Restore new router with old configuration files

If I setup a Linksys 1900ACS router, backup its configuration files. Can those configuration files be used in a Linksys 3200ACM router with its firmware image?

Can those configuration files be use in a different manufacture router?

No, the config backups do contain (varying between actual models) configs specific to your model and device. Things that come to mind immediately would be switch configurations (always), MAC addresses (often, but not necessarily), WLAN device paths (always), LED/ GPIO assignments (most of the time) and more. Trying to restore this on a new device of the same model/ revision should mostly work, but with the danger of subtle issues (mostly around duplicated MAC addresses, which would create havoc if old- and new devices would be used in the same network) - restoring it on a different model would basically always fail badly (both with a big bang and in more subtle ways).

1 Like

Yes and no.
First, you need to patch some config (e.g wireless) after this to meet other IDs.
Second, there is a bug - they save flash mapping(!) file in backup. So you need to make a backup for /etc/fw_env.config first, then return it back after restore - or you can't update firmware anymore.
The rest coming without issues.

You could also selectively, and to some degree manually, re-use some of the configuration. When you create a backup it actually creates an archive of your config files, of which you can choose which files or lines you could copy to your new router instead of starting from scratch.

3 Likes

Good idea to, but it trashes all backup idea. You can just copy config files you need... if you know them.

I think more clear way make 2 types of backup - platform and software. First one about hardware settings, second about network/app setting. Maybe i try to do this for luci myself.

probably not, but you can always open the backup archive with a program that can and read tar.gz archives like Peazip or Winrara dn then read the configuration text files to migrate the configuration manually.

1 Like