TL-WR841ND v8 flashed not writable by uboot or firmware

zdringy · January 31, 2020, 5:38pm

I flashed my router with flashrom, and it seems that only the programmer can write to flash since then.

Installed:

a working version of lede 17, thanks to @juppin generous dump, settings don't survive reset
latest firmware from tp-link since 2014, boots, works, settings don't survive reset
built custom image, unfortunately it's larger than I expected, doesn't seem to help, settings don't survive reset

tftpboot doesn't work, uboot itself can't write or erase the flash, somehow... a simple erase or cp.b command returns instantly, the videos I watched showed at least a few seconds of uboot working on erase and write...

Ideally, I'd like to revert back to stock firmware(on this router since it won't work in the future with openwrt) and use this router as a repeater, if possible...

any ideas as to what the issue might be?

Thanks for your time!

juppin · February 1, 2020, 11:43am

Please provide a full bootlog

zdringy · February 2, 2020, 12:29pm

@juppin here's what I did:

downloaded the tp link firmware TL-WR841N_V8_140724.zip and removed the first 512B
added a 65kB pad of 0x00
took the art(last 65kB) part of the dump you gave(since I wiped clean mine...) me and appended it, so I ended up with a 4M image as such

TL-WR841N_V8_140724.zip | 65kB pad | art.bin

What I've tried:

with flashrom from debian packages
built latest flashrom v1.1 and used it
after flashing, tried to restore defaults, hoping it does some magic
tried erasing, pulling the clip, put back the clip, write

none of the above worked, it doesn't save any settings

so, I've went through the process one more time just now, below are the erase, write and boot(full serial dump at the bottom of this comment)

this is my flashrom process:

Erase Log $sudo ./flashrom -VV --programmer ch341a_spi -E

Found Spansion flash chip "S25FL032A/P" (4096 kB, SPI).
Some block protection in effect, disabling... disabled.
Erasing and writing flash chip... Trying erase function 0... 0x000000-0x00ffff:E, 0x010000-0x01ffff:E, 0x020000-0x02ffff:E, 0x030000-0x03ffff:E, 0x040000-0x04ffff:E, 0x050000-0x05ffff:E, 0x060000-0x06ffff:E, 0x070000-0x07ffff:E, 0x080000-0x08ffff:E, 0x090000-0x09ffff:E, 0x0a0000-0x0affff:E, 0x0b0000-0x0bffff:E, 0x0c0000-0x0cffff:E, 0x0d0000-0x0dffff:E, 0x0e0000-0x0effff:E, 0x0f0000-0x0fffff:E, 0x100000-0x10ffff:E, 0x110000-0x11ffff:E, 0x120000-0x12ffff:E, 0x130000-0x13ffff:E, 0x140000-0x14ffff:E, 0x150000-0x15ffff:E, 0x160000-0x16ffff:E, 0x170000-0x17ffff:E, 0x180000-0x18ffff:E, 0x190000-0x19ffff:E, 0x1a0000-0x1affff:E, 0x1b0000-0x1bffff:E, 0x1c0000-0x1cffff:E, 0x1d0000-0x1dffff:E, 0x1e0000-0x1effff:E, 0x1f0000-0x1fffff:E, 0x200000-0x20ffff:E, 0x210000-0x21ffff:E, 0x220000-0x22ffff:E, 0x230000-0x23ffff:E, 0x240000-0x24ffff:E, 0x250000-0x25ffff:E, 0x260000-0x26ffff:E, 0x270000-0x27ffff:E, 0x280000-0x28ffff:E, 0x290000-0x29ffff:E, 0x2a0000-0x2affff:E, 0x2b0000-0x2bffff:E, 0x2c0000-0x2cffff:E, 0x2d0000-0x2dffff:E, 0x2e0000-0x2effff:E, 0x2f0000-0x2fffff:E, 0x300000-0x30ffff:E, 0x310000-0x31ffff:E, 0x320000-0x32ffff:E, 0x330000-0x33ffff:E, 0x340000-0x34ffff:E, 0x350000-0x35ffff:E, 0x360000-0x36ffff:E, 0x370000-0x37ffff:E, 0x380000-0x38ffff:E, 0x390000-0x39ffff:E, 0x3a0000-0x3affff:E, 0x3b0000-0x3bffff:E, 0x3c0000-0x3cffff:E, 0x3d0000-0x3dffff:E, 0x3e0000-0x3effff:E, 0x3f0000-0x3fffff:E
Erase/write done.

Write Log $sudo ./flashrom -VV --programmer ch341a_spi -w ../../wrt/build/myfw.bin

Found Spansion flash chip "S25FL032A/P" (4096 kB, SPI).
Block protection is disabled.
Reading old flash chip contents... done.
Erasing and writing flash chip... Trying erase function 0... 0x000000-0x00ffff:W, 0x010000-0x01ffff:S, 0x020000-0x02ffff:W, 0x030000-0x03ffff:W, 0x040000-0x04ffff:W, 0x050000-0x05ffff:W, 0x060000-0x06ffff:W, 0x070000-0x07ffff:W, 0x080000-0x08ffff:W, 0x090000-0x09ffff:W, 0x0a0000-0x0affff:W, 0x0b0000-0x0bffff:W, 0x0c0000-0x0cffff:W, 0x0d0000-0x0dffff:W, 0x0e0000-0x0effff:W, 0x0f0000-0x0fffff:S, 0x100000-0x10ffff:S, 0x110000-0x11ffff:S, 0x120000-0x12ffff:W, 0x130000-0x13ffff:W, 0x140000-0x14ffff:W, 0x150000-0x15ffff:W, 0x160000-0x16ffff:W, 0x170000-0x17ffff:W, 0x180000-0x18ffff:W, 0x190000-0x19ffff:W, 0x1a0000-0x1affff:W, 0x1b0000-0x1bffff:W, 0x1c0000-0x1cffff:W, 0x1d0000-0x1dffff:W, 0x1e0000-0x1effff:W, 0x1f0000-0x1fffff:W, 0x200000-0x20ffff:W, 0x210000-0x21ffff:W, 0x220000-0x22ffff:W, 0x230000-0x23ffff:W, 0x240000-0x24ffff:W, 0x250000-0x25ffff:W, 0x260000-0x26ffff:W, 0x270000-0x27ffff:W, 0x280000-0x28ffff:W, 0x290000-0x29ffff:W, 0x2a0000-0x2affff:W, 0x2b0000-0x2bffff:W, 0x2c0000-0x2cffff:W, 0x2d0000-0x2dffff:W, 0x2e0000-0x2effff:W, 0x2f0000-0x2fffff:W, 0x300000-0x30ffff:W, 0x310000-0x31ffff:W, 0x320000-0x32ffff:W, 0x330000-0x33ffff:W, 0x340000-0x34ffff:W, 0x350000-0x35ffff:W, 0x360000-0x36ffff:W, 0x370000-0x37ffff:W, 0x380000-0x38ffff:W, 0x390000-0x39ffff:S, 0x3a0000-0x3affff:S, 0x3b0000-0x3bffff:S, 0x3c0000-0x3cffff:S, 0x3d0000-0x3dffff:S, 0x3e0000-0x3effff:W, 0x3f0000-0x3fffff:W
Erase/write done.
Verifying flash... VERIFIED.

