Possible WinBox Bug – RouterOS 7.23.5 Long-term / 7.24.2 Stable / 7.25beta3
After upgrading to RouterOS 7.23.5 Long-term, 7.24.2 Stable, and 7.25beta3, WinBox v3.43 disconnects immediately when opening:
IP → Services
The issue is reproducible on multiple MikroTik devices and started after the RouterOS upgrade.
Steps: Connect via WinBox v3.43 → IP → Services → immediate disconnect.
MikroTik team, please investigate this possible RouterOS/WinBox regression.
So stop using an obsolete and deprecated tool perhaps?
What are you writing?
Don't you read the changelogs?
Winbox 3 is artificiously no longer supported from 7.25 onwards.
Winbox older than 4.3 is no longer supported.
Thanks. I understand that WinBox 3.x is no longer supported from RouterOS 7.25 onward, so please ignore 7.25beta3 from my original report.
My main point is about:
RouterOS 7.23.5 Long-term
RouterOS 7.24.2 Stable
WinBox 3.43
On these RouterOS versions, WinBox 3.43 works normally for management, but opening IP → Services immediately disconnects the WinBox session.
So my question is specifically whether this is an expected compatibility change in 7.23.5 / 7.24.2, or a regression.
If WinBox 3.43 is still supported on these versions, I believe this behaviour should be investigated.
I can't reproduce your issue. On all my devices running 7.24.2 or 7.23.5, WinBox 3.43 could open the IP -> Services table without problems.
I have tested multiple RouterOS versions on the same RouterBOARD hardware, but unfortunately the issue remains.
I also tried downgrading to an older RouterOS version, but the downgrade is no longer allowed.
Considering the recent MikroTik security update and the new allowed-versions / Device Mode restrictions, I suspect some downgrade paths may now be intentionally blocked for security reasons.
At this point I still cannot use IP → Services with WinBox 3.43 without WinBox immediately disconnecting.
Has anyone else reproduced this on 7.23.5 Long-term or 7.24.2 Stable?
Do you have another computer to test? Does the problem happen on all PCs?
If you are using Windows, open Explorer and go to %APPDATA%\MikroTik\WinBox\sessions. Try to delete the .viw files that match the devices' addresses.
In the %APPDATA%\MikroTik\WinBox parent folder there are also cache folders created by WinBox 3 with the RouterOS version as name, try to delete those too.
Here are some more screenshots of working IP -> Services with 7.24.2 and 7.23.5:
I'm not able to reproduce this bug with 64-bit WinBox 3.43 on Windows 11 and RouterOS 7.23.5 long-term.
This is very bad news. I guess I'm switching to UniFi sooner or later.
Thanks mate
Update – Issue Resolved
I managed to resolve the issue by deleting all saved sessions from the WinBox Sessions folder.
After clearing the saved sessions and reconnecting, IP → Services is now opening normally without disconnecting WinBox.
So in my case, the issue was related to the saved WinBox session data rather than RouterOS itself.
vBeware of those open services without security.
They give you a replacement for a deprecated, antique, single platform tool, with a 20 year old UI design, and that causes you to drop the brand?
I am very, VERY confused . . . .
What I hear:
Canada is infested with antiquated, deprecated, antique and quirky Robertson screwheads
Let's ban the sale and usage of Robertson screwdrivers in favour of the new-and-shiny Torx
Nobody changes to Unifi just because of Winbox 4 alone. There may be other reasons already considering it and Winbox 4 enforcement is the last drop.
If they were both made by the same company, and Torx was a superior replacement, it would be completely appropriate for that company to cease developmemt and sales of Robertson. Nothing prevents continued use, it just won't see any more developmemt. That is the case here . . . No competitors, no bans . . . simply a choice by both Mikrotik and users . . . be stuck in the past, or move forward.
Well ... what if company produced hybrid screws (so one can use both Robertson and Torx screwdrivers), but decided that hybrid design did not make sense any more and switched over to Torx-only screws? Making Robertson screwdrivers unusable for new screws (but still usable for older hybrid screws ... which can be already driven by Trox screwdrivers ... so changing over to Torx screwdrivers won't make those hybrid screws undrivable). Yes, I can understand that you prefer the square shape of Robertson screwdriver head over the star shape of Torx screwdriver head as Robertson has lower possibility of scratching your thumb.
They "fixed" something that didn't need fixing. If you like WinBox 4 that's good for you, I absolutely hate it and expressed it since first beta versions were published. There's no reason to change a perfectly good and fully working product just for the sake of change but MikroTik decided to do it anyway.
I didn't say that I'm switching immediately but that it'll most likely happen in the future. Awful user interface (WinBox 4 is literally painful to use compared to WinBox 3) is just going to motivate me much more to give a chance to another vendor (which products are grossly overpriced but their software is extremely pleasant to use). I honestly expected that WinBox 3 will be supported until the end of RouterOS 7 but it is what it is.
This exactly. They've decided the product (WinBox 4) is so good that it has to be forced upon users.
I expect their next step will be reducing or even completely removing support for any device older than 2 years.
Uh, supporting only WhinDuhs was a HUGE issue that alone justified the change . . . . A UI that wasn't stuck 20 years in the past with yet another idiotic set of WhinDuhs (mis)features and oddities was another . . . .
(Some of us have ZERO need or desire for anything from MacroSquid . . . that alone made WB3 completely unusable for us.) On the few occasions I encouter WB3, I immediately go to WebFig . . . .
(And again, in the completely flawed example, you are still free to use Robertson . . . just don't expect any advancememt or updates. Same with WB3 . . . feel free to stay where you are with it until the end of time . . . )
