TPLink Archer C7 v2 help...

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quasarn01
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2019 19:58    Post subject: TPLink Archer C7 v2 help... Reply with quote
Trying to flash my C7 v2 with the latest dd-wrt... Latest firmware has been loaded but when I try to load it with the lastest factory-to-ddwrt.bin the Archer says that the version of the upgrade file was incorrect... Error code 18005... Am I missing something?
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quasarn01
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2019 21:57    Post subject: Reply with quote
After doing some research and a little googling I came up with this link and downloaded the file... Worked like a charm... http://download1.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/betas/2015/12-24-2015-r28598/tplink_archer-c7-v2/factory-to-ddwrt-US.bin
msoengineer
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2019 21:57    Post subject: Re: TPLink Archer C7 v2 help... Reply with quote
quasarn01 wrote:
Trying to flash my C7 v2 with the latest dd-wrt... Latest firmware has been loaded but when I try to load it with the lastest factory-to-ddwrt.bin the Archer says that the version of the upgrade file was incorrect... Error code 18005... Am I missing something?


To flash your first dd-wrt firmware you have to "upgrade" tplink branded firmware to build 150427.
Then flash factory-to-dd-wrt from here ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2019/

I recommend trying build 38253 as a starting point.

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tshaftel
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PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 0:30    Post subject: No luck upgrading to DD-WRT from v150427 Reply with quote
(edited to correct the run-on in the Subject)
I've been trying to get DD-WRT onto my Archer C7 V2.0. I was able to downgrade from TP-Link's v180114 (latest firmware for the V2) to v150427 using TFTP. But I have been unable to get factory-to-ddwrt.bin on successfully for any of several DD-WRT builds. I have tried the V2 flavors of a very recent build, a 2015 build picked at random, and r38253 from 2019 per msoengineer's post of 2/17/19--on that one I tried factory-to-ddwrt.bin in addition to factory-to-ddwrt-us.bin (I live in the US and bought the router on Amazon several years ago).

In all cases after loading v150427 I logged onto the router as admin/admin, reset to factory defaults using System/Factory Defaults, then loaded one or another version of factory-to-ddwrt.bin using Firmware Upgrade. The progress bar reaches 100%, a success message is displayed, and shortly thereafter the connection to the router is lost...not to be regained until I reload v150427.

After the load, the front panel flashes around a lot and ends up with only the Power and Ethernet LEDs lit.

I did also try using TFTP to flash r38253. TFTP told me the file was copied over, but when I connected to the router the TP-Link webpage answered up, still at v150427.

What am I missing or doing wrong?


Last edited by tshaftel on Sat May 22, 2021 5:02; edited 1 time in total
kernel-panic69
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PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 2:06    Post subject: Reply with quote
Did you try this one?
quasarn01 wrote:
After doing some research and a little googling I came up with this link and downloaded the file... Worked like a charm... http://download1.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/betas/2015/12-24-2015-r28598/tplink_archer-c7-v2/factory-to-ddwrt-US.bin

EDIT: If you're using Chrome or a Chromium-based browser not in Incognito mode with extensions / add-ons loaded... or rather, if you're NOT using Firefox ESR or Pale Moon (portable works great) and are co-mingling your router access with Internet browsing, then I don't know what to tell you. Clear your browser cache as well.

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tshaftel
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PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 4:57    Post subject: No luck upgrading to DD-WRT from v150427 Reply with quote
Ah well, I bricked the C7. Mystified as to why nothing was working, I tried holding down the reset for too long. RIP, it served well for several years. Thanks for the trying to help.
kernel-panic69
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PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 15:06    Post subject: Reply with quote
It can be de-bricked:

https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/TP_Link_Archer_C7

https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/archer_c7

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ian5142
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PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 17:52    Post subject: Not hard-bricked only soft Reply with quote
It is very hard to fully hard brick these routers. They are set up to look for a specific file on an external TFTP server. https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/archer_c7#installation_or_restore_with_tftp
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Atheros:
Netgear R7800 x3 - WDS AP / station, gateway, QoS
TP-Link Archer C7 v2 x2 - WDS Station
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TP-Link 841nd v8 - NU
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Broadcom
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tshaftel
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PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 19:24    Post subject: Not hard-bricked only soft Reply with quote
I hope it's still recoverable but I seem to have run out of easy options.

