IP500 Digital Station 30 Modules Not Detected – No Bootloader via RS232 – Post Power Surge

[William C290]

Hi all,


We're facing a very strange issue with multiple IP500 Digital Station 30modules after a sudden power outage and return.
Environment:

• IP Office 500v2 – R11.1.3.2
• 2x ATM16 modules (working fine)
• 4x DS30 modules (not working)
• All modules were working before the power incident.

Issue:
After the power returned:

• All 4 DS30 modules started flashing green LED.
• They are not detected in:
  • System Status
  • Upgrade Wizard
  • IP Office Manager
• Tried multiple expansion ports and cables – no change.
• Tried each module individually – same result.
• DTE/RS232 connection shows nothing – no bootloader prompt.
• Verified RS232 cable and COM settings by connecting to other modules – working fine.

Actions Taken:

• Replaced IP500v2 base unit – no change
• Performed full power cycle (modules off >15 min) – no change
• Attempted RS232 connection with Putty (38400, 8N1, no flow control) – no response
• Attempted connection during first 2 seconds of power-up – nothing
• All 4 modules behave the same
• No visible physical damage

Notes:

• Modules are from the same batch (~2 years old)
• The system was connected to a UPS during the incident
• Suspecting possible flash/bootloader failure, but unsure

Question:
Has anyone encountered DS30 modules going completely silent like this?
Is there any recovery method if even RS232 doesn’t get a boot prompt?
Would this be considered irrecoverable hardware damage?
Any insights or suggestions would be very helpful.


Thanks in advance,

 

[Ekster]

Power supply issue?

Try a working module's power supply in a non-working module and see if it's detected.

 

[jerrymac]

All of my issues with faulty modules have almost always been power supply related in the past but here is a good troubleshooting post that might be helpful.

Dead DS30 - 3 Techniques by Wellington Paez

In this post you get to see how to restore a defective expansion module 30 by following these three simple techniques.

www.wellingtonpaez.com

 

[William C290]

@Ekster :

Thanks for the suggestion! We actually did try different power cables and swapped known working power sources between the modules — unfortunately no change.
That said, I assume you're referring to internal power regulation issues inside the module?
If so, do you know if these units have any internal fuse or power IC that might be field-replaceable?
I'm open to trying, though it's not officially documented.

---

 

[William C290]

@jerrymac:

Thanks a lot for sharing this — I actually tried the DTE method exactly as described (null modem, 38400 8N1, PuTTY, ESC on boot), but unfortunately I’m not getting the loader prompt — only scrambled output (unicode-like garbage).
Tried two different cables and laptops — same result.
Still open to retrying it if you think it’s timing-related.