How to Fix R8500 DD-WRT *NOT SAVING* settings

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puremind
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 03 Jul 2019
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 21:47    Post subject: How to Fix R8500 DD-WRT *NOT SAVING* settings Reply with quote
Hi:

Lurking around all day here and I found a way to fix the R8500 DD-WRT not saving settings...


Some stuff picked up from:
https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1125871
and
https://oldwiki.archive.openwrt.org/doc/techref/bootloader/cfe/changing.defaults#flashing_new_cfe_image


Hope this helps somebody out there ! I almost gave up but there IS a way.
You don't need the cable or anymore than simply telnet (if available), please note via GUI it will work but it's a bit more complicated.

This probably works for R7000, it won't harm.

First, flash the *oldest* version of DD-WRT that you can avail, for R8500 the build 30260 worked for me.
This one: https://download1.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/betas/2016/07-20-2016-r30260/netgear-r8500/

This didn't work with newer versions Sad

Set the username and password (as every time when you start the router!), easiest is root/admin

then:
telnet 192.168.1.1
and enter root/admin

You'd also need the CFE file for the R8500, available here:
https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=304779

(for R7000 or others, look on this forum)

Rename to something without the space, it might be tricky.
Let's say cfe8500.bin

This simple command will do the full task:
curl -k -X GET https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/download.php?id=36611 -o /tmp/cfe8500.bin

Now we have the new CFE ready to be flashed...

Before moving on, a test that will write OUT the current CFE:
dd if=/dev/mtdblock/0 of=/tmp/BROKEN_cfe8500.bin


(this will export to /tmp/BROKEN_cfe8500.bin the current CFE boot)

Now confirm you have the same sizes of the two bin files (just in case):
ls -lisa /tmp/*.bin

Files must have the same size, if you see zeroes, ABORT!
root@DD-WRT:/tmp# ls -lisa *.bin
26509 516 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 524288 Jan 1 1970 BROKEN_cfe8500.bin
42094 512 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 524288 Jul 3 23:20 cfe8500.bin



and now the MAGIC!


Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy

Command in bold will WRITE the GOOD cfe8500.bin boot in the router:
root@DD-WRT:/tmp# dd if=/tmp/cfe8500.bin of=/dev/mtdblock/0
1024+0 records in
1024+0 records out
root@DD-WRT:/tmp#erase nvram
Flash is NAND
erase[1572864]
root@DD-WRT:/tmp# reboot
root@DD-WRT:/tmp# Connection closed by foreign host.

Your router will NOW keep the settings after reboots!!!


Now you can upgrade to a DD-WRT highest versions (or Kong MODS http://www.desipro.de/ddwrt/K3-AC-Arm/ ) without this nasty issue.


Thanks to everybody that put portions here and there!
Sponsor
puremind
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 03 Jul 2019
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 16:20    Post subject: Reply with quote
Took a while to get proper WIFI speeds with this firmware.
It doesn't look friendly at all with Wifi , still need to figure out if connected devices do switch channels.

Checking here I didn't find much help with this so, here's some if you are having trouble with your R8500:

Getting speeds of 500 Mbps over wifi with an iPhone XS

Sharing here R8500 Base Saved Config for
**Use the same firmware**
Firmware: DD-WRT v3.0-r39960M kongac (06/08/19)
Firmware Link : https://www.desipro.de/ddwrt/K3-AC-Arm/TEST/dd-wrt.K3_R8500.chk

WIFI SSID: dd-wrt
Pass: adminadmin

Only telnet enabled with user/pass root/admin

All lights disabled as startup config
Code:

gpio enable 2
gpio enable 3
gpio enable 5
gpio enable 8
gpio enable 9
gpio enable 11
gpio enable 12
gpio enable 13
gpio enable 17
gpio enable 18

sleep 5

gpio disable 14
gpio disable 15

sleep 1
gpio enable 1
sleep 1
gpio enable 20


sleep 10
gpio disable 15
sleep 60
gpio disable 15



Tested myself after nvram reset, then applied this config, wifi working perfect.
It's not perfect for anyone but is a great start, wasted all yesterday figuring out how the hell to configure this. Missing the Smart Rule quick setup and band switching settings from Merlin.




