WRT54GL Refusing to Connect after Factory Reset

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moriel5
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 26, 2021 18:51    Post subject: WRT54GL Refusing to Connect after Factory Reset Reply with quote
I just got an old WRT54GL from a friend, since it was too old for him to sell, and it was damaged (it must have taken a severe beating, since the plastic was broken, with one of the antaenna receptacles moving around (when I opened the case, it turned out that it was torn out of the board, though the board itself was undamaged, so just need to resolder it back).

He got this unit from someone who cleared out old routers in his possession (I got a few more routers, other than this one, from my friend), and never got around to testing it (therefore, I am in charge of checking whether it even boots).

Imagine my surprise, when not only it booted, but booted into DD-Wrt (I forget the build, but something from around 2016), though with an IP Address (the router's) of 10.0.0.255.
I decided to tinker around, so before I did anything, I did a factory reset (I like to start clean) from the settings.
Unfortunately, once the router rebooted, it failed to assign an IP address to my laptop (running Linux), and setting a static address did not help.

I moved to a Windows-based desktop for TFTP (I have never managed to get it working under the distro I use), with the same result.

The strange thing is, the LEDs appear to show that everything is fine.

The next step, was to put the router in recovery mode, which worked, and even successfully assigned an IP Address to the desktop (later attempted with my laptop, with the same result), however after about 15 seconds, got locked up, with any requests getting timed out.

TFTP, throughout all this, did not work at all, nor was I able to access either Telnet or SSH, and in recovery mode, the power LED kept rapidly blinking endlessly.

Any ideas?
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kernel-panic69
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Location: Texas, USA

PostPosted: Mon Jul 26, 2021 19:07    Post subject: Reply with quote
I presume you are familiar with these.

https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Linksys_WRT54GL

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

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moriel5
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Joined: 26 Jul 2021
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 26, 2021 20:02    Post subject: Reply with quote
kernel-panic69 wrote:
I presume you are familiar with these.

https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Linksys_WRT54GL

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


Correct, I just didn't create an account here earlier, since I didn't need to. I have more experience with OpenWrt.
kernel-panic69
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 26, 2021 20:17    Post subject: Reply with quote
For one, I don't see how the router was assigned 10.x.x.255, as that is a broadcast address; When you reset, you tried connecting to http://192.168.1.1, correct? That is the default IP of DD-WRT after a reset.

Also, dependent on browser, you may have to specify http as some default to https when you just enter the IP address. #iwonderhowmanytimesiamgoingtorepeatthis

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moriel5
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Joined: 26 Jul 2021
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 26, 2021 20:44    Post subject: Reply with quote
kernel-panic69 wrote:
For one, I don't see how the router was assigned 10.x.x.255, as that is a broadcast address; When you reset, you tried connecting to http://192.168.1.1, correct? That is the default IP of DD-WRT after a reset.

Also, dependent on browser, you may have to specify http as some default to https when you just enter the IP address. #iwonderhowmanytimesiamgoingtorepeatthis


That struck me as odd as well, since I am used to 192.168.1.1 being the default IP on OpenWrt (and I already knew that it is the default on DD-Wrt as well).

I am using Firefox, and https being added to the URL does not cause any issues for me, with the issues being the same regardless of it being http or https.

Whoever used this router previously must have changed it, perhaps due to being used to our country's only DSL provider's favorite default IP being 10.0.0.138.

After resetting, 192.168.1.1 was my first choice, as that is what I expect on most firmwares, especially 3rd party (I have also used Padavan, PandoraBox, and the relatively new chinese X-Wrt).

And yes, I can get a consistent ping on 192.168.1.1 when attempting to boot into recovery mode, until the router locks up, as well as sometimes, I can get a consistent ping that never fails, again when trying to boot into recovery mode, but this time with a static IP (I can never connect via the webGUI with a static IP, however).
kernel-panic69
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 26, 2021 21:46    Post subject: Reply with quote
What recovery mode are you talking about? The only recovery options on these is TFTP, serial flash, or JTAG. There is no management mode like on some Linksys E-series devices. What steps does this mysterious "recovery mode" require? Not specifying http on Firefox will kick you in the pants. What is(are) the TTL response(s) you are getting? There is something missing here...
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moriel5
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Joined: 26 Jul 2021
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 26, 2021 22:28    Post subject: Reply with quote
kernel-panic69 wrote:
What recovery mode are you talking about? The only recovery options on these is TFTP, serial flash, or JTAG. There is no management mode like on some Linksys E-series devices. What steps does this mysterious "recovery mode" require? Not specifying http on Firefox will kick you in the pants. What is(are) the TTL response(s) you are getting? There is something missing here...


I simply get thrown to the webGUI, when following the instructions that are shown to enter "management" mode on the stock firmware,

Even when it shows https, it still runs in insecure HTTP mode, unless the remote server supports secured HTTP.

TTL=100 is the response.
kernel-panic69
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Joined: 08 May 2018
Posts: 14102
Location: Texas, USA

PostPosted: Mon Jul 26, 2021 23:56    Post subject: Reply with quote
Again, there is *NO* management mode on the WRT54 series routers, whatsoever. That procedure needs to have a note that says which routers it applies to, obviously; it does NOT apply to WRT54* series devices and their clones. Somewhere along the way, you probably self-inflicted something here. The worst case reset you needed to do was a 30-30-30; There is no telling in what state your device is now, but you should be able to boot normally. If the only response you get is TTL=100 and it never goes to TTL=64, then you should be able to TFTP flash the proper firmware file (ping, power, put or ping,put,power - whichever timing works)....
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