Local Controller - Unable to add new AP & Switch with 1.x FW

I’ve run into this twice in the last week. I have a Route10 and local hardware controller, both on current firmware versions. I could not deploy a brand new AP6-Pro and S8-POE initially. Both arrived with 1.x firmware installed. Current versions are 2.x. The devices were detected by the controller and app, but I could not add them to the local controller through Bluetooth or web. Workaround was the same for both.

  • Connect them to Alta Cloud management
  • Update firmware to the latest version
  • Delete them from Alta Cloud
  • Factory reset the device
  • Then I could set them up in the local HW controller

The best way to work around old firmware issues is to perform the Power on Reset described in the following articles:

I did try that procedure on both devices first, but it did not work for either. That’s why I ended up connecting them to the cloud management as a last ditch effort.

The firmware versions we deploy for power on resets are not always the latest version. Which versions were your devices on after the reset, and were they all resolved by the newest firmwares?

The firmware version didn’t change after the power on resets. Both were at the same 1.x version I received them with.

Based on your comment about not always having the latest version set up for power on resets, I have successfully executed power on resets with my Route10 prior to receiving the AP and switch. When I first received the Route10, I was testing the configuration interface and reset it to factory defaults several times. Every time I reset to factory default, it reverted back to the same FW version I received it with, not the most current version that I had updated it to after connecting to the local controller.