Serial boot log


U-Boot 1.1.4 (Jul 24 2014 - 17:19:52)

U-boot AP123


DRAM:  32 MB
id read 0x100000ff
Flash:  4 MB
Using default environment

In:    serial
Out:   serial
Err:   serial
Net:   ag934x_enet_initialize...
wasp reset mask:c03300
WASP ----> S27 PHY
file: ag934x.c,line: 180==: set LAN&WAN SWAP. --debug by HouXB
GMAC: cfg1 0x5 cfg2 0x7114
eth0: ba:be:fa:ce:08:41
s27 reg init
athrs27_phy_setup ATHR_PHY_CONTROL 4: 0x1000
athrs27_phy_setup ATHR_PHY_SPEC_STAUS 4: 0x10
eth0 up
WASP ----> S27 PHY
file: ag934x.c,line: 180==: set LAN&WAN SWAP. --debug by HouXB
GMAC: cfg1 0xf cfg2 0x7214
eth1: ba:be:fa:ce:08:41
s27 reg init lan
ATHRS27: resetting s27
ATHRS27: s27 reset done
athrs27_phy_setup ATHR_PHY_CONTROL 0: 0x1000
athrs27_phy_setup ATHR_PHY_SPEC_STAUS 0: 0x10
athrs27_phy_setup ATHR_PHY_CONTROL 1: 0x1000
athrs27_phy_setup ATHR_PHY_SPEC_STAUS 1: 0x10
athrs27_phy_setup ATHR_PHY_CONTROL 2: 0x1000
athrs27_phy_setup ATHR_PHY_SPEC_STAUS 2: 0x10
athrs27_phy_setup ATHR_PHY_CONTROL 3: 0x1000
athrs27_phy_setup ATHR_PHY_SPEC_STAUS 3: 0x10
eth1 up
eth0, eth1
is_auto_upload_firmware=0
Autobooting in 1 seconds
## Booting image at 9f020000 ...
   Uncompressing Kernel Image ... OK

Starting kernel ...

