Archer c50 v5 US

For Developers
21

Hi - I finally got around to trying OpenWRT on the Archer today, having diverted my self with an X86 based router for the last few months.

I built my own image, and it loaded and runs fine. I went for the option of loading via the TP-Link GUI, rather than TFTP - both methods are covered in the GIT commit log for adding support for the V4.

2 Likes
22

Awesome i am glad to hear that it worked for you!

23

Very interesting that you got this to work...

However, in real practice, this statement is nonsense. I don't see any reason that you need the bootloader to make a build for this. Nothing in the steps you describe is "necessary", rather this is just an experiment. The proper way to work on a new device is with the serial console: opening the case, recording chip models, booting over TFTP, making a backup of the entire flash, etc.

I'm not trying to insult you or your discovery...just watch your words, because others can easily confuse this hack as a proper method for adding board support.

24

Could you please share your pre-built Open-wrt firmware for Archer C50 V5? I tried building my own but failed to install on my Archer C50 V5 via TFTP. The best I could do then is to revert back to OEM firmware V4. Thank you very much!

25

Hi,

I have since moved on from this router, as wifi is barely functional with the available drivers for openwrt. Sorry, but I don't know what I did with the files I had

26

I can provide you my file. I made all the recommended code modifications that improved things, but can say the 2.4ghz is not fantastic still.

27

That would be great! What is the best way to exchange file here? I am new to the forum. Thanks!

28

Hi, could you please email me the file (OpenWRT firmware for TP-Link Archer C50 V5) at oneopenbox@gmail.com? Thank you very much!

29

Thank you very much for the file, I followed the instructions on the Wiki page to build the tp_recovery.bin with your file file but was still unable to install with TFTP.

This is what I have done:

  1. Download the most recent OEM firmware (Arher_C50v5_xxxxx.bin) from TP-Link website, and rename it to tpl.bin.
  2. Rename your file (openwrt_xxxxxx_sysupgrade.bin) to owrt.bin
  3. Run the following commands (per Wiki instruction) on Linux machine to get tp_recovery.bin
    dd if=/dev/zero of=tp_recovery.bin bs=196608 count=1 
dd if=tpl.bin of=tmp.bin bs=131584 count=1 
dd if=tmp.bin of=boot.bin bs=512 skip=1 
cat boot.bin >> tp_recovery.bin 
cat owrt.bin >> tp_recovery.bin

​4. Install the tp_recovery.bin to router with Windows 10 TFTP​32 application.

Result:
TFTP was able to send the firmware to the router, but NO LED on after the power cycle.

I then reverted the router back to OEM TP-Link Archer C50 V4 firmware, then tried upgrading firmware to your file (openwrt_xxxxx_sysupgrade.bin), but got an error message "file not accepted by device".

I am new to openwrt firmware installation, so your advice will be greatly appreciated!

30

Do you want my full tp_recovery.bin file?

31

Thank you for the tp_recovery.bin file. I was able to install it through TFTP. However, after installation, the modem could not connect to internet (LAN is fine but WAN has no IP address). Since the modem worked well with OEM firmware, the hardware should have no problem. Is there any OpenWRT configuration needs to be checked for it to connect to internet? Thanks!

33

after installing, you need to start configuring all inside the gui, as default both signals 2.4 and 5ghz are disabled, and the wan port should be enabled once you put the cable on the blue port, you can try restarting interface to see if gets ip.