Howto: Lantiq XRX200 on 8MiB ROM with VDSL Vectoring in 2026

Because the information is widely spread around the forum, this is a quick howto for example for the TP-Link TD-W8970, TP-Link TD-W8980 and TP-Link TD-W9980.

First extract latest VDSL Vectoring firmware

Now you have your file and need enough space on the router to copy it onto. But the useless non-vectoring firmware file is wasting space on your router and do not let you install the vectoring firmware since many OpenWrt releases.

Solution:

  1. Go to https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org
  2. Choose the device and the current firmware (25.12.2 at the time now). Press Customize installed packages and/or first boot script.
  3. Remove from the list this useless things:
  • dsl-vrx200-firmware-xdsl-a
  • dsl-vrx200-firmware-xdsl-b-patch
  • ltq-vdsl-vr9-vectoring-fw-installer
  1. (Optional but really nice to have) Add to the list this useful thing:
  • luci-mod-dsl

Build the sysupgrade file and install it to the router. Boot up the router and scp your VDSL vectoring file to the router memory. Configure it to use the firmware file and reboot one final time. It should load the firmware file and synchronize the VDSL line on the next reboot.