Booting Atheros AR934x
Linux version 2.6.31--LSDK-9.2.0_U5.508 (tplink@localhost.localdomain) (gcc version 4.3.3 (GCC) ) #11 Thu Jul 24 17:24:48 CST 2014
flash_size passed from bootloader = 4
Ram size passed from bootloader =33554432
CPU revision is: 0001974c (MIPS 74Kc)
ath_sys_frequency: cpu srif ddr srif cpu 535 ddr 400 ahb 200
Determined physical RAM map:
 memory: 02000000 @ 00000000 (usable)
Zone PFN ranges:
  Normal   0x00000000 -> 0x00002000
Movable zone start PFN for each node
early_node_map[1] active PFN ranges
    0: 0x00000000 -> 0x00002000
Built 1 zonelists in Zone order, mobility grouping on.  Total pages: 8128
Kernel command line: console=ttyS0,115200 root=31:2 rootfstype=squashfs init=/sbin/init mtdparts=ath-nor0:128k(u-boot),1024k(kernel),2816k(rootfs),64k(config),64k(art) mem=32M
PID hash table entries: 128 (order: 7, 512 bytes)
Dentry cache hash table entries: 4096 (order: 2, 16384 bytes)
Inode-cache hash table entries: 2048 (order: 1, 8192 bytes)
Primary instruction cache 64kB, VIPT, 4-way, linesize 32 bytes.
Primary data cache 32kB, 4-way, VIPT, cache aliases, linesize 32 bytes
Writing ErrCtl register=00000000
Readback ErrCtl register=00000000
Memory: 30124k/32768k available (1729k kernel code, 2644k reserved, 427k data, 112k init, 0k highmem)
NR_IRQS:128
plat_time_init: plat time init done
Calibrating delay loop... 267.26 BogoMIPS (lpj=534528)
Mount-cache hash table entries: 512
NET: Registered protocol family 16
bio: create slab <bio-0> at 0
usbcore: registered new interface driver usbfs
usbcore: registered new interface driver hub
usbcore: registered new device driver usb
NET: Registered protocol family 2
IP route cache hash table entries: 1024 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
net_link: create socket ok.
TCP established hash table entries: 1024 (order: 1, 8192 bytes)
TCP bind hash table entries: 1024 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
TCP: Hash tables configured (established 1024 bind 1024)
TCP reno registered
NET: Registered protocol family 1
ATH GPIOC major 0
squashfs: version 4.0 (2009/01/31) Phillip Lougher
msgmni has been set to 58
io scheduler noop registered
io scheduler deadline registered (default)
Serial: 8250/16550 driver, 1 ports, IRQ sharing disabled
serial8250.0: ttyS0 at MMIO 0xb8020000 (irq = 19) is a 16550A
console [ttyS0] enabled
PPP generic driver version 2.4.2
NET: Registered protocol family 24
5 cmdlinepart partitions found on MTD device ath-nor0
Creating 5 MTD partitions on "ath-nor0":
0x000000000000-0x000000020000 : "u-boot"
0x000000020000-0x000000120000 : "kernel"
0x000000120000-0x0000003e0000 : "rootfs"
0x0000003e0000-0x0000003f0000 : "config"
0x0000003f0000-0x000000400000 : "art"
->Oops: flash id 0x10215 .
ehci_hcd: USB 2.0 'Enhanced' Host Controller (EHCI) Driver
Port Status 1c000004
ath-ehci ath-ehci.0: ATH EHCI
ath-ehci ath-ehci.0: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 1
ehci_reset Intialize USB CONTROLLER in host mode: 13
ehci_reset Port Status 1c000000
ath-ehci ath-ehci.0: irq 3, io mem 0x1b000000
ehci_reset Intialize USB CONTROLLER in host mode: 13
ehci_reset Port Status 1c000000
ath-ehci ath-ehci.0: USB 2.0 started, EHCI 1.00
usb usb1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
hub 1-0:1.0: USB hub found
hub 1-0:1.0: 1 port detected
Ooops, why the devices couldn't been initialed?
TCP cubic registered
NET: Registered protocol family 17
802.1Q VLAN Support v1.8 Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com>
All bugs added by David S. Miller <davem@redhat.com>
athwdt_init: Registering WDT success
ath_otp_init: Registering OTP success
ath_clksw_init: Registering Clock Switch Interface success
VFS: Mounted root (squashfs filesystem) readonly on device 31:2.
Freeing unused kernel memory: 112k freed
init started:  BusyBox v1.01 (2014.07.24-09:31+0000) multi-call binary
This Board use 2.6.31
xt_time: kernel timezone is -0000
nf_conntrack version 0.5.0 (512 buckets, 5120 max)
ip_tables: (C) 2000-2006 Netfilter Core Team
insmod: cannot open module `/lib/modules/2.6.31/kernel/iptable_raw.ko': No such file or directory
insmod: cannot open module `/lib/modules/2.6.31/kernel/flashid.ko': No such file or directory
PPPoL2TP kernel driver, V1.0
PPTP driver version 0.8.3
insmod: cannot open module `/lib/modules/2.6.31/kernel/harmony.ko': No such file or directory
insmod: cannot open module `/lib/modules/2.6.31/kernel/af_key.ko': No such file or directory
insmod: cannot open module `/lib/modules/2.6.31/kernel/xfrm_user.ko': No such file or directory
Now flash open!  
reset = 0
Now flash open!  
reset = 0
Now flash open!  
reset = 0
 (none) mips #11 Thu Jul 24 17:24:48 CST 2014 (none)
(none) login: Now flash open!
reset = 715539   
Now flash open!  
reset = -1
Now flash open!  
reset = -1
Now flash open!  
reset = -1
Now flash open!  
reset = 716501512
Now flash open!  
reset = 0
Erase from 0X3E0000 to 0X3E8938:.
Program from 0X3E0000 to 0X3E8938:
write successfully
ATHR_GMAC: Length per segment 1536
ATHR_GMAC: fifo cfg 3 01f00140
ATHR_GMAC: RX TASKLET - Pkts per Intr:32
mac:1 Registering S27....
ATHR_GMAC: Max segments per packet :   1
ATHR_GMAC: Max tx descriptor count :   40
ATHR_GMAC: Max rx descriptor count :   128
ATHR_GMAC: Mac capability flags    :   2D82
ATHR_GMAC: RX TASKLET - Pkts per Intr:32
mac:0 Registering S27....
ATHR_GMAC: Max segments per packet :   1
ATHR_GMAC: Max tx descriptor count :   40
ATHR_GMAC: Max rx descriptor count :   128
ATHR_GMAC: Mac capability flags    :   2582
athr_gmac_ring_alloc Allocated 640 at 0x81eb3c00
athr_gmac_ring_alloc Allocated 2048 at 0x81ccb000
WASP ----> S27 PHY MDIO
Setting Drop CRC Errors, Pause Frames and Length Error frames
ATHRS27: resetting s27
ATHRS27: s27 reset done
++++ athrs27_igmp_setup once
port0 vid is 0xb000b
port1 vid is 0x30003
port2 vid is 0x50005
port3 vid is 0x70007
port4 vid is 0x90009
++ PVID: 0x0000000b, bitmap: 0x0000001f
++ PVID: 0x00000003, bitmap: 0x0000001f
++ PVID: 0x00000005, bitmap: 0x0000001f
++ PVID: 0x00000007, bitmap: 0x0000001f
++ PVID: 0x00000009, bitmap: 0x0000001f
vtable vid: 0x00000002, bitmap 0x00000003
vtable vid: 0x00000004, bitmap 0x00000005
vtable vid: 0x00000006, bitmap 0x00000007
vtable vid: 0x00000008, bitmap 0x00000009
vtable vid: 0x0000000a, bitmap 0x0000000b
vtable vid: 0x0000000c, bitmap 0x0000000d
vtable vid: 0x0000000e, bitmap 0x0000000f
vtable vid: 0x00000010, bitmap 0x00000011
vtable vid: 0x00000012, bitmap 0x00000013
vtable vid: 0x00000014, bitmap 0x00000015
vtable vid: 0x00000016, bitmap 0x00000017
vtable vid: 0x00000018, bitmap 0x00000019
vtable vid: 0x0000001a, bitmap 0x0000001b
vtable vid: 0x0000001c, bitmap 0x0000001d
vtable vid: 0x0000001e, bitmap 0x0000001f
vtable vid: 0x00000020, bitmap 0x00000021
Setting PHY...   
athr_gmac_ring_alloc Allocated 640 at 0x81eb3000
athr_gmac_ring_alloc Allocated 2048 at 0x81eb2000
WASP ----> S27 PHY MDIO
Setting Drop CRC Errors, Pause Frames and Length Error frames
Setting PHY...   
device eth0 entered promiscuous mode
athr_gmac_ring_free Freeing at 0x81eb3000
athr_gmac_ring_free Freeing at 0x81eb2000
athr_gmac_ring_alloc Allocated 640 at 0x81eb3000
athr_gmac_ring_alloc Allocated 2048 at 0x81ef9800
WASP ----> S27 PHY MDIO
Setting Drop CRC Errors, Pause Frames and Length Error frames
Setting PHY...   
Now flash open!  
reset = 0
athr_gmac_ring_free Freeing at 0x81eb3c00
athr_gmac_ring_free Freeing at 0x81ccb000
athr_gmac_ring_alloc Allocated 640 at 0x81eb3c00
athr_gmac_ring_alloc Allocated 2048 at 0x81e34800
WASP ----> S27 PHY MDIO
Setting Drop CRC Errors, Pause Frames and Length Error frames
Setting PHY...   
nf_conntrack_rtsp v0.6.21 loading
nf_nat_rtsp v0.6.21 loading
asf: module license 'Proprietary' taints kernel.
Disabling lock debugging due to kernel taint
ath_hal: 0.9.17.1 (AR5416, AR9380, REGOPS_FUNC, WRITE_EEPROM, 11D)
ath_rate_atheros: Copyright (c) 2001-2005 Atheros Communications, Inc, All Rights Reserved
ath_dev: Copyright (c) 2001-2007 Atheros Communications, Inc, All Rights Reserved
ath_ahb: 9.2.0_U10.1020 (Atheros/multi-bss)
__ath_attach: Set global_scn[0]
ACBKMinfree = 48 
ACBEMinfree = 32 
ACVIMinfree = 16                                                                                                                                A
TL-WR841N LOGIN:                                                                                                                              [A
TL-WR841N LOGIN: 
TL-WR841N LOGIN: 
TL-WR841N LOGIN: a from Flash
TL-WR841N LOGIN: ] rx chainmask mismatch actual 3 sc_chainmak 0
TL-WR841N LOGIN: ] tx chainmask mismatch actual 3 sc_chainmak 0
TL-WR841N LOGIN: 40: mem=0xb8100000, irq=2
TL-WR841N LOGIN:  enter. devhandle=0x80d502c0, opmode=IEEE80211_M_HOSTAP, flags=0x1
TL-WR841N LOGIN:  exit. devhandle=0x80d502c0, opmode=IEEE80211_M_HOSTAP, flags=0x1.
VAP device ath0 created
 TL-WR841N mips #11 Thu Jul 24 17:24:48 CST 2014 (none)

let me know what other info I can provide, it's very interesting that I can flash every time a new image, including with different uboot, but none can write to the flash.

