Totolink has switch their NOR Nand chip to a different company on top of using a new and faster ram. New NOR nand chip is made by Zbit Semiconductor part #ZB25VQ128ASIG (old chip is Eon EN25QH128). New ram part number is NT5CC128M16JR (DDR3-1866 13-13-13) while the old part number is Nanya NT5CC128M16IP (DDR3-1600 11-11-11). Box still list the hardware at V1.0.
I am assuming the change in the NOR nand chip is a possible culprit in the firmware not being flashed when updating. When I ssh in while the router is flashed with INITRAMFS firmware, I do not see any mtd or firmware drives mounted in /dev. I am not someone who can help with drivers but I can help with testing them. If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be great too.