First-boot activation stuck on X1 — serial console tips

Question

Got a fresh X1 in yesterday, went to plug in and license, and it hangs at 'Activating NOS Foundation' after license entry. Web UI doesn't load. Docs say to check the serial console but I don't have a working USB-C-to-DE9 adapter yet. Any pointers on getting to a shell so I can grab logs? Also — is there a well-known port pinout for the console? I'd like to just wire something up.

Nabil Zaidi · Accepted Answer

You don't need serial for this specific hang. Pull the power for 30 seconds, hold the recessed reset button on the back for 10 seconds while powering on — NOS goes into recovery mode with a temp DHCP address on eth0. Grab the address from the console screen (small OLED on X1 front), then hit `http://<ip>:8080` from a laptop. Recovery UI has a 'Retry activation' button that usually works. If not, the same UI dumps logs.

Sara Iqbal · Answer

That worked, thank you. Turned out the license key had a typo I copied from the confirmation email. Retry with correct key = live in 90 seconds. Console cable ordered anyway, feels irresponsible not to have one on hand.