I did the following successfully many times: 1) use TFTP to flash the old tp-link v150427, 2) try to flash one or another version of factory-to-ddwrt.bin--renamed to ArcherC7v2_tp_recovery.bin if using TFTP, or just by using the system/firmware upgrade option on the router webpage. The dd-wrt upgrade attempts always failed and the connection to the router dropped (only power led on with ethernet led flashing occasionally), but I could always flash back to v150427.

After hours of frustration I forgot the warning about the 30-30-30 reset and held the reset button down for over 30 seconds instead of the 5. The router appeared to be trying boot the new version, then the light pattern changed to most of leds on with the right-most ones (ethernet and wps, there appear to be four ethernet leds on my router) flashing slowly on and off. I can no longer flash v150427 back onto the router.

C7 debricking instructions I've found on the web either describe the TFTP steps I was using which no longer works, or talk about hooking up a serial cable to view detailed progress message and making various hex-mods to various (unknown to me) files. Not sure I want to get into the latter.

Not familiar with forum protocol here. If I'm outliving my welcome with this please let me know.
kernel-panic69
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PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 19:33    Post subject: Reply with quote
Serial recovery on these is not that difficult, *IF* you have to go that far.

https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/archer_c7#if_tftp_flashing_fails

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tshaftel
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PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 21:16    Post subject: Reply with quote
Well you enticed me further down the rabbit hole and geez, it worked. I put FF's in the right 16 bytes of the header of the tp-link v150304 file as instructed in the link and it flashed and the router woke up again. Then I successfully flashed the unmodified v150427 I've been using as my starting point. You have saved my C7 from the trash heap!

But I still can't flash it to dd-wrt. If I try with TFTP it copies but is ignored, and if I try it using the tp-link webpage system/firmware upgrade option it ends with a success msg then tanks with just the power led on and the ethernet led on that matches the port the cable to my PC is plugged into, and won't answer up anymore (until I reflash v150427 with TFTP).

What might be the next step?
kernel-panic69
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PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 22:05    Post subject: Reply with quote
Going out on a limb here. Try 44715 for initial flash (factory-to-ddwrt-US.bin):

https://download1.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/betas/2020/11-03-2020-r44715/tplink_archer-c7-v2/

If that one fails, we can try the latest as of this post:

https://download1.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/betas/2021/05-21-2021-r46733/tplink_archer-c7-v2/

If both fail, then we'll have to try something else.

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tshaftel
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PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 23:30    Post subject: Reply with quote
No joy, they both fail. Same way, the tplink firmware upgrade process displays a success/rebooting msg then a processing/wait for reboot to complete msg, and that's it. The router's power and ethernet port leds are the only ones on--from watching this so many times I think that may be a step in the normal bootup sequence that it is not getting beyond.
kernel-panic69
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PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 23:36    Post subject: Reply with quote
Which file are you trying to flash? factory-to-ddwrt-US.bin or the generic factory-to-ddwrt.bin or?
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tshaftel
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PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 23:51    Post subject: Reply with quote
I tried both. Restore to v150427, try the generic, restore to v150427, try the US. For both r44715 and r46733.

So far, the behavior has been consistent for all dd-wrt builds--2015, 2019, 2020 and 2021--that I've tried. From TFTP the file loads but is ignored, from the webpage the reboot fails.

FWIW, I'm on Windows 10 Pro v20H2 build 19042.985 and using Firefox v88.0.1 64 bit and TFTP64 (Jounin).

I *really* hope I'm not doing something stupid on each and every one of these attempts....
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