Bricked WR841Nv8 ?

Post new topic   Reply to topic    DD-WRT Forum Index -> Atheros WiSOC based Hardware
Author Message
fizikz
DD-WRT User


Joined: 10 Nov 2016
Posts: 265

PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 18:02    Post subject: Bricked WR841Nv8 ? Reply with quote
Symptoms:

- The power LED is on solid, and all of the other LEDs flash on every 5 seconds.

- Pinging fails with destination host unreachable. (ethernet, only one devices connected, tried pinging IP 192.168.0.1, 192.168.1.1, 192.168.2.1 with computer on same subnet)

- I tried 30/30/30 reset. While holding the reset button, the right-most LED with the lock icon also comes on. After the reset, the same power-LED-on, other-LEDs-flashing behavior continues and pings still fail.

Is it dead?

==========

How it happened:

I tried updating the firmware from r36808 to r39944 using the web gui. After a while at the usual "updating" splash screen, it just returned to the webgui without updating. After trying the update maybe 3 times, I decided to reboot the device, at which point it went into this state.
Sponsor
ian5142
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 23 Oct 2013
Posts: 2318
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 20:37    Post subject: TFTP Recovery Reply with quote
These TP-Links have a build-in TFTP client looking for a specific file served by a TFTP server on an ip address. See the link for more info: https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wr841nd#tftp_recovery_via_bootloader_for_v8_v9_v10_v11_v12
_________________
Before asking a question on the forums, update dd-wrt: Where do I download firmware? I suggest reading it all.
QCA Best WiFi Settings


Some dd-wrt wiki pages are up to date, others are not. PM me if you find an old one.

Atheros:
Netgear R7800 x3 - WDS AP / station, gateway, QoS
TP-Link Archer C7 v2 x2 - WDS Station
TP-Link TL-WDR3600 v1 - WDS Station
TP-Link 841nd v8 - NU
D-Link 615 C1/E3/I1 x 7 - 1 WDS station
D-Link 825 B1 - NU
D-Link 862L A1 x2 - WDS Station
Netgear WNDR3700v2 - NU
UBNT loco M2 x2 - airOS

Broadcom
Linksys EA6400 - Gateway, QoS
Asus N66U - AP
Netgear WNDR3700v3 - not used
MediaTek
UBNT EdgeRouter X - switch
fizikz
DD-WRT User


Joined: 10 Nov 2016
Posts: 265

PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 22:45    Post subject: Reply with quote
Oh, that's fantastic! Can't wait to try this.

Does the file have to be named "mr3420v2_tp_recovery.bin" ? I have v8.3. Can it be a dd-wrt firmware?

Thanks for the reply @ian5142, you just made the day brighter!
fizikz
DD-WRT User


Joined: 10 Nov 2016
Posts: 265

PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 23:39    Post subject: Reply with quote
I haven't succeeded yet.

I have:

- created a tftp server with "dnf install tftp-server" on Fedora and used systemctl to start the server

- placed a recovery file at /var/lib/tftpboot/

- set my computer's IP to 192.168.0.66, disabled wifi, verified the IP with "ifconfig", and connected to the router by ethernet

- unplugged the router's power, held the reset button, plugged the power back in, and released the reset button once the lock LED came on


Variations tried:

- plugging the ethernet in WAN port and LAN1 port

- naming the recovery file "mr3420v2_tp_recovery.bin" and also "wr841nv8_tp_recovery.bin"

- using a dd-wrt web update firmware file and also the tplink webrevert file


Have I missed something?
fizikz
DD-WRT User


Joined: 10 Nov 2016
Posts: 265

PostPosted: Mon Jun 17, 2019 7:48    Post subject: Reply with quote
I solved this by using a different computer for the TFTP server. For some reason, "netstat -ap | grep 69" showed only an entry for udp6 on the computer that didn't work, while the other had entries for both udp and upd6.

Also, very confusingly, the recovered router retained all my settings, passwords, ssid, ssh key, even after all the 30/30/30 resets! Does the 30/30/30 not apply to this router? https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Hard_reset_or_30/30/30 I didn't think it's "new", and don't think it's ARM (MIPS). Though I'll have to keep this distinction in mind for my ARM router (R7000).
ian5142
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 23 Oct 2013
Posts: 2318
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Mon Jun 17, 2019 12:45    Post subject: TFTP Recovery Reply with quote
I have had that happen on several of my routers when I recover them. Some do, some don't.

Serial, not Serial / TFTP, will overwrite the linux partition on the flash chip, no settings will be saved at all.

_________________
Before asking a question on the forums, update dd-wrt: Where do I download firmware? I suggest reading it all.
QCA Best WiFi Settings


Some dd-wrt wiki pages are up to date, others are not. PM me if you find an old one.

Atheros:
Netgear R7800 x3 - WDS AP / station, gateway, QoS
TP-Link Archer C7 v2 x2 - WDS Station
TP-Link TL-WDR3600 v1 - WDS Station
TP-Link 841nd v8 - NU
D-Link 615 C1/E3/I1 x 7 - 1 WDS station
D-Link 825 B1 - NU
D-Link 862L A1 x2 - WDS Station
Netgear WNDR3700v2 - NU
UBNT loco M2 x2 - airOS

Broadcom
Linksys EA6400 - Gateway, QoS
Asus N66U - AP
Netgear WNDR3700v3 - not used
MediaTek
UBNT EdgeRouter X - switch
fizikz
DD-WRT User


Joined: 10 Nov 2016
Posts: 265

PostPosted: Mon Jun 17, 2019 20:03    Post subject: Reply with quote
So is the 30/30/30 reset not applicable to the WR841N? Just have to use nvram erase or do it through the webgui options?

On another note, would you know if the R7000 has any non-hardware-requiring firmware recovery feature?
ian5142
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 23 Oct 2013
Posts: 2318
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Tue Jun 18, 2019 3:12    Post subject: 30-30-30 Reply with quote
I believe I have done a 30-30-30 hard reset on my 841ND v8. I am not sure though. I know it doesn't work on the DIR-615 C1,E3. That is the same way to get them into Firmware Recovery Mode on the D-Links.

Read here: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Nighthawk-WiFi-Routers/R7000-bricked-during-firmware-update-to-1-0-9-18/m-p/1500305

Netgear uses a TFTP server on the router, so your computer needs to PUT a file using a TFTP client. The opposite of TP-Link.

_________________
Before asking a question on the forums, update dd-wrt: Where do I download firmware? I suggest reading it all.
QCA Best WiFi Settings


Some dd-wrt wiki pages are up to date, others are not. PM me if you find an old one.

Atheros:
Netgear R7800 x3 - WDS AP / station, gateway, QoS
TP-Link Archer C7 v2 x2 - WDS Station
TP-Link TL-WDR3600 v1 - WDS Station
TP-Link 841nd v8 - NU
D-Link 615 C1/E3/I1 x 7 - 1 WDS station
D-Link 825 B1 - NU
D-Link 862L A1 x2 - WDS Station
Netgear WNDR3700v2 - NU
UBNT loco M2 x2 - airOS

Broadcom
Linksys EA6400 - Gateway, QoS
Asus N66U - AP
Netgear WNDR3700v3 - not used
MediaTek
UBNT EdgeRouter X - switch
fizikz
DD-WRT User


Joined: 10 Nov 2016
Posts: 265

PostPosted: Tue Jun 18, 2019 18:16    Post subject: Reply with quote
I thought the 30/30/30 reset had worked on the WR841N v8, but it was a long time ago, so I'm not sure either.

Oh good, if the R7000 has the TFTP server on the router, it should be even easier to recover. I hope I'll never need it! But now I can update firmware with less worry.

The debricking section on OpenWRT's page for the R7000 just links to this site whose instructions require cables/connectors and disassembly: https://www.myopenrouter.com/article/how-debrick-or-recover-netgear-r7000-r6300v2-or-r6250-wi-fi-routers
bushant
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 18 Nov 2015
Posts: 2029

PostPosted: Tue Jun 18, 2019 18:31    Post subject: Reply with quote
Put NMRPFLASH for netgear routers in your toolbox also:
https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1139019#1139019

_________________
Forum Guide Lines (with helpful pointers about how to research your router, where and what firmware to download, where and how to post and many other helpful tips!)
How to get help the right way

Before asking for help - Read the forum guidelines AND Upgrade DD-WRT!
Adblock by eibgrad + Blocklist Collection
fizikz
DD-WRT User


Joined: 10 Nov 2016
Posts: 265

PostPosted: Tue Jun 18, 2019 18:59    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thank you! @bushant I hadn't heard of NMRPFLASH or the helpful guide you linked to.

https://github.com/jclehner/nmrpflash
Display posts from previous:    Page 1 of 1
Post new topic   Reply to topic    DD-WRT Forum Index -> Atheros WiSOC based Hardware All times are GMT

Navigation

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You cannot download files in this forum