Cannot Connect to Router

RouterOS General
1

Hello. I am currently unable to login to my RB1100AHx4 that I purchased several years ago now. It is running RouterOS version 6.49.6. I was able to login last week and haven’t made any changes on the router since. When I try logging into the router with Winbox via the IP address, I get the following error: “Could not connect to (IP Address) Reason: Connection refused. Will retry in (X) seconds”.

When I try to connect via the MAC address, I get a similar error: “Could not connect to (MAC Address) Reason: Could not connect. Will retry in (X) seconds”.

I’ve tried logging in with “Legacy Mode” on and off and tried power cycling the router, but it didn’t fix, still have the same issue. The router appears to be working properly, but I obviously need to login in to check things and make some changes.

FYI, I am currently remote to this router and a month ago I enabled settings to allow myself to login over the Internet via winbox. I have VNC Remote Access into a PC inside the network and is how I’ve tried logging into the router with Winbox (and a browser), and have also tried logging in over the Internet withe the same error I get when trying to login via IP Address internally. I was able to previously login in over the Internet, until Yesterday when this started happening.

Not sure if this had an effect, but I was trying to login to another router on the LAN and was not remembering the password properly, and I tried a bunch of times before I finally remembered and got in successfully. It was right around that time I was unable to gain access to the main router.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

2

I cannot imagine how the two things (multiple failed attempts to access some other device and inaccessibility of the 1100) could be related, unless you have some complicated mechanism in place to protect the 1100 itself from brute force attacks that got triggered by those failed logins to other equipment due to misconfiguration. If the router otherwise works, it is more likely that it got cracked in or that something broke in the configuration. And as you say you had Winbox access open via internet, I’d be afraid of getting cracked in (RouterOS versions from years ago had vulnerabilities allowing to fetch user credentials without authentication, so the fact that you now run 6.49.6 doesn’t help unless you have also changed the credentials).

In any case, your last chance before netinstall may be to use the serial console - it requires a “null modem” cable, and if the PC you can access there has no serial port on it, also an USB to serial adapter/cable.