Wide image attached below with proof


Here link to this saved config:
https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/files/nvrambak_r39960m_dd_wrt_netgear_r8500_158.bin

Moderator edit: Broke up original image into 3 separate images since you can have 3 attachments per post per forum software config. Had the OP listened to both myself and another moderator, the attached images wouldn't look so blurry. Unfortunately, most of the other images were removed from this thread previously and the overall picture is obscured by that decision.



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_________________
Netgear R8500


Last edited by puremind on Tue Jul 09, 2019 21:50; edited 5 times in total
puremind
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 03 Jul 2019
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 22:16    Post subject: Reply with quote
This code placed on /jffs/etc/config/start.startup on R8500 under r40189 fw will keep all the lights (including the 4 on the antennas) indefinitely disabled:

Only the LAN 1-6 will be on.

Code:

#!/bin/sh

sleep 10

gpio enable 2
gpio enable 3
gpio enable 5
gpio enable 8
gpio enable 9
gpio enable 11
gpio enable 12
gpio enable 13
gpio enable 17
gpio enable 18

sleep 5

gpio disable 14
gpio disable 15

sleep 1
gpio enable 1
sleep 1
gpio enable 20


sleep 10
gpio disable 15
sleep 60
gpio disable 15


_________________
Netgear R8500
Dr_K
DD-WRT User


Joined: 23 Mar 2018
Posts: 445

PostPosted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 23:06    Post subject: Reply with quote
Don't want to sound critical, but...

Your theoretical wifi speeds look great......with zero clients connected.

I thought it had been stated by the dev's more than numerous times that the "channel" should always be selected. Or it likely won't properly negotiate VHT80 or VHT40....at least not consistently.

On top of that...There is NO smart logic being used when it randomly picks a channel when set to auto....usually picking one that is already in use within range.


You weren't clear... Was it Merlin that effed up your CFE in the first place?
You're the first R8500 I've seen....not that I'm looking..

Usually it's the R7000 being jacked up by playing with Xwrt-Vortex.

Either way, it's funny how the solution usually comes from dd-wrt & the good community here. Instead of the dev that is supplying the..."questionable"...code.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

_________________
Location 1
R7800- DD-WRT v3.0-r53562 (10/03/23) Gateway
WNDR3400v1 DD-WRT v3.0-r35531_mega-nv64k (03/26/18 ) Access Point
WRT160Nv3 DD-WRT ?v3?.0-r35531 mini (03/26/18 ) Access Point
WRT54GSv5 DD-WRT v24-r33555_micro_generic (10/20/17) Repeater
Location 2
R7800- DD-WRT v3.0-r51855 (02/25/23) Gateway
R6300v2- DD-WRT v3.0-r50671 (10-26-22) Access Point
WNDR3700v2 DD-WRT v3.0-r35531 std (03/26/18 ) Access Point
E1200 v2 DD-WRT v3.0-r35531 mega-nv64k (03/26/18 ) Gateway(for trivial reasons)
RBWAPG-5HACT2HND-BE RouterOS-v6.46.4 (2/21/20) Outdoor Access Point
2x RBSXTG-5HPACD RouterOS-v6.46.4 (2/21/20) PTP Bridge 866.6Mbps-1GbpsLAN
Location 3
2x R7000- DD-WRT v3.0-r50671 (10/26/22) Access Points
2x RBWAPG-60AD RouterOS-v6.45.9 (04/30/20) PTP Bridge 2.3Gbps-1GbpsLAN
2x RBSXTsqG-5acD RouterOS-v6.49.7 (10/14/22) PTP Bridge 866.6Mbps-1GbpsLAN

Thank You BrainSlayer for ALL that you do & have done, also to "most" everyone here that shares their knowledge
puremind
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 03 Jul 2019
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 5:54    Post subject: Reply with quote
Koolshare firmware for Netgear, including R8500, is based on Merlin + Vortex ASUS FW

After flashing the CFE then DDWRT was able to keep settings stored.
Leaving the note here in case it helps somebody else, as the mtd commands offered in other posts never worked while my commands up there did.

