Field Notice: FN70143 - Some 3802 Wireless Access Points Might Be Unable to Connect to the Wired Network - Replace on Failure

Some new AIR-AP3802i, AIR-AP3802e, and AIR-AP3802p access points (APs) are unable to connect to the wired network and cannot join a Wireless LAN Controller. 

In December 2017 and January 2018, a number of AIR-AP3802i, AIR-AP3802e, and AIR-AP3802p APs were manufactured with incorrect firmware. As a result, these APs will be unable to communicate with the LAN out of the box.

The AP, if powered by Power over Ethernet (PoE) or by 48VDC external power, will power up. However, it will not be seen at the switchport as a Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) neighbor, and will not join a controller. The Cisco/3rd-parity switch might show the status of the AP connected switchport as “not connected”. From the AP console, the show ip interface brief command shows the wired0 interface with Protocol up, but Status down.

For small numbers of affected APs, the Technical Assistance Center (TAC) can assist you in the repair of these units as needed via a WebEx session. Before you contact the TAC, confirm that you have console access to each affected AP. For AP3802e/3802p models, confirm that you have a TFTP server on the AP's LAN.

Note: The repair procedure will take approximately 15 to 30 minutes per AP.

For larger numbers of affected APs, or if console access is not feasible, contact the TAC to initiate an order for a replacement unit.

Note: The replacement unit will ship with the default bracket and default ceiling grid clips. If you had ordered a non-default bracket or non-default ceiling grid clip with the original unit, retain those for use with the replacement unit. You do not need to return brackets or ceiling grid clips.

Enter the serial numbers into the Serial Number Validation Tool in order to validate whether the units are in the known affected range.

Examples of where the serial number is located on the AP3802 are shown here: