Motorola effectively bricked its entire line of WiFi routers without explanation

Motorola has effectively bricked its WiFi routers without warning, and the issue has been ongoing for nearly a month, according to a Mashable investigation and user complaints across the App Store, Amazon, and Reddit.

Sometime around mid-May, Motorola’s MotoSync+ app for iOS and Android went down. On iOS, the MotoSync+ app opens to the login screen, and a loading wheel just spins and spins. On Android, the app also loads to the login screen but displays a “Server License Expired” message.

Because the Motorola MotoSync+ app is required to set up all new compatible WiFi routers released by Motorola, many users have been completely blocked from using their routers.

Some Motorola customers may also be completely unaware of the issue, as existing router setups may continue to work — for now. However, if that user ever needs to factory reset their router, which Motorola recommends when experiencing certain problems, they must use the app to do so, according to Motorola’s support documentation. Likewise, users with new Motorola routers can only add devices, change settings, or perform troubleshooting within the MotoSync+ app.

Mashable reached out to Motorola repeatedly for this story, but the company hasn’t provided any explanation for the problems.

Motorola’s networking products and the MotoSync+ app are produced and operated by Premier LogiTech, LLC, which licenses the Motorola brand for WiFi products.

What’s happening to Motorola routers?

Mashable first noticed the issue in May shortly after we began testing one of Motorola’s latest networking devices, the Motorola Q15 WiFi 7 mesh router, which came out late last year and costs between $129.99 and $349.99, depending on the configuration.

Luckily, we set up the base router before the MotoSync+ app stopped working, so the router continues to work for now. However, we cannot set up the rest of the mesh network while the app is unavailable.

In comments on sites like Reddit and Amazon, angry users have left dozens of comments about the situation and the lack of customer support from Motorola.

Motorola has yet to publicly address the issue, and its routers are still being sold on Amazon and at retailers such as Best Buy. Motorola’s main website continues to promote its routers on the Motorola Network ecommerce shop as well. 

However, Motorola recently removed all of its routers and modems from the Motorola Network online store, and product pages now return a 404 “Page not found” error or redirect to the home page. An archive of the site shows that Motorola was still selling routers up until at least May 18, roughly one week after the app stopped working.

What are Motorola Network users saying?

A Reddit thread about the MotoSync+ app issue was originally posted on May 12 and has quickly been filled with negative comments from other unhappy customers.

“Tried without success to contact tech support again yesterday,” said Reddit user u/Ok_Fortune_8672. “Unless you are contacting them about a cellphone, the lights are out and nobody’s home.”

Consumers have resorted to leaving negative comments across Motorola router product pages on sites like Amazon. 

“Phone based setup didn’t work, returned. Motorola support was non-existent,” reads one Amazon review posted on May 5, suggesting the MotoSync+ issue may have started earlier than previously reported.

The App Store and Google Play Store pages for the MotoSync+ app have also been filled with negative reviews. According to the MotoSync+ app profile on the App Store, the MotoSync+ app last received an update two months ago.

“The previous MotoSync app worked wonderfully with my MG8702 router, but ever since I was forced to switch to the MotoSync+ app, it’s been a pain,” said one user, referencing how Motorola shut down its original legacy MotoSync app in April, pushing users to the new MotoSync+ app.

However, it seems that the original MotoSync app faced similar downtime issues a few years ago, too. Back in 2023, Reddit users reported that they were unable to use the legacy MotoSync app to set up and edit their devices for roughly a month before the app began working again.

What’s even more frustrating for some users: The new MotoSync+ app offers an optional subscription service for premium features. Paying users can’t access these features either while the app is down.

Motorola customers on platforms such as Reddit report contacting the company and receiving either a generic automated reply or no response at all. However, Reddit user u/SnooPoems7789, who started the main thread on Reddit about the issue, posted that they received a reply on May 14 from Motorola claiming it was an “issue with our networking vendor” and the company was “taking actions to address the problem.”

Another Reddit user reported calling a customer support number listed on the MotoSync+ app and being connected with a router software company called Gryphon. The company currently sells the Motorola MQ20 router on its website. However, Gryphon reportedly told the customer that they “don’t support MotoSync” and the user needed to speak to Motorola directly.

Interestingly, Gryphon has an app called Gryphon Connect on Apple’s App Store that looks exactly like the MotoSync+ app. The user interface and even the App Store screenshots and marketing copy promoting the app are identical, with only the brand names for Gryphon and Motorola swapped out for each app.

Mashable also reached out to Gryphon to inquire about the company’s relationship with Motorola.

“While the apps may look similar and are both associated with Gryphon technology, the Motorola MQ20 uses a different platform and management system from the Gryphon Tower, Guardian, and AX models,” a Gryphon spokesperson said in a statement provided to Mashable. “The Motorola MQ20 has its own dedicated support environment and diagnostic tools, which are handled specifically by Motorola Support. They have access to the proper system needed to check the router status, settings, logs, and advanced diagnostics for the MQ20.”

For now, however, many Motorola customers are left without answers or a working WiFi router — at least for the time being.

“Tbh if I was you I would go ahead and get rid of it and get a different router,” wrote Reddit user u/SnooPoems7789 in the replies to other users on his Reddit thread. “They literally made it a paperweight now.”

​Mashable