Can't enable telnet on TP-Link TD-W8970 v1

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some help getting Telnet access on my TP-Link TD-W8970 v1 so I can install OpenWrt.

I'm not new to OpenWrt installations, but I'm stuck with this router. I've followed the guide several times here:

Specifically, I'm using the "Installation without opening the case (Web Interface Hack)" method, section b. (Python tool), since the Java tool is no longer available.

Here's what happens:

  • I can successfully log into the router's web interface at 192.168.1.1.
  • I upload the generated conf_modified.bin file without any errors.
  • The router reboots as expected.
  • However, the Telnet exploit never seems to trigger.

I've tried multiple times using different methods and different XML files, but the result is always the same. When I try to connect via Telnet on port 1023, I only get:
Connection refused

For reference, the router reports the following information on the Status page:
Model:TP-Link TD-W8970
Hardware Version: TD-W8970 v1 (shown as TD-W8970 v1 00000000)
Firmware Version: 0.6.0 2.12 v000c.0 Build 140613 Rel.31066n

Has anyone run into this before or knows what I might be missing? Is there a specific firmware revision that doesn't trigger the Telnet exploit, or could I be overlooking something in the Python tool or XML generation?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Thanks in advance! Hopefully we can figure this out and help anyone else who runs into the same issue.

2

try it's brother for inspration
i did this but many years ago

3

thanks a lot, i tried, but it doesn't work

4

I haven't found a solution yet, but I managed to track down a couple of critical legacy resources using the Wayback Machine that might help anyone else working on this hardware:

  1. StatPOSTer (2016 Version): https://web.archive.org/web/20230610135938/https://ejs1920.users.sourceforge.net/StatPOSTer-20160306.jar

  2. TD-W8970 Old Firmwares: https://web.archive.org/web/20260512071952/https://www.tp-link.com/en/support/download/td-w8970/v1/#Firmware

5

the other one

same thing but converting adsl to vdsl
may have hints in it

6

If I remember correctly from when I installed OpenWrt on a TD-W8970v1 not too long ago (early 2024), the only method that worked for me was with the Java applet. It wasn't easy to find a box with a Java version old enough to be able to run the applet - I think I even had to install a fresh Windows XP plus some specific Java version I luckily still had lying around, in order to successfully run it.

I do still have the original and patched config files in case anyone's interested. My device was a TD-W8970B, I didn't write down the original firmware version, though (but I do have a NOR dump, so I could go back to stock).

Edit: Found the firmware version in the decoded config: 0.6.0 3.11 v000d.0 Build 160808 Rel.44773n