Problem with Netgear Nighthawk X6S router.

[WarMachine108]

The wifi SSID won't show up on the wifi settings. The power led is completely off neither can I reset the router (nothing happens when I actually try to reset it). Can someone please help? (Please see the attached image)

[E-waste]

Did this just happen recently because that device has tons of dust all over, both around the edges, and covered completely on the antennas, so clearly it's been sitting there for at least a couple months!

 

So how are you resetting the device?

[WarMachine108]

17 hours ago, E-waste said:

Did this just happen recently because that device has tons of dust all over, both around the edges, and covered completely on the antennas, so clearly it's been sitting there for at least a couple months!

 

So how are you resetting the device?

I do agree that the router has a lot and a lot of dust, But it's actually not my fault about the cleaning thing. I live in an Indian household and my family doesn't let me touch many things up, their motto is "if it's working, don't fiddle with it" kinda thing. And the place where my router was kept was like very high and I needed a ladder to access it. And yes, it has been kept up there for the past 5 years( I know ima go to hell).

 

I did clean the router up properly after the post but still nothing happened.

And yes, it occurred recently but I still don't think it's a dust problem.

 

And to reset it, there's a hole at the back of the router which says 'reset' so yea.

[E-waste]

Hmm, maybe it got too toasty?  Try powering it off for a few hours if you haven't and let it cool down.  And try another reset.  This is a tough one.  It could be hardware failure due to lack of air flow, but I'd like to think it still works.

 

Hold the reset button for 10-15 seconds, and let it be for at least one minute.  Then pull power.  Maybe it didn't fully reset if you immediately pull power after holding the button.  And to be clear, is this the recessed button that you need a paperclip or toothpick to access, not the wps button?

[MG2R]

The dust is likely fine. 
 

If it just stopped working, one of two thing is likely dead: the power supply, or the router. 
 

I’d bet on the power supply first. Try to find a new one with the same voltage and at least the same amperage as the original unit and see if it powers up. 

[mMontana]

On the side of what reported from @mg2r: switching power suppliers with higher amperage (130% top) should work without issues even if the devices request less power (100%).

But don't forget that crappy power suppliers sometimes "oversell" themselves as specs or consistency of performance.

 

Clean that product as baest as you can!

[MG2R]

12 minutes ago, mMontana said:

130% top

Why?

[mMontana]

Personal opinion: within 130% of overamping is less likely that a poor realized switching PSU can cook-out for overvolting the device.

I anyway used a 2500 mAh power adapter on a Zyxel USG20 for 5 years (1000 mAh stock PSU) without any issue (but was a "corporate-grade" AP power supplier)

[MG2R]

At their core, power bricks are simple constant-voltage circuits. Even with zero load their voltage should fall around their rated output. Even the really cheap ones these days should be _fine_, regardless of how over specced they are. These things are designed to power pretty much anything you plug into them and that includes devices that power down. Can’t run out of spec at low draw. 
 

PS: for power supplies, it’s mA or A, not mAh or Ah. Ampere (A) is a unit of electric current, Amp-hour (Ah) is a unit of capacity. Batteries are rated in Ah as in the amount of Amps they can supply for an amount of hours. 10Ah is 10A for 1 hour or 1A for 10 hours of any other product of those two units which make 10 total. A power supply can supply a certain amount of Amps indefinitely, hence, no “h” in the unit. 

Edited August 19, 2023 by MG2R
s/energy/capacity/ - if I’m gonna be pedantic it should at least be accurate

[mMontana]

12 minutes ago, MG2R said:

At their core, power bricks are simple constant-voltage circuits. Even with zero load their voltage should fall around their rated output

Louis Rossmann explained something else, in some of its videos.

 

After the AC-to-DC conversion operated at the beginning, switching power supplies are sort of... oscillators.

Changing the frequency of "on-off" ratio they sort of "simulate" a stable 12v output (or different one). But a power draw not compliant with the expected could puzzle-out the frequency of voltage oscillation, delivering too much volts to the DC device. Which in certain limits is not that bad, if the device is designed for manage oscillating voltage without issues.

In "not so cheap" switching power supplies, circuit is designed and compoments are picked "better" for define this behavior, reducing the cases of incoeherent voltage (and power) delivery from the PSU. 

 

For years, RIM/Blackberry delivered devices with a specific-shaped power adapters, that could be recognized among other devices (Palm handelds, Zyxel products). I used power adapters from that company (not reported on the power adapter) for more than 5 years of 24/7 activity without any "joke". Than a lightning stroke, but that's a story for another day.

[WarMachine108]

20 hours ago, E-waste said:

Hmm, maybe it got too toasty?  Try powering it off for a few hours if you haven't and let it cool down.  And try another reset.  This is a tough one.  It could be hardware failure due to lack of air flow, but I'd like to think it still works.

 

Hold the reset button for 10-15 seconds, and let it be for at least one minute.  Then pull power.  Maybe it didn't fully reset if you immediately pull power after holding the button.  And to be clear, is this the recessed button that you need a paperclip or toothpick to access, not the wps button?

Yes it is like i neer a pin to insert it in and reset. And for the few hours things, I posted it the next day coz I thought the same 

[MG2R]

1 hour ago, mMontana said:

But a power draw not compliant with the expected could puzzle-out the frequency of voltage oscillation, delivering too much volts to the DC device.

While there’s a theoretical possibility of this happening, we’re talking about near-zero loads where the capacitor smoothing the output does not discharge fast enough to make the voltage drop faster than the lowest pwm duty cycle charges it again. 
 

in practice, constant-voltage charging circuitry is mostly a solved problem. The output stage typically has an over voltage protection built in.

 

Any cheap power brick will most likely work fine as long as it has the amps needed to power the load.