Hotel Ethernet Zapped my AXT-1800 WAN Port- Repair Options?

kennethrc · 2022-12-23T23:34:43.724Z

I plugged my AXT-1800 into an Ethernet port at a hotel, and immediately smelled the sweet-but-unfortunate smell of Magic Smoke (the stuff that makes electronics run) and sure enough, the WAN port is dead.

What are my repair options, other than a full replacement?

(Is there a(n easy) way to turn one of the LAN ports into a WAN port?)

jdub · 2022-12-23T23:40:50.330Z

You should be able to do it in Luci. It’s not always possible depending on the underlying hardware, but often it is.

I haven’t tried in a while, so someone else may be able to point you in the right direction more quickly. Otherwise I can look at it when I get a chance.

SmurfonToast · 2022-12-24T01:10:55.448Z

I’d be interested to hear about potential causes of such an occurrence e.g. could it occur due to PoE wiring (why a hotel would have PoE I’m not sure), weaker WAN plugs or wiring in GLiNET ports / devices ?

Any other reasons for this, it’s clearly something everyone would prefer to avoid, but if a cable exists it’s also my go to for best speed Hotel Internet Access.

Cheers

k.

K3rn3l_Ku5h · 2022-12-24T01:20:37.457Z

Cameras, Wifi Access points, conference equipment. Leave it plugged in and demand compensation, maybe things that are not labeled correctly is a fire code violation.

kennethrc · 2022-12-24T01:57:18.200Z

SmurfonToast:

I’d be interested to hear about potential causes of such an occurrence

It was a hotel in a foreign country; who knows what kind of miswiring they’d done

jdub · 2022-12-24T03:23:53.245Z

SmurfonToast:

e.g. could it occur due to PoE wiring (why a hotel would have PoE I’m not sure)

Yes, though indirectly. I’ve seen things get killed via a cut cable connected to a PoE switch that was shorting wires before.

To your question about why a hotel would have PoE - I can’t imagine a major hotel that wouldn’t have PoE. APs, TV boxes and phones are all easy PoE targets.

SmurfonToast · 2022-12-24T03:44:47.506Z

Thanks that’s interesting and makes sense I guess. Wonder if something like this https://www.amazon.com/Triplett-Power-Panels/dp/B0B77QZNW4 would help check it before plugging stuff in.

I don’t know enough about PoE but I understood power is only supplied to a device if it supports it? I guess ultimately the question is how do you reasonably take steps to prevent it happening without having to bring the kitchen sink to check it. Can (any manufacturers) Routers WAN ports be so wired / configured / designed / terminated so as to not blow up as a result?

kennethrc · 2022-12-24T04:12:56.385Z

FWIW, I’ve been plugging into hotel Ethernets for over 30 years now (and it’s sadly a dying breed as more places go WiFi-only) and this is the first time something like this has happened; it’s rare enough I’m not going to worry about it.

Just wish it hadn’t happened to my most expensive and advanced GL-iNet device

alzhao · 2022-12-26T08:59:02.147Z

This is sad. Seems the port is using passive PoE. But may also not.

Does the router still work and you can use repeater?

You can use other ports as WAN but better not burn all ports.

alzhao · 2022-12-26T09:00:44.135Z

Are you good at soldering?

kennethrc · 2022-12-26T21:28:43.528Z

alzhao:

Does the router still work and you can use repeater?

That’s the worst part- apparently the hotel wasn’t even wired for Ethernet, so I had to use the repeater anyway

You can use other ports as WAN but better not burn all ports.

Do you have instructions as to how to use one of the LAN ports as a WAN port? I’ll likely never be at that hotel again, so the risk of losing another port is fairly low.

"alzhao:

Are you good at soldering?

I have people at one of my clients who are- do you think it’s just a matter of replacing the Ethernet PHY transformer?

alzhao · 2022-12-27T01:14:53.485Z

You can easily set up vlan in Luci and move one port to the WAN. I don’t have the router at hand but think it should be easy.

Every port has ethX number so easy to move to another vlan and zone.

I do think that we can just replace the transformer. I will ask guys to contact you.

kennethrc · 2023-01-01T05:01:16.462Z

alzhao:

I do think that we can just replace the transformer.

Address sent. Thank you!

BUT- can someone Explain Like I’m Five how to implement the change of one of the LAN ports to WAN in LuCi? And will it stick across reboots, or should I just ssh in and modify a config file somewhere?

alzhao · 2023-01-01T05:18:22.295Z

kennethrc:

Address sent. Thank you!

Who did you send the address to?

alzhao · 2023-01-01T05:23:38.659Z

kennethrc:

BUT- can someone Explain Like I’m Five how to implement the change of one of the LAN ports to WAN in LuCi? And will it stick across reboots, or should I just ssh in and modify a config file somewhere?

I am on travel so cannot get you the screenshot.

Maybe just do this, modfiy /etc/config/network and find wan and lan.

In wan you will see one device e.g. eth0, that is the WAN port.
In lan you will find there are several devices, e.g. eth1, eth2 which are the two LAN ports.

So in wan, change eth0 to eth1;
In lan, remove eth1 from there

Do check the vlan settings etc. The idea is just to remove eth1 from lan and replace eth0 with eth1.

kennethrc · 2023-01-01T17:10:31.963Z

alzhao:

Who did you send the address to?

@Dipin reached out to me via PM

Dipin · 2023-01-03T07:18:10.954Z

Yep,The package has been sent out by Fedex.

kennethrc · 2023-02-16T06:59:43.112Z

Wanted to follow up- first, GL-iNet CS is excellent; they sent me the SMT chips/PHYs and some ports, that I’m going to get reflowed in first chance I get. But the other happy ending is I’d just remembered that I’d used a RealTek R8152 combo GbE/USB Hub so I could switch between my Netgear Hotspot or the hotel’s Ethernet (one without mislabeled ports ) without having to physically disconnect the Ethernet and as the R8152 is detected as “Tethering” I’ve used it as the “WAN” port lately, and it works well.

kennethrc · 2024-05-12T04:20:37.975Z

kennethrc:

… can someone Explain Like I’m Five how to implement the change of one of the LAN ports to WAN in LuCi?

So @alzhao I figured it out, and all is well- my AXT-1800/Slate AX is back in my lineup again as a backup travel router (my Spitz AX has been the best GL-iNet device I’ve owned- and I’ve had a lot of them- and it’s been in near-constant use for a year).

But I get “No cable detected in WAN port. Please insert an ethernet cable” on the “INTERNET” page. I checked /etc/config/network and it’s indeed set properly.

It’s really mostly cosmetic (the “Ethernet” line is lit up, at least), but is the presence of a connection on eth0 hardwired somewhere, or can that be fixed to be eth1 (the port I’d picked for “WAN”)?

Screenshot_20240511_211336

alzhao · 2024-05-13T04:32:33.273Z

Do you have kernel log when you plug/unplug the cable?