rx together, then type something in your terminal window. The text should echo back to you.

Have you tried just doing a factory default reset? Chances are it's the nvram that's corrupted, not the firmware itself (unless you were in the middle of flashing it when you unplugged it). Try turning it on with the WPS button pressed (assuming their bootloader is similar to Asus's), wait 10-15 secs, then release it. If it fails, try the same but with the reset button instead.
 
Try swapping tx and rx. Also connect ground, but NOT vcc.

Also make sure Windows properly adds the COM port. Some adapters are not compatible with Windows 10.

One way to test the adapter itself is to connect tx and rx together, then type something in your terminal window. The text should echo back to you.

Have you tried just doing a factory default reset? Chances are it's the nvram that's corrupted, not the firmware itself (unless you were in the middle of flashing it when you unplugged it). Try turning it on with the WPS button pressed (assuming their bootloader is similar to Asus's), wait 10-15 secs, then release it. If it fails, try the same but with the reset button instead.

Just tried now to no avail, I have tried swapping TX and Rx, and I don't plug in vcc. The router is however doing something different now, The ethernet lights are staying white/amber and the WiFi light is staying white. No other lights on, not even power. What's happened to it?
 
I have a Netgear Nighthawk R7000P which I accidentally Bricked when I unplugged it while it was on. It is now in a boot loop, and TFTP doesn't work. Serial flashing used to show the boot sequence, but after coming back to it, nothing shows on PuTTY.

I can't recall if R7000 is CFE or uBoot - but normally there is a rescue mode in the bootloader...

Most revolve around getting a host to 192.168.1.2, and the target is 192.168.1.1

@Voxel - any thoughts here, as you're the resident Netgear 3rd party dev guy?
 
grnd is pin 1, rx to 2 and tx to 3. a few ppl have claimed no output it appeared to be wrong serial connection.
 
Last edited:
I can't recall if R7000 is CFE or uBoot - but normally there is a rescue mode in the bootloader...

Most revolve around getting a host to 192.168.1.2, and the target is 192.168.1.1

@Voxel - any thoughts here, as you're the resident Netgear 3rd party dev guy?

Hi,

R7000 is out of my area (it is Broadcom, not QCA). But as far as I know it has no u-boot. So similar to old ASUS. CFE.

Voxel.
 
R7000 is out of my area (it is Broadcom, not QCA). But as far as I know it has no u-boot. So similar to old ASUS. CFE.

Yep, CFE, so TFTP recovery should work...

@Corrin

General guidance...

https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/troubleshooting/vendor_specific_rescue#tftp_recovery_mode

From Netgear's support forum

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Ni...e-R7000-softbricked/m-p/414034/highlight/true

https://www.myopenrouter.com/articl...-netgear-r7000-r6300v2-or-r6250-wi-fi-routers

quick tip on the USB to serial - you only need to use Tx/Rx/Gnd line, pwr is not connected

Screenshot 2019-03-23 at 6.27.04 AM.png
 
Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I did just end up leaving the router alone for a LONG time, but today decided to take another crack at it, and have encountered a new problem. When connecting the serial port to it the router boots normally, but upon reboot it goes back into the bricked state.

Again I'm really sorry to resurrect this thread, just thought it would be better than opening another one.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

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