How To Reset a FortiAP FAP-234F-A to Factory Defaults

Question

Hello Everyone:

We need to reset an FAP-234F-A to factory defaults because we don't have the admin password.

Here are the details:

1. We have the unit connected to a FortiGate 40F, which has the default IP address of 192.168.1.99 for now while we set things up. The FAP-234F-A is set to 192.168.1.2 and we can ping it and browse to the GUI.

2. The QuickStart Guide for this unit says that it comes with a special POE injector that has a reset button on it because the AP doesn't. Probably because it's a ruggedized outdoor unit and having a reset button would compromise the ruggedness. The model number of the PO injector that shows in the QSG is EPA5006GPR-4P. It's made by EnGenius, but the only one they have is the EPA5006GR, so we bought that one. It has a reset button on it but pressing it for more than 10 seconds doesn't reset the AP to factory defaults. It does nothing. Probably because it's slightly different than the EPA5006GPR-4P and the pinout is different.

3. We can connect to the AP via the console. Our understanding is that if we install/replace the firmware during boot, it will reset the unit to factory defaults. We have downloaded firmware for it and gone through the whole process several times, but still can't login to the unit. We pasted the CLI text in this post in hopes that someone can spot something there that is preventing the unit from accepting the new firmware, but the system didn't allow it. There are probably errors there that explain why the unit is not accepting the firmware replacement, but we don't know enough to understand what we're looking at. This is the first time we've posted here. We don't see a way to attach files to this post and we can't paste the text from the CLI. We think it would be really important for someone to review the results of the firmware upgrade. If someone can let us know how we can make that available here, let us know.

4. We found the article below and it's exactly what we're going through. We read the articles suggested by the Fortinet staff member that replied to the post a couple of times, but they don't look like they will work just like they didn't work for the person that added that post. Link: https://community.fortinet.com/t5/Support-Forum/Factory-reset-FortiAP-222E/m-p/213157

If anyone has any suggestions, we're all ears.

Thanks in advance.

7WBS · Accepted Answer

We upgraded the firmware on the AP to a higher version that the one it had and that replaced the previous version and asked us to enter a new password. We did, and now the unit is Online and working perfectly.

It looks like these APs won't accept older versions of firmware installed via TFTP and there's no warning as far as we can tell.

So this is the solution for APs that don't have a reset switch: Install a higher version of the firmware via TFTP and that will reset the unit to factory defaults.

funkylicious · Answer

try https://community.fortinet.com/t5/FortiAP/Technical-Tip-Reset-a-lost-admin-password-on-a-FortiAP-password/ta-p/193998

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