[WXC/VFX] Linksys WRP400 toast after Xnet config upload

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › [WXC/VFX] Linksys WRP400 toast after Xnet config upload

CYaBro

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#65257 1-Aug-2010 02:00

Hey,

Set my parents up on Xnet Fusion the other day with a Draytek Vigor 1200 with PPPoA to PPPoE mapping turned on - Better than half bridging.
That is connected to the WAN port of the WRP400 which is setup in PPPoE mode with the Xnet username & password.
Everything worked great for a few hours, internet & phone, then suddenly everything stopped.
I went there today to check everything and this is what I found:
Internet worked when Draytek connected directly to laptop and reconfigured as standard PPPoA.
Reconnected Draytek to WRP400 and tested and not working.
Opening the web config page of the Linksys, 192.168.15.1, you get the normal username/password prompt which I changed so I put those in but then instead of going to the web config you get a page with Firmware Upgrade as the tab title and page with a prompt asking for the password from the service provider.
There is a Username and password box and a Save settings and Cancel changes buttons.
No matter what I put in the boxes it just keeps going back to that same page.

I did a hard reset (at least 5 times) and while that did reset the router login back to the default, admin/admin, and also must have reset the WAN connection to DHCP as the internet started working, but still get that same page asking for the service provider password. The phone still doesn't work and the wireless network is also not working.
Spoke to WxC who said it sounds like the router is faulty and to call Linksys.
Spent the next hour or so on the phone with Linksys in the USA, who came to the same conclusion as me, who said that it looks like the router was doing a firmware update but failed and is now in recovery mode.
BUT they said there is nothing they can do to help until I can get the service provider password as the router is requesting. They told me to call WxC back and get it.
So I called them back but they say they can't give their service provider password as they don't have it as it is locked down by operations.

So now my parents have no phone, they have to sit with their laptop next to the modem as there is no wireless and no one can help us fix it.
What now??

WxC did say that they will send out a replacement unit but that won't arrive until Wednesday or Thursday they said.
Seems a bit extreme to send a replacement when all they have to do is give me the service provider password so I can reflash the firmware!

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

joshp

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#360912 1-Aug-2010 07:40

Hi There,

You can attempt to factory default the voice settings (this should allow you access to the firmware upgrade page). Simply plug a phone into phone port 1 and then dial **** This should take you to an automated voice menu. If you enter 73738# (reset) and then 1 to comfirm you should hear the phone call cut off and the device should restart with factory default settings.

It sounds as though the device may have restarted during the firmware upgrade causing it to go into recovery mode.

See how you go with that.

Cheers

Josh

http://wxc.co.nz

CYaBro

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#361014 1-Aug-2010 13:54

Hi Josh,

The WxC tech already got me to try that but I get no response after dialling the ****.

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Niel

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#361023 1-Aug-2010 14:21

Like Josh, to me it also sounds like the router lost power (or dropped connection) while firmware was being upgraded. WxC has no control over that and the only solution would be exchange. No ways are they going to hand out the password. If you can log into their phone account you can set it up to divert to their mobile, but of cause they will pay for calls they receive.

In about 3 years of being with WxC, most of those years being only with WxC, I have never heared of anyone complain about this. The complaint/recommendation I have heared many times are to get a cheap UPS for your modem/router + phone so you can make emergency calls if power failed. That should also prevent what (most likely) happened here.

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CYaBro

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#361179 1-Aug-2010 20:10

Niel: Like Josh, to me it also sounds like the router lost power (or dropped connection) while firmware was being upgraded. WxC has no control over that and the only solution would be exchange. No ways are they going to hand out the password. If you can log into their phone account you can set it up to divert to their mobile, but of cause they will pay for calls they receive.

In about 3 years of being with WxC, most of those years being only with WxC, I have never heared of anyone complain about this. The complaint/recommendation I have heared many times are to get a cheap UPS for your modem/router + phone so you can make emergency calls if power failed. That should also prevent what (most likely) happened here.

