I'm looking to try and installing OpenWrt on a TP-LINK W8968 which I gather I need to do via:-
This is described as an 'easy installation method'. Unfortunately I can't find a guide.
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Before you attempt installation, have you read the warnings on the device info page? WiFi will not work well, and the dsl modem will not work at all.
I'm not really bothered about DSL, I'm mainly trying to practice installing OpenWrt on old kit I have knocking around.
I can't find any guide to CFE Web recovery, which is supposed to be an easy installation, but I can't figure out where to start.
Am I misunderstanding something if I think all I need to do is select the Firmware Upgrade option from the router TP-LINK menu system and then choose a pre-downloaded copy of:-
That would not be the correct image for your device. Look at the device info page I linked earlier for the correct download.
Edit: I see that the link came from the device info page. It seems like it might be wrong. Hold off until someone can confirm.
Also, make sure you have the v3 hardware.
Edit 2: you may also be better off picking up a device that is well supported by openwrt. This one is not a good option and you may end up bricking it if anything goes wrong in the installation process.
I have quite a lot of old routers, but am not sure which are well supported by OpenWrt. My principle aim is to get as many as possible converted to OpenWrt, just as an exercise in using OpenWrt.
Among the newer ones are an EE Bright Box and Zyxel AMG1302-T11C.
I no longer use ADSL so just want to use them as switches and maybe learn about VLANS.
just piggybacking on this... @balanga - if you don't see your devices listed in the ToH, they re not supported. With new hardware, you can always ask the dev team if they can add support for the device, but sometimes this is infeasible due to issues like closed-source drivers and/or unsupported chipsets.
On the flip side, you can use this ToH to help you find devices that are supported if you are considering buying any new equipment (used and/or new).
I've looked in ToH for one of the boxes I'd like to upgrade. It's an EE Bright Box, but am unsure if the entry for such is actually the box I have...
How do I identify if my box is this one? It certainly looks different to the one pictured.
There is usually an info panel on the device itself that has the model number and other important information.
There is very little info on the box.
Model name:
Bright Box (R) Wireless Router
some login details
Made in China 146000147400J R01 ELN
Unfortunately I can't power it because I can't find a PSU with the right size plug.
One thing I'm never sure of is how well does a PSU have to match the unit's power requirements,
Shows Power Supply: 12 VDC, 1.0 A
How critical is that 1.0 A?
If the label says 12v 1A, it probably needs that amount t of power available. You can safely use a 12v power adapter that can provide more power, though. So 1.5A, 2A, etc is fine. As long as it can supply at least 1A.
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