Linksys EA6900 Install Guide

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zhelev81
DD-WRT User


Joined: 04 Feb 2014
Posts: 53

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2018 12:57    Post subject: Reply with quote
by now I did not find the answer or i cant understand at least what is the problem with the usb3 not recognizing any HDD ... i have asked here : https://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1123696#1123696

anybody can help me to fix this ?
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jcornwell23
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Joined: 14 May 2018
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Mon May 14, 2018 12:55    Post subject: EA6900 initial install?? Reply with quote
Hello all, I HAVE BEEN READING the notes for almost 4 days now. I tried it the other night and got it the first time using tftp in command prompt.then I unplugged it because i did not want it to automatically revert back to the stock firmware. and I was not sure on what step to take next. kill the 32kb bug or erase the nvram. I proceeded to do the 2nd install because of the other channel. it failed, then I tried it one more time and i was successful. but someway somehow it is back to linksys smart wifi and I cannot get the tftp command to actually do anything besides bring up the help info as if that is what i am typing in for the command. Thing is, I tried 2 of my 3 computers over a 20 hr period of time.

Please forgive my run on words, sentence, and paragraphs. I am in a hurry for work and my hands are stupid numb and vibrating from typing this much this fast all at one time

I appreciate the dedication you gents and ladies have toward this project/s. I definitely appreciate any help or advice on this particular matter. Thank you
wurts_leg
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 14 Dec 2018
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 3:57    Post subject: Record of successful flash Reply with quote
Hi all!

Firstly I would like to say thanks to all the wonderful people here (and beyond) that have kept this particular thread/instruction manual for the EA6900 alive. I just successfully flashed my second hand EA6900 v1.1. Here's the summarized version of my experience:

Obviously, upon booting the router, I restored it to factory settings using the Linksys WebGUI deleting the previous owners settings.

I was pretty sure my router was of the locked generation. So I followed the instructions to downgrade the firmware as reported by @Bronzemaxell at page 7 of this thread. I Googled where to find the 1.1.42.172776 firmware @bronzemaxell mentioned and I found it here.

After I successfully downgraded the firmware, I used the Linksys WebGUI to flash the initial DD-WRT build that would allow me to Telnet into the router.

Once I successfully flashed the inital DD-WRT build, I visited the link to check and set boot partitions since the guide indicated the stock firmware existed on two. However, when I Telnet into the router and enter the commands
Code:
ubootenv get boot_part
or
Code:
ubootenv set boot_part 2
they did not work. I tried doing the "power off, power on, power off once light goes out three times" instructions, and I could not get the router to boot into the other partition with the Linksys firmware. I decided to move on at this point.

I wanted to fix the "32KB bug" so after considering the options I decided on the third method in the guide which was the alternative CFE by XVortex. I did not test USB functionality because I don't need it, but I can confirm the wireless MAC addresses for 2.4 and 5 GHz were different.

The link to the original guide for flashing the XVortex CFE leads to an older thread where the original guide was removed. At the end of that thread is a post with the link for the revived guide by user Starbuck99: https://www.linksysinfo.org/index.php?threads/asuswrt-merlin-build-384-5-or-later-on-linksys-ea6900-or-ea6700.74209/. Even this guide linked to another guide by user crashman. The links in "crashmans guide" to download the tools and files and such were dead. However, the tools and files can be downloaded from this thread (scroll down to EA6900: https://www.linksysinfo.org/index.php?threads/guide-flash-linksys-ea6300v1-ea6400-ea6500v2-ea6700-ea6900v1-0-1-1-with-tomato.73877/

After I downloaded the tools, i followed the crashmans guide until step 13, then modified the values in the linksys_ea6900_cfe.bin file with the cfe edit tool USING THE FORMULAS FOUND IN THE ORIGINAL POST MADE BY @egc. I noticed that the secret_code and uuid field were not present in the stock cfe i pulled from the router. Weird... but in the new cfe, they were present so i updated the values accordingly and pushed the new cfe. I continued the crashman guide and uploaded the XVortex firmware from the XVortex direct site.

