UISP Devices - Recovery Mode

These instructions will help you restore a UISP device to its default state in the unlikely event that it becomes unresponsive. Please note that this process is intended as a last resort, not an initial troubleshooting step.

The TFTP Recovery feature is initiated by pressing an unresponsive device’s Reset button and using a TFTP client at a workstation. Pressing the Reset button will trigger the device’s TFTP Recovery Mode by running a TFTP server on the device. Afterward, the recovery image can be retrieved from the TFTP client. 

The UISP recovery images used for TFTP Recovery can be downloaded below.

UISP Recovery Images

Public Release:

UISP-Console recovery image - 3.2.0

UISP-R recovery image - 3.2.0

UISP-R-Pro Recovery image - 3.2.0

UISP-S recovery image - 1.5.0

UISP-S-Pro recovery image - 1.5.0

UISP-P recovery image - 1.0.0-beta.5

Recovering Devices with a Third-Party TFTP Client

Note: This process assumes that a TFTP client is already set up at a workstation to allow the recovery image to be uploaded to an unresponsive UISP device.

1. Download the appropriate device recovery file above.
2. Connect Port 1 of your UISP device directly to your desktop or LAN with an Ethernet cable.
   If you are connected to a LAN, the device will try to obtain an IP using DHCP while in TFTP Recovery Mode, and use the 192.168.1.20 address if no DHCP server is found.
   If you are connected directly to a desktop, assign a static IP address to your computer's network interface (e.g., 192.168.1.10/24).
3. Follow the reset steps below to initiate the device’s TFTP Recovery Mode.
4. Run a TFTP client application and upload the recovery image to the UISP device.

Windows Clients
In this example, our TFTP client is Tftpd32 with the following settings:

Host: 192.168.1.20
Port: 69
Local File: <image-path>.bin
Remote File: <blank>
Block Size: Default

Linux and macOS Clients
Open a new Terminal window and use the following TFTP client commands:

tftp
tftp> connect 192.168.1.20
tftp> binary
tftp> put <image-name>.bin

or in one line:

tftp 192.168.1.20 -m binary -c put <image-name>.bin

5. Wait for the TFTP recovery to finish. Progress is indicated by the port’s LED status pattern. See the reset steps below.
6. For UISP Console device only - Use a browser to access the device on http://192.168.1.20 (or any IP address the device received through DHCP) and use the web form to apply the latest firmware.
   After the FW is updated the device will reboot and the recovery is finished. 
   

Using the Reset Button

1. Once the device is plugged in, press and hold the Reset button until the device's port LEDs light up sequentially, starting with the first port and ending with the fifth one. Continue holding the button until this sequential LED sequence finishes two rounds. After that, all port LEDs will blink three times to indicate the device is in TFTP Recovery Mode.
2. Now the device will attempt to use a DHCP server to retrieve an IP address for port 1. If a DHCP server doesn't exist a static IP 192.168.1.20 will be assigned after a short timeout. In both cases, the device will start perpetually flashing LED lights, alternating between even and odd ports in a zig-zag pattern to indicate it is ready to accept the recovery file. 
3. Follow the third-party TFTP client steps above.
4. Wait for the TFTP recovery process to finish. Once complete, the device will reboot. If successful, you can readopt the device with either the UISP application or a UISP Cloud Console.