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⬅️ Previous capture (2023-05-24)

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Upgrading my ASUS RT-AC1200GU router the cheap way: openwrt

So my router was crashing up from time to time and suspecting that i could be a node in a random botnet just decided to check the manufacturors website for my gear.

No upgrades in years and that can only mean one thing: it's time to take matters into my own hands.

Research:

So i pop over to:

https://openwrt.org

After a small search i get to the product page:

https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org/?version=22.03.4&target=ramips%2Fmt7621&id=asus_rt-ac57u

but still not convinced i search for a wiki page on the router so that i can find some pointers on how to proceed with the firmware installation. No page found.

So another google search found me a treat, the device specification on the openwrt source:

https://git.openwrt.org/?p=openwrt/openwrt.git;a=commitdiff;h=86d019d116c860907c96263ee43425bf637e3bb5

--- a/target/linux/ramips/image/mt7621.mk
+++ b/target/linux/ramips/image/mt7621.mk
@@ -162,6 +162,8 @@ define Device/asus_rt-ac57u
   $(Device/dsa-migration)
   DEVICE_VENDOR := ASUS
   DEVICE_MODEL := RT-AC57U
+  DEVICE_ALT0_VENDOR := ASUS
+  DEVICE_ALT0_MODEL := RT-AC1200GU
   IMAGE_SIZE := 16064k
   DEVICE_PACKAGES := kmod-mt7603 kmod-mt76x2 kmod-usb3 \
        kmod-usb-ledtrig-usbport

This means that the rt-ac1200GU is a clone of rt-ac57U as i should probably had learned on the first page, the product page, but the openwrt site has changed significantly since i last checked it and i overlooked it.

So if it's a clone, better check the product page for RT-AC57U:

https://openwrt.org/toh/asus/rt-ac57u

Getting into the action:

Activate ssh on your router.

$ scp owrt.bin admin@192.168.1.1:/tmp
$ ssh admin@192.168.1.1
> mtd-write -i /tmp/owrt.bin -d linux
> reboot

A couple of minutes later ssh into the router and set up a password:

$ssh root@192.168.1.1
> passwd

And that concludes the adventure of installing the operating system, then you must configure and enable the wireless interfaces and select and install software.

2022-04-22

nulix

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