Installing OpenWrt on UniFi nanoHD

Installing and Using OpenWrt
83

Hi all,

I fought a new, locked NanoHD with the latest bootloader for a while before getting the recipe right, so I'll share what I did:

  1. Crack the case on the NanoHD with a knife. Work the knife around the outside between the plastic case and aluminum base until you free all five plastic clips. Open the case.
  2. Put the device in TFTP mode by holding the reset button for 30s and waiting for it to boot. Use PumpKIN to flash it with the 3.9.27 firmware.
  3. The device will accept this firmware version over TFTP (but not via fwupdate or web UI), but it will disable inbound http/ssh on ethernet after booting. Use one of these: https://www.adafruit.com/product/954 to connect to the exposed J2 serial connector on the NanoHD. I just used three copper wires, one for each of gnd/tx/rx, to temporarily connect the solder points on the J2 holes to the TTL adapter leads.
  4. The serial connection runs at 115200 baud and works great with Putty. When the NanoHD boots with 3.9.27, the serial connection will give you a login prompt. You can now use the ethernet connection to wget the OpenWRT upgrade binary to the NanoHD filesystem.
  5. Follow the instructions at the top of this thread and reboot.

Congratulations, you've h4x0r3d your NanoHD.

Happy flashing!

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