Partially bricked a TP-Link TL-WA1201 v2 with OpenWrt SNAPSHOT r23610-844bb4bfad

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

Hello out there,

a few minutes ago I installed OpenWRT on a TP-Link TL-WA1201 v2. I did a reset in the stock firmware and flashed the OpenWrt SNAPSHOT r23610-844bb4bfad via the web interface as described on the device page (https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wa1201_v2#oem_installation_using_the_tftp_method).

Now the AP starts, but I can't open LUCI on 192.168.1.1. The page can't be found. I have access over SSH.

What is the best way to bring the AP up and running with LUCI from here?

Thank you all.

2

Snapshot images do not contain LuCI. Just install it via opkg. As an alternative, use the image builder to generate an image with LuCI included.

1 Like
3

Hey,

thanks a lot.

Can I flash a complete image over the snapshot by SSH?

Thank you.

4

Sure, just transfer the image via scp and then run sysupgrade as usual.

5

scp /media/ramdisk/openwrt-22.03.5-ath79-generic-tplink_tl-wa1201-v2-squashfs-factory.bin root@192.168.1.1:/tmp

...leads to:

ash: /usr/libexec/sftp-server: not found
scp: Connection closed

wget https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/22.03.5/targets/ath79/generic/openwrt-22.03.5-ath79-generic-tplink_tl-wa1201-v2-squashfs-factory.bin

...leads to:

Downloading 'https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/22.03.5/targets/ath79/generic/openwrt-22.03.5-ath79-generic-tplink_tl-wa1201-v2-squashfs-factory.bin'
Failed to send request: Operation not permitted
6

Wrong question

check your network config

if you're upgrading/flashing while already running Openwrt, use the sysupgrade image.

7

Thanks. You're right. Don't have internet access.

8

Is there another way to copy a bin file to OpenWRT?

9

Question should be, why doesn't it have internet access ?

10

I'm directly connected to a computer's lan port.

Think I got it. Sorry. It's late. Thanks to all.

11

You need the -O option to copy via SCP instead of SFTP:

scp -O /media/ramdisk/openwrt-22.03.5-ath79-generic-tplink_tl-wa1201-v2-squashfs-factory.bin root@192.168.1.1:/tmp

1 Like
12

I had the same exact problem as OP but after putting the factory snapshot with SCP to the AP and issuing a sysupdate I have waited for 2hours and now I cannot access it even through SSH. Do You have any advice for me?

13

Thanks for the warning. I'll wait until I know more...

14

On the same device?

15

The factory images are only for first-time installation. You should have transferred a sysupgrade image instead.

You can always restore using the TFTP method, assuming that you are using the exact same device as the OP. If you have a different device, please create a new thread.

16

Or maybe it was an update one now when You mention this. This is irrelevant now I guess
Can You explain how to do this using TFTP? I have read through the manuals but I am not sure even when to start.

17

Please tell us first if you are using the exact same device, i.e. a TL-WA1201v2, or a different device.

18

Yes, the same of course

19

See the link in the OP's first message:

I can't tell you more than what's in the Wiki, I'm not familiar with this device. There might be another way to trigger a TFTP recovery to restore the OEM firmware - that would save you the trouble of disassembly and attaching serial console. Some TP-Link devices have such a restore feature, some don't.

There is some information in the porting thread here.

That said: The Wiki page is outdated, there is a stable OpenWrt 22.03 build, so no need for snapshot unless you have good reason to: https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org/?version=22.03.5&target=ath79%2Fgeneric&id=tplink_tl-wa1201-v2

20

That's a shame, because the page tells that even for TFTP there need's to be a soldered connection to establish terminal connection. Now, I am not a soldering novice but I was unsuccessful in soldering those pins.
I tried connecting through webbrowser, Putty, and WinSCP. Nothing works at the moment. Only power LED is on for the whole time. Not even a single blink so I cannot enter failsafe mode.
Any clues?