TP-LINK EAP610-OUTDOOR V1.20 install problems

Installing and Using OpenWrt
21

Hi folks! Thanks @Adamzsite for starting this thread, and thanks @Gadorach for your advances :slight_smile:

I just received a new EAP610-Outdoor v1.2, and I really want to install OpenWrt on it. I do not have the ability to open it (at least, I donā€™t want to compromise the waterproofing) and I donā€™t have a UART connection cable/device (I could get one if needed). So the least I can do is reply so that you can then keep posting. If thereā€™s anything else I can do (wiki page edit, other documentation, whatever) please let me know.

22

  1. Any advice about opening the device to get to the UART ports and then closing it in a way that maintains the waterproof-ness?

  2. Whatā€™s the process from where you are now to having an image we can install over ethernet cable / RJ45 port?

  3. Who will make the v1.2 Techdata page?

23

Thank you for all your hard work. I have put all my EAP610-ouitdoor v1.2 into service, so when I get a day I will get them down and install.

Again thank you.

1 Like
24

Regarding the waterproof nature of the device, it is only kept that way with a silicone gasket. Opening the chassis won't harm anything. As for flashing it from the factory firmware, it should be possible if someone extracts the TP-Link verification keys from an image for the V1.2, but I'm not overly interested in that right now. Plus, it's possible to end up with a brick if you get unlucky from the bootcmd misconfiguration that can happen when OpenWRT installs initially. Having a serial console is preferred in order to deal with this. I don't have the required time right now to figure out why the firmware update process is trying to change the bootcmd, so I can't guarantee a solution yet.

25

I'm fairly sure it was documented somewhere, but for the EAP610-Outdoor the stock firmware will only accept images with a software version equal to or greater than the current version.

Since this device has been out for some time, devices no longer ship with version 1.00 out of the box. The first flash to OpenWrt will require editing the software version header in tplink-mkimage-2022.py.

26

@Gadorach :

(1) do you have any suggestions for what model of 1.8 V-capable USB-TTL dongle to use? Most of the threads I see on this forum are for 3.3V boards, so not useful.

(2) if you can describe in more detail how to proceed with the key extraction you mention, maybe I can try to do it. Or if there are docs that explain it, please direct me.

(3) How can we test @hurrian 's idea without risking a brick?

Thanks to all for the contributions!

27

Some (not all, so take care of this being explicitly mentioned) FTDI ft232rl -including come cheap fake ones- USB2serial adapters have a jumper setting for 1.8V

1 Like
28

You can safely use a 3.3V USB to RS232 TTL serial adapter. The pins are 3.3V tolerant, and that's how I did it. You only need to ensure you do not connect the VCC pin to the adapter. There are inline 1.8k ohm (iirc) line resistors to attenuate input signals anyway, so no worries about hurting the device. Do not use 5V. I'm fairly sure they are not 5V tolerant and could be damaged by it.

29

A fake ft232rl with 1.8V support costs ~1.50 EUR from the slow boat (or a ~tenner for the genuine article and next day delivery). yes it'll take ~2 weeks to arrive, but no need to risk anything. These pins aren't intended to be used by the customer and usually don't have much/ any protection against over voltage.

30

Hi, I just bought one of this EAP610-OUTDOOR V1.2 to replace a Zyxel that is now 3 years old and has the 5Ghz radio broken (when enabled, the eth0 becomes unreliable to ping, donā€™t know why and I suspect it is a hardware issue)

So I want to flash OpenWRT on it as I already have other 7 AP at home. Iā€™ll try to follow instructions from @Gadorach a couple of posts up and will eventually come back here with my findings.

Question: Can I just set up a tftp server with the boot file and move from that point forward? What IP address shall I use for the tftpd?

31

Assuming you got serial access ... ?

Really tricky question, innit ?

32

Hi,

I just connected a serial port and here is some information from the boot.

IPQ6018# printenv
baudrate=115200
bootargs=console=ttyMSM0,115200n8
bootcmd=bootipq
bootdelay=1
ethact=eth0
ethaddr=00:03:7f:ba:db:ad
fdt_high=0x48500000
fdtcontroladdr=4a480070
flash_type=2
ipaddr=192.168.10.10
machid=8030200
netmask=255.255.255.0
serverip=192.168.10.1
soc_version_major=1
soc_version_minor=0
stderr=serial@78B1000
stdin=serial@78B1000
stdout=serial@78B1000

Environment size: 395/262140 bytes
IPQ6018#

boot command is just bootipq and that gives us no chance to set up an tftp server.

but serverip is set to 192.168.10.1 so Iā€™m going to check with tcpdumpā€¦

33

Hi,

Unfortunately, there is nothing interesting in the network capture. Also, once Linux is started the login requires user and password and default values just donā€™t work so there is no way to gain root.

34

That's the default on most/all AX IPQ devices.

Where does it say boot command should be altered to get tftp up and running?

35

If I remember correctly, setting up the Netgear ORBI Pro SXS80 for OpenWRT. Allows the user to recover from bricked device booting from tftp server.

https://openwrt.org/toh/hwdata/netgear/netgear_orbi_pro_sxr80

36

How is this any different?

37

If there is a way to recover a briked EAP610-OUTDOOR device from a tftp server with specific file name there should be no need to open the device and connect a serial port thought

38

Not all devices have reliable button recovery, some need serial.

39

My EAP610-OUTDOOR v1.2 has a reset button at the bottom. I donā€™t know if it can be used that way

40

I finally got a UART device (DSD TECH Model SH-U09C5) and confirmed with a multimeter that the output voltage is indeed 1.8V. So now I'm ready to open the router and flash OpenWrt.

Now that I've opened the box, I see the case comes apart by design, just unscrewing it, so the waterproofing will remain strong.

Something not written but implied: The router to be flashed should be connected via ethernet cable to an internet-connected network during this process (not just the USB/TTL/UART connection to the computer).

I'm on Linux, and comfortable with the terminal, but I didn't know how to communicate with the UART device. I found the guide here useful: https://openwrt.org/docs/techref/hardware/port.serial#talking_and_listening . There's a lot there.

I'm looking for details about what pins to connect. I think Tx, Rx, GND, but I want confirmation.

I see that if I want to leave the pins attached to the board, then I will have to file or cut them shorter, because there isn't room between the case, the heat sinks, and the board for the pins to remain full length.

I will go the route of using wget instead of atftp in order to skip steps 7-10 on the first pass.

So I let the device reboot, and then I assume I reconnect via USB/TTL/UART, not yet via network. Or maybe network connection works at that point?

I don't see any mention of the v1.2 at https://openwrt.org/inbox/toh/tp-link/eap610-outdoor .