This lead to an ASUS firmware on my router. For some reason I could not Telnet into the router with the ASUS firmware so that i could flash the kong build. So i restarted the router into the miniWeb Server and uploaded the kong build that way. After it successully uploaded, i reset and cleared the NVRAM manually using the WPS button (see @egc guide). I now have the latest DD-WRT kong build and the 32KB bug is mitigated.

Thanks!
MarcinWaw
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 03 Feb 2019
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2019 23:05    Post subject: V2 is here Reply with quote
Hello,

I recently bought V2 of EA6900 and now I am struggling to install new software on it.

I tried couple of things:
1. Installing different images - current software (2.0.3.186963) does not allow installing 3-rd party firmware and blocks it.
2.Installing old firmware (i.e. 1.1.42.161129) - accepted by router and flashed, but it was not able to start and after hard reset it returned to previous version
3. Procedure with tftp (described by Whitewizard) but with no luck.

I will appreciate:
1. any confirmed migrations to DD-WRT on V2 of EA6900
2. any ideas on how to move forward to do it.

Thanks and regards,
Marcin
djwyman
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 08 Feb 2019
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2019 2:09    Post subject: using linux to flash ea6900 v1.1 Reply with quote
Ok so for about a week or so I have been trying my darndest to figure out how to make these how to's tranlate over to linux. Obviously I cannot use the linksys tftp.exe (though I tried with virturalbox with not much luck) I have tried using the "If not, hold off on clicking yes. Open two cmd prompts. In one type Ping 192.168.1.1 -t
press enter on this one to let it ping, at the end it should say ttl=64
In the other just type tftp -i 192.168.1.1 put "C:\linksys-ea6900-webflash.bin" " bit but the ping part when I enter that comand in a linux terminal does not like the -t argument but when I leave that part out I can get it to ping but then when I try the tftp comand(changing "C:\linksys-ea6900-webflash.bin" to "/home/donald/linksys-ea6900-webflash.bin" when I hit enter it says tftp> so at this point I tried entering the command put /home/donald/linksys-ea6900-webflash.bin but it always times out.

Does anyone have any insite into what I am doing wrong or what to try to flash this thing using linux? Thanks in advance.
bushant
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 18 Nov 2015
Posts: 2028

PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2019 2:37    Post subject: Re: using linux to flash ea6900 v1.1 Reply with quote
djwyman wrote:
Does anyone have any insite into what I am doing wrong or what to try to flash this thing using linux? Thanks in advance.

I don't have that router but this is what I do:
https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/TFTP_flash#Linux_2

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djwyman
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 08 Feb 2019
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Sat Feb 09, 2019 21:51    Post subject: Reply with quote
bushant wrote:
djwyman wrote:
Does anyone have any insite into what I am doing wrong or what to try to flash this thing using linux? Thanks in advance.

I don't have that router but this is what I do:
https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/TFTP_flash#Linux_2


Thank you this helped me achieve getting DD-WRT on to my EA6900 v1.1

For anyone in the same boat as me(having only linux machines) This is my little how to for flashing DD-WRT on to an ea6900

prerequisits you will need the FW_EA6900_1.1.42.161129_prod.img that can be found doing a duckduckgo search(maybe google too but didn't try)
and you will need the dd-wrt build that @egc links in the OP:
ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2013/12-22-2013-r23194/linksys-ea6900/
(paste both of these files in your home folder to make things easy)

now that you have those files downloaded you need to make sure TFTP is installed using the method in the link @bushant posted:
https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/TFTP_flash#Linux_2

now that you have all of that out of the way connect to the router using an Ethernet cable and disconnect the router from internet.

open up your CLI program and type the following commands

tftp 192.168.1.1
binary
rexmt 1
timeout 60

now for this next command paste it but do not press enter until you turn off the router and turn it back on.

put FW_EA6900_1.1.42.161129_prod.img

then you should get an output that looks like
Sent 1769472 bytes in 9.0 seconds (actual time and bytes will be different)

ok so once you have completed this far you will need to connect your router back to the internet and reset your router. At this point when you log into the web interface it should bring you to the current version that was installed on your router so then go to the diagnostics tab and click the restore previous firmware button. when it reboots and you are able to get back in you will now you should now be on EA6900_1.1.42.161129. Now that you are on this firmware you can go to the connectivity tab and manually flash your dd-wrt you downloaded previously.

