Can anyone please point me to an up-to-date definitive guide for setting up the WAN interface on an Openwrt router.
I've set up DD-WRT and Tomato routers before (admittedly a long time ago), without much problem, but am finding OpenWrt guides particularly opaque and confusing (maybe there's a message there!). There are Youtube videos, but I can't access them when I'm offline, besides which some of them are delivered at high speed in a heavy foreign accent (my 'advancing years' also don't help! I tried the downloading the videos for offline viewing with youtube-dl, but that no longer works!)
I'm using a Virgin Media router, set as a modem attached to the OpenWrt router by an ethernet cable.
From memory (been a while since I had to play with Virgin), the out-of-the-box OpenWRT configuration should work. WAN is set to DHCP by default. Is the Ethernet cable plugged into OpenWRT's WAN socket?
Yes, the cable is plugged into the WAN of the OpenWrt socket. I've tried starting again by ssh'ing into the router and running 'firstboot' to reinitialise the router. I'll give it another try.
I realize you noted this, but just to be sure - that you verify your WAN network isn't matching LAN (i.e. 192.168.1.0/24). Otherwise no routing will occur.
You provided no information. Nonetheless, I hope this wasn't because of my comment. What I suggested you check is common to all routers (i.e. general networking common knowledge).
As already noted, devices generally need no configuration to enable Internet access. I hope the best for your setup.
I've got a mobile 'phone. Ever tried reading the text on a youtuber's computer screen on a mobile, when it's rendered the size of a postage stamp? ;^)
I've got the WAN info I need from my existing router. I guess that it's 'just' a matter of reading it across to the OpenWrt - wherever it's supposed to go.
I've got little information to provide - the logs aren't very helpful. The WAN interface is there, but not configured. OpenWrt is so alien to my experience of routers that I find it frustrating - and at my age frustration turns me all grumpy and testy!
Maybe I've downloaded and installed the 'gotcha' firmware for the router!
Anyway, the b'stard has locked me out now and I'm going to have to put it into failsafe mode - yet again!
It's possible. Which device do you have, and which firmware did you download for it? If you have a link to the particular firmware file you downloaded that could be helpful.
OK...I know you're new to OpenWrt and maybe a little frustrated.
But it may help if you explain what steps you're undertaking - especially ones that resulted in a lock out (you can even use screenshots). It's simply not clear how you're managing to lock yourself out - since you've only told us you were attempting to edit WAN (which shouldn't result in a lockout).
The router is a TP-Link Archer A7 AC1750. The firmware is openwrt-22.03.5-ath79-generic-tplink_archer-a7-v5-squashfs-factory. Downloaded from: https://openwrt.org/toh/views/toh_fwdownload#1613. The SHA checked out and it installed OK on the router.
Your ISP gives you a /21 to play with? Luxury! I have to beg, plead and cajole to get a /29 out of mine!
Subnet envy aside, if your existing router is configured for DHCP on the WAN, then OpenWRT should be a drop-in replacement with its factory default configuration. There's no overlapping IP address issue (at least, not an obvious one), so this is a weird one.
OpenWRT lets you clone a MAC address to get around stupid ISPs which implement MAC address locks. Might be worth copying your working router's WAN MAC address to OpenWRT's configuration.
My mistake. Your ISP has your WAN interface on a subnet potentially shared with 4092 other customers. So no, they're not for your use. Apologies for my error.