Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 14217 Location: Texas, USA
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2021 6:56 Post subject:
UPDATE
I am fairly certain that if yours is truly a EU version, then you probably need to do an initial flash with 33525 (or whatever version you initially flashed it to?) after you de-brick it again.
And webflash/cli flash/tftp flash from there to upgrade (carefully - see wiki notes for builds after 33772). You should probably have a serial console attached to see if there is anything that would tell us what bricks it.
The key difference between the EU and US-only version is that the firmware image for the EU version is about half the size of the US-only version. And the US-only version does NOT use u-boot to load a compressed image to boot from that image's cfe bootloader. Another instance where TP-Link pooched us, apparently. I'm collaborating with BrainSlayer on this and will be working on dumping the flash and serial log on my US-only version.
I am fairly certain that if yours is truly a EU version, then you probably need to do an initial flash with 33525 (or whatever version you initially flashed it to?) after you de-brick it again.
And webflash/cli flash/tftp flash from there to upgrade (carefully - see wiki notes for builds after 33772). You should probably have a serial console attached to see if there is anything that would tell us what bricks it.
The key difference between the EU and US-only version is that the firmware image for the EU version is about half the size of the US-only version. And the US-only version does NOT use u-boot to load a compressed image to boot from that image's cfe bootloader. Another instance where TP-Link pooched us, apparently. I'm collaborating with BrainSlayer on this and will be working on dumping the flash and serial log on my US-only version.
Hello again. I apologize for this late reply. I think I got beat by this beast... it put me off yesterday. I only noticed your answer too late and too tired to answer. So, kernel-panic69 sorry if this took too long.
Well I really appreciate your support! I haven't reported yet, but, yesterday, I bricked the "beast" even further... (I think). (before I saw your help post)
This, let's call it "deep brick", was "achieved" by (if I recall it well) the risky command:
Now, I have serial console with a "sleezy" CFE (I think) that won't let me flash any stuff that I've tried since this dumb act of mine. So, do you @kernel-panic69 think that I stand any chance here?
But even if this thread that I myself have initiated is still useful, because I do believe it is, I have doubts If it shouldn't be wiser to start a new thread about this "hard brick"... situation.
So @kernel-panic69, can you advise on this latter doubt of mine?
Lastly (for now, at least) I am going to put this project aside for some time now and see if I can catch it up later and with another mindset be able to progress a little more.
Meanwhile, my deepest thankyou to @kernel-panic69 and @jerryjyrer for all your care and support. I promise that I'll try and do better next time around!
Cheers and will be back soon! _________________ Villager of the Globe we all live in.
Used dd-wrt on:
ARCHER C9 - V.4 (EU)
(In a lingering "resurrection" state, will it revive? Stay tuned folks... )
Quick interjection: I am curious to know if the U-boot bootloader comes up via serial or if this device goes straight to CFE. The EU version of these has a U-boot bootloader that loads an image into userspace and then boots up via CFE. These are interesting little buggers, for sure. I think that anything should be recoverable, but it might take a chip programmer and a known good fullflash dump. I think both the EU and the US-only version both have a secondary 2MB flash chip, I just do not think that the latter uses u-boot at all, as it has a ~28MB flash image for stock firmware.
Quick interjection: I am curious to know if the U-boot bootloader comes up via serial or if this device goes straight to CFE. The EU version of these has a U-boot bootloader that loads an image into userspace and then boots up via CFE. These are interesting little buggers, for sure. I think that anything should be recoverable, but it might take a chip programmer and a known good fullflash dump. I think both the EU and the US-only version both have a secondary 2MB flash chip, I just do not think that the latter uses u-boot at all, as it has a ~28MB flash image for stock firmware.
Hello and thank you for your intervention.
I am almost positive that I have done a backup of the cfe.
How would I go about to reprogram the chip (as I think you were mentioning above)?
Can you post your references in this subject please?
(Hardware, guides, etc?)
Thank you, in advance! _________________ Villager of the Globe we all live in.