I'm using a test clip to write to the chip, if nothing works, I'm going to try to desolder the chip and program it, however, I do this very rarely and most likely I'll burn the chip...

zdringy · February 2, 2020, 12:40pm

looking at this, specifically this part

2816k(rootfs),64k(config),64k(art)

I would assume that the config would be saved automagically, tho, could it be that it fails to do so because there's no default config...? that area of myfw.bin is basically zeroed out...

juppin · February 2, 2020, 1:23pm

The config partition is used for firmware on openwrt, so this one is also invalid if you go from openwrt to stock.

Can you provide a full bootlog of openwrt?

zdringy · February 2, 2020, 2:07pm

for reference:

I've put the clip on chip
erased
put the clip back
erased
flashed the full dump you've provided, unaltered

yes, rechecked if settings are saved:

opened /etc/config/wireless
removed the last few commented lines :wq
$reboot
those lines are back in /etc/config/wireless

I'm connected via serial, let me know if I can run some commands, either in openwrt or at uboot prompt, also have tftp server running, however, since I bricked it, tftp only brings the image, then it boots whatever's flashed on the chip

erase log

Some block protection in effect, disabling... disabled.
Erasing and writing flash chip... Trying erase function 0... 0x000000-0x00ffff:E, 0x010000-0x01ffff:E, 0x020000-0x02ffff:E, 0x030000-0x03ffff:E, 0x040000-0x04ffff:E, 0x050000-0x05ffff:E, 0x060000-0x06ffff:E, 0x070000-0x07ffff:E, 0x080000-0x08ffff:E, 0x090000-0x09ffff:E, 0x0a0000-0x0affff:E, 0x0b0000-0x0bffff:E, 0x0c0000-0x0cffff:E, 0x0d0000-0x0dffff:E, 0x0e0000-0x0effff:E, 0x0f0000-0x0fffff:E, 0x100000-0x10ffff:E, 0x110000-0x11ffff:E, 0x120000-0x12ffff:E, 0x130000-0x13ffff:E, 0x140000-0x14ffff:E, 0x150000-0x15ffff:E, 0x160000-0x16ffff:E, 0x170000-0x17ffff:E, 0x180000-0x18ffff:E, 0x190000-0x19ffff:E, 0x1a0000-0x1affff:E, 0x1b0000-0x1bffff:E, 0x1c0000-0x1cffff:E, 0x1d0000-0x1dffff:E, 0x1e0000-0x1effff:E, 0x1f0000-0x1fffff:E, 0x200000-0x20ffff:E, 0x210000-0x21ffff:E, 0x220000-0x22ffff:E, 0x230000-0x23ffff:E, 0x240000-0x24ffff:E, 0x250000-0x25ffff:E, 0x260000-0x26ffff:E, 0x270000-0x27ffff:E, 0x280000-0x28ffff:E, 0x290000-0x29ffff:E, 0x2a0000-0x2affff:E, 0x2b0000-0x2bffff:E, 0x2c0000-0x2cffff:E, 0x2d0000-0x2dffff:E, 0x2e0000-0x2effff:E, 0x2f0000-0x2fffff:E, 0x300000-0x30ffff:E, 0x310000-0x31ffff:E, 0x320000-0x32ffff:E, 0x330000-0x33ffff:E, 0x340000-0x34ffff:E, 0x350000-0x35ffff:E, 0x360000-0x36ffff:E, 0x370000-0x37ffff:E, 0x380000-0x38ffff:E, 0x390000-0x39ffff:E, 0x3a0000-0x3affff:E, 0x3b0000-0x3bffff:E, 0x3c0000-0x3cffff:E, 0x3d0000-0x3dffff:E, 0x3e0000-0x3effff:E, 0x3f0000-0x3fffff:E
Erase/write done.

write log

Found Spansion flash chip "S25FL032A/P" (4096 kB, SPI).
Block protection is disabled.
Reading old flash chip contents... done.
Erasing and writing flash chip... Trying erase function 0... 0x000000-0x00ffff:W, 0x010000-0x01ffff:W, 0x020000-0x02ffff:W, 0x030000-0x03ffff:W, 0x040000-0x04ffff:W, 0x050000-0x05ffff:W, 0x060000-0x06ffff:W, 0x070000-0x07ffff:W, 0x080000-0x08ffff:W, 0x090000-0x09ffff:W, 0x0a0000-0x0affff:W, 0x0b0000-0x0bffff:W, 0x0c0000-0x0cffff:W, 0x0d0000-0x0dffff:W, 0x0e0000-0x0effff:W, 0x0f0000-0x0fffff:W, 0x100000-0x10ffff:W, 0x110000-0x11ffff:W, 0x120000-0x12ffff:W, 0x130000-0x13ffff:W, 0x140000-0x14ffff:W, 0x150000-0x15ffff:W, 0x160000-0x16ffff:W, 0x170000-0x17ffff:W, 0x180000-0x18ffff:W, 0x190000-0x19ffff:W, 0x1a0000-0x1affff:W, 0x1b0000-0x1bffff:W, 0x1c0000-0x1cffff:W, 0x1d0000-0x1dffff:W, 0x1e0000-0x1effff:W, 0x1f0000-0x1fffff:W, 0x200000-0x20ffff:W, 0x210000-0x21ffff:W, 0x220000-0x22ffff:W, 0x230000-0x23ffff:W, 0x240000-0x24ffff:W, 0x250000-0x25ffff:W, 0x260000-0x26ffff:W, 0x270000-0x27ffff:W, 0x280000-0x28ffff:W, 0x290000-0x29ffff:W, 0x2a0000-0x2affff:W, 0x2b0000-0x2bffff:W, 0x2c0000-0x2cffff:W, 0x2d0000-0x2dffff:W, 0x2e0000-0x2effff:W, 0x2f0000-0x2fffff:W, 0x300000-0x30ffff:W, 0x310000-0x31ffff:W, 0x320000-0x32ffff:W, 0x330000-0x33ffff:W, 0x340000-0x34ffff:W, 0x350000-0x35ffff:W, 0x360000-0x36ffff:W, 0x370000-0x37ffff:W, 0x380000-0x38ffff:W, 0x390000-0x39ffff:W, 0x3a0000-0x3affff:W, 0x3b0000-0x3bffff:W, 0x3c0000-0x3cffff:W, 0x3d0000-0x3dffff:W, 0x3e0000-0x3effff:W, 0x3f0000-0x3fffff:W
Erase/write done.
Verifying flash... VERIFIED.

