Question should be, why doesn't it have internet access ?
I'm directly connected to a computer's lan port.
Think I got it. Sorry. It's late. Thanks to all.
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
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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?
Thanks for the warning. I'll wait until I know more...
On the same device?
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.
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.
Please tell us first if you are using the exact same device, i.e. a TL-WA1201v2, or a different device.
Yes, the same of course
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That said: The Wiki page is outdated, there is a stable OpenWrt 22.03 build, so no need for snapshot unless you have good reason to: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
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?
Thank you. That did the trick.
Downloaded https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/22.03.5/targets/ath79/generic/openwrt-22.03.5-ath79-generic-tplink_tl-wa1201-v2-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin and installed it successfully after transferring the image with the -O switch.
Used:
cd /tmp
sysupgrade -T openwrt-22.03.5-ath79-generic-tplink_tl-wa1201-v2-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin
sysupgrade -v openwrt-22.03.5-ath79-generic-tplink_tl-wa1201-v2-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin
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If your problem is solved, please consider marking this topic as [Solved]. See How to mark a topic as [Solved] for a short how-to.
Thanks! 
Done. But what about rpolep's problem?
- It's an entirely different problem, the device is bricked
- Hijacking threads is bad practice
To be fair, it seemed like a similar problem in the first place.
@psherman, I think you can split the topic?
Yes, You are right. That was not my intention, sorry.
If my problem can be separated from this topic it would be the best approach.
Do I understand correctly that you had openwrt running on the device but you bricked it during the upgrade process (did you apply the wrong image)?
If that is the case you can only really recover through a serial connection which need to soldered on board. Yes, the soldering is not easy at all. On of the pads is in the metalcasing which you need to pry open.
Unfortunately yes. Thanks for confirmation.