If you lost the 5GHz wireless, this suggests that your ‘factory’ partition/volume was corrupted or can’t be found. This could be due to bit-rot or due to a fault during the installation process, and issues with the factory data can also cause problems with retaining MAC addresses as well as limiting your 2.4GHz WiFi to +6dBm output. Most of the functionality can be recovered, but it would take a bit of poking around and some investigation to figure out exactly what happened so you know what to target and exactly what should be done.
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THANK YOU!! I tried to flash the firmware and reset all settings and it was still not updating. I thought I was going crazy. You are right, fitblk was not installed and installing it allowed me to update. I have never heard of this package and am not sure how it was ever “removed” from the install. Again, thanks so much for the reply.
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Finally found a moment to try again with a freshly built image. Made sure it includes iwinfo, but alas, this didn’t solve my issue. I did obtain a full log. Can’t attach because it’s a text file and not an image (silly!), but these lines stand out:
Sun Oct 12 22:11:26 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio0 (2477): wifi-scripts: Bug: PHY is undefined for device
Sun Oct 12 22:11:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio1 (2484): wifi-scripts: Bug: PHY is undefined for device
Sun Oct 12 22:11:27 2025 user.notice ucitrack: Setting up /etc/config/luci-splash reload dependency on /etc/config/firewall
Sun Oct 12 22:11:27 2025 user.notice ucitrack: Setting up /etc/config/qos reload dependency on /etc/config/firewall
Sun Oct 12 22:11:27 2025 user.notice ucitrack: Setting up /etc/config/miniupnpd reload dependency on /etc/config/firewall
Sun Oct 12 22:11:27 2025 user.notice firewall: Reloading firewall due to ifup of lan (br-lan)
Sun Oct 12 22:11:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio2 (2527): wifi-scripts: Bug: PHY is undefined for device
Sun Oct 12 22:11:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (2549): wifi-scripts: Bug: PHY is undefined for device
Sun Oct 12 22:11:27 2025 user.notice ucitrack: Setting up /etc/config/odhcpd reload dependency on /etc/config/dhcp
Sun Oct 12 22:11:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio0 (2573): wifi-scripts: Bug: PHY is undefined for device
Sun Oct 12 22:11:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio1 (2583): wifi-scripts: Bug: PHY is undefined for device
Sun Oct 12 22:11:27 2025 user.notice ucitrack: Setting up /etc/config/dhcp reload dependency on /etc/config/network
Sun Oct 12 22:11:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio2 (2597): wifi-scripts: Bug: PHY is undefined for device
Sun Oct 12 22:11:27 2025 user.notice ucitrack: Setting up /etc/config/network reload dependency on /etc/config/wireless
Sun Oct 12 22:11:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (2621): wifi-scripts: Bug: PHY is undefined for device
[... after trying to log in and "restart" the wireless interfaces ...]
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice hostapd: Set MLD config: [ ]
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice hostapd: Reload all interfaces
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice wpa_supplicant[1953]: Set MLD config: [ ]
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice hostapd: Set MLD config: [ ]
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice hostapd: Reload all interfaces
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio1 (4222): wifi-scripts: Bug: PHY is undefined for device
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio2 (4226): wifi-scripts: Starting
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice hostapd: Set new config for phy wl0:
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice wpa_supplicant[1953]: Set new config for phy wl0
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice wpa_supplicant[1953]: Set new config for phy wl0
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice hostapd: Set new config for phy wl0:
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio2 (4226): wifi-scripts: Configuring 'wl0' txantenna: 4294967295, rxantenna: 4294967295 distance: 0
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (4232): wifi-scripts: Starting
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice hostapd: Set new config for phy wl1:
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice wpa_supplicant[1953]: Set new config for phy wl1
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice wpa_supplicant[1953]: Set new config for phy wl1
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice hostapd: Set new config for phy wl1:
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (4232): wifi-scripts: Configuring 'wl1' txantenna: 4294967295, rxantenna: 4294967295 distance: 0
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio0 (4238): wifi-scripts: Bug: PHY is undefined for device
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio1 (4239): wifi-scripts: Bug: PHY is undefined for device
Sun Oct 12 22:12:27 2025 daemon.notice netifd: radio0 (4240): wifi-scripts: Bug: PHY is undefined for device
Any idea whether this is a bug, an issue with my build or a problem with “forwards-compatibility” of my current config?
