Routers lose their native firmware for various reasons. The desire to add functionality, solder USB port or simply add stability to the router.
In my case, the router on the latest stable native firmware with 1-5 WiFi and 1-2 Ethernet consumers froze 1-2 times a week. It's not very scary, but it's also annoying to reboot. I wanted stability. After a long search and reading reviews, the choice fell on OpenWRT. The article has already presented step-by-step instruction without the trial and error I had to go through.
Step 0
I hope that when you start updating the router firmware, you understand that at one of the steps you may lose access to the Internet. So, I strongly advise you to read the entire article, download everything in advance necessary files and after that proceed to the firmware.Step 1
The first thing to do is update and install the latest native firmware.you can find latest firmware For TL-WR741ND, for the corresponding hardware version.
- Turn the router over and check the version of the hardware in it using the sticker on the case.
- Download the archive with the latest firmware.
- Flash the router with firmware from the archive in the usual way(System Tools -> Firmware Upgrade).
Step 2
Next, you need to select the OpenWRT firmware version.You should use the exact file that matches the hardware version of your model. Don't neglect this rule! There are two options file system for download: JFFS2 and SquashFS. Judging by the reviews, you should opt for SquashFS files. Word factory in the file name means that you must upload such a file to your device over the factory (native) firmware. file with word sysupgrade applicable only for updating OpenWRT, i.e. poured after factory firmware.
Download factory firmware and sew it in the usual way (System Tools -> Firmware Upgrade).
Step 3 or all is lost
After successful firmware installation, we get a working router with the web interface turned off. Therefore, it is no longer possible to access the settings through the browser. Further actions are:Opening PuTTY, select Telnet protocol, address 192.168.1.1 port 23 , click “Connection”.
root without password.
We type the command:
passwd root
root. Next we write:
exit
Opening WinSCP, select SCP protocol, address 192.168.1.1 port 22 ,User name: root, Password is the one you set earlier, click “Login”.
We answer yes to all vague questions and see a window with files on your computer and router. Next, take the second part of the firmware (the one that is sysupgrade), rename it to code.bin and drop it on the router in the /tmp folder. We close the program.
Opening PuTTY, select SSH protocol, address [email protected]
port 22
, click “Connection”. We type the password that we set earlier for root. We log into the router and type the command to flash its firmware:
sysupgrade -n /tmp/code.bin
We wait until the router flashes and reboots. Let's focus on the light bulbs. Next we repeat the step:
Opening PuTTY, select Telnet protocol, address 192.168.1.1 port 23 , click “Connection”.
We log into the router. Initially you are under the user root without password.
We type the command:
passwd root
And we write twice New Password for the user root.
Turn off the router, turn on the router.
The LuCI web interface is available to you at 192.168.1.1. Log in using the root user and the password that was previously set for root.
UPD. After long use, the only glitch was noticed. When you change the MAC address on the WAN port, it is reset to the factory one after 1-2 days. Otherwise, the router shows miracles of stability.
Start of article:
As strange as it may sound, flashing your router with alternative OpenWRT firmware is no worse than flashing your router with updated official firmware from the website of your device manufacturer. The same errors and/or random, unpredictable events may occur here as when updating the software version from the manufacturer’s website.
You downloaded the wrong firmware, i.e. not for your device. It may happen that during the firmware, your lights will be turned off, etc. But I hope that you do everything correctly and you will not have any unexpected surprises with electricity.
Flash the router with the latest firmware from the manufacturer’s website
Important. Before flashing your router with alternative firmware, you must download and install the latest firmware from the website of the manufacturer of your device. When I first flashed my router, I didn’t do this, and then for a long time I couldn’t understand why, after flashing the alternative firmware, I couldn’t access the router’s web interface. The router pinged on 192.168.1.1, but there was no web interface (the firmware definitely had a built-in web interface). Dancing with a tambourine solved this problem, but we don’t want this to happen to you. So, first, be sure to update to the latest official firmware from the website of your equipment manufacturer.
Important. The connection when flashing the firmware must be via a network cord, and not via Wi-Fi.
Later, after updating the router to an alternative one, you will be able to access your devices via Wi-Fi without any problems, after setting up the router accordingly. But to install the firmware, you need to communicate with the router via the network cord! Otherwise, your router will most likely turn into a “Brick”.
So, go to the website of the manufacturer of your router and download latest version firmware. Here, too, it is important not to make a mistake with the model and revision of the device.
