DLINK DIR 853 A3 soft bricked after failed firmware flash

Hello everyone! Forgive me for my ignorance in the topic because I am only a networking student as of the time of writing. I tried to install a PADAVAN firmware on an old DLINK DIR 853 A3 router through its online GUI. It installed up to 80% then the page crashed and I was unable to access the page again. I have tried the DLINK recovery mode to no avail, and based on my findings here, the recovery mode is not available on my router.

I don't think it's hard bricked since I can still connect to the internet via lan cable, but I cannot access or change the router's settings anymore. Is it still possible to save the router or is it toast? If there are any ways to try and fix this I am open to trying, even if its not for beginners. Regardless of the results I get, I will have learned a lot.

Any and all replies are appreciated, thank you very much.

As the A3 is an ISP model the reset button for recover is disabled
you will need to get a TTL serial cable and open the case to get into failsafe mode

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