When recovering from OKD on RT3200, I get a '"spi-nand0" partitions still in use, can't delete them"' error

[felagund]

My RT3200 was up for about 9 months. I installed 23.05 (I am 99 % sure - can I find out from config backup?) on it around end of May 2024, judging from the date of the backup. Yesterday internet connection seemed somehow lagging, so I tried to reboot it (using SSH). It would not come back (even after I put it to freezer for about an hour). I then learned about the OKD issue, got myself a USB-to-serial converter and tried to follow the https://openwrt.org/toh/linksys/e8450#recovery_from_openwrt_kiss_of_death_okd

As I only ever ran 23.05, as far as I know, I picked the files from 22.03 and 23.05, not from snapsoht. I got to the TFTP part, where it complains it cannot delete spi-nand0 partition:

TFTP from server 192.168.1.254; our IP address is 192.168.1.1
Filename 'openwrt-mediatek-mt7622-linksys_e8450-ubi-preloader.bin'.
Load address: 0x48000000
Loading: #####
         8 MiB/s
done
Bytes transferred = 67445 (10775 hex)
"spi-nand0" partitions still in use, can't delete them
Erasing 0x00000000 ... 0x0007ffff (4 eraseblock(s))
"spi-nand0" partitions still in use, can't delete them
Writing 131072 byte(s) (64 page(s)) at offset 0x00000000
"spi-nand0" partitions still in use, can't delete them
Writing 131072 byte(s) (64 page(s)) at offset 0x00020000
"spi-nand0" partitions still in use, can't delete them
Writing 131072 byte(s) (64 page(s)) at offset 0x00040000
"spi-nand0" partitions still in use, can't delete them
Writing 131072 byte(s) (64 page(s)) at offset 0x00060000

When I boot if from U-Boot (option 1), the device comes up, I can even access the Luci. However, 5ghz radio was off. But when I try to reboot, I get:

NOTICE:  BL2: v2.4(release):OpenWrt v2021-05-08-d2c75b21-3 (mt7622-snand-1ddr)
NOTICE:  BL2: Built : 22:25:54, Jul 15 2024
NOTICE:  SPI-NAND: FM35Q1GA (128MB)
ERROR:   BL2: Failed to load image id 3 (-2)

I am now not sure if I should try to follow the hard recovery from Belkin RT3200/Linksys E8450 WiFi AX discussion - #5108 by grauerfuchs
or if my problem is different?

(I do not seem to have factory backed up, but since I only repartioned once, it should be in boot_backup, I now backed it up following https://github.com/dangowrt/owrt-ubi-installer?tab=readme-ov-file#backup-stockvendor-bootchain - however how can I check if it is indeed the factory backpu and not something from openwrt in case I reinstalled more than once?)

[grauerfuchs]

The "partitions still in use" error is very unexpected. It's not one I've actually seen happen before, but as it suggests, it looks like something is still trying to access the partition. You may need to disconnect power from the router for 30 seconds before everything has cleared. Afterwards, use mtk_uartboot one more time to get to the U-Boot console. If you haven't tried to read from the flash chip yet, it should allow you to complete the preloader and FIP reloading.

The failure to boot afterward is equally concerning. Assuming the process didn't actually erase or write anything on the flash chip, It means that either the data has been corrupted too severely, or potentially you weren't running 23.05.x after all. If the data was simply corrupted, then restoring the preloader and FIP are likely to solve it. However, if you were running something newer than 23.05.x, restoring the FIP runs the risk of causing damage on the factory partition if it's stored within UBI the way Snapshot and 24.10.x have it.

I don't currently have an e8450 running on 23.x to verify, but if my documentation is correct, you can use the following command to verify whether or not your router was written with the 23.x layout:

mtd dump spi-nand0 0x1c0000 0x800

The command will read the first page within the range that contains the Factory partition on 23.x. If the factory volume is present, it should start with 22 76 02 00 and then the MAC address of the router's 2.4GHz WiFi radio.

[felagund]

Thank you for your reply!

