poor error detection in setup
In setting up the main deco unit, it is necessary enter the isp-provided username/password.
I misinterpreted my notes of 3 years ago when I last set up a router and used a wrong password.
There was no indication of anything wrong until several stages later when I tried to connect the phone to the new wifi network.
At this point, the deco led turned red and the unit was left in a state which was not corrected by power cycling. I had to recover it by using the hard reset button.
Since was it hardly the most obvious thing to check in the context, it took me several more tries before I found the reason.
I suspect this represents lazy coding but in any case I also suspect that a support person on the chat line would not have been able to help. In which
case I would have sent it all back to Amazon and reverted to my google wifi mesh network.
Putting in a wrong password really should not result in bricked hardware unit.