Palo Alto PA-850 Login Issue After Power Shutdown — Request for Guidance

[lovekeeyz]

Hi all,
I’m currently dealing with a login issue on a Palo Alto PA-850 firewall after a scheduled power shutdown. Here's the situation:

• The firewall was shut down prior to the outage

• After powering it back on, I can ping the firewall's IP address and see network traffic flow normally.

• However, I’m unable to log in via:

  • Web UI (receives "incorrect username/password")

  • CLI through console connection (same issue)

 Troubleshooting So Far:

• I tried the last known password (which had been working before the shutdown).

• I also tried the default as well as previous password with no luck.

• I attempted recovery via Maintenance Mode but haven't been able to restore access yet.

✅ What I Know:

• The firewall itself appears operational (green lights displayed), just locked out of access.

• No recent changes were made to user accounts before the shutdown.

❓ What I Need Help With:

• Has anyone experienced this issue ?

• Any tips on recovering access  without performing a factory reset?

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

[mshekh]

Hi @lovekeeyz ,

Thanks for info, you may try the below kb article to reset the admin password.

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClkxCAC

[TomYoung]

Hi @lovekeeyz ,

How long did you wait before logging in?  The PA-800 Series takes a while to boot up.  The login prompt will be available before it actually works.  I would try the same credentials again.

Thanks,

Tom