Asus RT-AC68U router bricked by flashing latest ddwrt

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whitefish
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:09    Post subject: Asus RT-AC68U router bricked by flashing latest ddwrt Reply with quote
I am trying to flash kongac ddwrt on a new Asus RT-AC68U and have read that I first would have to flash a brainslayer build before flashing a kongac build. Here is what I did that ended up in my router being bricked:

1) Do the basic configs to get to the main menu and enable telnet.
2) Clear NVRAM by telnet.
3) Redo the basic config to get to the main menu.
4) Upgrade firmware by flashing the following image:
https://download1.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/betas/2021/07-20-2021-r47074/asus-rt-ac68u/asus_rt-ac68u-firmware.trx
5) It then says "Firmware has been successfully upgraded. Please manually reboot the router".
6) I then turn power off and back on after waiting 20 seconds.
7) The router then cycles through an endless loop. It is not accessible via LAN.
8) I tried restoring the firmware using the restore mode (unplug power, hold reset button, plug power back in) until the power light slowly flashes. However the router will not enter that mode. It just goes through the endless startup loop. I will now have to send in the router to a repair shop to have the original firmware restored.

Questions:
1) What did I do wrong?
2) Would you recommend I directly flash the kongac build which is the following version: DD-WRT v3.0-r31980M kongac (05/11/17) instead of trying the brainslyer build first?

Note: This is the Chinese version of the router manufactured in 2021.
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egc
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:20    Post subject: Reply with quote
You probably have found the wiki:
https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Asus_RT-AC68U

Serial recovery should be possible

Kong's build are old and like all old builds have security issues you better use a recent BS build.

To get the best out of DDWRT and the forum read the forum guidelines with helpful pointers:
https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=324087

Not sure what went wrong it is possible that this is a newer version which is not compatible?

After step 5 where you manually reboot, I would be very hesitant to do that, it should reboot normally after some minutes.
At least wait 5-10 minutes before manually rebooting

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Last edited by egc on Wed Jul 28, 2021 15:39; edited 1 time in total
IONK
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:41    Post subject: Reply with quote
@whitefish which firmware was your router running on before step 1?
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kernel-panic69
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 22, 2021 13:13    Post subject: Reply with quote
I presume it's a V4 which seems to still be a Broadcom, but no 100% verification: https://wikidevi.wi-cat.ru/ASUS_RT-AC68U_V3

I would have to check fcc records to see if it is in fact a Broadcom or something else like MediaTek.

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whitefish
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 2:09    Post subject: Reply with quote
Unfortunately I did not record the firmweare version prior to flashing. The router is on its way to the factory for reflashing. Once it comes back I will post an update.

Note: Newer kongac builds do not include SoftEther anymore. I have flashed this older build on Asus RT-AC56U routers and it works. I have configured the router as a SoftEther client. I read that this very same build

dd-wrt.v24-K3_AC_ARM_STD

should work on an Asus RT-AC68U as the RT-AC56U models are no longer available.
IONK
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 2:15    Post subject: Reply with quote
sorry I should have asked for both Hardware & firmware version. The hardware version is on the device label if it's still with you or you have taken a photo of the label beforehand.

Just curious, do the manufacturers offer the unbrick service to users who loaded 3rd-party firmware?

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kernel-panic69
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 2:50    Post subject: Reply with quote
Regarding what you did wrong, you use the WPS button to go into recovery mode, not reset. Also, you should've been able to flash DD-WRT from the CFE mini webserver when it's in recovery mode. Also, I didn't find any hardware information on the V4 to verify if it is a Broadcom.

https://fccid.io/NCC/CCAI21LP0890T6

Without the actual FCC ID, probably no way to verify 100%.

