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.

 

[john3voltas]

So, you have a setup consisting of a laptop computer, USB to RS232 converter, RS232 cable, PuTTY that you have used on other expansion modules and you successfully managed to enter AT commands.
And then, with the same setup, same PC, converter, cables, PuTTY, etc, connected to the faulty DS30 modules, you can't enter AT commands. Is that it?

 

[john3voltas]

BTW, saying you are using the same converter/cables on a different PC can immediately lead us to think that it is either a software (PuTTY config) or hardware issue. Possibly a faulty USB port on that other computer

 

[john3voltas]

BTW2, this line

"DCP(16/30) V2 Loader 1.6 (Will appear as you press ESC multiple times)"

only appears if you start pressing ESC before you "power on" the faulty unit. Start pressing multiple times per second the ESC key and ask someone to power on the moduler for you.

 

[budbyrd]

It should give you text in English if your putty is set up right. If it looks like symbols and such your settings are wrong.

 

[William C290]

@john3voltas:
Yes, I confirm:
I’ve used the same exact setup (same laptop, same USB-to-RS232 converter, same PuTTY settings, same cables) on a working DS30 module, and it responded perfectly to the AT commands.


But when using this exact same setup on the faulty modules — I only get garbage output and never reach the loader prompt.


I'll definitely retry the ESC timing exactly as you advised: pressing ESC rapidly before powering on the DS30 module. I might have missed that exact moment in previous attempts.


Will give it another try and update. Thanks again!

 

[William C290]

@budbyrd:
Thanks for the follow-up.


I’ve double-checked PuTTY settings — they are set as follows:

• Speed (baud rate): 38400
• Data bits: 8
• Parity: None
• Stop bits: 1
• Flow control: None

I’ve also tested with two different laptops and two different RS232 adapters, all with the same settings, and they work fine on other modules.


Still, when I connect to any of the faulty DS30 modules, I get scrambled characters (non-English symbols) and no loader prompt.

 

[William C290]

Final update:


Unfortunately, after repeating all recovery steps multiple times — including:

• Confirmed PuTTY settings and working DTE session on other modules
• Using ESC prior to power-on, multiple times per second
• Swapping expansion cables and power supply
• Replacing the control unit
• Testing with different laptops and converters

None of the 4 DS30B2 modules show the loader screen or respond to any AT command. They only return unreadable characters or remain silent.


Modules are from the same batch, used behind a UPS, and failed simultaneously after a power fluctuation.


At this point, I'm concluding hardware failure at the board level. Proceeding with Avaya RMA request unless any last suggestions exist.