For TP-L ink TL-WR1043ND ver.1.8 latest firmware from the manufacturer’s website can be downloaded here. The firmware is in the archive - unzip it first.
We go to the web interface of the “Experimental” router along the path “System tools”, “Firmware update” and click the “Browse” button.
In the window that appears, indicate the path to the latest official firmware of your router and click the “Open” button.
And then the “Update” button.
A warning window will appear where you will be asked if you really want to update the firmware - we agree.
The firmware process will begin, wait for it to finish. The process lasts about 3 minutes. After updating with the factory firmware from TP-Link, you can log into the router’s web interface at 192.168.1.1 with the login “admin” and password “admin”.
Download alternative OpenWRT firmware for your router
Important. Depending on the model of your router and its hardware, in particular, due to the small amount of memory for the firmware, it may happen that the alternative OpenWRT firmware may not have a web interface. Therefore, before downloading and flashing your router, find out on the forums whether your OpenWRT firmware has a built-in web interface. Of course, for firmware without a web interface when mounting external USB The media is made into a web interface. But this is a different case, requiring a more in-depth understanding of the process, knowledge special teams, the use of appropriate programs, and this is no longer included in the example we are considering. For TP-Link router TL-WR1043ND OpenWRT firmware has a built-in web interface. And further, we will only talk about routers for which alternative firmware OpenWRT already has a built-in web interface.
Important. At the end of the firmware name it must be written factory - this means that this firmware can be flashed via the Web interface from the official firmware of the manufacturer of your router. It is also important not to make a mistake when choosing the firmware and revision for your device.
For routers, download the firmware from wiki.openwrt.org/toh/start
By turning the mouse wheel down and finding the manufacturer of your router, click the corresponding link
In the next window, specifying the path to save (for example local disk“C”), press the “Save” button again.
For your device, the download link and path to it will most likely look different. But I think that by clicking on various links on this site, or by searching for information on the Internet, you will still download the firmware needed for your equipment.
For TP-L ink TL-WR1043ND ver.1.8 latest firmware OpenWRT, at the time of this writing, can be downloaded here. The firmware is in the archive - unzip it first.
Flashing the router with alternative OpenWRT firmware
Flashing a router with alternative firmware is no different from flashing a router with official firmware.
Go to “System Tools”, “Firmware Update” and click the “Browse” button to specify the path to the firmware.
In the window that appears, select our alternative firmware and click the “Open” button.
A warning window about updating the firmware will appear - we agree.
The firmware process begins, let's go pour ourselves some coffee...
The process for the TP-Link TL-WR1043ND lasts quite quickly, but by the lit LEDs of the router it is still impossible to judge the completion of the firmware process. Therefore, we wait 3 minutes and drink coffee.
After 3 minutes, to check the completion of the process, run command line and check ping by entering the command ping 192.168.1.1 and pressing Enter. If the firmware process is completed, you will see a response from the router as in the figure below. If you are too lazy, you don’t have to do this, but after 3...5 minutes, immediately try to connect to the router through a browser.
Note. After flashing the router, even after 5+ minutes from the start of the firmware, I was unable to immediately access the OpenWRT web interface. Changed different browsers- the result is zero. I don’t know why this happens - but it’s a fact (I’ve flashed the router for various reasons several times, and it’s always been like this). And this can be easily treated - unplug the power cord from the router and after a few seconds plug it back in.
We type 192.168.1.1 in the browser and get to the home page.
Congratulations, you have flashed the router correctly!
How to flash a router TP-LINK? This question can be seen quite often on thematic forums dedicated to wireless networks. For the average user, everything related to updating the router’s firmware with their own hands, any delving into its internals is a dark forest and often causes users to have a false fear - “What if I do something wrong and it stops working?” It's better to just turn on the button, set it and forget it.
In fact, with regard to the router, when installing the official factory software, no problems, as a rule, happen, so there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of, but you can get a huge number of advantages in the form additional features, which are inherent in the potential of the device due to updated firmware TP-Link.
This step-by-step instruction is suitable for most TP-Link models. If you have lost native firmware on TL-WR841nd, TL-WR741nd, TL-WR740n or from one of the providers, for example, Beeline or Kyivstar, then it is definitely for you.
How to download firmware for a TP-Link router?