I am not real good at typing up howtos or anything so if anyone wants to clean up what I just typed for someone to better understand feel free. Also I want to thank @egc @bushant @bronzemaxell and whoever wrote the TFTP flash wiki guide to help me figure out how to get dd-wrt on my ea6900.

I had been trying to do this for a few weeks with not much luck and then I bought a used WRT1900ac on ebay for cheap and got it flashed super easy(since they didn't lock that one down like this one in the stock firmware) but wanted to use this one as a repeater for the back corner of my house that has wifi singal issues and now I can.
Hellakenut
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 22 Mar 2019
Posts: 27
Location: Gamma Quadrant

PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2019 1:00    Post subject: Reply with quote
I wanted come here and describe my adventures in flashing my EA6900 v1.1 in the hopes that I can help other people who may hit the same roadblocks that I did.

As expected, I had to downgrade my Linksys firmware since mine was also the locked generation. I followed bronzemaxell's post and it worked fine, albeit it felt slightly jank haha. Seemed like the process shouldn't work because you constantly have to keep telling the utility to retry, but lo and behold it finally took and I was downgraded!

Flashing the initial DD-WRT build went smoothly, but editing the CFE was where I hit my first snag. In the provided CFE that you insert your router's info into, I noticed that default_passphrase, default_ssid, and uuid_key weren't present (but I pulled them from my router's stock CFE). I tried adding them in, but this resulted in an error when I'd try to save the CFE. So I didn't know how to proceed as the guide assumes the info is all there.

But thankfully I found this post in the original crashman thread where someone had the exact same problem. The solution was to just leave out the values and everything was fine.

So to clarify, the default_passphrase, default_ssid, and uuid_key entries (which were grabbed FROM my stock CFE) were NOT added to the CFE you edit and save as "new-cfe.bin"

*Keep in mind that you may or may not encounter this, so there will be some nuance with what values are present for you.

I also want to make a note on this portion of the guide:

Quote:
For DDWRT you have to set the MAC addresses a little different:
When editing the CFE with CFEEdit.exe do not forget to go in the advanced mode and set:
0:macaddr=et0macaddr+2
1:macaddr=et0macaddr+4


The guide assumes you know how to count in hexadecimal, so I'm providing a link to help people properly add the values if, for example, the last value your MAC address ends with is a 9 or something.

Hexidecimal Conversion Chart

Once all that was done, I was able to move on to the last step and flash the latest firmware from either Brainslayer or Kong, and that's when I hit my final roadblock. I opted for the telnet flash method as I couldn't get the timing right to enter the CFE mini webserver using the method described in the guide. When I was connected through telnet, I tried to run the wget command for either the Kong or Brainslayer url's and neither one would work. My error message was the following for attempting wget for a Kong build:

Code:
Connecting to www.desipro.de (217.160.0.162:80)
wget: server returned error: HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden


A very similar message was returned for trying to get BS's builds. No matter how many times I typed and retyped the commands or copy and pasted, it wouldn't work.

At this point, I was ready to just punt the router off our third floor apartment when I remembered WinSCP and hoped that I could maybe use it to login via SFTP and transfer the firmware that way. Thankfully, I was able to connect! I immediately downloaded Kong's build to my computer and, in WinSCP, I navigated to the /tmp folder and transferred the firmware over to the router.