Freshly built using which tool?
The firmware selector should work fine because some pieces of software were patched. Which is a catch 22 since you cannot install them without generating an image using either owut or attended sysupgrade.
Edit: fixed wrong name for the firmware selector thanks to @efahl
Firmware Selector is your friend when you can't do it on-device...
EDIT: Aha, that's what you meant by "image generator"... 
1 Like
Freshly built using which tool?
I use a fork of and old version of the owrt-ubi-installer to create a sysupgrade itb. Not the perfect solution, but it usually does what I want it to. As far as I know it invokes the imagebuilder.
Yes, it does work — but in your current build, one of the software components doesn’t provide the required packages. As a result, the image builder can’t include them, which leads to the issue you’re experiencing.
To fix this, use the firmware selector to generate a new image that includes your additional packages. That should solve the problem.
1 Like
[OpenWrt Wiki] Linksys E8450 (aka. Belkin RT3200) says that the latest OpenWrt release supported is 24.10.2.
Is that just outdated or is it risky to try the latest 24.10.4?
It is dated a bit. Install it and then update the wiki - this is how it works.
The device page’s data section is taken from the Table of Hardware, which was outdated.
I updated the entry in the ToH and now it shows the correct release, and made some tweaks in the upgrading from 23.05 to 24.10 section to be more obvious for new people (double check the filenames, etc).
Cheers!
It’s been seen / reported for weeks
1 Like
Anyone else have a problem with SNAPSHOT not initializing the wireless radios upon boot?
Whenever E8450 reboots or loses power, the WiFi radios will not come on at boot. I must go into Luci and click "Restart" on both wireless interfaces (2.4 and 5 GHz), and then they immediately initialize and everything's fine.
Currently running OpenWrt SNAPSHOT, r31571-0211ecf682
Looked at the logs and I do have these entries during boot, so it's probably related to the open bug in Github mentioned above my post:
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:01:45 AM EDT] daemon.notice: netifd: radio0 (2716): wifi-scripts: Bug: PHY is undefined for device
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:01:45 AM EDT] daemon.notice: netifd: radio1 (2758): wifi-scripts: Bug: PHY is undefined for device
After booting, logging into Luci and clicking Restart on the wireless radios:
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: Reload all interfaces
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: netifd: radio1 (6195): wifi-scripts: Starting
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: Set new config for phy wl1:
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: wpa_supplicant[2323]: Set new config for phy wl1
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: wpa_supplicant[2323]: Set new config for phy wl1
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: Set new config for phy wl1: /var/run/hostapd-wl1.conf
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: Restart interface for phy wl1
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: Configuration file: <inline> (phy wl1) --> new PHY
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: Configuration file: Reading configuration file '<inline>'
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: Configuration file: Reading configuration file '<inline>'
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.404090] br-lan: port 4(wl1-ap0) entered blocking state
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.409656] br-lan: port 4(wl1-ap0) entered disabled state
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.415185] mt7915e 0000:01:00.0 wl1-ap0: entered allmulticast mode
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.421764] mt7915e 0000:01:00.0 wl1-ap0: entered promiscuous mode
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: wl1-ap0: interface state UNINITIALIZED->COUNTRY_UPDATE
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: wl1-ap0: interface state COUNTRY_UPDATE->HT_SCAN
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: netifd: radio1 (6195): wifi-scripts: Configuring 'wl1' txantenna: 4294967295, rxantenna: 4294967295 distance: 0
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: netifd: radio1 (6195): wifi-scripts: Preparing interface: wl1-ap0 with MAC: [redacted]
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: netifd: radio0 (6254): wifi-scripts: Starting
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: Set new config for phy wl0:
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: wpa_supplicant[2323]: Set new config for phy wl0
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: wpa_supplicant[2323]: Set new config for phy wl0
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: Set new config for phy wl0: /var/run/hostapd-wl0.conf
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:00 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: Restart interface for phy wl0
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: Configuration file: <inline> (phy wl0) --> new PHY
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: Configuration file: Reading configuration file '<inline>'