Really? This is only the third Xnet connection, with VFX, that I have seen, ours at work, my parents and a mate, and two of those had the same problem.
The router being bricked by the Xnet firmware update.
There was no power cut or anything like that to cause the problem in either case.

Its great that Xnet are going to send a replacement router even though the router was bought from elsewhere but for it to take that long to arrive and even having to do it seems wrong.
The first time this happened was my mates and that time Xnet wouldn't replace the router so he had to send it back to Linksys himself.
Xnet could save my parents a lot of hassle and themselves some money by just letting me get the password so I can reflash the firmware.

That's another question, why does doing a hard reset not reset all of the setttings back to factory?
Why leave the voice side in tact?

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sbiddle

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#361188 1-Aug-2010 20:45

I don't see how this router could have lost it's firmware settings if you can sitll log into it.

The **** 73738# will factory reset the device so there is no need for you to know the WxC password. If this doesn't work the device is obviously bricked. WxC aren't going to give you the password because it is "secret" and would allow anybody access to their voice configuration which is closely guarded.

Many Linksys products also have a firmware recovery mode that you can enter by plugging in the power while holding down the reset button. This puts the device into a recovery mode where you can connect to the router by using the 192.168.1.1 IP (or probably 192.168.15.1 in this case) and reflash the firmware. You obviously need to set yourself a static IP in the 192.168.1.0/24 range to do this and I'm unsure if the WRP400 has this feature.

CYaBro

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#361236 1-Aug-2010 22:31

sbiddle: I don't see how this router could have lost it's firmware settings if you can sitll log into it.

The **** 73738# will factory reset the device so there is no need for you to know the WxC password. If this doesn't work the device is obviously bricked. WxC aren't going to give you the password because it is "secret" and would allow anybody access to their voice configuration which is closely guarded.

Many Linksys products also have a firmware recovery mode that you can enter by plugging in the power while holding down the reset button. This puts the device into a recovery mode where you can connect to the router by using the 192.168.1.1 IP (or probably 192.168.15.1 in this case) and reflash the firmware. You obviously need to set yourself a static IP in the 192.168.1.0/24 range to do this and I'm unsure if the WRP400 has this feature.

Hi sbiddle,

I think that is what Linksys support were going to get me to do but they said it won't work without the service provider password as it will ask for you that when you try that too. But I also think this is the mode that it is booting in anyway because as soon as you log in to the router the first prompt you get is Firmware Upgrade and the request for the service provider password.

I had a thought too, what if you were an Xnet VFX customer but left them and went back to a POTs phone but kept the router, and then, for whatever reason, you needed to do a firmware upgrade and this happened?
Would Xnet still send a replacement then even if you weren't one of their customers? I think not.
Would they give the password then to the owner of the router?
Linksys obviously can't help and if the router is out of warranty what then?
How can Xnet not allow you access to a router that you own?

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Niel

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#361301 2-Aug-2010 06:07

It's been said many times on this forum that XNet will unlock your ATA if you leave them. This is unlike many/most overseas operators (like Vonage). I am also under the impression you can reset the password (and all settings), which again can not be done with the Vonage firmware. In part this is because they subsidise the cost of the ATA, but there is no option for even paying to unlock it.

Note it's been a few years since I've looked at this and it is possible that Vonage now will unlock the ATA, but most likely not. At the time I could not find any overseas operator which will unlock it when you close your account.

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sbiddle

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#361302 2-Aug-2010 06:25

If you leave WxC a factory reset will totally reset and clear the device of all settings (**** 73738#). There is no need for the admin password.

This differs to providers like Vonage where you are unable to reset the device or their configuration.

Your device is in a recovery mode by the sounds of it, the problem being that WxC aren't going to give out what is a secret password.

CYaBro

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#362716 4-Aug-2010 00:03

Just to close this off, Xnet did OK and the replacement router arrived this morning.
Installed and all working fine.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.