Problem to upgrade FortiAP 14C Firmware from 5.4.4 to 5.6.0 (and later)

[MaxHein]

Hello,

we are having a FortiAP 14C with the latest 5.4.4 firmware installed (371).

When trying to upgrade to 5.6.0 or newer 5.6 versions, the firmware is uploaded correctly and the device initiates a restart. After the restart the firmware is still 5.4.4.

Firmware upgrade has been tried using the web interface of the 14C as well as using the Fortigate that manages this AP. The effect is the same.

The FortiAP 14C is still working as expected, we are just not able to upgrade it.

Please note that previous upgrades in the past have worked on the device.

Is there a solution for this problem.

Thanks, Max

[wanglei_FTNT]

Hi Max,

I am able to upgrade the 14C from 5.4.4 to 5.6.5(the latest one).  Can you double-check whether you have saved 14C 5.4.4 image on FGT using command "exec wireless-controller list-wtp-image "?.  If there is a saved image on FGT, FAP would change to that one after it connects to FGT. You can delete or replace that image before you upgrade  and see whether that solves your issue. 

[MaxHein]

Hello Lei,

thanks for the response. I checked on the Fortigate but the command returns "There is no WTP Images stored on the AC". So that does unfortunately not seem to be the reason for the problem.

I also tried the direct update from 5.4.4. to 5.6.5. with the same result.

In the past there has only been one problem with that 14C.  I had to do one downgrade of the firmware because the newer firmware version did not accept the password previously selected for the admin account. But after the password has been changed using the downgraded version the upgrade afterwards worked and so did several upgrades after that.

The firmware upgrade of the FortiAP 14C is being attempted right after upgrading the Fortigate from 5.4.10 to 5.6.7, can that have something to do with the behaviour of the 14C?

[wanglei_FTNT]

Hi Max, 

Sorry that didn't apply.  If you don't mind, can you factory-reset the box and see whether that helps?  You can do that by pressing the reset button for more than 10 seconds till all LEDs are lit up. 

If this still doesn't work, you might have to work with our support so they can help you take a further look on this unit. 

Cheers,

Lei

[MaxHein]

Hello Lei,

again, thanks for the reply.

I tried resetting the 14C but that did not work either. When pressing the reset button for 10 seconds most of the LEDs light up and the unit is restarting, but after that it still runs with the old settings and not the factory defaults. I tried it several times and even pressed the reset button for much longer.

It seems as if there is some sort of write protection in place. Though I was able (for a quick test) to change the host name through the web interface of the 14C.

[wanglei_FTNT]

HI Max,

After you factory-reset the AP( from your description, it looked like you successfully did that), did you try to upgrade again?  The reason we tried to factory reset it is to potentially clean up some files.  After that, your AP should join AC and you can try to upgrade one more time. 

Lei

[MaxHein]

Hello Lei,

no, the factory-reset of the AP did not work (I tried several times). After the reboot that was initiated by the attempted factory-reset the AP still had all the modified settings. So I am still stuck with the 5.4.4. firmware.

[wanglei_FTNT]

Hi Max,

After factory-reset, AP reconnects back with FGT and it would have been re-configured by FGT with last config and it might be looked like that the configuration was not reset. 

You can try to upgrade to see whether upgrade works. 

If it still doesn't work, 

1) create another 14C profile with minimum configuration 

2) assign this profile to you 14C

3) factory-reset your 14C

4) once AP is online, see whether you can upgrade. 

If this still doesn't work, please contact our support who would help you trouble-shoot further 

Cheers,

Lei

[MaxHein]

Hello Lei,

I tried both your above suggestions but the outcome is still the same.

I even tried the factory reset with the AP connected directly to another computer instead of the company network to make sure the factory reset is actually happening. But even under those conditions the login and the assigned IP remain what they were configured to and not what they should be after a factory reset. So to me this looks like the factory reset is not happening.

The only thing that changed when switching profiles as per your suggestion is that I was not able to access the admin web frontend of the FortiAP even with the profile it was working before. I had to allow it again using the CLI.