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Cisco Meraki Documentation

Troubleshooting a Faulty MX Appliance or Z-Series Teleworker Gateway

There are circumstances where a security appliance will fail, and the only option is to replace the device. However, many common symptoms that may appear as device failure can be resolved with some simple troubleshooting steps.
This article outlines common symptoms and troubleshooting steps for Cisco Meraki MX Security Appliances and Z-Series Teleworker Gateways, as well as information about how to request an RMA.


Troubleshooting

When determining if a appliance is faulty, the following checks must be made. As per the device's replacement warranty, Cisco Meraki can replace a faulty device. However, in order to satisfy all stakeholders and minimize both downtime and cost, troubleshooting must be done to determine if an RMA is the correct path to follow.
The following symptoms and steps will help determine if an MX appliance or Z-Series gateway has failed:

No lights when the appliance is powered on

  • Make sure that the power switch on the back is on.
    Note: The MX60, MX64/W and MX65/W do not have a power switch on the back.
  • Try connecting the appliance to a different power source.
  • Try using a different power cable.

If there is still no light activity when connecting to a working power source, the unit is faulty and needs an RMA.

Appliance has a solid orange power LED

A solid orange power LED indicates that the appliance is unable to reach the cloud. This is rarely indicative of hardware failure, the following troubleshooting steps may help resolve the issue:

  • Connect to the appliance's Local Status Page and check the management IP configuration.
    • If the appliance should be getting a dynamic IP configuration via DHCP, see if it received an IP address. 
    • If the appliance needs a static IP configuration, make sure that is set correctly.
    • Make sure the appliance's management VLAN is configured correctly, or left blank if it should be untagged.
  • Make sure there are no upstream firewalls that could be blocking the appliance's management traffic.
  • Plug the appliance's uplink cable into another device like a laptop, to test for Internet connectivity.
  • Try performing a factory reset on the device and reconfigure its management IP as needed.

If all else fails, collect the SDB Bundle (OOB Logs) from the Local Status Page of the device and provide it to the Meraki Support Team.

No link lights when connecting a device to an Ethernet port

  • Check that the port is enabled.
    • This can be done in Dashboard under Security & SD-WAN/Teleworker Gateway > Monitor > Addressing & VLANs > Per-port VLAN Configuration, clicking on the port, and ensuring that Enabled is set to Enabled.
  • Make sure the connected device is on and working.
    • Try connecting the device to another port on the same appliance.
    • Try connecting the device to a switch or some other network appliance.
  • Swap the Ethernet cable with a known working cable.
  • Perform a factory reset on the device.

If the link lights on the switchport don't come on when a working device is connected with a working Ethernet cable, the unit is faulty and needs an RMA.


Requesting an RMA

If the steps outlined above have been followed and indicate that the unit requires an RMA, please contact Support to begin the RMA process. Please be prepared to outline the troubleshooting steps that have been taken so far, as well as provide a shipping address to help expedite the process.

Note: Support may recommend additional troubleshooting steps not outlined in this article, depending on the nature of the specific issue.

Please also reference our RMA documentation article for additional information about device replacement.

Replacing an Existing MX with a Different MX

Once your RMA has been processed and you've received your replacement, you can follow our instructions on replacing an MX with another MX.

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