Try a way to stop the redirect from happening, you said you had a 0.5 sec window. Try pressing esc button before the redirect happens, you will need to time it right

Check the browser console logs too.

Try with Javascript disabled aswell.

Are you able to log in through SSH, or on the local console? You said no errors appear on the console, but IIRC you can log in there to a CLI. It may require permissions to be set in the web gui, so it may not be possible yet.

I probably can not help very much but did have a couple thoughts:

• you mention "No error messages appear in console" does that mean you have tried to connect via ssh? For example using putty
• Do you recall in the past or currently if you did anything with SSL certificate? I know at times I have to had to manually "register" (not sure this is the correct term), a SSL cert on my the client am connecting from.
• Have you tried connecting to the IP address instead of the .local you mention?
• Do you get the same result if you connect monitor,keyboard, and mouse vs connecting via web browser?
• Can you tell if the machine is fully booted (or stuck in a boot loop)? Are any of the services visible (lightning node, file server)?

Do you have physical access to the server?

If so, plug a keyboard on it and try to access and login on a TTY. You can access one with CTRL + ALT + F2 (or 3, or 4, or 5, or 6. 7 is usually where X is running)

After login, try running startx to see what happens. It'll probably throw an error saying that there's already an open display or session or something but, for now, we only want to know if you can get to this point

One more question: I'm not familiar with Start9. Is it a distro or is it something that runs on top of another distro? If it is a distro, which one is based on? Debian, Ubuntu, other?

I don’t know how to regain access to your node, but I think I may have just figured out how you can get the sats out of your channels if you’re ready to give up on the node but still need to get those sats. I’m about to hit the road to go home from a holiday trip, but should have time to share the details of my theory later.

The TLDR will be, exploit your Hydro service with @ambosstech.

You won't have SSH access as you (probably) haven't set up SSH keys.

You may have CLI access if you connect the device to a display and keyboard. If so, you can you use embassy-cli to control the node.

Maybe try clearing your browser cache and cookies and logging in again?

@TheWildHustle did you fix this issue? I remember diving into the same loop

Given the reflash attempts, I hypothesize potential corruption in the persistent storage layer that survives OS reinstalls.

1. Clear Browser Cache and Cookies1. Clear Browser Cache and Cookies

Sometimes session cookies can cause issues even if the problem appears to be on the server side.

Privacy and Security >
Clear browsing data >
Choose "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached
images and files.

For Firefox: Settings >
Privacy & Security >
Cookies and Site Data >
Clear Data..

2. Check Server Logs (if accessible)2. Check Server Logs (if accessible)

If you can access the server through SSH or through a terminal session (via direct monitor/keyboard connection), check the server logs for any relevant errors: Look for logs in /var/log (e.g., /var/log/auth.log, var/log/syslog, /var /log/messages) to identify any issues related to authentication, session creation, or other system failures.

You can view these logs with commands like:

sudo tail -f /var/log/auth.log
sudo tail -f /var/log/syslog
sudo tail -f /var/log/messages

3. Verify Session Management Service3. Verify Session Management Service

The issue may be tied to the session management system. Start9 0S might be using a service like systemd, lightdm, or nginx (if using web-based login).

Restart any session management services

sudo systemctl restart lightdm   # if using LightDM for login
sudo systemctl restart nginx     # if using NGINX for web services

4. Ensure Proper Disk Mount and File System Integrity4. Ensure Proper Disk Mount and File System Integrity

Since you've attempted a recovery process, make sure that the file system is intact and properly mounted.

Check for disk errors:

sudo dmesg | grep -i error
sudo fsck /dev/sdX  # Replace sdX with the correct device identifier (e.g., /dev/sda1)

5. Recheck the User Authentication Configuration5. Recheck the User Authentication Configuration

There could be an issue with the user authentication configuration on the server. For example, the user database may be corrupted or not properly syncing with the session management service. If you can access the server, try resetting the password for the user that is being used for login:

sudo passwd username   # Replace 'username' with the actual username

6. Test with a New User6. Test with a New User

Create a new user to see if the issue is specific to the current user:

sudo adduser testuser
sudo usermod -aG sudo testuser

Then try logging in with the new user to see if the behavior persists.

7. Hardware and Network Isolation7. Hardware and Network Isolation

While the issue seems software-based, it's worth isolating variables:

Try booting the server without the external drive attached to rule out drive-specific issues. Connect the Raspberry Pi directly to a computer via Ethernet and attempt local access.

Sign in into your AP (access point) - if you are connecting over wifi, then it's the wifi one. And then in the Access point interfaces see a list of clients that are connected on the local network (usually called LAN in the UI) and see which IP address got assigned to your raspberry pi. And then navigate to that IP in your browser, e.g. http://192.168.0.32/.

A case for ~lightning

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