ELK M1XEP major troubles - no longer responding

I am nearly two weeks into my migration from a Vista 20P panel to a new (to me) ELK M1 Gold system and I have hit a major block and could really use some help.
I had no issues connecting up the M1XEP to the system and have been using it for nearly two weeks.
I recently purchased the Ekeypad Pro iPhone app and was beginning to customize the M1 to make use of Ekeypad Pro. At first no problems but then I attempted to configure the M1XEP to send emails. After a few pushes of changes which resulted in reboots, the unit stopped responding.
For the life of me, I cannot get it back. I am fairly computer savvy but could not even get basic pings.
I have followed the nice documents that describe troubleshooting procedures without any luck. I am able to install the jumper and verify that it switches between DHCP and static IP. DHCP does not connect to my router and obtain an IP address.

My last test I switched the M1XEP to it's default static IP of 192.168.0.251 (installed jumper and verified double flashes) and configure a laptop with IP 192.168.0.100. I then connected a BRAND NEW crossover cable between them to eliminate cable and routers issues. Sometimes I can get ping responses, even consistantly but if I try to access the M1XEP using ELKRP or even the M1XEP diagnostics utility, the M1XEP stops responding and I can no longer even ping it. The green ethernet activity light stays on constantly along with the yellow/orange ethernet connectivity light.
I did not do any firmware upgrades on eith the M1 Gold panel or the M1XEP.
Is the M1XEP toast? If so, any logical reason for it to be so? I understand that this thing is difficult to work with for configuring email but it should not have killed it right?

If it's toast, does ELK offer any repair/replacement for these units if it's not under warranty?

Thanks for any help or insite you can offer!

I had some similar behavior when first installing mine a few years ago - I did all the same stuff, and after some fiddling and walking away for a day, it came back on its own and has worked since. If yours doesn't, definitely contact Elk - they have awesome support and won't let you down.

Also make sure your wiring is good - especially between the XEP And the board; who knows - maybe the thing locks up when it can't talk to the panel...

Hopefully you bought your equipment from a CTVA vendor. If you did, call them first, all of them have excellent staff which can help you troubleshoot this over the phone, and can take care of the warranty issues as well. ELK will help, but they prefer DIY'ers to contact the dealer they purchased the hardware from before contacting them.

You might try connect via rs232 and reflashing the m1xep. Realize too that it can take a long time to boot so whenever you remove power give 20 mins before you test.

Bummer. Finally figured out the problem. The M1XEP is stuck in a reboot loop.
I can see the network activity for about 30 seconds and then the orange power light blinks and network goes dead for a few seconds. About 1 minute later the process starts again.

The unit is out of warranty so I am on my own.

Is it possible to connect directly to the M1XEP via serial connection and perhaps reflash the code?
I thought the only way to flash it was through the network?

Everything I read about flashing one of these devices seems to indicate that it can only be done through the ethernet port.
Has anyone had any experience doing this through the serial port?

Relay said:

Everything I read about flashing one of these devices seems to indicate that it can only be done through the ethernet port.
Has anyone had any experience doing this through the serial port?

Click to expand...

If you can "see" the M1XEP from the enrollment screen in the ELK RP2 software, can't you update the firmware from there?

Where did you buy it from? Maybe the dealer can swap it for you.

The M1XEP had to be replaced. Recieved a new on and back in business.
Thanks for the help!

Timely find this post. I am experiencing the same continuous reboot loop with my M1XEP that Relay described. This convinces me my M1XEP may be toast too. Although I purchased my XEP a little over a year ago, I did not buy my M1G until recently and just got the system wired in and turned on. I hope SH can help me and is sympathetic to making my system right.

Have you tried connecting with the XEP Diagnostic Utility ? The M1 must be connected via serial in order to connect with RP. The Diagnostic Ultility can connect to a standalone XEP.

I installed the diagnostic utility. It could discover and ping the XEP but then I'm stuck. The message is it cannot detect the firmware version because it may be older that 1.3.24 plus it suggests a number of other possible reasons. I assume it may be the firmware. I can ping the device, but cannot proceed to the next screen with this firmware error.

How can I find the firmware version and is this something I can update?

Have you tried a couple of things first, such as recycle power then connect directly via a crossover cable and eliminate the network it's connected to? Have you done the method on pg. 25 to force the unit back to a static address, then perform configuration from there?

There was a firmware release a couple back that gave a lot of people fits with this kind of behavior, the reset procedure was the fix for me. You'll probably find posts on Elk's forum about it. Try it and if that doesn't work call/email Elk support.

OK, I spent a few hours today trying to follow the steps on page 25. NADA. I used the JP2 jumper to set a static IP. I made up a crossover cable and tried that. Nothing. Once at static mode, the RP could not find the 192.168.0.251 address over the network. When I tried to use the Direct connection and crossover cable, I got a message the Serial port was in use and could not be set (or words to that effect).

After all this, I put things back to the DHCP mode. The RP could find the XEP, but when I try to connect, a message usually pops up the connection was terminated (retry/Cancel). When I cancel, the RP console says I'm connected. However, if I try to send or receive, I get the message the connection has been terminated. The XEP reboots every few minutes and I have no idea why. Sounds defective to me. It worked just fine the first time I powered up out of the box. But somehow it's fallen into a reboot loop I cannot stop.