serial boot log

***************************************
*     U-Boot 1.1.4-d340a31e-clean     *
*          Build: 2018-03-19          *
***************************************

** Warning: bad env CRC, using default,
   use 'saveenv' to save it in FLASH

  BOARD: TP-Link TL-WR841N/D v8
    SOC: AR9341 rev. 3
    CPU: MIPS 74Kc
    RAM: 32 MB DDR1 16-bit CL3-3-3-9
  FLASH: 4 MB Spansion S25FL032P
    MAC: C0:4A:00:53:E7:4A
 CLOCKS: CPU/RAM/AHB/SPI/REF
         650/450/225/ 28/ 25 MHz

Hit any key to stop booting:  0

Booting image from 0x9F020000...

   Vendor/image name:    OpenWrt r3560-79f57e422d
   Hardware ID:          0x8410008
   Whole image size:     3.8 MB (3932160 bytes)
   Kernel size:          1.2 MB (1257928 bytes)
   Rootfs size:          2.2 MB (2357078 bytes)
   Kernel load address:  0x80060000
   Kernel entry point:   0x80060000

   Header CRC...  skipped
   Data CRC...    skipped

Stopping network... OK!
Uncompressing Kernel... OK!
Starting kernel...
[    0.000000] Linux version 4.4.92 (buildbot@builds-02.infra.lede-project.org) (gcc version 5.4.0 (LEDE GCC 5.4.0 r3101-bce140e) ) #0 Tue Oct 17 14:59:45 2017
[    0.000000] bootconsole [early0] enabled
[    0.000000] CPU0 revision is: 0001974c (MIPS 74Kc)
[    0.000000] SoC: Atheros AR9341 rev 3
[    0.000000] Determined physical RAM map:
[    0.000000]  memory: 02000000 @ 00000000 (usable)
[    0.000000] Initrd not found or empty - disabling initrd
[    0.000000] No valid device tree found, continuing without
[    0.000000] Zone ranges:
[    0.000000]   Normal   [mem 0x0000000000000000-0x0000000001ffffff]
[    0.000000] Movable zone start for each node
[    0.000000] Early memory node ranges
[    0.000000]   node   0: [mem 0x0000000000000000-0x0000000001ffffff]
[    0.000000] Initmem setup node 0 [mem 0x0000000000000000-0x0000000001ffffff]
[    0.000000] Primary instruction cache 64kB, VIPT, 4-way, linesize 32 bytes.
[    0.000000] Primary data cache 32kB, 4-way, VIPT, cache aliases, linesize 32 bytes
[    0.000000] Built 1 zonelists in Zone order, mobility grouping on.  Total pages: 8128
[    0.000000] Kernel command line:  board=TL-WR841N-v8  console=ttyS0,115200 rootfstype=squashfs,jffs2 noinitrd
[    0.000000] PID hash table entries: 128 (order: -3, 512 bytes)
[    0.000000] Dentry cache hash table entries: 4096 (order: 2, 16384 bytes)
[    0.000000] Inode-cache hash table entries: 2048 (order: 1, 8192 bytes)
[    0.000000] Writing ErrCtl register=00000000
[    0.000000] Readback ErrCtl register=00000000
[    0.000000] Memory: 27864K/32768K available (3076K kernel code, 160K rwdata, 412K rodata, 312K init, 205K bss, 4904K reserved, 0K cma-reserved)
[    0.000000] SLUB: HWalign=32, Order=0-3, MinObjects=0, CPUs=1, Nodes=1
[    0.000000] NR_IRQS:51
[    0.000000] Clocks: CPU:650.000MHz, DDR:450.000MHz, AHB:225.000MHz, Ref:25.000MHz
[    0.000000] clocksource: MIPS: mask: 0xffffffff max_cycles: 0xffffffff, max_idle_ns: 5880801374 ns
[    0.000008] sched_clock: 32 bits at 325MHz, resolution 3ns, wraps every 6607641598ns
[    0.008847] Calibrating delay loop... 324.40 BogoMIPS (lpj=1622016)
[    0.071961] pid_max: default: 32768 minimum: 301
[    0.077323] Mount-cache hash table entries: 1024 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
[    0.084836] Mountpoint-cache hash table entries: 1024 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
[    0.095226] clocksource: jiffies: mask: 0xffffffff max_cycles: 0xffffffff, max_idle_ns: 19112604462750000 ns
[    0.106418] futex hash table entries: 256 (order: -1, 3072 bytes)
[    0.114439] NET: Registered protocol family 16
[    0.120815] MIPS: machine is TP-LINK TL-WR841N/ND v8
[    0.561534] Can't analyze schedule() prologue at 800670fc
[    0.577107] clocksource: Switched to clocksource MIPS
[    0.583979] NET: Registered protocol family 2
[    0.589823] TCP established hash table entries: 1024 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
[    0.597802] TCP bind hash table entries: 1024 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
[    0.605030] TCP: Hash tables configured (established 1024 bind 1024)
[    0.612335] UDP hash table entries: 256 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
[    0.619007] UDP-Lite hash table entries: 256 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
[    0.626384] NET: Registered protocol family 1
[    0.635568] Crashlog allocated RAM at address 0x1f00000
[    0.655775] squashfs: version 4.0 (2009/01/31) Phillip Lougher
[    0.662451] jffs2: version 2.2 (NAND) (SUMMARY) (LZMA) (RTIME) (CMODE_PRIORITY) (c) 2001-2006 Red Hat, Inc.
[    0.676040] io scheduler noop registered
[    0.680539] io scheduler deadline registered (default)
[    0.686566] Serial: 8250/16550 driver, 16 ports, IRQ sharing enabled
[    0.696445] console [ttyS0] disabled
[    0.720654] serial8250.0: ttyS0 at MMIO 0x18020000 (irq = 11, base_baud = 1562500) is a 16550A
[    0.730456] console [ttyS0] enabled
[    0.730456] console [ttyS0] enabled
[    0.738015] bootconsole [early0] disabled
[    0.738015] bootconsole [early0] disabled
[    0.751547] m25p80 spi0.0: found s25sl032p, expected m25p80
[    0.757379] m25p80 spi0.0: s25sl032p (4096 Kbytes)
[    0.763450] 5 tp-link partitions found on MTD device spi0.0
[    0.769257] Creating 5 MTD partitions on "spi0.0":
[    0.774208] 0x000000000000-0x000000020000 : "u-boot"
[    0.780766] 0x000000020000-0x0000001533c8 : "kernel"
[    0.787544] 0x0000001533c8-0x0000003f0000 : "rootfs"
[    0.794242] mtd: device 2 (rootfs) set to be root filesystem
