Bricked my XR500

[Telebubbies]

Hi. So I have a XR500 router, running DumaOS 2.3.2.66. I recently started using the router VPN feature less than a week ago, and I think it bricked my router. I have gigabit internet speed, and my VPN server can handle high bandwidth. But the router would struggle to deliver 30mbps, and the web interface will become unresponsive during high VPN load. About 3 days later, the router crashes. My devices went offline and I check the web interface to see that nothing is loading. 

I turn the router off, and then I turned the router back on. It then showed me the setup wizard.. The entire router had now reset to factory settings. I set it up again, get my devices connected. I do NOT use the VPN setting, leaving it on its default of off. All my devices now have horrible packet loss, which was around 20-30% So I turn the router off and back on again.... And everything reset to factory settings. I tried to load the firmware back on and I setup my network again, I turned the router off, and everything reset to default settings. 

I even used a paper clip and held that tiny reset button down, and the issue persists.

[Netduma Fraser]

Sorry to hear you've had this issue, I would recommend you go ahead and re-install the firmware or better yet the latest using the TFTP method which allows you to install the firmware bypassing the boot process and any issues there. Once complete do a factory reset for a fresh installation. Hopefully that will resolve the issue.

https://kb.netgear.com/000059634/How-to-upload-firmware-to-a-NETGEAR-router-using-Windows-TFTP

[Telebubbies]

On 3/31/2021 at 9:37 PM, Netduma Fraser said:

Sorry to hear you've had this issue, I would recommend you go ahead and re-install the firmware or better yet the latest using the TFTP method which allows you to install the firmware bypassing the boot process and any issues there. Once complete do a factory reset for a fresh installation. Hopefully that will resolve the issue.

https://kb.netgear.com/000059634/How-to-upload-firmware-to-a-NETGEAR-router-using-Windows-TFTP

Hi. It is working now, but I can confirm that the router does break when I hit sustained high speeds with a OpenVPN profile..

And I have Smart Connect enabled, and for some reason WPS is enabled. Is there a way to disable this? I swear Smart Connect disconnected it before

[Netduma Fraser]

Interesting, what speeds are you hitting? What happens exactly when it breaks?

You can disable Smart Connect from Wireless Setup in Settings. WPS unless you have press the button on the router isn't enabled unless you actively do it to try and connect a device.