Where are the UART pins on the TP-Link Deco M4R?

[eesa]

I have just opened my Deco M4R, and the location of the UART pins is not immediately apparent. After closer inspection, there do not seem to be UART pins on the M4R. Where are the UART pins on the M4R?

[frollic]

OpenWrt support for TP-Link Deco M4R

I've soldered cables to TP1, TP2 and GND of the power plug. I was really unsure if my adapters were going to work. One is one of those Chinese knockoff Prolific USB-to-Serial adapters. And the other one I've got is a CH340 board for ESP8266s that has 3.3V on Vcc but 5V on its TX line. So I'm not eager to try that. The Chinese knockoff has 3.3V on its TX line and something like 0.43V on its RX line, so I thought that connecting GND and RX to the Deco can't hurt. *fingers crossed* I've also me…

TP1 and TP2, wherever they are.

[bobthebuilder]

Really depends on what version you've got there. V1 has a very obvious row of holes for UART. V2 has two pads labelled TP1 and TP2 that are Tx and Rx and you just take GND from where ever is most convenient.

But I've got absolutely no clue about V3 or V4.

Can I ask why you need to know their location?

[eesa]

I am attempting to get a serial console (on the stock firmware) to set up scripts for automated configuration (i.e. block mac addresses at certain times, disable new connections from 3 to 6 am, etc.

[eesa]

The real problem is now that I can't find my soldering iron.

[bobthebuilder]

I'm not sure if you can access the stock firmware that way.

But if you can then happy soldering.

[eesa]

Alright, thanks!