BR1 Mini Can't Access Web UI Admin Page

Product Discussion Pepwave MAX
1

We have a BR1 mini (HW1) that we updated firmware and are trying out a new SIM card. It is on firmware 6.3.5. We have tried doing a factory reset (holding reset for >15 seconds) multiple times to no avail. The only active SIM card we has requires a custom APN, and therefore we do not have remote access to this device (since I can’t access the admin page to change the APN).

Any suggestions on how to access the admin page? If I can’t, this thing just became and expensive paperweight.

Thanks.

2

To start with …

  1. Perform a a factory reset by holding the reset button down for a long 20 count.
  2. Log in using the parameters shown on the silver label on the bottom.
  3. Your firmware is ancient. Upgrade it starting with version 7.1.2 after downloading it to the computer connected to a LAN port. After rebooting, then bring the firmware up to date by downloading FW 8.3.0 which is the latest available for this product. Note this is a two-step process due to the age of your present FW (it can normally be done with a single pass and via the System → Firmware menu .)
  4. Go on-line with cellular and ethernet. (The latter only applies if the optional WAN/fail-over license has been installed. If it has it it’s good to connect it for the next step.)
  5. You’ll want to upgrade the cellular modem’s firmware. Go to https://192.168.50.1:/cgi-bin/MANGA/support.cgi (if you have not changed the router’s address) and select “Cellular Module Firmware Update.” Click the button there and be very patient.

That should get you going. Let us know if this is not the case and someone will help you.

3

Thanks for the response. I will try holding the reset for 20 seconds and see if that helps. When we held it for 15 seconds, it did reset the AP SSID, so I assumed it done a true factory reset. We never changed the IP in the first place, so not sure why it won’t load.

According to this website: https://www.peplink.com/support/downloads/#max 6.3.5 is the latest recommended firmware for the HW1 generation of BR1 mini. Am I reading that wrong? Can we upgrade further?

I will try as you say and reply back with the results. Thanks.

4

I tried holding the reset button for 20+ seconds. I am still not able to access the admin page. I can connect to the wifi, and also connect via ethernet (LAN), but when I try to access 192.168.50.1, it tells me “This site can’t be reached” and “192.168.50.1 refused to connect”. The status light is solid green and the wifi light is flashing green at 1 hz. Could the firmware have gotten corrupted during an upgrade or something?

5

No, 8.3.0 is the current (and I think may be the last) FW available for the Mini HW1.

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6

Hi Rick. Three questions:

  1. When you plug your computer into the LAN port what address is shown for the gateway/router? 192.168.50.1?
  2. Can you ping that address via ethernet?
  3. Can you connect via wi-fi using the default credentials on the bottom of the device?

I suppose it is possible that the FW is corrupt but that would not be my first guess. Unlikely in my experience.

7

Responses:

  1. when I run ipconfig, it says my computers address is 192.168.50.10 and the default gateway address is 192.168.50.1

  2. Yes, here are the results:

Pinging 192.168.50.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.50.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.50.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.50.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.50.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64

Ping statistics for 192.168.50.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

  1. yes, I can connect via Wifi using the credentials on the bottom of the device.

Thoughts?

8

Good – the results are as expected. I’m wondering about what you are seeing with your browser when you try to log on. Two ideas: Change browser (for now) or capture the screen and take a look. And try both HTTP HTTPS.

9

Removing the “s” from HTTPS solved the issue. Once I tried HTTP, the admin page loaded right away. I was able to update the firmware to 8.3 and everything seems to be working as expected now.

Thank you for taking the time to make these suggestions and help me out.

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