Can't get an access to my router

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

Hello everyone! I've got myself in a silly situation. I'm a newbie in Linux world and LEDE in particular. I've accidentally changed permissions on /bin directory and (maybe) some others to 644. Now obviously I'm not able to execute any command on the router and after terminating ssh session I'm not able to even login to it. I have no access to web interface either. How do I fix it? Did I brick my router? It's WRT1900ACS, BTW. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

2

Hopefully there is a failsafe mode you can use.

https://lede-project.org/docs/user-guide/failsafe_and_factory_reset

1 Like
3

Thank you for your reply. I'll try that. What proper permissions do I have to set? Or is it better to perform a new firmware install, just to be sure that all folders have good permissions?

4

I think you should be able to view the original permissions in /rom). BTW it's 755 for /bin.

1 Like
5

Thanks for your help! Appreciate it. I will try that.

6

It will be simple in failsafe:
All original firmware files and permissions are still there.
All your changes as in a separate read/write overlay that can be removed.

All you need to do, is to issue the "firstboot" command in the failsafe mode to get all your changes wiped (all settings, all packages, all configs, all permissions). (possibly you also need the mount_root command first. Read the advice on wiki page, and it is also displayed on failsafe mode SSH terminal banner. After the subsequent reboot, you should be at a clean state as if you would have just flashed the router.

WRT1900ACS has the failsafe mode. (but as the button push time window is only 2 seconds, the mode can be a bit hard to enter, similarly as with other routers. Look at the LED blinking rate for indication)

7

Just a general FYI:

Prior to flashing non-OEM firmware, it's always recommended to ensure one has access to a USB-TTL cable (or equivalent, such as a USB-to-UART, SBC, break out board, USB-TTL Audio Jack, etc.) in order to connect via serial.

  • This is the second bullet in the introduction on the WRT AC Series wiki
    • For the WRT AC Series, it requires a JST PH 6 pin connector with a 2.0mm pitch, operating at 3.3v
8

Thank you very much to everyone who replied to my problem. I really appreciate that. I will try your recommendations once I get a physical access to the router which is gonna be in a couple of days. I'm out of town right now (yeah, I killed my router remotely lol). I'll let you guys know how I did the recovery. All the best!