What you need to know before download firmware for TP-Link? Yes, everything is the same as for anyone else:
- Router model
- Model revision number
If everything is clear with the model, the firmware from another will not be installed on a router of one modification, or it will be installed crookedly. But you need to look at the revision number very carefully, because the same models of different years of production may differ.
You can find out the revision, or as it is also called, “hardware version,” on the sticker on the router case - it is indicated next to the name of the model itself and is designated as VER.Х.Х, where Х.Х is its number.
In our example, you need to look for firmware for the TP-Link Archer C2 router Ver.1.0, but for any other popular model, such as TL-WR841N, WR740N or WR741ND, the process is exactly the same.
Go to the official website tp-linkru.com and find the “Support” item in the menu
Scroll down the page and see the “Downloads” section
Find your model in the list of routers
On the download page for this TP-Link model, select the hardware version in the drop-down list - I need V1.
We scroll down the documentation files and find another internal menu, where we need the “Firmware” section
Here we see several tables with descriptions latest updates— we look for the most recent by date (it is located above the rest). In the description we see how many different corrections were made to this version TP-Link router firmware is another vote for updating regularly to keep your router in optimal condition.
The downloaded file will look like ZIP archive- you need to unpack it to get the file out of it TP-Link firmware. To do this, right-click on it and select “Extract all”
In the new window, do not change anything and click on the “Extract” button
Will open new folder, where the firmware file for the TP-Link router will be located - it will have a name something like “Archer_C2v1_0.9.1_5.0_up_boot(170515)_2017-05-15_11.06.07”, depending on the model.
How to flash TP-Link with an old version of the control panel?
Now you need to install the firmware update on your TP-Link router. To do this, first of all, we fulfill two mandatory points:
- Flash your router by connecting it to your computer via cable.
- Do not turn off your computer or router while flashing
You also need to take into account that after the update, all configurations are not necessary, but they may disappear, so I personally always do this “just in case,” so that later everything can be easily restored.
Here we click on the “Select file” button, select the downloaded file on the computer - at TP-Link it has the extension .BIN, and click on the “Open” button.
Updating your TP-Link router with a new firmware version
If you have a TP-Link router in new firmware with a blue and white interface, then to update the software you need
- Open tab " Additional settings»
- Go to the menu “System tools - Firmware update”
Here you can check the update automatically, or you can also manually select the firmware file.
The procedure is the same
After installing and updating the firmware of the TP-Link router, you need to install it and continue working.
Firmware for TP Link router from a smartphone
Owners of new models that support mobile app Even luckier. They don’t need to download anything, and the firmware is updated in just two clicks. So, when I first connected, I immediately received a message about the availability of a new version of the software on the manufacturer’s server.
But I clicked "Remind me later" to show how to get to the firmware function through the main menu. So, go to the “Tools” tab and find the “System” section here. By the way, a red mark is lit next to it, reminding you of the need to update.
And select here “Firmware update”
We see information about new version- basically, there’s nothing to read here, just click on “Update” and wait for the router to download the file and reboot.
Any router, like many other complex devices, is equipped with flash memory with a set of firmware that is necessary to launch, configure and operate the device. At the manufacturing plant, each router is flashed with the latest BIOS version at the time of release, and up to a certain point, this embedded software is quite enough for correct operation under various operating conditions. But the hardware manufacturer can release new option firmware with more wide possibilities and correcting identified errors. So how to flash a TP-Link router correctly and safely?
The ability to independently reflash a TP-Link router, if necessary, can be very useful to any user of network equipment. There is nothing very complicated in this process, the main thing is to follow the logic and sequence of actions. Exercise healthy caution and intelligence, because unsuccessful firmware can damage your router, and you will lose the right to warranty repair of the device.
So where to start? Connecting Personal Computer or laptop to router via RJ-45 cable. Wireless connection over Wi-Fi is undesirable due to the relative instability of data transmission. Ideally, it is very good to take care of uninterrupted power supply for the device being flashed and the PC, if this is possible in your conditions.
- First, we find out exactly the model of our router. If the accompanying documentation for the device has not been preserved, then this information can always be found on the back of the router case.
- Then we read and remember the hardware revision version of the router on the same label. Any router model may have several of them and the firmware is mutually incompatible. Therefore, be careful!
- Now we know exactly for which device we need to find new firmware and go to the official website of the router manufacturer.
- On the TP-Link website go to the section "Support", where we will find everything we need to flash the device.
- On the next web page we go to the block "Downloads".
