An Opengear OM2200 console server was stuck in a boot loop and could no longer be reached, neither via the web interface nor via SSH. Opengear support provided a recovery image which is booted from a USB drive and restores the device to factory defaults. This post summarizes the procedure.

Requirements

Create the Recovery USB Drive

  1. Extract the downloaded ZIP file. It contains two files; the smaller .bmap file can be ignored, as balenaEtcher doesn’t need it.
  2. Open balenaEtcher and select Flash from file.
  3. Select core-image-recovery-ogpuma-1.0.0-production-signed.wic.
  4. Select the USB drive as target and double-check that it is the correct one.
  5. Click Flash! and wait until flashing and validation have finished. Depending on the PC and the drive, this takes a few minutes.
  6. Safely remove the USB drive.

Recover the OM2200

  1. Remove power from the OM2200.
  2. Insert the recovery USB drive into one of the USB ports below the RJ45 console ports on the front of the device.
  3. Locate the ERASE button on the front.
  4. Reapply power and immediately press and hold the ERASE button with a paperclip or similar.
  5. Keep holding it for about 20 seconds. The power LED comes on after roughly 8 seconds and goes out around the 20-second mark. Release the button when it goes out.
  6. The recovery now starts automatically. The LEDs may blink and cycle several times, which is expected.
  7. Don’t interrupt the power and don’t remove the USB drive. The device should be back at factory defaults about 4 minutes and 20 seconds after releasing the ERASE button.
  8. Remove the USB drive once the recovery has finished.

After the Recovery

On the local console port a login prompt appears eventually. Without a console connection, the device is reachable on its default NET1 address:

  • Address: 192.168.0.1
  • Username: root
  • Password: default

You are prompted to change the password on the first login. Since the device is back at factory defaults, the configuration has to be restored or redone afterwards.

If the Boot Loop Continues

Run the whole procedure once more from the beginning. If the device still doesn’t recover, contact Opengear support and describe the LED behavior and the console output.