[    0.800182] 1 squashfs-split partitions found on MTD device rootfs
[    0.806573] 0x0000003a0000-0x0000003f0000 : "rootfs_data"
[    0.813775] 0x0000003f0000-0x000000400000 : "art"
[    0.820338] 0x000000020000-0x0000003f0000 : "firmware"
[    0.843358] libphy: ag71xx_mdio: probed
[    1.439176] ag71xx ag71xx.0: connected to PHY at ag71xx-mdio.1:00 [uid=004dd042, driver=Generic PHY]
[    1.449304] eth0: Atheros AG71xx at 0xb9000000, irq 4, mode:MII
[    2.038971] ag71xx-mdio.1: Found an AR934X built-in switch
[    2.081227] eth1: Atheros AG71xx at 0xba000000, irq 5, mode:GMII
[    2.089770] NET: Registered protocol family 10
[    2.098729] NET: Registered protocol family 17
[    2.103389] bridge: automatic filtering via arp/ip/ip6tables has been deprecated. Update your scripts to load br_netfilter if you need this.
[    2.116563] 8021q: 802.1Q VLAN Support v1.8
[    2.126923] VFS: Mounted root (squashfs filesystem) readonly on device 31:2.
[    2.136064] Freeing unused kernel memory: 312K
[    3.009668] init: Console is alive
[    3.013389] init: - watchdog -
[    3.685617] kmodloader: loading kernel modules from /etc/modules-boot.d/*
[    3.751856] kmodloader: done loading kernel modules from /etc/modules-boot.d/*
[    3.760432] init: - preinit -
[    4.178080] random: procd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 6 bits of entropy available)
[    4.362157] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth1: link is not ready
Press the [f] key and hit [enter] to enter failsafe mode
Press the [1], [2], [3] or [4] key and hit [enter] to select the debug level
[    5.958359] eth1: link up (1000Mbps/Full duplex)
[    5.963168] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth1: link becomes ready
[    7.602827] jffs2: notice: (374) jffs2_build_xattr_subsystem: complete building xattr subsystem, 0 of xdatum (0 unchecked, 0 orphan) and 0 of xref (0 dead, 0 orphan) found.
[    7.620138] mount_root: switching to jffs2 overlay
[    7.632860] urandom-seed: Seeding with /etc/urandom.seed
[    7.842810] eth1: link down
[    7.856098] procd: - early -
[    7.860240] procd: - watchdog -
[    8.483212] procd: - watchdog -
[    8.486729] procd: - ubus -
[    8.675401] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.686754] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.696558] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.705920] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.715617] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.724978] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.735109] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.744617] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.754336] procd: - init -
Please press Enter to activate this console.
[    9.116414] kmodloader: loading kernel modules from /etc/modules.d/*
[    9.126409] Loading modules backported from Linux version wt-2017-01-31-0-ge882dff19e7f
[    9.134747] Backport generated by backports.git backports-20160324-13-g24da7d3c
[    9.147746] nf_conntrack version 0.5.0 (440 buckets, 1760 max)
[    9.184997] xt_time: kernel timezone is -0000
[    9.207741] ip_tables: (C) 2000-2006 Netfilter Core Team
[    9.304940] ieee80211 phy0: Atheros AR9340 Rev:3 mem=0xb8100000, irq=47
[    9.402851] kmodloader: done loading kernel modules from /etc/modules.d/*
[   10.336659] random: jshn: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 17 bits of entropy available)
[   14.995746] device eth1 entered promiscuous mode
[   15.010387] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): br-lan: link is not ready
[   15.063182] device eth0 entered promiscuous mode
[   15.068098] br-lan: port 2(eth0) entered forwarding state
[   15.073695] br-lan: port 2(eth0) entered forwarding state
[   15.079393] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): br-lan: link becomes ready
[   15.995753] br-lan: port 2(eth0) entered disabled state
[   16.588360] eth1: link up (1000Mbps/Full duplex)
[   16.593187] br-lan: port 1(eth1) entered forwarding state
[   16.598831] br-lan: port 1(eth1) entered forwarding state
[   18.055103] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0-1: link is not ready
[   18.065300] device wlan0-1 entered promiscuous mode
[   18.500875] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
[   18.597274] br-lan: port 1(eth1) entered forwarding state
[   19.109426] device wlan0 entered promiscuous mode
[   65.577135] random: nonblocking pool is initialized


BusyBox v1.25.1 () built-in shell (ash)

     _________
    /        /\      _    ___ ___  ___
   /  LE    /  \    | |  | __|   \| __|
  /    DE  /    \   | |__| _|| |) | _|
 /________/  LE  \  |____|___|___/|___|                      lede-project.org
 \        \   DE /
  \    LE  \    /  -----------------------------------------------------------
   \  DE    \  /    Reboot (17.01.4, r3560-79f57e422d)
    \________\/    -----------------------------------------------------------

$df -h
Filesystem                Size      Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/root                 2.3M      2.3M         0 100% /rom
tmpfs                    13.8M     56.0K     13.7M   0% /tmp
/dev/mtdblock3          320.0K    260.0K     60.0K  81% /overlay
overlayfs:/overlay      320.0K    260.0K     60.0K  81% /
tmpfs                   512.0K         0    512.0K   0% /dev

zdringy · February 2, 2020, 2:19pm

OK, that how would I go about flashing stock firmware properly through the programmer?

