R8000P Only works with OPENWRT + no serial output?

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BradGouldy
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 24, 2023 14:57    Post subject: R8000P Only works with OPENWRT + no serial output? Reply with quote
So i recently purchased a Netgear R8000P bricked from eBay in the hopes i can repair it. However i seem to be a little stuck. Can anyone help?

When I got the router it was in a boot cycle & would not respond to pings at all during boot up. I tried a method in which you start the router & then hold reset to receive a few TTL=100 pings enough for NMRPflash to flash a firmware. However with new firmware this still didn't work & returned to a boot loop.

I opened up the router & tried the method of shorting the RX/TX pins to enable a web based simple recovery. which worked! However trying to flash netgear firmware would throw up an illegal image & not flash. So i flashed it using OPENWRT. The router will boot completely into OPENWRT & work.

From there i tried to flash netgear firmware from openwrt GUI however it then returns to the boot loops & i have to do that whole process over again.

My next idea was to try the serial port, however i can get NO response out of the serial port what so ever. My USB Uart is working fine as i have tested it on another router.

Im now stumped.. Anyone have any ideas how I can get this back to netgear firmware.
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Alozaros
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 24, 2023 19:52    Post subject: Reply with quote
If your router have flash ram bad blocks, than it could be difficult to go around those with the stock firmware...in fact im not aware if the stock Netgear firmware has a bad-block avoidance script in order to not use those when flashing, i know DDWRT has some stuff for those, I guess as well OpenWRT...sadly R8000P is not DDWRT supported yet...

The other problem that could be the source of trouble is corrupt CFE...than you'd need to recover it
lots of info in OpenWRT site have a look around...

https://openwrt.org/toh/hwdata/netgear/netgear_r8000p

So, if OpenWRT is working stick to it...at the end of the day, its better than the stock.... Rolling Eyes
not that im keen on any of those, but its still a solution for you... Embarassed

p.s. on some routers you may need to connect 3.3v...and do not power supply the unit...in general i never used it...only GRD and than tx to rx and rx to tx should do...sadly im not familiar with R8000p serial interface nor ive seen this unit around...

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Last edited by Alozaros on Tue Jan 24, 2023 21:24; edited 1 time in total
dale_gribble39
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 24, 2023 19:59    Post subject: Reply with quote
Serial port may require that GND be disconnected on power-up then reconnected. You also have to ensure that your terminal program (PuTTY), etc. is configured properly. Boot loop could mean that nvram is corrupt, but not knowing what the previous owner did to brick it leaves us at grasping for straws.
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Tectonic Plates
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 25, 2023 0:37    Post subject: Reply with quote
Sorry I can't help much. Just wanted to say that I have a R8000, with stock firmware. Which I was able to flash DDWRT in May 2022. Recently updated to 01-19-2023-r51440. Working OK.
kernel-panic69
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 25, 2023 2:03    Post subject: Reply with quote
Alozaros wrote:
R8000P is not DDWRT supported yet...


Nor is the R7900P, R7960P which share the same FCC ID.

https://wikidevi.wi-cat.ru/Netgear_R8000P

The board id and hardware are different from the R8000, R8500, so attempting to flash those images will not work. You should be able to nmrpflash stock firmware...

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Rick880
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 25, 2023 23:45    Post subject: Re: R8000P Only works with OPENWRT + no serial output? Reply with quote
BradGouldy wrote:
My next idea was to try the serial port, however i can get NO response out of the serial port what so ever.


Did you set your laptop's IP address manually something (for example 192.168.1.10) in the subnet of 192.168.1.0? My recent experience to flash Netgear stock firmware to a bricked R7000 through serial port required that. Couldn't get the SSH display if I didn't do so. Give it a shot.
foz111
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 11:57    Post subject: Reply with quote
If NMRPflash does not work, and if you have flashed the wrong firmware on this R8000P, you may need to connect direct to MB with serial connector, break the CFE bootup using the onsite tutorials, then run a command
Code:
-noheader : flash1.trx

This will then allow the correct stock firmware to be flashed via putty/serial via TFTP
It maybe failing due to firmware check, saying its the wrong firmware.
The above command will over write the check from my understanding and allow any firmware to be flash so make 100% sure you have the correct R8000P version (If its a P version)
Attached is an old guide, you may find a newer version, i assume made by egc
Hope this helps

Added: Sorry just read header is dead in OP, have you tried multimeter on serial header? Put earth to heat shield test all pins for voltage.



Guide to unbricking v1.33 (eg Netgear R6400).pdf
 Description:

Download
 Filename:  Guide to unbricking v1.33 (eg Netgear R6400).pdf
 Filesize:  1.13 MB
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hebeda
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 15:52    Post subject: Reply with quote
Netgear Unbrick Utility is the best option

this works all the time for me

https://github.com/jclehner/nmrpflash


since you made openwrt working , you should try to flash stock firmware first with nmrpflash, then dd-wrt or whatever you like.
dale_gribble39
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 19:37    Post subject: Reply with quote
hebeda wrote:
since you made openwrt working , you should try to flash stock firmware first with nmrpflash, then dd-wrt or whatever you like.

Please read carefully:

kernel-panic69 wrote:
Alozaros wrote:
R8000P is not DDWRT supported yet...


Nor is the R7900P, R7960P which share the same FCC ID.

https://wikidevi.wi-cat.ru/Netgear_R8000P

The board id and hardware are different from the R8000, R8500, so attempting to flash those images will not work. You should be able to nmrpflash stock firmware...

_________________
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep." - Robert Frost

"I am one of the noticeable ones - notice me" - Dale Frances McKenzie Bozzio

<fact>code knows no gender</fact>

This is me, knowing I've ruffled your feathers, and not giving a ****
Some people are still hard-headed.

--------------------------------------
Mac Pro (Mid 2012) - Two 2.4GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5645 processors 64GB 1333MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM OpenSUSE Leap 15.5
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