I am having serious issues with that dumb random passwords now by default - I always change it to my passwords, but since in some environments the label might get messy or even unreadable, i had to create a database of a few hunders devices with their SN and password, since it seemed the reset just loads the default config with the password - very anoying.
But it gets worse - cAP have this stupid behavior too, it does not reset to empty device, but loads the default config. Now imagine a cAP at the ceiling, with one poe cable in the wall on a remote location - and gets unresponsive, has the Mikrotik typical full disk and refuse to save any changes state etc. I could ask the local handyman to hold the reset button, see if from any other device on the network withoout any settings / password and set it as I needed. Now I would have to pray the sticker would still be readable and get the guy to read it to me, but now the funny part - the default config probably loads a basic firewall (even on AP) and therefore blocks any connection attempts. You get ip on eth2 and can log to it, but it does not have poe in - so you must either get some power to eth1, or a long cable through factory/hall etc to eth2.
So - is it really not possible to reset mikrotik devices with the button to empty (no-default config) state? I tried to netinstall the cap ax, netinstall did not see it any time, but after some tries I saw it's ip 0.0.0.0 - resetted device and I logged in without password. No loading of netinstall, just many tries of holding the reset button. I apparently resetted it somehow. I tried it a number of times on a new hap ac3 now and no luck. Do you know any way how to reset it manually without default config like it worked in the past?
There is a feature called branding, where you create a special "branding package", that once installed on a device stays there. Among other things, it can override the defconf script that's executed on configuration reset.
These branding packages have to be prepared through the Mikrotik website, but it's totally unrestricted and free.
that is a quite interesting option, I tried it, but the test with empty defconf has ~70KB, that might be a problem. People have huge problems with no-free-space bricked devices with 16MB flash and wifi-qcom-ac (like cAP), Mikrotik support is absolutely worthless in this issue (tells to netinstall every device every time it happens). But thinking about it now, cAPs probably don't have this stupid reset button with defconf, at least te older ones.. I'll give it a try, seems good for the new nevices with reset loading defconf
Netinstall works on like 50% windows computers at best and is not a solution for me - as I wrote in the original post, I need someone to reset it on a remote location without a computer and with no configuration, like it has always worked in the past - device shown with ip 0.0.0.0/0 and passwordless admin
I'm not sure which past you are referring to that reset devices without any configuration (using the reset pin or button), but I am saying to use netinstall when you first configure the device, in order to override the default configuration. Other than that, I can also recommend the branding approach.
I think the free space issue was (at least somewhat) resolved with some optimizations. At least I don't really have any problems with carefully created configs and sparing updates.
Even if you include a defconf, I wouldn't expect the size to increase by more than the compressed size of the script itself.
If you really want untrained users to be able to reset the device in-place, I don't really see any other way.
While the initial script functionality of netinstall is very practical for initial or controlled installs, it requires significant preparation, so it doesn't really solve anything related to later resets.
I need to reset it by pressing the reset button to a no-default state while hanging somewhere on a ceiling, not going to the remote site, picking it up and taking to my office to netinstall it - netinstall with physical access is exactly what I want to avoid
partially - they lowered the size of the package ~40kB in 7.20 and another ~40kB in 7.21, which helped a bit since you have 100-200kB of free space now. But it did not fix the main problem - when the space is eaten, you have no way to recover from that state other than reset/netinstall and you even can't see what is eating the space and/or free it - and Mt won't tell you either.
MT support tells you it si your problem that you buy Mt products and they don't care. What I have found so far, a lot of space is reclaimed by clear-history, some may be reclaimed by deleting graphing save-to-disk and dhcp-leases. But we are just guessing here, since Mt support is worthless, some are ok, some not. Absolutely problem-free is to stay with 7.16.2
// edit - and one more "fix" - you are able to reboot the device since like 7.19? It has no effect because it still refuses to save any changes, but prior to that, the device refused even to reboot with no free space
Just thinking since you mention cAP ... how are you going to push that reset button with the case on those devices ? You first need to remove the case to get access to that button so you need to take it of the ceiling anyhow, I would think ?
And that would be cAP AC then (or cAP XL AC), since regular cAP can not use wifi-qcom-ac package.
You have to press the button. That's physical access already, no ?
So you can use that same button to enter netinstall state (just keep pressing it).
And then have 1 "technician-device" with a netinstall container which picks up the netinstall-request and starts providing the required package and after-reset-script towards that device-to-be-installed.
I made it once using an AX3 as proof of concept so I know it can be done.
A Linux based laptop also works (100% success rate with netinstall). Perfect tech-device too ...
Just some ideas ...
as I wrote - I have a tech guy able to press a button on a ladder, not running netinstall or configuring ROS. I have various cAPs - cAP ac, cAP ac xl, cAP ax.
I don't really want to put a linux laptop to every remote site, all these solutions are scratching your left ear with your right hand, reset button works great on old cAPs, this change is insane. And I'm pretty sure it works somehow, I resetted the cAP ax with numerous unsuccessfull attempts to netinstall it - and I saw the defconf script running too, it had 0.0.0.0 for like 5 secs and then changed to 192.168.88.1, so I may have interrupted the script with the device already resetted if I shut it down in correct timing.. I have to focus on that.
The netinstall package is quite interesting though, super new stuff just in the testing branch, but that would work.. hopefully it will be in stable soon
lol I did it, I was correct Whoever will search for this - if you want to really reset your mikrotik device - without defconf, do the standard reset, keep refreshing winbox and once you see it with ip 0.0.0.0/0, cut the power and voila - your device is really reset, without some crap random password, without some crap default firewall etc - ip 0.0.0.0/0, user admin, no password. Tested on cAP ax. Apparently it takes some time to run the defconf script, so if you are fast enough, you are good to go. The time is prety generous, at least a few seconds, it may be less on a powerful routers though.
As for the suggestions:
Lurker's branding - seems to work
holvoent's netinstall package - I am really impressed by this new option, tested it on an old rb2011, since I have tons of these, and it works great - automatically downloads needed packages, works fast, like a charm and most importantly - always. Very nice, especially since netinstall is very picky with various realtek network cards nowadays, awesome. I'll use the RB2011s instead of linux machines and once it'll be stable, or long term at best, I'll install it on the CCRs. I'm starting to hate Mikrotik for many things, but good job here, this is a great one
In practice, the reason devices enter a boot loop or fail to boot at all—requiring them to be restored via NetInstall (after an update)—is that the user, without waiting for the installation to complete properly, rushed to reboot the device.
Therefore, the best course of action in your case is to create your own branding package with your own default configuration.
Read about how to use the reset button to put the device into CAP mode.
If you have access to the device via WinBox, check the box to “Not default configuration” and reset the configuration.
When the device runs out of memory, run a bandwidth test; this will temporarily free up a small amount of memory, allowing you to save your settings.
Whoever will search for this - if you want to really reset your mikrotik device - without defconf, do the standard reset, keep refreshing winbox and once you see it with ip 0.0.0.0/0, cut the power and voila - your device is really reset, without some crap random password, without some crap default firewall etc - ip 0.0.0.0/0, user admin, no password. Tested on cAP ax. Apparently it takes some time to run the defconf script, so if you are fast enough, you are good to go. The time is prety generous, at least a few seconds, it may be less on a powerful routers though.