I have this file
wr841nv8_en_3_15_9_up_boot(140724).bin which is 4063744B/3.87MB
art data needs to be appended, that's 65KB, what about the remaining data?

zdringy · February 2, 2020, 2:53pm

P.S. Ive also ran a factory reset, no dice
tried uci cli to change some settings, commit, checked if shown as modified, reboot -> settings arent preserved

FACTORY RESET
[   14.216630] Removing MTD device #3 (rootfs_data) with use count 1
[   14.229950] reboot: Restarting system


***************************************
*     U-Boot 1.1.4-d340a31e-clean     *
*          Build: 2018-03-19          *
***************************************

** Warning: bad env CRC, using default,
   use 'saveenv' to save it in FLASH

  BOARD: TP-Link TL-WR841N/D v8
    SOC: AR9341 rev. 3
    CPU: MIPS 74Kc
    RAM: 32 MB DDR1 16-bit CL3-3-3-9
  FLASH: 4 MB Spansion S25FL032P
    MAC: C0:4A:00:53:E7:4A
 CLOCKS: CPU/RAM/AHB/SPI/REF
         650/450/225/ 28/ 25 MHz

Hit any key to stop booting:  0

Booting image from 0x9F020000...

   Vendor/image name:    OpenWrt r3560-79f57e422d
   Hardware ID:          0x8410008
   Whole image size:     3.8 MB (3932160 bytes)
   Kernel size:          1.2 MB (1257928 bytes)
   Rootfs size:          2.2 MB (2357078 bytes)
   Kernel load address:  0x80060000
   Kernel entry point:   0x80060000

   Header CRC...  skipped
   Data CRC...    skipped

Stopping network... OK!
Uncompressing Kernel... OK!
Starting kernel...

[    0.000000] Linux version 4.4.92 (buildbot@builds-02.infra.lede-project.org) (gcc version 5.4.0 (LEDE GCC 5.4.0 r3101-bce140e) ) #0 Tue Oct 17 14:59:45 2017
[    0.000000] bootconsole [early0] enabled
[    0.000000] CPU0 revision is: 0001974c (MIPS 74Kc)
[    0.000000] SoC: Atheros AR9341 rev 3
[    0.000000] Determined physical RAM map:
[    0.000000]  memory: 02000000 @ 00000000 (usable)
[    0.000000] Initrd not found or empty - disabling initrd
[    0.000000] No valid device tree found, continuing without
[    0.000000] Zone ranges:
[    0.000000]   Normal   [mem 0x0000000000000000-0x0000000001ffffff]
[    0.000000] Movable zone start for each node
[    0.000000] Early memory node ranges
[    0.000000]   node   0: [mem 0x0000000000000000-0x0000000001ffffff]
[    0.000000] Initmem setup node 0 [mem 0x0000000000000000-0x0000000001ffffff]
[    0.000000] Primary instruction cache 64kB, VIPT, 4-way, linesize 32 bytes.
[    0.000000] Primary data cache 32kB, 4-way, VIPT, cache aliases, linesize 32 bytes
[    0.000000] Built 1 zonelists in Zone order, mobility grouping on.  Total pages: 8128
[    0.000000] Kernel command line:  board=TL-WR841N-v8  console=ttyS0,115200 rootfstype=squashfs,jffs2 noinitrd
[    0.000000] PID hash table entries: 128 (order: -3, 512 bytes)
[    0.000000] Dentry cache hash table entries: 4096 (order: 2, 16384 bytes)
[    0.000000] Inode-cache hash table entries: 2048 (order: 1, 8192 bytes)
[    0.000000] Writing ErrCtl register=00000000
[    0.000000] Readback ErrCtl register=00000000
[    0.000000] Memory: 27864K/32768K available (3076K kernel code, 160K rwdata, 412K rodata, 312K init, 205K bss, 4904K reserved, 0K cma-reserved)
[    0.000000] SLUB: HWalign=32, Order=0-3, MinObjects=0, CPUs=1, Nodes=1
[    0.000000] NR_IRQS:51
[    0.000000] Clocks: CPU:650.000MHz, DDR:450.000MHz, AHB:225.000MHz, Ref:25.000MHz
[    0.000000] clocksource: MIPS: mask: 0xffffffff max_cycles: 0xffffffff, max_idle_ns: 5880801374 ns
[    0.000008] sched_clock: 32 bits at 325MHz, resolution 3ns, wraps every 6607641598ns
[    0.008847] Calibrating delay loop... 324.40 BogoMIPS (lpj=1622016)
[    0.071952] pid_max: default: 32768 minimum: 301
[    0.077315] Mount-cache hash table entries: 1024 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
[    0.084827] Mountpoint-cache hash table entries: 1024 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
[    0.095215] clocksource: jiffies: mask: 0xffffffff max_cycles: 0xffffffff, max_idle_ns: 19112604462750000 ns
[    0.106410] futex hash table entries: 256 (order: -1, 3072 bytes)
[    0.114436] NET: Registered protocol family 16
[    0.120807] MIPS: machine is TP-LINK TL-WR841N/ND v8
[    0.561526] Can't analyze schedule() prologue at 800670fc
[    0.577093] clocksource: Switched to clocksource MIPS
[    0.583959] NET: Registered protocol family 2
[    0.589805] TCP established hash table entries: 1024 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
[    0.597784] TCP bind hash table entries: 1024 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
[    0.605003] TCP: Hash tables configured (established 1024 bind 1024)
[    0.612307] UDP hash table entries: 256 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
[    0.618981] UDP-Lite hash table entries: 256 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
[    0.626357] NET: Registered protocol family 1
[    0.635544] Crashlog allocated RAM at address 0x1f00000
[    0.655765] squashfs: version 4.0 (2009/01/31) Phillip Lougher
[    0.662434] jffs2: version 2.2 (NAND) (SUMMARY) (LZMA) (RTIME) (CMODE_PRIORITY) (c) 2001-2006 Red Hat, Inc.
[    0.676015] io scheduler noop registered
[    0.680522] io scheduler deadline registered (default)
[    0.686558] Serial: 8250/16550 driver, 16 ports, IRQ sharing enabled
[    0.696439] console [ttyS0] disabled
[    0.720653] serial8250.0: ttyS0 at MMIO 0x18020000 (irq = 11, base_baud = 1562500) is a 16550A
[    0.730456] console [ttyS0] enabled
[    0.730456] console [ttyS0] enabled
[    0.738015] bootconsole [early0] disabled
[    0.738015] bootconsole [early0] disabled
[    0.751547] m25p80 spi0.0: found s25sl032p, expected m25p80
[    0.757380] m25p80 spi0.0: s25sl032p (4096 Kbytes)
[    0.763456] 5 tp-link partitions found on MTD device spi0.0
[    0.769267] Creating 5 MTD partitions on "spi0.0":
[    0.774217] 0x000000000000-0x000000020000 : "u-boot"
[    0.780772] 0x000000020000-0x0000001533c8 : "kernel"
[    0.787538] 0x0000001533c8-0x0000003f0000 : "rootfs"
[    0.794237] mtd: device 2 (rootfs) set to be root filesystem
[    0.800174] 1 squashfs-split partitions found on MTD device rootfs
[    0.806565] 0x0000003a0000-0x0000003f0000 : "rootfs_data"
[    0.813764] 0x0000003f0000-0x000000400000 : "art"
[    0.820317] 0x000000020000-0x0000003f0000 : "firmware"
[    0.843348] libphy: ag71xx_mdio: probed
[    1.439160] ag71xx ag71xx.0: connected to PHY at ag71xx-mdio.1:00 [uid=004dd042, driver=Generic PHY]
[    1.449284] eth0: Atheros AG71xx at 0xb9000000, irq 4, mode:MII
[    2.038956] ag71xx-mdio.1: Found an AR934X built-in switch
[    2.081214] eth1: Atheros AG71xx at 0xba000000, irq 5, mode:GMII
[    2.089765] NET: Registered protocol family 10
[    2.098712] NET: Registered protocol family 17
[    2.103372] bridge: automatic filtering via arp/ip/ip6tables has been deprecated. Update your scripts to load br_netfilter if you need this.
[    2.116545] 8021q: 802.1Q VLAN Support v1.8
[    2.126900] VFS: Mounted root (squashfs filesystem) readonly on device 31:2.
[    2.136046] Freeing unused kernel memory: 312K
[    3.008721] init: Console is alive
[    3.012448] init: - watchdog -
[    3.683303] kmodloader: loading kernel modules from /etc/modules-boot.d/*
[    3.749470] kmodloader: done loading kernel modules from /etc/modules-boot.d/*
[    3.758056] init: - preinit -
[    4.342141] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth1: link is not ready
[    4.367719] random: procd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 7 bits of entropy available)
Press the [f] key and hit [enter] to enter failsafe mode
Press the [1], [2], [3] or [4] key and hit [enter] to select the debug level
[    5.938346] eth1: link up (1000Mbps/Full duplex)
[    5.943151] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth1: link becomes ready
[    7.592577] jffs2: notice: (373) jffs2_build_xattr_subsystem: complete building xattr subsystem, 0 of xdatum (0 unchecked, 0 orphan) and 0 of xref (0 dead, 0 orphan) found.
[    7.609894] mount_root: switching to jffs2 overlay
[    7.622690] urandom-seed: Seeding with /etc/urandom.seed
[    7.832669] eth1: link down
[    7.845971] procd: - early -
[    7.850113] procd: - watchdog -
[    8.473204] procd: - watchdog -
[    8.476721] procd: - ubus -
[    8.665443] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.676817] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.686619] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.695977] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.705668] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.715022] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.725162] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.734667] random: ubusd: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 14 bits of entropy available)
[    8.744389] procd: - init -
Please press Enter to activate this console.
[    9.105876] kmodloader: loading kernel modules from /etc/modules.d/*
[    9.115800] Loading modules backported from Linux version wt-2017-01-31-0-ge882dff19e7f
[    9.124140] Backport generated by backports.git backports-20160324-13-g24da7d3c
[    9.136958] nf_conntrack version 0.5.0 (440 buckets, 1760 max)
[    9.174463] xt_time: kernel timezone is -0000
[    9.198173] ip_tables: (C) 2000-2006 Netfilter Core Team
[    9.299343] ieee80211 phy0: Atheros AR9340 Rev:3 mem=0xb8100000, irq=47
[    9.395858] kmodloader: done loading kernel modules from /etc/modules.d/*
[   10.328920] random: jshn: uninitialized urandom read (4 bytes read, 17 bits of entropy available)
[   15.035738] device eth1 entered promiscuous mode
[   15.061948] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): br-lan: link is not ready
[   15.102897] device eth0 entered promiscuous mode
[   15.107812] br-lan: port 2(eth0) entered forwarding state
[   15.113416] br-lan: port 2(eth0) entered forwarding state
[   15.119112] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): br-lan: link becomes ready
[   16.045658] br-lan: port 2(eth0) entered disabled state
[   16.628351] eth1: link up (1000Mbps/Full duplex)
[   16.633175] br-lan: port 1(eth1) entered forwarding state
[   16.638821] br-lan: port 1(eth1) entered forwarding state
[   18.079791] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0-1: link is not ready
[   18.090378] device wlan0-1 entered promiscuous mode
[   18.525570] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
[   18.637291] br-lan: port 1(eth1) entered forwarding state
[   19.134085] device wlan0 entered promiscuous mode

