Clarification on the installation of OpenWrt on the R7800

Hi everyone,
I'm new in the world of firmware for routers and I would like to install operwrt on my R7800, I read the page about the router and explain the flash via TFTP, but I would like to know if version 18.06.4 can be flashed via the gui oem. If so I have to flash the factory.img image above the official firmware and then flash the sysupgrade.bin file from openwrt?
Thanks for your help.

No, you need to use the TFTP flashing method, which is quite easy. As OpenWrt uses a newer kernel than the OEM firmware, the original flash partition for kernel was too small, and needs to be enlarged. This now prevents using the OEM GUI flash, as the GUI flash expects the partition sizes to stay as they were.

No.
You only flash the factory.img firmware with TFTP.

(Factory and sysupgrade images have identical functionality, only the outer packaging differs.)

Later you can then use sysupgrade image to upgrade the already running OpenWrt to a newer version.

2 Likes

I don't mean to hijack the original post, but something that often confuses me. If I have OpenWrt already installed on some router but got bricked or for any reason I need to re-flash using TFTP or so (i.e. flash without booting OpenWrt), should it be factory or sysupgrade image to be flashed in this case?

You would use the factory image, as it matches the requirements of the OEM flash logic. Netgear makes it easy, as OEM flash routines do not touch the u-boot boot loader, so the same image works with OEM GUI flash and OEM TFTP recovery flash. (Some other manufacturers make it more difficult.)

For 99% of the routers, "sysupgrade" image is OpenWrt-specific and can only be used to upgrade a router that is already running OpenWrt by using the OpenWrt sysupgrade mechanism (from ssh console or from LuCI). The sysupgrade image is usually not compatible with the OEM flash tools.

3 Likes

to upgrade the R7800\D7800 this is quite simple

1, u must plug an ethernet cable to ur pc from ur router.
2, set ur local ip to a static ip 192.168.1.4 (or the default one that the router get after a reset)
3, turn off the router
4, turn on the router and press the reset button untill u see a power white led blinking
5, use a linux machine or ubuntu on windows 10.
6, install tftp (apt install tftp)
7, tftp 192.168.1.1 (or different ip )
8, bin
9, put firmware.img

wait couple of sec, it should be writing send x bytes, the router then will reboot couple of times and thats it :slight_smile:

When i got my R7800 i initially flashed it via OEM GUI to 18.6.02 (as stated in TOH). All seems to work fine. Later i "upgraded" to a hnyman build (which also seem to work fine).
see: WIFI Leds on R7800 (18.06.x)

Should the initial flash been done via tftp?

This topic was automatically closed 10 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.