So I managed to get rid of the "partition still in use error". It turns out the link from the wiki that said to download uboot from latest 23.05 actually pointed to 24.10 and I did not notice. I fixed that on the wiki to point to https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org/?version=23.05.0&target=mediatek%2Fmt7622&id=linksys_e8450-ubi When I used the uboot from there, I did not get any errors about spi-nand0 partition being in use.

However, I still get the "Failed to load image id 3 (-2)." Could I have damaged things by running the later uboot?

I am fairly sure I only installed 23.05 and nothing later. I generally only go for stable releases and the router has not been touched in 9 months since I installed it (it had such a long uptime). However, the mtd command is not right. Running mtd produces help and it does not know any action "dump".

Is there a way for me to check if my factory backup from the boot_backup partition is original or openwrt's?

Update1: when using uboot, I can boot the device. Its version is " OpenWrt 23.05.3, r23809-234f1a2efa".
Update2: When I then reboot from a deice booted in such a way, the console says:

[  171.302264] reboot: Restarting system

F0: 102B 0000
F6: 0000 0000
V0: 0000 0000 [0001]
00: 0000 0000
BP: 0400 0041 [0000]
G0: 1190 0000
T0: 0000 02B1 [000F]
Jump to BL

NOTICE:  BL2: v2.4(release):OpenWrt v2021-05-08-d2c75b21-3 (mt7622-snand-1ddr)
NOTICE:  BL2: Built : 22:25:54, Jul 15 2024
NOTICE:  SPI-NAND: FM35Q1GA (128MB)
ERROR:   BL2: Failed to load image id 3 (-2)

I am puzzled by the first two notices. The first says BL2 is from 2021-05-08, but th second says the build was Jul 15 2024. Wher does this discrepancy come from?

[grauerfuchs]

Mixing across the change boundary (23.x to 24.x) is always dangerous. In some cases, it can damage the data. In other cases, it simply won't boot.

As for the mtd command, you may not be in the U-Boot console. What is the prompt for input that you receive? Is it the standard Linux super-user prompt? On OpenWRT, that would be something like root@openwrt:~# . If so, then you're not in the U-Boot console, but in the OpenWRT firmware itself. When something refers to using the U-Boot console or the boot menu, this happens long before the device boots. It's possible you may not be seeing the boot menu, especially if you're using a slow terminal program like PuTTY. It simply takes so long to load that by the time you're connected to the device, it's already timed out waiting for input and has booted into OpenWRT. From the time that mtk_uartboot finishes sending data, you only get 3 seconds to interrupt the boot and get to the U-Boot console prompt.

The first two notices provide very different information. The first one provides the source version of the code. In this case, it's the version 2.4 release of TF-A, modified by/for OpenWRT, and it contains the OpenWRT team's patch version and hardware build information after that.

NOTICE:  BL2: v2.4(release):OpenWrt v2021-05-08-d2c75b21-3 (mt7622-snand-1ddr)

The second one provides the date that said code was compiled by the OpenWRT build bot.

NOTICE:  BL2: Built : 22:25:54, Jul 15 2024

The most important lines in that output are:
Jump to BL, which means the code has moved from BL1 which was burned onto the CPU in the factory to the preloader, which is at the start of the flash memory and ERROR: BL2: Failed to load image id 3 (-2) which means that the preloader couldn't access the FIP (BL31-UBOOT) stored on the flash chip. Since that is a required part of the boot chain, the router can't boot without it.

When starting the router over the serial console with mtk_uartboot, you are providing a separate copy of the preloader (BL2) and FIP (which contains a copy of U-Boot) from which to load. Therefore, it's bypassing the broken boot chain on the flash chip. When you reboot, the router has to go back to trying to load the versions on the flash chip. Therefore, at a minimum, you need to fix both the preloader and the FIP on the flash chip in order to get the router to boot.

As for checking the factory backup, what did you get from within the boot_backup archive? It should be four files, labeled "mtd0", "mtd1", "mtd2", and "mtd3". The most important one of the set is "mtd2", because that one is the factory partition. That one should not change between stock and OpenWRT 23.05.x. The others will change based on a number of factors.

[felagund]

Thank you for your explanations, they really help me understand what is going on!