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: Configuration file: Reading configuration file '<inline>'
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.774148] br-lan: port 5(wl0-ap0) entered blocking state
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.779772] br-lan: port 5(wl0-ap0) entered disabled state
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.785306] mt7622-wmac 18000000.wmac wl0-ap0: entered allmulticast mode
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.792278] mt7622-wmac 18000000.wmac wl0-ap0: entered promiscuous mode
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.799150] br-lan: port 5(wl0-ap0) entered blocking state
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.804651] br-lan: port 5(wl0-ap0) entered forwarding state
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] daemon.notice: hostapd: wl0-ap0: interface state UNINITIALIZED->COUNTRY_UPDATE
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.811035] br-lan: port 5(wl0-ap0) entered disabled state
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.848690] br-lan: port 5(wl0-ap0) entered blocking state
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.854196] br-lan: port 5(wl0-ap0) entered forwarding state
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] daemon.notice: netifd: Network device 'wl0-ap0' link is up
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.943304] br-lan: port 6(wl0-ap1) entered blocking state
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.948881] br-lan: port 6(wl0-ap1) entered disabled state
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.954435] mt7622-wmac 18000000.wmac wl0-ap1: entered allmulticast mode
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.961594] mt7622-wmac 18000000.wmac wl0-ap1: entered promiscuous mode
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.970673] br-lan: port 6(wl0-ap1) entered blocking state
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.976202] br-lan: port 6(wl0-ap1) entered forwarding state
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] kern.info: [ 54.984861] br-lan: port 6(wl0-ap1) entered disabled state
[Oct 25, 2025, 12:03:01 AM EDT] daemon.notice: netifd: Network device 'wl0-ap1' link is up
Yes, see the link above your post =)
1 Like
I further revamped the very confusing installation/upgrading instructions at https://openwrt.org/toh/linksys/e8450#installation
It was hard for me to make sense of the instructions that had accumulated years of conflicting information. They should be much clearer now.
One question I still have: now that the UBI layout is essentially required, is there any point to backing up the vendor bootchain anymore? (or is that completely orthogonal?)
5 Likes
Still needed if you want to revert to OEM firmware later.
(And the factory partition backup will be needed if something bad happens regarding the UBI contents, as factory is just a volume inside ubi.)
3 Likes
Great!!!
I originally wrote the instructions to go from 23.x to 24 and were also tweaked by other users, and now you organized it in a way that’s really easy to understand. Thanks!
I really hope newer users understand it this time and don’t brick their devices.
Thanks again!
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Did you ever find a solution? I am in the same boat 23.05 to 24.10.4 and lost about 50% download via WAN.
-
Packet steering:
Disabled: 406/787 (Mbps)
Enabled/none: 468/856
Enabled/128(suggested): 468/861
Enabled-ALL/none: 613/705
Enabled-ALL/128: 575/670
EDIT: Got my Gigabit speeds back by Changing Firewall Flow offloading from disabled to hardware and got speeds back. (Packet steering left at Enabled-ALL/None).
EDIT2: More results:
-
Firewall Flow offloading = hardware
938/942, 938/942 (Mbps) -
With Flow offloading = software:
Packet steering:
Disabled: 735/870
enabled-all/none: 856/780
enabled-all/128: 874/758
enabled-all/256: 780/885
enabled/256: 886/927, 879/926
enabled/128: 878/914, 848/920
enabled/none: 889/911, 882/911, 874/915
Have RT3200 AP running 24.10.4 and can achieve from a wireless client via iperf3 (iperf3 -s running on another RT3200 router connected to WAN) ~830 Mbps (average down/up; peaks at 950 - bravo!).
When I test speeds the same way going to WAN (speedtest.net), on the download I only get 450 Mbps while upload is at the same wireless iperf3 speed of ~820. A hardwired host on the same AP shows a speedtest.net result of 918/937.
The above results make me suspect that there is a slowdown due to routing somewhere. I have both the AP and router hardware offloading Routing/NAT. But it is weird that the iperf3 wireless is near GB speeds down and up to the router, but only when it gets forwarded to wan is there a slowdown, and then it is only for the download part, not upload.
I do have a “guest” vlan configured to isolate clients, in case that is important.
Is there a configuration setting that might address or cause this?
Have you tried enabling WED and see how it goes???
I get up to around 800Mbps on wirelss with my Laptop. And yes, I get gigabit speeds wired.
Enable WED in the main Router and/or the AP and see how it goes.
Cheers!
1 Like
Thanks for the suggestion. I just tried WED on each of router and AP, as well as with and without bridger.
No improvement, if anything lower performance.