TP-LINK Archer MR200 V1.1

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

Hello,

I have Archer an MR200 V1.1 and I am wondering if I broke it. I need information if:
I did anything wrong
and
how to recover it (if possible)

What I wanted to do?
Change from original tp-link O2 firmware to OpenWrt.

What did I do?
I followed this documentation page: https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/archer_mr200

  1. Downloaded Firmware OpenWrt Upgrade URL ... so this one: https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/22.03.5/targets/ramips/mt7620/openwrt-22.03.5-ramips-mt7620-tplink_archer-mr200-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin
  2. Renamed it to ArcherC2V1_tp_recovery.bin
  3. Setup TFTP server and tcp-ip to have a static IP
  4. Rebooted the router according to the instructions
  5. The router took the .bin from tftp

Logs:

Connection received from [192.168.1.1](https://l.messenger.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F192.168.1.1%2F&h=AT3_QvqEJ_V3ltPAmCmXq9KOflubS_lbAbiKZPep-hpgI5KBDLTkIyLOZhw-4Tr7Q0c_z63iwkOG-VxQWUn8VdAlXvHv4FhalD7Us_PKqWqIchad5SsTXE640j0PBxb73CaYnyNm) on port 3749 
[18/06 11:17:35.407] Read request for file <ArcherC2V1_tp_recovery.bin>. 
Mode octet [18/06 11:17:35.423] OACK: <timeout=1,> [18/06 11:17:35.423] Using local port 60986 
[18/06 11:17:35.423] <ArcherC2V1_tp_recovery.bin>: sent 13441 blks, 6881601 bytes in 3 s. 0 blk resent [18/06 11:17:38.713]

After this the leds turned off. I waited more than 15 minutes.
The DHCP can't get any IP, however the computers sees that the cable is conntected.

After I restarted the router after about 15 minutes, the leds do not turn on.

What can I do now?

2

It looks like you need a flash programmer to restore the bootloader that you overwrote with the improper image file.
You should have used the special image with the bootloader included and not the renamed sysupgrade image.

3

What kind of programmer do I need to buy?
Is there any guide that explains how to restore the bootloader once I have the right hardware?

What part did I do wrong in that guide? There was this download URL https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/archer_mr200
Should I have used a different one? Where to find the right one?

4

The device page mentions Raspberry Pi and CH340 as possible options for SPI programmers.
My understanding the proper file is located in the google drive archive linked on that page.

5

Thanks. Programmer found. Where do I get the right bootloader to write the chip?

Is it the procedure written here in the chapter Making Custom Firware? https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/archer_mr200#making_custom_firmware
So with dd I would need to extract the .bin for bootloader from the official tp-link .bin that includes bootloader and firmware in one .bin file?

Is my understanding correct?

6

Yes, I suppose you can extract and flash the bootloader alone.
Once the bootloader is in place you can load the whole image through it.

7

Thank you for your help. I think I am almost ready to start and do it.
Last question...

Here is my chip:

IMG_6805
IMG_68051920×2560 458 KB

And here is (I hope it is the right one), its datasheet: https://www.tme.eu/Document/adfc3a1a269cb52cdae9532d711c82d9/gd25q64c.pdf

The programmer I am going to buy has two inpupts, for BIOS 25 SPI and EEPROM 24 I2C

Is the chip in question a BIOS 25 SPI?

8

Yes, what you have is 25xxx SPI chip and black CH341A is a good choice. However this programmer is originally designed for 5v operation and needs a modification to safely work with 3.3v chips. Many people ignore this with different results.

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9

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