@grauerfuchs

As for the mtd command, you may not be in the U-Boot console. What is the prompt for input that you receive?

Aha, I did not get I was supposed to issue that in the U-Boot console (option 0 in U-Boot menu). Now the command works but outputs something different (and a lot of zeroes):

MT7622> mtd dump spi-nand0 0x1c0000 0x800
Reading 2048 byte(s) (1 page(s)) at offset 0x001c0000

Dump 2048 data bytes from 0x001c0000:
0x001c0000:     55 42 49 23 01 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01
0x001c0010:     00 00 08 00 00 00 10 00  61 97 a4 65 00 00 00 00
0x001c0020:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0030:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 e5 7b ad 7b
0x001c0040:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0050:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0060:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0070:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0080:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0090:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c00a0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c00b0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c00c0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c00d0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c00e0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c00f0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0100:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0110:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0120:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0130:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0140:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0150:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0160:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0170:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0180:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0190:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c01a0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c01b0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c01c0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c01d0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c01e0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c01f0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0200:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0210:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0220:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0230:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0240:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0250:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0260:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0270:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0280:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0290:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c02a0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c02b0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c02c0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c02d0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c02e0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c02f0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0300:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0310:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0320:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0330:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0340:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0350:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0360:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0370:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0380:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0390:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c03a0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c03b0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c03c0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c03d0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c03e0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c03f0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0400:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0410:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0420:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0430:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0440:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0450:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0460:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0470:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0480:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0490:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c04a0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c04b0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c04c0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c04d0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c04e0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c04f0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0500:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0510:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0520:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0530:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0540:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0550:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0560:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0570:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0580:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0590:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c05a0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c05b0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c05c0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c05d0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c05e0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c05f0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0600:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0610:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0620:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0630:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0640:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0650:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0660:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0670:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0680:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0690:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c06a0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c06b0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c06c0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c06d0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c06e0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c06f0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0700:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0710:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0720:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0730:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0740:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0750:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0760:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0770:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0780:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c0790:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c07a0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c07b0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c07c0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c07d0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c07e0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x001c07f0:     00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

@grauerfuchs

which means that the preloader couldn't access the FIP (BL31-UBOOT) stored on the flash chip.

Aha! I have always, as per wiki, gone for option 8, "Load BL2 preloader". Now I did Option 7 "Load BL31+U-Boot FIP" and it helped, the device now boots on its own! (I removed the version name from the filename like wiki instructs to do for BL2)

However, the MAC addresses are wrong:

(How come WAN and LAN are the same? I spoofed the WAN one for the time being.)

Also, 5Ghz wifi is disabled:

I remember reading somewhere from you that that is sign of something being corrupted. I would normally try to correct such errors by reflashing, in this case to 24.10, though that requires another repartitioning via the installer. Is that a good idea now?

@grauerfuchs

As for checking the factory backup, what did you get from within the boot_backup archive?

Yeah, I got mtd0 to mtd3. mtd3 starts with a human readable text that contains the correct MAC addresses and serial number of the router, so I guess that is the correct backup?

It starts with:

sw_version=1.0.0.1
modelNumber=RT3200
cert_region=US
wan_mac_addr=REDACTED:01:FD
lan_mac_addr=REDACTED:01:FE
wifi_2g_mac_addr=REDACTED:01:FF
wifi_5g_mac_addr=REDACTED:02:00
hw_revision=1
hw_version=48SAR601.0GB
manufacturer_date=2021/04/07
serial_number=REDACTED
default_ssid=Belkin01398
default_passphrase=READCTED
wps_device_pin=82235949
uuid_key=REDACTED
manufacturer=Belkin
manufacturerURL=http://www.belkin.com
modelDescription=RT3200 AX3200 Gigabit WiFi Router

I am now going to read the wiki some more, but I am not sure if I should try just to upgrade or restore the mtd backup?

[felagund]

@grauerfuchs

Depending on what has been corrupted, you may need to restore a previously taken backup image of the factory partition. You'll know this because U-Boot will immediately complain about not having a MAC (ethernet) address, and your 5GHz radio will not work (it won't even show as a device).

