Greetings to all.
I tried to install by myself OpenWRT 19.07.3 on my ADB P.DG. A4001N A-000-1A1-AX using the image for the A4001N1 version (https://openwrt.org/toh/adb/p.dg_a4001n1).
Using the instruction of this website is very simple. I tried the GUI OEM installation method and the CFE web recovery, but i did not succeed due to the signature check.
i suppose that those files are some update to the original image to make my modem works (leds in particular); but i don't know how to use them. Is there (again) some guide or perhaps an already patched image for my modem?
Thanks again for the support and for all the effort with this wonderful software
I'm writing what follows assuming that you posses the Telecom Italia's ADB P.DG. A4001N A-000-1A1-AX version that I'll call AGPWI for short. If you posses an unbranded or other brand version of this router you can only use the flashing procedure number 1.
The installation of OpenWrt in the AGPWI is not as simple as installing it on a TP-Link TL-WR941ND because it has to be hacked.
The Telecom Italia's firmware and CFE bootloader are protected:
The stock firmware hasn't got any file-select field in its web-interface that would allow you to choose and upload the OpenWrt firmware from your PC's filesystem
The CFE bootloader won't boot any firmware that has a different signature than the stock Telecom Italia's firmware
To flash OpenWrt into the AGPWI you have to overwrite/replace the stock CFE bootloader with an unlocked version that does not check for the signature and so can execute the OpenWrt firmware.
To do this and flash OpenWrt you can follow one of the following three procedures:
Buy a SPI Flash memory programmer like the 5€ CH341A (a bit hard to use) or the TL866II (easier to use) with a SOIC16 pakage adapter
Desolder the Macronix MX25L12845EMI-10G SPI Flash memory from the PCB (circuit) of the router. (Do not try to flash the memory without desoldering it first from the PCB)
Short circuit the R192 bottom pad and the R193 right pad, switch on the router and wait for one minute or:
Buy a 1€ 3.3v TTL voltage compatible serial port like one that has the Prolific PL2303TA IC inside
Solder the R192 pads together and the R193 pads together, solder a 6 PIN pin header on the J5 connector of the PCB (circuit) and plug the serial port on it. The PIN layout of the serial port connector is this:
TX NC RX
NC GND NC
Download a serial terminal like ExtraPuTTY and configure it to use your serial port with baudrate set at 115200, no parity check and 8 data bits
Open the serial terminal, switch on the router and continuously press ENTER until you see the CFE> prompt
Plug an ethernet cable to the PC and to any of the ports of the router's switch
Set your PC's IP to the static address to 192.168.2.13/24 and navigate to http://192.168.2.50/
Overwrite the stock firmware's CFE using a Telecom Italia's firmware exploit and a serial port:
Buy a 1€ 3.3v TTL voltage compatible serial port like one that has the Prolific PL2303TA IC inside
Solder the R192 pads together and the R193 pads together, solder a 6 PIN pin header on the J5 connector of the PCB (circuit) and plug the serial port to it. The PIN layout of the serial port connector is this:
TX NC RX
NC GND NC
Download a serial terminal like ExtraPuTTY and configure it to use your serial port with baudrate set at 115200, no parity check and 8 data bits
Plug an ethernet cable to the PC and to any of the ports of the router's switch
Switch on the router, let it boot, navigate to http://192.168.1.1/ and through it's stock firmware's web-interface ensure that you have a firmware version lower or equal than AGPWI_1.1.0_013. If you have an higher version number you have to:
Set your PC's IP to the static address 192.168.1.2/24
Download a TFTPD server like tftpd64, open it and select the unlock folder.
Switch on the router with the serial terminal opened and let it boot to the Telecom firmware
When the firmware finishes booting and asks for the username put "admin" and when it asks for the password put "riattizzati". If everything worked correctly you should see a prompt like > or #
Type these commands into the serial terminal:
system shell
flash load -u tftp://192.168.1.2/cfe-A4001N-V0000_96328avng.bin -s00
system reboot
Snapshot images do not have LuCI pre-installed for any router. If you want LuCI you can compile the image and select the LuCI pakage to be compiled with the OpenWrt image or you can install it using opkg.
If you want to use opkg, connect the router to the internet and install LuCI.
To connect the router to the internet you can use an ethernet cable with internet access and connect it to the AGPWI switch after configuring a WAN port like I explained in the wiki
then have a look at the page
to install LuCI.
The following commands should do the whoole job:
cp /etc/config/network /etc/config/network.old #backup your current network file
echo "" > /etc/config/network #empty the network file
vi /etc/config/network #press 'a', paste here the network file content on my wiki then press the esc key + ':wq'
#connect an ethernet cable to port ETH1
service network restart #restart the network deamon
ping www.google.com #ensure you're connected to the web
opkg update #update the pakages list
opkg install luci #install the luci pakage
if something goes wrong to revert everythong:
rm /etc/config/network #remove the non working network file
mv /etc/config/network.old /etc/config/network #restore the old network file
service network restart #restart the network deamon
PAY ATTENCTION: unless you have a serial connection to the router, modifying the /etc/config/network file might make your router unreachable and recovering it might only be possible through a serial connection or the reset procedure here:
Thank you
I have been able to use the image for the 1N1 with Luci already installed and Now I am using to connect the router wirelessly to my home wifi.
I managed to change some LEDs to match with my functions.
I will try the snapshot in the future.
Thank you anyway for your good guide
Regards
Matteo