Hey all,
I was working on my RB50009UG+S+ and did something that completely hosed me. I cannot get access to it not matter what I do. I had a backdoor set up but it is not working either.
What are my options?
Without knowing your config we can only guess. You don't say what you've tried either.
There's typically webfig to an ip on the router, ssh as well potentially, winbox to ip or MAC, and console on some routers, but I don't think that's an option on the 5009.
If you've tried all of those and none work, then there's always the reset and reprogram option.
Well the router is completely inaccessible via my LAN. So no WinBox, no Web, no SSH.
I had a “backup” network on port 8 that connected just to the router in case anything like this happened. It doesn’t work either.
I’ve tried holding the reset button when powering on and releasing it after three seconds to force a boot into my backup partition but that doesn’t seem to be working either.
I’ve also tried connecting a USB to RS-232 adapter into the USB port. No dice there either.
If I could get it to boot into the backup partition then it should work but I can’t seem to make that happen.
Another possibility is to attempt a NetInstall.
The RB5009 has an internal UART header, it was documented a few months ago (see here)
Normal reset to factory conditions ?
Did you configure VPN?
And can you explain what "something" is?
As suggested: have you tried to connect with Winbox using MAC address?
Well, I was able to get my connection back.
To answer questions:
@erlinden - I did not know what "something" was. I was trying to remove a port from the bridge and I somehow messed up more than just that port.
But I did have a Wireguard VPN connection configured. I was able to connect to the router through Wireguard by tethering my laptop to my phone. Then I could see at least one of the problems I created in the bridge. Don't ask me to explain what it was exactly and what I did to fix it because I forget (it was first thing in the morning). But what I did that time, promptly destroyed my internet access. However, it fixed LAN access and I was then able to connect to the router's IP over the LAN and download my config file and compare it with a backup file that I had. There was a bridge command connecting all my ethernet ports to my LAN VLAN which was missing. Once I was able to add that and reboot the router, it all started working again!
@erlinden Your comment about having configured the VPN is what gave me the idea to try connecting from the WAN to the VPN. It worked!
Not related - but this is something that does peeve me off sometimes too. Winbox shouldn't close when it looses connection. It gives you time to at least look at the logs (if you have it open). Can't do that if winbox decides to close everything...
Read this: The twelve Rules of Mikrotik Club
Pay attention to #7
I had done that - follow rule #7. And that for some reason was not working either!
That does not select your backup partition, it selects the backup bootloader.
To select your backup partition, interrupt the boot process by powercycling the router during the boot process (i.e. like 10 seconds after powerup)
Well, what is interesting is that this morning, when I messed up the internet connection (and hence lost connection as I was coming in from the WAN over Wireguard), it did not close right away. I couldn't do anything and it just appeared like nothing would happen when you would try to do any actions.
Oooh. OK. That is good to know. Thank you.
One ethernet port out of any bridges+with MAC WinBox enabled+unique IP for big configuration should help next time 
Yes. Agreed. It had been set up that way at one point, but somehow it got removed. Not sure how or when. I just restored that capability now. Had no idea it was no longer there!
Instead of rambling on over many posts, do yourself a favour and post your current config, so if there are any gotchas, we can spot them. Glad its working, but lets think about prevention
/export file=anynameyouwish (minus router serial number, any public WANIP info, keys etc. )
MikroTik.rsc (19.1 KB)
Here it is. It's not entirely complete as I'm in the process of trying to set up ProtonVPN over Wireguard (I have another post on this). But other than that, everything else is working fine.
Always do regular exports of the router config, at least after you made changes, and keep them on a computer. Not just the latest version but ever version, e.g. use the date as part of the name. Or put them in a versioning system like git.
Then when something weird happens and you temporarily lose access, you can compare the current configuration with earlier ones, and see if something has changed that you cannot explain.
That could indicate that others have access to your router without you knowing.
When that happens, netinstall the router, and configure it by cutting/pasting relevant sections of the export that you can still trust. Or just re-configure parts of it from defaults, e.g. the firewall.
Yeah, it's a good practice. I had backups already that I had looked at when trying to figure it out today. That's what saved me, actually. I just need to make them on a more regular basis.