Used dd-wrt on:
ARCHER C9 - V.4 (EU)
(In a lingering "resurrection" state, will it revive? Stay tuned folks... )
A hexeditor examination of your cfe backup would reveal if the backup is valid. If you're expecting step-by-step information, I am not that guy.
clip on flash programmer - Yahoo! Search _________________ An old man said, “Erasers are made for those who make mistakes.” A youth replied, “Erasers are made for those who are willing to correct their mistakes!” Attitude matters! ~ Anonymous
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“You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward.” ~ Conrad Hall
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“Life is about moving on, accepting changes and looking forward to what makes you stronger and more complete.” ~ Anonymous
The "newer" C9 v4 and v5 firmware image sizes are nearly ~30MB and the flash chip is not 16MB. It seems we cannot rely on wikidevi for information here. Not sure why you were looking up other chips; you should be looking at what is on your router's SoC board... _________________ An old man said, “Erasers are made for those who make mistakes.” A youth replied, “Erasers are made for those who are willing to correct their mistakes!” Attitude matters! ~ Anonymous
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“You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward.” ~ Conrad Hall
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“Life is about moving on, accepting changes and looking forward to what makes you stronger and more complete.” ~ Anonymous
There is a lot of confusing information here, and I really wish I had a v3 and v5 in my possession to disassemble and sort this out with. _________________ An old man said, “Erasers are made for those who make mistakes.” A youth replied, “Erasers are made for those who are willing to correct their mistakes!” Attitude matters! ~ Anonymous
----------
“You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward.” ~ Conrad Hall
----------
“Life is about moving on, accepting changes and looking forward to what makes you stronger and more complete.” ~ Anonymous
There is a lot of confusing information here, and I really wish I had a v3 and v5 in my possession to disassemble and sort this out with.
Hi.
Do you want a full blown video on the board?
What information would be best for me to provide?
I understand that maybe it's too little information yet. So it's not useful yet. I can assure you it's the V4 EU Archer C9.
Tell me what do you want to access and I'll see if can sort that out.
Meanwhile I'll skim through your latest documentation.
Thank you!
P.s.: I suspect that when you've advised me that I should be looking for information on the SoC of the router, I must say, as the imgur shared pictures demonstrate, I still haven't dismantled the plates that were holding the heatsink of the board. I'm a bit "jumpy" on that because they seem too firm to just be plainly pulled apart from the board. And I haven't figured out how to do it yet, but I'm almost positive that they (those plates, I mean), should come off (how? A puzzle still...) _________________ Villager of the Globe we all live in.
Used dd-wrt on:
ARCHER C9 - V.4 (EU)
(In a lingering "resurrection" state, will it revive? Stay tuned folks... )
If it has a 128MB flash chip, I do not think it's an EU version (what does the label on the back say? EU or US?). The EU version had a much smaller firmware image size than the US version. Provide whatever photographic proof that you choose, for the benefit of the community. This is why I truly wish I had all the different hardware variations in hand. _________________ An old man said, “Erasers are made for those who make mistakes.” A youth replied, “Erasers are made for those who are willing to correct their mistakes!” Attitude matters! ~ Anonymous
----------
“You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward.” ~ Conrad Hall
----------
“Life is about moving on, accepting changes and looking forward to what makes you stronger and more complete.” ~ Anonymous
If it has a 128MB flash chip, I do not think it's an EU version (what does the label on the back say? EU or US?). The EU version had a much smaller firmware image size than the US version. Provide whatever photographic proof that you choose, for the benefit of the community. This is why I truly wish I had all the different hardware variations in hand.
Hello.
I know I am late. Sorry but couldn't post this earlier.
But, since the solution arrived, other problems (even more difficult to resolve and that I haven't figured out yet) have occurred. (I had mistakenly talked about them on this same thread here, above, before this post of mine).
The mistake is obvious. It leads people to think that the first problem was never fixed at all, which is not the case. To clarify, the issue that brought me here to this post is indeed solved.
But, having inadvertently continued to post in the thread with other/new issues with the router I made a grave error. For me and for the community. Not only does it make the remaining problem(s) very very obscure/confuse, but make it almost impossible to gather help/and to document that same help in an efficient manner here at dd-wrt forum. (And this is absolutely not my intention).
So, if I may do this, I am going to post here a sort of "follow up" of my saga with this TP-Link Archer C9 V4 router.
I apologize if this is not the most adequate way of addressing my inflicted confusion.
Thank you! _________________ Villager of the Globe we all live in.
Used dd-wrt on:
ARCHER C9 - V.4 (EU)
(In a lingering "resurrection" state, will it revive? Stay tuned folks... )
Just now seeing the imgur link, confirmed that it is an Archer C9 V4 (EU). That, along with your other picture link confirming the FCC ID, is a huge help in discernment. Now the only problem is those thinking that they have a V2 instead of a V4(EU) ... <eek>
Again, thanks for the follow-up(s) on your threads, very helpful for proper device ID information.