Pogoplug Mobile debrick with paperclip?

I know this is the uboot forum, but I've searched the internet for a few days and can't find something I know I've read before. There was a point when I was playing with pogoplugs where the mobile (blue logo) would act like it was bricked (refuse to boot, light blinks, no network, etc) and I was able to "reset it" or put it in some kind of recovery mode by shorting two pins with a paper clip for 10 seconds when it was first powered up. I know we can diagnose most things by soldering a serial port, but this paper clip trick was a lifesaver that was clean and fast to start over if things went poorly. I just can't find the instructions. Does anyone know/remember what I'm talking about?

Thanks,
-brmiller

brmiller,

I don't recall doing this reset with the Cloudengine Pogoplug Mobile/V4.

But the Seagate Goflex Home and Goflex Net did work like that. With a USB recovery stick plug in, you can restore stock FW using the reset button/hole.

-bodhi
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Alright, thanks bodhi. Do you have the link handy to the recovery via usb process. Willing to do this "blind" without a serial port in the hopes it "just works" and then we can restore stock firmware or one of the available on-flash linux distros.

-brmiller

brmiller,

No, the Goflex Home and Pogo Mobile boxes are different from each other. Most likely the factory restore won't work the same way. Besides, that link I have was old and now broken.

To run serial console on this box, you don't even need to solder the header. This is what I did because I was soldering-challenged:

- Prepare the serial console GND,TXD,RXD wires. Attach the serial module converter to the laptop (or where you will run serial console picocom/minicom).
- Use 3 test hook clips. Similar to this from eBay. The type that you push the spring down and the hook extended out. Connect each to a serial wire from the serial module converter first.
- Use 3 shirt pins (If you're an old guy you will remmenber those pins that they use to hold the folded the shirt in a box). Those are smallest pins that are feather weighted.
- Use the test hook to grab each of the serial console wire and a shirt pin together.

Now get serial console session running wiht picocom/minicom. Push each of the 3 pins to the corresponding serial header lead buttons, remmember to cross TXD-RXD. The serial header lead buttons are soft, so the shirt pins will be able to hang there for a long time, if you are careful not to touch the test rig, they wont fall off. I recall about one unbrick session, I could leave them connected for a few hours.

Power up and unbrick!

-bodhi
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Thanks bodhi, we'll give this a try.

-brmiller