Hello,
I flashed OpenWRT according to this
https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/linksys/ea3500

I used the stock linksys web interface to flash the factory.bin from the trunk, I was able to ssh in and install Luci webserver, I was trying to get it to act as a wifi repeater or wifi client + ap , having some trouble I was messing with the interfaces and somehow I completely locked myself out of the router I can no longer ssh / telnet or access the WEB interface, so thinking I could just reset it I tried holding down reset for 15 / 30 / 30 / 60 ---- nothing,

so next step would be tftp I changed my PC ip to 192.168.1.2 / 255.255.255.0 / GW 192.168.1.1 rebooted the router and ping 192.168.1.1 -t -- no response (tried 50+ times) linux and windows - not sure why tftp is not working I heard linksys might of removed it in some firmwares / bootloaders on this router? (I have used tftp before on my other EA6500 router - so I am pretty familiar with it)

then I learned about OpenWRT failsafe, tried again set ip to 192.x ...
this router has a single green led on the back that blinks
fast blinking 0.2s
then off 2s
fast 0.2s
slow blink 0.5s
then solid

So I tried pressing the reset button (repetitively during each blinking stage) and no matter if I press the reset button or the WPS button it still boots up normal - no failsafe

I also used the program recvudp.exe to check for the failsafe UDB message but I don't get any message, tried a packet sniffer too..

so now I don't know what to do, I ordered a cheap 3.3v TTL serial adapter in worse case scenario but that won't be here for awhile.

this is the first time using openwrt since it's the only open source firmware for this router.

anyideas?

The TFTP method unfortunately won't ever work on this router, since the bootloader doesn't support it. It has a TFTP client which you can use from the serial console, but is useless for recovery without the console.

It sounds like you flashed OpenWrt just once, which means the factory firmware is still there on the backup partition. You can force it to switch over by turning the router on and off 3 times without letting the boot sequence finish. I think about 3 seconds after power on is about right. On the fourth boot it should boot into factory.

I'm guessing by your LED description that OpenWrt is there, but the network settings are broken. Since it's successfully booting (even if not responding on the network) the boot counter is being reset with each boot. It thus won't ever switch to the factory firmware as I described unless you interrupt it.

I just wanted to second what leitec said and add that the method of interrupting the boot he described also works if you've flashed OpenWrt more than once and the factory firmware is no longer on the device. I had the same issue and was able to boot into OpenWrt on the backup partition using that method, i mentioned it here - https://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php … 33#p329533 . Also, the if you get OpenWrt up and running, the first package you should install is kmod-gpio-button-hotplug, that will activate your reset button so you can have fun with OpenWrt knowing all you have to do is push the reset button if things get messed up, just remember that if you have to use the button to reset, you'll have to reinstall kmod-gpio-button-hotplug.

Also, it sounds like otyg may be having a problem similar to mine, i had been trying to set up a bridged repeater on my EA3500 following these instructions - http://trac.gateworks.com/wiki/OpenWrt/wireless/relayd -  for quite a while with limited success, the instructions worked fine for wired, but once i added a wireless network to the repeater everything would stop working. I had been doing everything on the 2.4ghz band, so i finally decided to split the AP and client onto the two seperate bands, the client on 5ghz and AP on 2.4ghz and that did it, it works great and i now have my OpenWrt bridged repeater, hopefully that will help others out who may be having the same problem.

Thanks leitec & mikemccartney, that did it pulling the plug every 5 seconds got it back to the linksys firmware, from there I re-installed stock firmware, rebooted and then re-installed openwrt, also took your advice and installed kmod-gpio-button-hotplug first, good to know there is two recovery options.

Thanks again for your help

btw, on the 5 GHz band when I scan for networks it doesn't seem to detect networks on higher ports (for example I have my ddwrt ea6500 on (5ghz port 132, 80 mhz (AC and N), lower / lower ext channel)

it doesn't show up on the scan only routers on channel 36 and 44, this is using the luci web interface... any ideas, or was it just a limitation for this generation router, been awhile since I've used it , I know it doesn't support ac but it should still pickup the N network which it does if I use a low port like 36 / 44 but they are somewhat busy ports in my area
--
http://pastebin.com/7aJ6as9g
iw phy1 info
              Frequencies:
                        * 5180 MHz [36] (23.0 dBm)
                        * 5200 MHz [40] (23.0 dBm)
                        * 5220 MHz [44] (23.0 dBm)
                        * 5240 MHz [48] (23.0 dBm)

(Last edited by otyg on 27 Jun 2016, 09:11)

I noticed that too, i didn't really look into it too much at the time, but i seem to remember that it has something to do with DFS, which i know nothing at all about, but here's an explanation from TP-link - http://www.tp-link.com/en/faq-763.html

it appears to be something with the mwl8k driver, I guess at the time the driver was developed DFS didn't exist (or implemented in linux) and then support was just never added.

whats strange is it also effects connecting to networks (on high channels) not just running as ap, not a big deal, ill reverse my relay so 5ghz is the AP and 2ghz is the client

---

btw on your relay setup can you ping / access services (like smb shared) on devices behind the relay router and also on the main router to the relay (whole network accessable?)

I seem to have an issue where I can fully access the devices behind the relay router , but not the other way

EA6500 (router a)
-PC1 -> PC4,5 (ping / ftp ...etc)
-PC2 -> PC4,5 (ping / ftp ...etc)
-PC3 -> PC4,5 (ping / ftp ...etc)

EA3500 (router b)
-PC4 -> cant access pc / webservers behind the EA6500 - internet works fine
-PC5 -> cant access pc / webservers behind the EA6500 - internet works fine

All PC1-3 can ping and access PC4 and PC5 , but PC4 & 5 cannot ping or access shares behind the main router..
so I'm trying to figure that out overall I got it completely wireless without the need for a LAN cable and internet/dhcp works, just need to figure out why I can only access one way, any ideas would be great

I followed the guide here (method 1)
https://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=39077

Edit:
Think I fixed it

(Last edited by otyg on 28 Jun 2016, 00:34)

Hi there,
I run into the same problem as otyg. I flashed the "openwrt-kirkwood-linksys-audi-squashfs-factory.bin" through the original web interface on my spare Linksys EA3500. I was able to login through ssh and Luci as well.

I was trying to set up the wifi repeater with the EA3500 in client mode and to bridge wifi to LAN interface. I changed some setting and since then the router reboots over and over again with the same LED sequence as otyg mentioned. The ethernet connection to my imac gets active for a little while, but I am unable to login in and run firstboot in this short time period.

I tried to run the fail safe mode (both with Reset and WPS buttons) without success and also tried the turning on/off the router 3-times in a row (by switch and by pulling the power cable; both 3 seconds and 5 seconds after turning on), but no success.

Do you have any other tips please? Or could you maybe describe me the fail safe startup more accurately (like should I press the button once or hold it; does it work even)?

Thanks a lot for help!

My ea3500 has been chugging away as a repeater, so it's been a while since i actually worked on it, but if i remember right kmod-gpio-button-hotplug isn't installed by default, so your reset button won't work unless you installed it. You might try the three failed boot method again as i describe it in my post here -

https://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php … 33#p329533

That always worked for me, but it can be tricky getting the timing right, so try it a few times before you call it quits.

Thanks a lot mikemccartney Your guide worked on the first try!

What I did wrong was turning the router off too quickly - I should have waited until the LED turns off after the initial flashing. To clarify to the others (because it was not 100% clear to me), this way you get to the original Linksys FW with web GUI. From here I loaded OpenWRT again.

Thanks again!