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whitefish
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 3:59    Post subject: Reply with quote
The manufacturer did not specifically offer anything. I just applied for a repair and shipped the router to the factory. Once it comes back I will post an update. I will take a picture of the label and also try to find out through telnet which processor is running. I did not try the WPS button to access recovery mode since it specifically showed on the Asus web site (both text and in a video) to hold the reset button.
kernel-panic69
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:37    Post subject: Reply with quote
Indeed, after reading this article, it does say reset button; however, the dd-wrt wiki says WPS button and there's been plenty more folks here who have de-bricked Asus routers that would know, just search this forum. I didn't just pull that out of a hat at random. Anyhow, when you receive your router back from it's journey, take pictures of external and internal and post them. Some details would require removing shields, but actual hardware would need to be verified. At least having the fcc id number and label info would be a good start.
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whitefish
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2021 12:03    Post subject: Reply with quote
I finally got the router back. Can you please review the below details and let me know which DDWRT firmware would be compatible:

Firmware version: 3.0.0.4.385_10000

admin@RT-AC68U-B378:/proc# cat cpuinfo
Processor : ARMv7 Processor rev 0 (v7l)
processor : 0
BogoMIPS : 1599.07

processor : 1
BogoMIPS : 1595.80

Features : swp half thumb fastmult edsp
CPU implementer : 0x41
CPU architecture: 7
CPU variant : 0x3
CPU part : 0xc09
CPU revision : 0

Hardware : Northstar Prototype
Revision : 0000
Serial : 0000000000000000

admin@RT-AC68U-B378:/# cat /proc/version
Linux version 2.6.36.4brcmarm (root@asus) (gcc version 4.5.3 (Buildroot 2012.02) ) #1 SMP PREEMPT Fri Nov 15 11:54:23 CST 2019

Label:

HW Ver.: A2

FW Ver.: 3.0.0.4.385_10000

PIN NO: 89660706

Production Year: 2021
lexridge
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2021 12:59    Post subject: Reply with quote
For a new router, the CPU in this device is very old by technology standards. It's the same CPU that is in my very old Netgear R6250. I think it was originally release back in 2013.
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kernel-panic69
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2021 14:00    Post subject: Reply with quote
How's about we throw up a picture of the router label, and maybe a screenshot of the firmware status page? We still don't know which version of this RT-AC68U you have. But, for all intents and purposes, you should be able to flash DD-WRT. It would've been great to have serial logs of the bunked DD-WRT install so we could see what's broken, if anything.
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eibgrad
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2021 17:38    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have several RT-AC68U routers, some running DD-WRT, others running FreshTomato or Merlin. But all from pre-2021 production runs (no indication of a version on the label). I don't know if perhaps something has changed that led to the firmware not taking last time. Because the firmware you used seems correct. When I dump /proc/cpuinfo, I get the same output as you.

FWIW, I specifically grabbed mine from the following link.

https://download1.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/betas/2021/08-15-2021-r47182/asus-rt-ac68u/asus_rt-ac68u-firmware.trx

My fear is it will just result in the same problems as before. You might want to try FreshTomato instead, just to see if you have better luck. If it works, then consider the DD-WRT firmware (you should be able to use the GUI from either one to upgrade to the other).

Btw, I would have mentioned the following in an earlier post had you not sent off the router to be fixed.

I've owned plenty of ASUS routers, and in my experience, they are darn near impossible to brick. Worst case, one time I had to short some pins to fix it. But I've had numerous other problems similar to the OP. I've even installed the wrong firmware (e.g., RT-AC86U)! And while it might have taken quite some time, I was always able to recover it. I've had to use numerous combinations of the power, wps, and reset buttons (sometimes all of them at the same time) to recover it. The most common being, I'd wait for it to power on, then immediately hold both the wps and reset buttons until the LED lights flashed in unison. Or sometimes hold them *before* powering on. It was tricky, and took a lot of patience, but one way or another, I eventually recovered it.

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whitefish
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2021 23:44    Post subject: Reply with quote
I also have an Asus RT-56U which is running an older version of kongac DDWRT (DD-WRT v3.0-r31980M kongac (05/11/17)

The CPU info of that router is similar:

model name : ARMv7 Processor rev 0 (v7l)
processor : 1
BogoMIPS : 1594.16
Features : half fastmult edsp tls
CPU implementer : 0x41
CPU architecture: 7
CPU variant : 0x3
CPU part : 0xc09
CPU revision : 0

Do you feel that I can directly flash the RT-68U with that same kongac DDWRT version that is running on the RT-56U? I read a blog post that said it is safer to first flash the shibby version and then kongac in a second step. However since shibby bricked the router, do you feel directly flashing kongac would be safe? Also, any tips of running a log or anything else to do would be appreciated before potentially bricking this router once again.
whitefish
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2021 23:47    Post subject: Reply with quote
Router label as requested.


RouterLabel.jpg
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