hi. i want to install open wrt on google wifi ac 1304 but still don't install open wrt.i want to see which i can back to stock firmware after flash open wrt?
and i should do stuff before flashing open wrt for back to stock firmware?
and other question
how i can to reset factory ac 1304 with open wrt (i learned reset factory ac 1304 with original firmware but don't khow how to reset factory with open wrt)
Read the rest of the wiki page.
Thanks for your reply.
I just wanted to say, if you're referring to that part of the text:
Google Wifi must be restored to its factory default software before running OpenWrt. See here for more info.
To restore factory software, you can utilize Google Wifi's Recovery Mode, where Google will walk you through creating a USB recovery stick using the OnHub Recovery Utility. Despite the name, this tool works for Google Wifi, and not simply its predecessor, the Google OnHub.
Tools required:
USB-C hub with power-delivery (to support both USB storage and USB-C power supply)
USB drive, 4 GB or larger
A Chrome browser on a Windows, Mac OS, or ChromeOS machine (unfortunately, the Recovery Utility does not support GNU/Linux)
If you want to skip the Recovery Utility, you can read through the recovery metadata table yourself and download a recovery image manually. The recovery image can be flashed to a USB drive with dd or similar tools and still work (though you may want to use your partition manager to fix the secondary GPT header after flashing the image). Note that just copying the .bin file onto the drive as a regular file will not work.
Once you have a Recovery USB stick, the recovery procedure is as follows:
Hold the Reset button (front of case)
Connect power to the device
After about 16 seconds, the LED should blink orange. You may now release the Reset button
Plug in USB stick flashed with Recovery image
LED should turn off, and recovery begins
After about 5-6 minutes, the device should automatically reboot; LED will pulse blue
Recovery is complete
Note that Recovery mode does not appear to work with all USB drives (for example, some newer USB 3.0 flash drives). If the device appears not to be accepting your USB drive, try swapping for a different one.
it says to run Google's recovery before flashing OpenWrt — but it doesn't mention whether this recovery can restore the original Google firmware after installing OpenWrt.
Doesn't this cause the device to get bricked?"
What I meant by asking if we need to do it before flashing OpenWrt was whether there's anything we should back up beforehand that might be useful later.
Recovery mode should allow you to go back to stock google because the write protect screw is still removed.
Why are you looking to go back?
Thanks a lot for your response.
My concern is that the installation process involves commands
ssh root@192.168.1.1 -C "dd if=/dev/zero bs=512 seek=7634911 of=/dev/mmcblk0 count=33 &&
dd if=/tmp/openwrt-24.10.1-ipq40xx-chromium-google_wifi-squashfs-factory.bin of=/dev/mmcblk0"
which might alter the router’s memory partition layout. If that’s the case, the recovery mode might not be able to fully restore the original partition structure. Additionally, if certain critical partition data isn’t included in the recovery image, it could potentially result in the device becoming bricked.
I was mostly asking out of curiosity, but I wanted to know whether it would be possible to revert back one day — for example, if I wanted to give it to someone who prefers to use its simple original operating system, or for other reasons.
Have you examined the recovery USB?
reading https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/11257354?visit_id=638870279325798424-4011145507&rd=2 I'd say that's a no go, can't set it up from scratch.
Hello, and sorry for the delay — I was testing a few things.
I finally managed to install OpenWrt on my router. However, I skipped the partition expansion step. After that, I flashed the official recovery image from the OpenWrt website, and everything seemed fine at first.
But when I tried to use the Google Home app to set up the router and connect it to the internet, I ran into an issue. The app would detect the router and ask for the Wi-Fi password, and after entering it, it would proceed to "Checking internet connection," then move to "Checking for updates," and then loop back to "Checking internet connection" again — this cycle kept repeating.
I should also mention that before flashing OpenWrt, I had already flashed the stock Google recovery image first and attempted to connect via Google Home at that stage — and I experienced the exact same issue even then.
I have a feeling that either the recovery image provided on the OpenWrt site is somehow modified and unable to properly handle firmware updates, or the version it restores is too old to update correctly through the usual Google Home process.
Also, I haven’t been able to find any newer official recovery images for this router model elsewhere — only the one available on the OpenWrt site.
Hello, and sorry for the delay — I was testing a few things.
I finally managed to install OpenWrt on my router. However, I skipped the partition expansion step. After that, I flashed the official recovery image from the OpenWrt website, and everything seemed fine at first.
But when I tried to use the Google Home app to set up the router and connect it to the internet, I ran into an issue. The app would detect the router and ask for the Wi-Fi password, and after entering it, it would proceed to "Checking internet connection," then move to "Checking for updates," and then loop back to "Checking internet connection" again — this cycle kept repeating.
**I should also mention that before flashing OpenWrt, I had already flashed the stock Google recovery image first and attempted to connect via Google Home at that stage — and I experienced the exact same issue even then.
I’m not really sure, but I don’t think it’s that easy to go back to the original factory state.
From what I understand, it might require a recovery image from one of the newer firmware versions — but as far as I know, such a file doesn’t seem to be publicly available.
From what I understand, you didn't read/understand the Google link I posted.
Reading the links @frollic has posted, Google are discontinuing these devices.
Shame really as with USB C for power, 4GB flash and 512mb ram they can practically run anything you want to
Thank you for your reply. I just wanted to mention that unfortunately, my English isn't very strong, so I usually rely on browser translators or ChatGPT to help me understand and write in English. Also, I don't have much experience with Linux or command-line tools.
I asked ChatGPT to translate the support page you sent, and from what I understood, Google had a router called "OnHub" that has been unsupported since 2023 and apparently no longer works with the Google Home app.
However, if I understood correctly, my device is the AC1304 model, which seems to be newer. What’s interesting is that before flashing the recovery image from the OpenWrt page, I was still able to connect my router to the internet using the Google Home app. I also have another identical unit that I haven’t flashed with OpenWrt yet, and I can still set that one up normally via Google Home and connect it to the internet.
I hope I understood you correctly this time.