Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 16:49 Post subject: Completely Bricked Archer C9
In the hope that somebody can help: my Archer C9 appears to be well and truly bricked.
I bought a TP-Link Archer C9v2 in order to use it with DD-WRT, and it was fully working with the latest stock firmware.
I flashed it with the relevant factory-to-ddwrt.bin. After the reboot the router would not respond on 192.168.1.1. I could not ping it, nor could I get in via the GUI to flash.
With the ethernet cable plugged in, Windows says the network cable is unplugged.
Ping responded with Destination host unreachable. An IP scan on 192.168.1.x and 192.168.0.x yielded nothing.
After powerup some of the lights come on briefly, and flash every 30 seconds or so, otherwise, nothing.
Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 14221 Location: Texas, USA
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2023 18:30 Post subject:
Using an unmanaged switch in between PC and router, setting anticipation window to at least 1024 in tftpd32/64 is sometimes required. TFTP recovery is press and old reset button, power up, and wait for the WPS light to blink, which is usually 3-5 seconds.
Using an unmanaged switch in between PC and router, setting anticipation window to at least 1024 in tftpd32/64 is sometimes required. TFTP recovery is press and old reset button, power up, and wait for the WPS light to blink, which is usually 3-5 seconds.
Which build of DD-WRT did you flash?
I tried with the settings you suggested, via a switch. No luck, I'm afraid.
The build was from Downloads › betas › 2023 › 02-09-2023-r51617 › tplink_archer-c9v2
Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 14221 Location: Texas, USA
Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2023 4:49 Post subject:
Sounds like you may have a flaky ethernet cable, but unmanaged switch and proper static IP address mentioned above on the PC should give you TFTP success with previously mentioned settings and procedure. _________________ "Life is but a fleeting moment, a vapor that vanishes quickly; All is vanity"
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I'm still stuck with a possibly bricked TP-Link Archer C9 V2.0 router.
Here's the story so far:
1. I bought a working C9 router, already set up with 192.168.0.1
2. I set up my PC running Windows 7 on 192.168.0.5 with gateway 192.168.0.1, and flashed the C9 with DD-WRT r51617
3. It appeared to flash OK, but immediately after the flash and power off/on the router failed to respond on 192.168.1.1. I had changed the PC to 192.168.1.15 and gateway 192.168.1.1
4. I attempted to recover with TFTP on 192.168.0.66 as per earlier suggestions. This was with both TP-Link and DD-WRT firmware, as per earlier suggestions.
5. TFTP did not even start to upload. I tried with 2 different versions of TFTP. I tried with my PC on 192.168.0.5 and again 192.168.0.15.
6. I tried with different ethernet cables (both known good) and also with an intermediate switch.
7. I tried IP port scanning software on 192.168.0.x and 192.168.1.x, and apart from my own PC IP address, nothing showed up.
8. On reset and power up, the router initially comes up with 2 lights which go off after a few seconds. These come back after 30 seconds only to go off again after 2 seconds.
9. The PC adapter shows "Not Connected" status on the ethernet connector. I have tried on all 4 router ethernet ports.
Thanks to all for the help so far. But now, I'm out of ideas, and any suggestions would be most welcome
How long did you wait before you powered off after flashing / Why did you not just wait for router to reboot completely on it's own?
Your PC to serve TFTP should have a static IP of 192.168.0.66, you are not sending the file to that IP address. _________________ "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
If the current release bricks it, then that would be where having serial connected would be fruitful for gleaning information for the developer to fix any issues. _________________ "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
Having successfully flashed with stock firmware, I tried recent versions of DD_WRT but they bricked the router.
I noticed that the size of the factory-to-ddwrt.bin is significantly smaller than the stock firmware. For example version 51741 is 13683100 bytes, while the stock firmware is 14901660 bytes.
So, I went back to 2018 and found that the firmware is much closer to the size of the stock firmware. For example version 36330 is 14938112.
When I flashed with this version, the router came back to life.
So, for the Archer C9V2, versions 36995 onwards the factory firmware size drops, and I suspect the smaller firware will brick the router.
Thanks for all the help, and I'm now running version 51741
