Asus RT-N12E B1: dump of factory-partition (/dev/mtd2) required

Hardware Questions and Recommendations
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Hi community :slight_smile:

currently I'm working on a wifi issue for the Asus RT-N12E B1 router (using SoC MT7620N), which seems to be related to the calibration data on the factory-partition (/dev/mtd2). But badly, I have overridden that factory partition during developing and it is currently not possible for me to reproduce the issue. For more details you can take a look here: LNA issue with MT7620N on Asus RT-N12E B1 - #4 by dj-l

Now, it would be nice for me to receive a dump of that factory-partition from somebody of you. The dump may contain some unique data of your router, such like MAC-addresses etc. Therefore, if you are interested to support me, I recommend to send me the dump via PM in this forum or email to develop@dj-l.de. I guarantee that it will never reach the public.

Here comes a short description how to dump the factory-partition /dev/mtd2 using a Linux distribution as your local host system:

Asus stock firmware version 3.0.0.4

  1. Browser. Login with your [router username] and [router password] at
    http://192.168.1.1 or depending on settings
    https://192.168.1.1

    a) set Administration->System->Enable Telnet := "Yes"
    b) click button Apply

  2. Telnet. Login with your [router username] and [router password]

    host$> telnet 192.168.1.1
RT-N11P login: [router username]
Password: [router password]

    a) type to the shell for dumping the mtd2/factory-partition

    router$> mount -t tmpfs none /www
router$> dd if=/dev/mtd2 of=/www/asus-rt-n12e-b1.factory.gz

128+0 records in
128+0 records out

router$> killall httpds
router$> exit

    b) wait a minute until httpds is automatically restarted with your new mounted /www directory

  3. Browser. Download the mtd2/factory-dump from
    http://192.168.1.1/asus-rt-n12e-b1.factory.gz or depending on settings
    https://192.168.1.1/asus-rt-n12e-b1.factory.gz

    Hint: It is not a gzip-file. But httpds is just able to provide a minor set of binary MIME types.

  4. Restart. Using the power button of your Asus RT-N12E B1 and wait around 2 minutes for booting up. It will unmount the /www-tmpfs and deleteing the dump file.

  5. Browser. Reset
    Administration->System->Enable Telnet := "No"

    such like described in step 1.

OpenWrt firmware

  1. SSH. Using your [router username] (root by default) and [router password] (empty by default)

    host$> ssh [router username]@192.168.1.1
[router username]@192.168.1.1's password: [router password]

    a) type to the shell for dumping the mtd2/factory-partition

    router$> dd if=/dev/mtd2 of=/tmp/asus-rt-n12e-b1.factory.gz

128+0 records in
128+0 records out

router$> exit

  2. SCP. Copy the mtd2/factory-dump to your local host machine

    host$> scp [router username]@192.168.1.1:/tmp/asus-rt-n12e-b1.factory.gz .
[router username]@192.168.1.1's password: [router password]

    Hint: It is not a gzip-file. But for compatibility to the instructions for the Asus stock firmware above.

  3. Restart (optional). The created dump file at /tmp/ on router side will be deleted automatically after restarting your router.

Sending dump

If you got the dump file asus-rt-n12e-b1.factory.gz to your local host machine, I recommend to send me the dump via PM in this forum or email to develop@dj-l.de. I guarantee that it will never reach the public.

It would be nice to support me and my efforts,
Dirk =)