This sounds like my case, so I need to follow:

Belkin RT3200/Linksys E8450 WiFi AX discussion

Hard recovery of the e8450 / RT-3200 If the router's firmware has been damaged beyond the point of simple patching and operation, you can still restore the router to full function as long as you have previously taken a backup of your factory partition. The instructions for doing so are below. Be warned that if something goes wrong with the below, it could leave your router unable to boot and without data at all. Therefore, the steps below should only be followed if you know what you are doing o…

However it seems like I have the correct backup, so do not need to use the donor?

[grauerfuchs]

What you're seeing in mtd3 is not the factory partition, but instead the data that would have been present in the stock firmware's mtd5 (Devinfo) partition. Yes, I know the mtd partition numbers don't line up. That's because the router was read using the OpenWRT layout, so the data is going to be misaligned. Don't worry about that, since the data is only useful for an attempt at restoring to stock firmware anyway. However, you may want to remove the entire block from your post since it contains both identifiable information as well as passwords, serial numbers, etc.

Do not attempt to upgrade to 24.10 yet. If you do, it will fail and you will have to start over with recovery.

Your 5GHz radio is unknown/missing and the MAC addresses are wrong for the very same reason that you got unexpected results when doing the readout (dump) from the factory partition: The factory partition on flash was corrupted. What you posted suggests it was overwritten by UBI, which means you did kill it when you ran the 24.10.x firmware by accident. You're going to need to restore the factory partition to get your router back to full function. The good news is that you did follow the instruction and you have it in the boot_backup data. The file you need is mtd2. Place it on your tftp folder and name it factory.bin.

Yes, the hard recovery post does contain the instructions you need to restore the factory partition. However, you do not need to do any of the editing of the MAC addresses or use the surrogate since you have the real thing. Instead, you only need to load it into memory and write it to flash. The following combined line will take care of that for you, within the U-Boot console:

tftpboot 0x48000000 factory.bin && mtd erase factory && mtd write factory 0x48000000 0 0x80000

Once this is done, you can boot the router and verify that everything is working properly. If it is (and the 5GHz WiFi is back), then you can run the new 1.1.4 version of the UBI installer to properly reconfigure your device to 24.10.0.

(edit)
If U-Boot complains about not having an ethernet address, you'll need to provide it in order to get the network connection to work. This can be done with:

setenv ethaddr 00:11:22:33:44:55
saveenv

Of course, replace the fake MAC address with the real one from your router's sticker.

[felagund]

Thank you. This last step was surprisingly easy (no neew to set and now I am happily on 24.10. I should not say it but this is probably the closest to release day that I installed a new version after using opnewrt for 15 years :-).

I used the link on the wiki and used the 1.1.3 version of the installer and now see you mentioned 1.1.4, but I hope that does not make a difference. I corrected the wiki link to always point to the latest release.

I also added to troubleshooting my error message.

Thank you again for your help, it would have taken me a lot longer to figure out everything on my own, though I now see that all the info was out there. It is however confusing for a layman, this is a lot lower level than I ever got with OpenWRT. At least I can use the serial interface now :-D.

[grauerfuchs]

Excellent. I'm glad to hear you have it up and running properly again!

1.1.3 does work, but there are some potentially important differences. 1.1.3 was built against a version of snapshot rather than a release, so the recovery environment that is installed by that tool and the packages available for it can no longer be (easily) built. 1.1.4 would have installed the recovery environment provided with 24.10.0, and therefore, it will have compatibility and package availability for years. Outside of the recovery firmware, the boot chain and the data layout established by 1.1.3 are equal to what 1.1.4 would have installed.

If you're ever interested in updating the recovery environment to 24.10.0, it is indeed possible both through a running install of OpenWRT and also through the U-Boot console. In fact, the option to update the recovery environment is available right from the U-Boot boot menu. The only potential complication is that if it is larger than the existing recovery volume, it will require removal of your configuration and data (by deletion of the UBI volume rootfs_data) before the volume can be updated.

You're absolutely right, the data is indeed out there, but the first time getting into it can be overwhelming. The good news is that once you have learned the tools and what the output means, it's a bit easier than installing DOS on an old PC.