Common Support Issues & Resolutions for Popular Cisco Devices

There’s no doubt Cisco is the most popular OEM in the industry. They build superior products that last. But like everything else, sometimes their products break down, and you’re left searching for a solution. 

In this blog, we’ll discuss the most popular Cisco products, some of their common problems, and how to resolve them. 

What Are the Most Popular Cisco Devices?

The three most popular Cisco products are phones, switches, and access points. 

Phones: According to Cisco, there are more than 100 million Cisco IP phones in use around the globe. They allow people to connect inside and outside of an organization. 

Switches: These are used to connect people to other people within an office, organization, or local area network (LAN). More than 50,000 businesses use Cisco switches, including both Cisco Catalyst and Cisco Nexus switches.

Access points: These devices provide wireless network connections throughout a business or organization. They’re also used to augment internet connectivity throughout an entire office layout.

Why Are Cisco Devices Preferred?

In 2022, Cisco made up 41% of the enterprise network infrastructure market. Why? Brand recognition and trust. 

Cisco was the first company to market for wide-area and local-area networking devices. Protocols like EIGRP, being the first to provide inline power, and a powerful marketing department have kept Cisco as the most preferred OEM for network products.

Cisco still makes the best switch with the most utilized command line interface (CLI) and most features on the market. In fact, most IT professionals are trained using Cisco switches.

Common Cisco Issues and Resolutions

Here are the most common issues with the Cisco product mentioned above, along with a solution. 

• Cisco Device 1: Phones
• Common issue: Physical damage (hook switch, button damage), crackling speaker phone
• Resolution: Replace the phone by leveraging third-party maintenance. 
• Cisco Device 2: Switches 
• Common issue: Network admins lose access to the switch by either forgetting or losing the password. Another problem could be that the switch fails.
• Resolution: If you’ve already tried entering the default username and password of “cisco cisco” or “Cisco Admin Cisco Admin” and that’s not working, you’re likely out of luck. It’s time to reset your switch. Read more in this blog: How to Reset Your Cisco 9300 Switch Password 
• Cisco Device 3: Access points
• Common issue: Your access point won’t connect to the controller.
• Resolution: The most common way to fix this is to simply power cycle the AP. If this doesn't work, the next thing to check is that the date and time on the controller are valid. Next, make sure that the WLC doesn’t have an AP authorization list enabled, but does not have the AP in the list. Then, outside of a regulatory domain mismatch or incorrect image, it's likely the AP is being "blocked" from joining due to something else like a firewall blocking necessary ports, or an issue with the IP address.

Secondary Market Cisco Products

A defunct Cisco product in your network doesn’t have to mean a big hit to your budget. The secondary market is the only place you can go to buy a previous generation of hardware that has a warranty as well as support and maintenance options. Buying Cisco products from the secondary market will:

• Save money: Pay 50% to 70% less than you will pay through channel. 
•  Provide peace of mind: Secondary market products are rigorously tested and come with outstanding warranties. Edgeium's secondary market products have a lower failure rate by 2.5% than hardware delivered through channel.
• Limit downtime: Reduce your exposure to downtime by building a more redundant network with the same budget. 
• Multiple options: You don’t have to stick with Cisco… the secondary market is full of previous-gen products from other popular OEMs.

Third-Party Maintenance from Edgeium

Edgeium is a third-party maintenance provider and a seller on the secondary market. All our products go through rigorous testing (we have a <1% out-of-box failure rate) and come with an advanced replacement lifetime warranty. 

Save up to 70% on your next IT maintenance renewal with Edgeium.