Assistance with Cudy WR1200E — Bypassing Restrictions / OpenWrt Porting

Hello OpenWrt community!

I'm reaching out to ask about potential OpenWrt support for the Cudy WR1200E router, or advice on workarounds for my specific use case.

:wrench: Device Specifications

Parameter Value
Model Cudy WR1200E (EU version)
SoC MediaTek MT7628NN (MIPS 24KEc)
Flash 8 MB SPI NOR
RAM 64 MB DDR2
Wi-Fi MT7628 + MT7612E (2.4/5 GHz, 802.11ac)
Ethernet 5× 10/100 Mbps (Fast Ethernet only)
Stock FW Based on OpenWrt 19.07 (heavily modified)
UART Yes, 4-pin header on PCB (115200 8N1)
Bootloader U-Boot (locked, write-protected?)

:camera_with_flash: Photos of PCB and serial output: [will attach if needed]

:bullseye: Use Case

I'm located in Russia, where WireGuard and other VPN protocols are actively blocked by DPI systems since late 2025. I need to run obfuscated VPN protocols (AmneziaWG, VLESS+Reality, Shadowsocks) directly on the router to provide censorship-resistant internet for my home network.

The stock firmware supports basic WireGuard client, but:

  • No support for obfuscation/plugins
  • No package manager to install additional tools
  • Limited configuration options

:red_question_mark: What I'm asking

  1. Is OpenWrt porting feasible for this device given 8MB flash limitation?
  2. Are there known hardware modifications (e.g., external flash, UART access) that could enable OpenWrt?
  3. If full OpenWrt isn't possible: are there lightweight alternatives (e.g., custom builds, initramfs hacks) that could add obfuscation support?
  4. Any advice on server-side workarounds compatible with stock WG client (e.g., wstunnel, udp2raw)?

:magnifying_glass_tilted_left: What I've tried

  • Checked Device Table: WR1200E not listed
  • Searched forums/GitHub: no active porting efforts found
  • Attempted UART access: serial output visible, but bootloader is locked for writing
  • Explored stock firmware: extracted rootfs, but no opkg, limited shell access

:handshake: Willing to help

I can provide:

  • Full serial boot logs
  • Flash chip dumps (if I manage to read them)
  • PCB photos with component labels
  • Testing of any experimental builds

:link: Useful links

Thank you for any guidance! Even if official support isn't possible, I'd appreciate tips on maximizing this device's potential under current constraints.

Привет, сообщество!

Ищу совета по роутеру Cudy WR1200E:

:small_blue_diamond: Характеристики:

  • Процессор: MediaTek MT7628NN
  • Память: 8 МБ Flash / 64 МБ RAM
  • Wi-Fi: 2.4/5 ГГц (802.11ac)
  • Порты: только Fast Ethernet (100 Мбит)
  • Стоковая прошивка: на базе OpenWrt 19.07 (сильно модифицирована)

:bullseye: Задача:
Нужно настроить обход DPI-блокировок VPN в РФ. Стоковая прошивка поддерживает только базовый WireGuard-клиент, без обфускации и плагинов.

:red_question_mark: Вопросы:

  1. Реально ли портировать полноценный OpenWrt на 8 МБ флеш-памяти?
  2. Есть ли известные способы разблокировки загрузчика или расширения памяти?
  3. Если OpenWrt не подойдёт — какие есть лёгкие альтернативы для добавления obfs-поддержки?
  4. Советы по серверной части: какие обфускаторы совместимы со штатным WG-клиентом?

:magnifying_glass_tilted_left: Что уже пробовал:

  • Проверил ToH OpenWrt — устройства нет в списке
  • Подключился к UART: вывод есть, но загрузчик заблокирован на запись
  • Извлек корневую ФС стока: нет opkg, ограниченный доступ к shell

:handshake: Готов помочь:

  • Предоставить логи serial, фото платы, дампы памяти
  • Протестировать экспериментальные сборки

Буду благодарен за любые идеи! Даже если официальная поддержка невозможна, советы по обходным путям очень пригодятся.

No. It's not going to happen. While it is technically possible for 25.12, the next major release will likely require >=16MB flash (and almost certainly >=128MB RAM), so it's extraordinary unlikely that anyone would work towards building OpenWrt support for this device given that it would be unsupportable after this version.

Some users have replaced the flash and/or ram chips in certain routers. This, however, makes it non-standard and those people then need to build their own custom images from that point forward since the standard images won't work... therefore, it's really a non-starter.

Nope.

Nope.

You're talking about pretty massive efforts to add support for a device (that would be very short lived), possibly replacing key chips (requiring further customization of the builds) and even implementing server side modifications (which won't work anyway since your client side would have to match any obfuscations and such)....

The easiest method to move forward is to buy newer hardware that is supported by OpenWrt.

:smiling_face_with_tear: :smiling_face_with_tear: :face_with_hand_over_mouth: okay, thanks

Try to exchange the WR1200E to a TR1200 from Cudy.

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