Then I logged back into telnet, ran the mtd write command, and the rest of the steps followed as expected. After all the headache I FINALLY had the latest DD-WRT Kong build on my router running smoothly.

And yes, I had to sacrifice my USB 3.0 port during this process. Thankfully the 2.0 port works fine because I keep an external HDD attached to my router.

Hopefully my experience can help out someone else who wants to tackle this project! Smile


Last edited by Hellakenut on Fri Apr 05, 2019 5:04; edited 2 times in total
egc
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 18 Mar 2014
Posts: 12836
Location: Netherlands

PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2019 11:57    Post subject: Reply with quote
@Hellakenut thanks for you posting, I will amend the guide with your findings.
_________________
Routers:Netgear R7000, R6400v1, R6400v2, EA6900 (XvortexCFE), E2000, E1200v1, WRT54GS v1.
Install guide R6400v2, R6700v3,XR300:https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=316399
Install guide R7800/XR500: https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=320614
Forum Guide Lines (important read):https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=324087
Hellakenut
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 22 Mar 2019
Posts: 27
Location: Gamma Quadrant

PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2019 20:47    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks, man! I greatly appreciate all that you've done. I'm really pleased with DD-WRT so far and it's fun to finally dabble in flashing custom firmware for routers. Even if it can be a tad daunting. Shocked

Btw, after I saw your reply, I wanted to retry the wget commands again to see if maybe they really do work and my brain was just fried at the time. I got the same message that I described in my first post when trying to download a Kong build:

Code:
Connecting to www.desipro.de (217.160.0.162:80)
wget: server returned error: HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden


But when I fired the command for Brainslayer's, it actually worked! So maybe something updated server-side or maybe I messed something up when typing/pasting the command, I'm not sure. In any case, I'll update my original post with the command error for clarity.
egc
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 18 Mar 2014
Posts: 12836
Location: Netherlands

PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2019 21:07    Post subject: Reply with quote
Unfortunately Kong's repository is down at the moment. It is unclear if or when it will return Sad
_________________
Routers:Netgear R7000, R6400v1, R6400v2, EA6900 (XvortexCFE), E2000, E1200v1, WRT54GS v1.
Install guide R6400v2, R6700v3,XR300:https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=316399
Install guide R7800/XR500: https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=320614
Forum Guide Lines (important read):https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=324087
fbc
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 11 May 2012
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2019 22:49    Post subject: Quick Guide Reply with quote
Could someone boil this down to a quickguide, sans all the explaining? Just with Step.1... Step.2...etc

The average Joe will blackout at all the terminology and explainations. Most people are just trying to stay safe.
egc
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 18 Mar 2014
Posts: 12836
Location: Netherlands

PostPosted: Sat May 18, 2019 6:42    Post subject: Reply with quote
This is the quick guide
Goto to page one.

_________________
Routers:Netgear R7000, R6400v1, R6400v2, EA6900 (XvortexCFE), E2000, E1200v1, WRT54GS v1.
Install guide R6400v2, R6700v3,XR300:https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=316399
Install guide R7800/XR500: https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=320614
Forum Guide Lines (important read):https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=324087
MarcinWaw
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 03 Feb 2019
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Thu May 23, 2019 8:11    Post subject: EA6900 v2 Reply with quote
Hello,

Has anyone been successful in installation of DD-WRT on EA6900 hardware v2?
Which method and which build did you use to move on?

Thanks and regards,
Marcin
PixelHappy
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 16 Sep 2018
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 4:19    Post subject: How to tell if the xvortex cfe worked? Reply with quote
So I finally got the initial install version of ddwrt installed on my ea6900, and then I followed the instructions to install the new cfe or whatever to hopefully get rid of the 32kb bug, but then I continued following the instructions to install the newer versions of ddwrt and after I rebooted it still showed the initial install version. So that made me nervous that nothing had worked?

Is there any way to know forsure if the 32kb bug has been resolved? Or if I messed it up somehow and need to try again? Thanks for the help!
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