Troubleshooting | Managing authentication conflicts when using the Q-SYS AV Line Plugin with NS Series Gen 2 Network Switches

Learn to resolve authentication conflicts when using the Q-SYS AV Line Plugin with NS Series Gen 2 Network Switches.

Updated at March 31st, 2026

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Affected Products

Hardware Model/Series NS Series Gen 2 Network Switches
Software  

Problem | Symptoms

When using the Q-SYS AV Line plugin to monitor and control NS Series Gen 2 Switches (Netgear), users may encounter issues related to switch authentication. This plugin allows users to view switchport status, bounce ports, and reset PoE which can all be used for system monitoring and troubleshooting. Authentication conflicts can occur if the system is not configured properly.

By default, NS series switches from Q-SYS are configured with a single admin account. Both the Engage application and the AV Line plugin (through the Q-SYS Web GUI) use this admin account to authenticate with the switch.

Note

The switch only allows one active admin session at a time.

 

If both Engage and the Q-SYS AV plugin attempt to access the switch simultaneously using the same credentials, users may experience issues like “Login credential failed” errors or warnings in the plugin like random device status dropouts in the plugin UI.

Causes | Verification

These errors are not typically due to incorrect credentials but rather to the session limit being reached for the single admin user.

Solution | Workaround

To avoid session conflicts and ensure reliable operation of the Q-SYS AV Line plugin, follow these steps:

If using Engage

  1. If your switch is managed through the Netgear Engage platform, log in and create a new admin-level user (for example, you could name it admin2).
  2. Use this new account exclusively for logging into Engage and keep the original admin account dedicated to the Q-SYS AV Line plugin to prevent session conflicts with the Engage application.
  3. After creating the new admin account:
    1. Log out of Engage and close the application.
    2. Log back into Engage using the newly created admin2 account.

In Q-SYS Designer, ensure the AV Line plugin is configured to use the original admin credentials that were initially set up with the switch.

Note

When adding the devices (switches) to engage, ensure you toggle on the "Use Controller Site Password" then enter the devie IP and click add to avoid the “Plugin-1 is in Fault because Forbidden: 403” error on the plugin.

 

 
 

If not using Engage

  1. Log into the NS switch directly via the main web interface (outside of Engage).
  2. Navigate to the user management section and create a new admin account. Save the configuration and close the browser.
  3. Next, use this new admin account to log back into the switch and use the original admin for the Q-SYS plugin to maintain a dedicated session.

 
 
switch authentication plugin integration netgear av management q-sys ns series

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