- In the search bar, start typing the model number of your router and move to the page for this device.
- Then confirm the current hardware version of your device and click on the link "Firmware".
- From the list of firmware versions, select the latest, most recent version by date and begin downloading the file to HDD computer or other media.
- We wait until the file is completely downloaded and unpack it in the archiver. We remember the location of the received file in BIN format.
- Now in any Internet browser in the address bar we type 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 and click Enter to log into the router's web interface. In the authentication window that appears, enter the username and password, by default they are identical - admin.
- In the device web interface that opens, in the left column, click on the line "System Tools".
- In the submenu that pops up, click on the column "Firmware Upgrade", that is, we begin the process of updating the router firmware.
- On the right side of the page, left-click on the button "Review" to specify the path to the installation file.
- In the Explorer window, find the BIN file pre-downloaded from the TP-Link website, click on it with LMB and confirm the selection by clicking on the icon "Open".
- By pressing a button "Upgrade" we start upgrading the router’s firmware.
- In a small window, we finally confirm our decision to update the firmware version of our router.
- We wait until the upgrade progress bar is completely painted over. This takes a few minutes.
- The device reports the successful completion of the firmware update and goes into automatic restart. We patiently wait for the router to reboot.
- In the column "Firmware Version" We observe information about the new router firmware (build number, date, release). Ready! You can use it.
Rollback to factory firmware
When incorrect operation devices with the latest version of firmware and for other reasons, the user of the router can at any time roll back the router firmware to the factory one, that is, installed by default. You can read in detail about how to do this in another article on our website by clicking on the link below.
At the end of this article, let me give you one more piece of advice. During the router BIOS upgrade, try to prevent the device from being used for its intended purpose, for example, by disconnecting the cable from the WAN port. Good luck!
Five minutes ago I reflashed my TP-Link TL-WR741ND router, which has served me valiantly for 3 years. To my shame, I must admit that during all this time I have never done this, although the manufacturer recommends updating the software ( software) at least once a year.
Be that as it may, I had absolutely no problems with the Internet until the last week. The other day I noticed that various web pages were constantly stalling.
This is very annoying, and since the provider (I called them first) turned out to be all right, I realized that it was time to find out what router firmware I have it.
Naturally, this was precisely the problem, so I offer you detailed instructions for flashing the router using the example of TP-Link TL-WR741ND.
Let's say you bought commercial equipment in Almaty, and among other things you ended up with a router, like me. If you have a different router, it doesn’t matter, you can safely read this article and simply do everything by analogy. There is practically no difference, except for minor nuances.
Download the firmware for the router
So (I remind you, we are talking about TP-Link), go to the website tp-linkru.com. At the top right we find the search bar and enter the model of your router there:
Then click search. The following window will immediately appear in front of us:
By clicking on the found router we will be taken to a page with its detailed description. We need to go to the “Downloads” tab and opposite your firmware version, click on “Firmware”:
It's easy to find out your firmware version. To do this, you need to turn the router over and see what is written there:
In my case this is the fourth version. Hence, I chose firmware V4. Then, on the download page that opens, you need to click on the topmost file, since it is the newest:
Preparing for firmware
Friends, in order to successfully implement your plans, you need to take into account the following conditions.
- You cannot update your router's software over Wi-Fi. If you have a Wi-Fi module on your computer, turn it off to avoid problems.
- Make sure that the power and the cable connecting the computer to the router are securely connected. If during the update process you lose normal contact with the above-mentioned wires, there is a high probability that you will have to go to a service center!
- Some guys advise removing the WAN cable (the one that comes from the provider) from the socket. That is, there will be no Internet connection at the time of updating the firmware. To be honest, I have never turned it off, and there have never been any problems.
- The last thing I need to tell you is full reset settings that will happen after flashing. That is, your name Wi-Fi networks and password will be reset. There is nothing wrong with this, and at the end I will help you set everything up again (it's a minute of work).
If you have read all the above details, feel free to proceed direct firmware router.
Router firmware
Enter one of two addresses into the address bar of the browser: 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1. Next, enter your login and password (by default, both will contain the word “admin”).
When you get to the main page, follow the strict sequence of steps shown in the figure below:
In the third point, you need to select the file that you downloaded. During the flashing process, the router will reboot several times. At this moment, do nothing, but watch this miracle with bated breath. If everything goes well, a life-affirming inscription will appear on the screen:
