The Zyxel EX5601-T0 is a very capable router with excellent hardware for high-performance OpenWrt use. Until now, installing OpenWrt without UART access has been difficult.
This guide provides a UART-free installation and recovery for the EX5601-T0. It allows you to install OpenWrt directly from the OEM firmware and also recovery paths if you want to change layouts or return to the original Zyxel firmware later.
With the available tools, you can do the following:
From the OEM Zyxel firmware
You can install OpenWrt using SSH, without opening the device or using UART:
Do you know if this works with any version of the Zyxel EX5601-T0? A lot of guides mention that they are for the Odido T-56. I'd like to install OpenWrt on the Elisa EX5601-T0.
Do you know if people have used this tool on a lot of different versions of the device? Is it set up in a way that it would work with any of them?
Tested on Elisa and Fibernet T56 routers, need a root password.
To get root password try SSH to router, use the admin username and password on the sticker or Wi-Fi key. when in the limited shell, enter the command z sys atsh.
Next, copy the "First MAC Address" and use it in the command below, followed by '0' for disable or '1' for enable and a country code.
sys atwz (mac) (0 for disable, 1 for enable) (country code or just 1 for US)
For example, try the command:
z sys atwz MAC 0 10
After that, enter:
sys atck
The root password displayed in plain text.
With the root password, SSH again as root user and follow guide: LINK 1 from main post.
Basically, you need to copy the tar file and the loader.sh script to the router /tmp folder. Then, run these
chmod +x loader.sh
./loader.sh
After that, open LUCI web page on port 8080 to complete the installation. so bottomline, if you have root access on a t56 router, you can install Oepwrt with this method on any device.
Well I was unsure because isn't a T-56 technically an Odido EX5601-T0 router, and the Elisa router is an EX5601-T0, but not a "T-56" model?
Either way though, you have tested these exact steps with an Elisa one and it will work?
Also, your script seems to be able to do "U-bootmod layout conversion". So does that mean it will be the UBI version that is using up all available space? That's what I'd like to do. I think that means that the dual booting wiht the original firmware would be gone right? I don't want the original firmware on it. I'd like it to not accidentally boot to the original firmware and do an auto-update that locks it down and prevents using OpenWrt on it
I flashed two routers baught from tori_fi, one of which was Elisa customer, so it will work for sure.
The ubootmod layout will remove the dual bank and repartition the NAND, using all available memory for OpenWrt. The stock layout will flash OpenWrt onto the inactive partition and then switch bootflag to boot from that partition. Flashing with the stock layout takes about 20 seconds, and flashing with the ubootmod layout takes over a minute because the script boots into recovery mode and runs auto scripts in the background.