Auto channels for Merlin , Koolshare or stock FW gave me the top speed via Wi-Fi
While for DDWRT was very poor speed without fiddling big time. Definitely something to improve there.

_________________
Netgear R8500
puremind
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 03 Jul 2019
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 18:05    Post subject: Reply with quote
Another headache big time here

The damns ads and the DNS breaking all over. Really?

If this helps, I've managed to get the damn thing working after a few days of battling.

Get a cheap usb stick and plug it in the USB 2 0 port, disable JFFS in memory and only use and mount the USB stick for everything, jffs, swap and optware... you must do this in order to get everything proper!



You can then install optware (when YOU have /opt and /jffs pointing to the usb stick)

For MIPSEL based devices (Broadcom, not dual core), this:

cd /opt
curl -k -X GET http://bin.entware.net/mipselsf-k3.4/installer/generic.sh -o generic.sh
sh generic.sh


wget is still screwed up with the DD-WRT installation Sad

you can now
opkg update
opkg upgrade
opkg install htop nano openssh-server

etc, and get stop with swap and all! screenshot in next post ! damn limit 3 images Sad





Then setup your network




and DNSMASq with these options... change 192.168.1.x to whatever you'd prefer.




Finally, copy this into the "Additional Dnsmasq Options" section in the Services -> Services section
(update subnet accordingly)

Code:

interface=br0
resolv-file=/tmp/resolv.dnsmasq
strict-order
dhcp-leasefile=/tmp/dnsmasq.leases
dhcp-lease-max=30
dhcp-option=br0,3,192.168.1.1
dhcp-authoritative
dhcp-range=br0,192.168.1.210,192.168.1.239,255.255.255.0,1440m
bogus-priv
conf-file=/etc/rfc6761.conf
conf-file=/etc/trust-anchors.conf
dnssec
dnssec-check-unsigned=no
proxy-dnssec
stop-dns-rebind
dhcp-option=252,"\n"
cache-size=1500
resolv-file=
listen-address=127.0.0.1
port=53
domain-needed
server=127.0.0.1#53

#Here your favourite DNSs or open DNS or whatever is NOT your ISP
server=9.9.9.9
server=8.8.8.8

read-ethers


#Here your additional /etc/hosts files to remove adds, same format as someonewhocares

addn-hosts=/etc/hosts.dnsmasq
quiet-dhcp
quiet-dhcp6
quiet-ra
#Here your forced dhcps
dhcp-host=aa:aa:aa:aa:aa:aa,nameofyourlaptop,192.168.1.10,7d




You'd get your router to server DNS via DNSMASq using as servers quad9 and 8.8.8.8 but blocking whatever is on /etc/hosts


To get /etc/hosts autoupdated to remove a lot of ads sites and crap, put this portion to /jffs/etc/config/start.startup for incremental updates. If you want other places to get ads lists from, serve yourselves.

EDIT: Script has been copied to a text attachment.


#This is to refresh the list of blocked sites for ads and anything else that's on /etc/hosts
curl -k -X GET https://someonewhocares.org/hosts/hosts -o /jffs/dnsmasqtempnew
cat /jffs/dnsmasqtempnew >> /jffs/dnsmasqtemp
cat /jffs/dnsmasqtemp | sed -e 's/^[ t]*//' | grep -v ^# | sort | uniq > /jffs/dnsmasqtempnew
cat /jffs/dnsmasqtempnew > /jffs/dnsmasqtemp
cat /jffs/dnsmasqtemp >> /etc/hosts[/code]



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_________________
Netgear R8500
puremind
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 03 Jul 2019
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 18:26    Post subject: Reply with quote
and htop running nicely
_________________
Netgear R8500
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