We have a remote site with 4 nodes tied DTD via a hAPAC. I decided to update the Rocket2M XW from 3.22.12.0 to 3.23.4.0. I did it remotely using the upgrade/upload button on the admin page. The node appeared to never recover from the upgrade because it never showed up as a neighbor via DTD. I am communicating with the Rocket via a DTD 5GHz node. So I turned on the RF on my emergency NanoStation(on 2.4GHz at the site) and there I could see the Rocket had booted up and was working, but apparently the DTD was broken. I waited till the next day, because we have a system wide (repeaters and mesh) power off reboot every night at around 3am for a couple of minutes. This reboot has save many trips to the location. There is no internet at the site. The Rocket still has no DTD connection. I again did the upgrade flash again with the same results, no DTD. I waited for another power cycle I reluctantly went to the site an tried yet another upgrade with the same results, this time connected directly to the node with a laptop. I then did a long reset (>55 seconds)and then used the TFTP method to flash the factory firmware. Now I cannot connect to the node at all via the Ethernet port. After the long reset, I can ping the node at 192.168.1.20 fine. The TFTP progam completes OK. After that I waited around 10 minutes, and I tried to ping at 192.168.1.1 with no response. I repeated the factory flash 3 more times with no luck. I even ran an IP scan on the node to see if it was at some other IP. I also set the PC to DHCP to see if it could get an IP which also failed.
I have been working with the AREDN for nearly 4 years now and this one has me stumped at the moment. Any techniques tp debug would be appreciated. The node is mounted at 80 feet on the tower, so looking at LED's is not possible.
As a point of interest, I was doing all this under the watchful eye of a medium size black snake curled up on the 440MHz repeater at the other end of the shed. I mistook him/her for a piece of RG-213 before I had the lights on. Suprise!
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Rocket ethernet port not working after 3.23.4.0 upgrade
Wed, 05/03/2023 - 18:11
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Rocket ethernet port not working after 3.23.4.0 upgrade
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I also tried TFTP programming of at least 4 previous versions. Just as you observed,everything seems to go okay but in the end you can't ping and/or access the node anymore. My next step is to flash the original Ubiquiti AirOS which you have done successfully. Maybe you should try to TFTP the factory version of Version 3.22.1.0 or earlier now. Maybe whatever got broken by 3.23.4.0 was repaired by AirOS and an older version will again work? It's worth a try. That's what I am going to do. If you try it, please post your results here. Thanks.
Glenn WA3LAB
We were using a 0.5 A standard Ubiquiti Wall wart PoE injector. There is a paperclip hole to reset a bad node. Would not work, but I checked to see and the other Rocket m5 XW I have said 24v 1A input on the cover. I borrowed a 1A PoE from another Rocket m900 and I was able to reset.
So maybe new firmware or LQM is more processor intensive. The node works better now with 1A at 24v. Try a reset to first boot with the paperclip and see if it works. Note, you can't downgrade to earlier 22 versions without a new tfpt transfer. The paperclip reset can do that if you hold long enough.
Hope that helps,
Brett KG7GDB
WVMN, Oregon
I ran into a similar situation when I initially installed the Rocket M5 XW at this same site. I was getting sporadic DTD connections and generally unstable operation, until I noticed I had inadvertently plugged the Rocket M5 into a 0.5 amp POE. When I plugged into the 1 amp POE that the unit shipped with, everything settled down. Of course, my issue is with a Rocket M2, and I have also tried a new POE on it with no success. Your mention about resets sparked a thought that I might try. After the TFTP flash, if it doesn't respond, maybe I'll try various lengths of resets to see if something will break it out of the coma. Think out of the box. The node is at 80 feet on a tower I am not allowed to climb. Thanks for your thoughts.
Glenn WA3LAB
I am about to flash a Rocket M2, a used one arriving next week. It has not been used for AREDN previously as far as I know and the seller says its on the original AirOS. I am concerned about flashing it to the latest 3.23 firmware because of the indicated issues in this post, sounds like I should choose one of the older ones, 3.22 or earlier, just to be on the safe side? Does this sound like the prudent procedure? Thanks.
73, Bill, N4SV
Hi Bill,
At this point my chances of recovering this node seem to be dwindling so in my opinion I would stay away from the 3.23 firmware. In my humble opinion I started noticing instabilities starting back in June of last year. That is why the nodes at our remote site get rebooted every night. I have no hard evidence as to why the nodes would stop working, only that the reboot would fix them. Ironically enough the M900 node with the oldest firmware has been rock solid. It's one thing if the new 3.23 breaks it, but if you can not recover, then it's a loose loose situation. Brings to mind a statement from an IT guy who had just updated my PC at work. " If your computer would have booted up after the update, it would have been much faster" ;
Glenn WA3LAB
AREDN™ Stable Firmware (arednmesh.org) The file for a Rocket 2M XW is "aredn-3.22.12.0-ar71xx-generic-ubnt-loco-m-xw-squashfs-factory.bin" I think the new Software selector is giving out a different file.
I agree with PA3GYV that aredn-3.22.12.0-ar71xx-generic-ubnt-loco-m-xw-squashfs-factory.bin is the correct firmware for the Rocket 2M XW. Here is a link to the old firmware matrix where you can look up Rocket 2m (XW). http://downloads.arednmesh.org/firmware/html/stable_322120.html I have just tested a nightly build with the fixes in for the Rocket 2M (XW). Here is the working build for the Rocket M2 XW - http://downloads.arednmesh.org/afs/www/?version=20230510-ca49646&target=ath79%2Fgeneric&id=ubnt_rocket-m2-xw Thanks to all for your comments and help. Thank you Tim.
Glenn WA3LAB
I had two Rocket XWs which were loaded with 3.22.8.0, but had never been set up. I upgraded one with 3.23.4.0, and now it has no Ethernet. Most of the radio is working, because I can see its mesh RF with both a nanoLoco XM and with the 3.22.8.0 Rocket XW. I can get to its Setup page and make changes, but when I try to go to Setup/Port Forwarding,. I get a big Bad Gateway window. I tried twice to reload 3.23.4.0. The radio rebooted, but still there it has no Ethernet.
Is the recommendation to fix dead Rocket XWs to do a long, power-on reset to the 3.23.4.0 Rocket XW to put it into TFTP mode then upload the FACTORY version of 3.22.12.0?? And do I leave the other Rocket XW at 3.22.8.0 until there is a “good” release?
Thanks.
--Tim K5RA
I can confirm that TFTPing the "...3.22.12.0...loco-m-xw...factory" AREDN release has restored my Rocket M2 XW which had firmware 3.23.4.0 and a non-functioning Ethernet port. I purchased my Rocket XWs from UBNT in Feb 2022, but the test date on the boxes was Nov 2019. Maybe an old airOS or different ethernet chip??
Thanks to WA3LAB for providing the answer, and to others from 2020 and 2017 who have been working this issue.
Vy 73,
--Tim K5RA