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Introduction

Netinstall is a tool designed for Windows operating systems to reinstall MikroTik devices running RouterOS (except for non-MikroTik x86 devices). Netinstall re-formats the device's disk and copies over fresh files on to the system's disk, this can solve multiple issues when your device is not working properly. Always try using Netinstall if you suspect that your device is not working properly.

Netinstall re-formats the system's drive, all configuration and saved files will be lost. Netinstall does not erase the RouterOS license key, nor does it reset RouterBOOT related settings, for example, CPU frequency is not changed after reinstalling the device.

How To Use


  • Download Netinstall from the downloads page. If you are not sure which version you need, then you can always select the version that is marked as Current (stable);

  • Download the RouterOS Main package from the downloads page;

    You must choose a RouterOS version. You can always select the version that is marked as Current. You must also select the architecture (ARM, MIPS, SMIPS, TILE, etc...), but if you are not sure, then you can download the RouterOS package for ALL architectures, Netinstall will choose the right architecture for you.

  • Disconnect your computer from WiFi, Ethernet, LTE or any other type of connections! Netinstall will only work on one active interface on your computer, it is highly recommended that you disconnect any other network interfaces in order to be sure that Netinstall will select the right network interface.

  • Configure a static IP address for your Ethernet interface, open Start and select Settings:

    Netinstall can run also on a local network, in such case you could skip setting a static IP address, but it is highly recommended that you set a static IP address if you are not familiar with Netinstall.

  • Open Network & Internet and select Change adapter options


  •  Right-click on your Ethernet interface and select Properties

  • Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties

  • Check Use the following IP address and fill out the fields as shown in the image below

If you have a working router, then you can use it and skip the setting up a static IP part of this tutorial, but it requires you to know your LAN address since you will need to specify an unused IP address in your network for the network boot server. For this reason it is recommended to apply a static IP address and follow this guide precisely, if you are not sure how to get these parameters out of your network.


  • Open your Downloads folder (or wherever you saved the downloaded files) and extract the Netinstall .zip file to a convenient place

  • Run Netinstall.exe. If you followed the guide precisely, then you should not have any Internet connection on your computer, Windows 10 wants to verify all apps that it runs, but will not be able to do it since lack of the Internet connection, for this reason, a warning might pop up, you should click Run.



Netinstall requires administrator rights, there should be a window asking for permissions to run Netinstall, you must accept these permissions in order for Netinstall to work properly.

  • Allow access for Netinstall in Public networks and configure Net booting settings and fill out the required fields as shown in the image below

The Client IP address must be unique! Don't use an existing IP address in your network, this also means that you should not use the computer's IP address as well. Use a completely different IP address from the same subnet.
  • Connect your device to your computer using an ethernet cable directly (without any other devices in-between), plug the Ethernet cable into your device's Etherboot port. Most commonly, RouterBOARD devices are able to use Netinstall from their first port (Ether1), or from the port marked with "BOOT".



Some computers have a network interface (especially USB Ethernet adapters) that tend to create an extra link flap, which is enough for Netinstall to fail to detect a device that is in Etherboot mode. In such a case you can use a switch between your device and your computer or a router in bridge mode to prevent this issue.

  • Power up your device and put it into etherboot mode

There are multiple ways how to put your device into Etherboot mode. Make sure you read the Etherboot manual before trying to put the device into this mode. Methods vary between different MikroTik devices.

  • Wait for the device to show up in Netinstall, select it and press Browse. Navigate to your Downloads folder (or wherever you saved your RouterOS packages) and press OK


  • Select your desired RouterOS version and press Install. Wait for the installation to finish and press "Reboot" (Devices without serial console have to be rebooted manually)

If you downloaded RouterOS packages for multiple architectures, then Netinstall will only show the appropriate architecture packages for your device after you have selected it. All unsupported packages will not show up in this window after you have selected a device.



If the installation does not start (progress bar is not moving or no status is shown), then you can try closing the Netinstall application and opening it up again or try to put the device into Etherboot mode again. If you are still unable to get Netinstall working, then you should try using it on a different computer since there might be an operating system's issue that is preventing Netinstall from working properly.

  • You are done! Remove the device from power, remove the Ethernet cable, place the device back in your network and your device should be running properly now!

After using Netinstall the device will be reset to defaults (unless you specified not to apply default configuration). Some devices are not accessible through ether1 port with the default configuration for security reasons. Read more about Default configuration.






























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