juppin · February 2, 2020, 4:18pm

Please flash my provided dump, update to 19.07 or snapshot and provide the bootlog.
I think you are overcomplicating things here.

Note that the bootloader partition does contain the Mac address.
You can also flash the art partition from openwrt with the package kmod-mtd_rw and mtd command.

juppin · February 2, 2020, 4:20pm

This message means you have a writeable root partition in flash.
Are you sure you can not save settings on openwrt and wr841v8?

zdringy · February 2, 2020, 4:24pm

I tried modifying the /etc/config/wireless file manually through vim, cat the file to make sure that the changes are saved, rebooted, after reboot, my settings were gone

I tried to modify wireless config through uci, commit, read to make sure the changes are applied, reboot, my settings were gone

what else can I try?

zdringy · February 2, 2020, 4:26pm

I've already flashed your full and unaltered dump and provided the boot log, I'm unsure how could I upgrade now, since networking doesn't work on the router right now, the only way I can work with the router is through serial console

juppin · February 2, 2020, 5:42pm

According to the last bootlog, your persistent rootfs on openwrt should work.

Can you show me the output of df on openwrt?

zdringy · February 2, 2020, 8:18pm

$df -h
Filesystem                Size      Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/root                 2.3M      2.3M         0 100% /rom
tmpfs                    13.8M     56.0K     13.7M   0% /tmp
/dev/mtdblock3          320.0K    260.0K     60.0K  81% /overlay
overlayfs:/overlay      320.0K    260.0K     60.0K  81% /
tmpfs                   512.0K         0    512.0K   0% /dev

was part of a boot log above

I desoldered the chip, programmed it with stock firmware, verified 3 times that the content is correct, soldered it back on the board, same situation, settings aren't saved...

tried to update with all firmware files(various versions of openwrt, your dump, stock, recovery, my build, etc.) I have after reboot it's back to stock firmware(the one I flashed with the programmer)...

I'm pretty much all out of ideas and things to try, this is definitely a very strange situation, I wonder if the router needs it's wan connected or something...

zdringy · February 3, 2020, 5:22pm

Looks like this router is toasted, even booting initramfs, and trying to update via command line fails, I mean it looks as tho it succeeds, reboots and boom, back to stock and sh... firmware...

I think that this thread can be closed as there's really no way to get it to work

system · February 13, 2020, 5:22pm

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