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Topic: running OpenWrt on a TP-Link WR841N V7.1

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There is too many old and outdated info floating around and i can seems to find a definite answer so i am going to just ask here.

Do the default OpenWRT compile ( like the one included here ) includes PPTP client? I read it was included in recent builds 10.3.1...

The recently edited UCI Wiki page also mentioned there is a Network Config for PPTP
https://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/uci/network

I guess you are asking at a wrong discussion thread.
This thread is discussing "running OpenWrt on a TP-Link WR841N"

vplessky wrote:

Thank you a lot for info!

There is another question - about revisions.
Just checked international site - it has photo of TL-WR841ND which looks like small UFO:
http://www.tp-link.com/products/product … TL-WR841ND

TL-WR841ND which is available here looks different - more like a traditional SOHO router box:
http://tp-link.su/product.php?product_id=73

Oneru, immacoolguy - which versions of WR841ND do you have, and what's exactly written on back side of router - FCC ID, revision version, etc.?

I also checked shop which I used to buy TP-Link antenna and Wi-FI USB adapters.
TL-WR841ND - http://www.oldi.ru/catalog/element/0134868/
It looks the same as on international TP-Link.com web site (small "UFO")

It's also interesting to note that TP-Link introduced Access Point(s) similar to router range.
TL-WR841ND  <--> TL-WA801ND
http://www.tp-link.com/products/product … TL-WA801ND
http://tp-link.su/product.php?product_id=81
http://www.oldi.ru/catalog/element/0145669/
Case of this AP looks identical on all pages - and similar to "old" WR841ND.

Does some one has such Access Point?
My understanding is that hardware is similar to WR841ND, with exception that AP has 1x RJ-45 instead of 4x RJ-45 on Router.
If someone has intention to use wireless router as Repeater or for WDS, I think "pure" Access Point can do job just fine.

TL-WR841N Version 7.1
FCC ID: TE7WR841NXV7

The difference between WR841N and WR841ND is that the ND has a removable antenna. As far as I know, there's no other difference.

V7.1 is the one that looks like a "small ufo". They changed the design of the case for better heat dissipation, because these routers run pretty hot.

immacoolguy wrote:

TL-WR841N Version 7.1
FCC ID: TE7WR841NXV7

The difference between WR841N and WR841ND is that the ND has a removable antenna. As far as I know, there's no other difference.

V7.1 is the one that looks like a "small ufo". They changed the design of the case for better heat dissipation, because these routers run pretty hot.

Heat dissipation is indeed quite important, and can be an issue.
I have seen in forums that Linksys routers (incl. WRT160NL which is based on Atheros chipset) may have problems of overheating.
Don't know if it's true or not.
But considering how small enclosure is for latest Linksys models, I believe to it.

How hot TL-WR841N Version 7.1 is when it's running for a whole day?
I currently have ASUS WL-500G Premium (it's really hot when it's working, but has 8MB flash and 32MB RAM), Linksys WRT-54GL (Linux) and 3Com 3CRWER300 (11n, works with native firmware)
ASUS is champion in terms of heating.  But I do not observe any overheating, even when CPU usage is close to 100% (Torrent uploading via WAN interface/PPPoE at sustained 15Mbps, plus ftp ISO image transfer via Wi-FI WPA2-PSK connection, appx. 700MB in size) it has many small holes on top of enclosure.
Linksys has moderate temperature when it working.
3Com WER300 is (almost) not heating at all. But it's short on memory - don't know exactly how big it is, and I haven't heard someone tried to port DD-Wrt or OpenWrt to it.

vplessky wrote:
immacoolguy wrote:

TL-WR841N Version 7.1
FCC ID: TE7WR841NXV7

The difference between WR841N and WR841ND is that the ND has a removable antenna. As far as I know, there's no other difference.

V7.1 is the one that looks like a "small ufo". They changed the design of the case for better heat dissipation, because these routers run pretty hot.

How hot TL-WR841N Version 7.1 is when it's running for a whole day?
.

Just wondering if Sensors are available in Linux builds for Atheros/Broadcom/etc.-based routers?
Than it would be helpful to check temperature, using sensors.

All PCs I have with Linux installed are capable to provide temperature for CPU.
This works fine in OpenSUSE and Fedora.
Checking  sysinfo:/ in browser is the easiest way to check.

vplessky wrote:

I guess you are asking at a wrong discussion thread.
This thread is discussing "running OpenWrt on a TP-Link WR841N"

Well, to be specific i am asking if the build for Tp Link W841N v7.1 that is made here has PPTP included or not.

It includes the packages "ppp" and "ppp-mod-pppoe".

pppoe is supported in the luic interface.

pptp is not installed in this image. It is available via opkg, however.

'opkg update'
'opkg install pptp'

What about mppe? It seems pptp requires mppe as well

kmod-mppe is available and installs via opkg, as well. It's not technically a dependency of pptp. Mppe provides Microsoft ppp compression/encryption.

Sorry for Noob questions, Where do i input these?

'opkg update'
'opkg install pptp'

From Command Line (CLI), after connecting to your router via SSH or Telnet.
You may use PuTTY program in Windows or native telnet/ssh client in Linux.

Hi everyone, i have a tp-link 841 ver7.1  Is it OK to flush openwrt over the original firmware by using the method on previous page? Or have a easier way to flush? Thx

Hi,

I finally bought TP-Link TL-WR841ND and Access Point TL-WA801ND.
Testing both with native firmware so far.
WA801ND connects to WR841ND as Wireless Client, using WPA2-PSK. And such a pair works quite well.
This is a pleasant surprise, as such rather simple combination was failing in many test scenarios I tried before.

It's interesting that WR841ND I have is hardware version 5.
So it's not "ufo-like" but more traditional box.

Does someone has experience flashing OpenWRT to WR841ND v5   (not v7.1, as subject says)?

(Last edited by vplessky on 16 Oct 2010, 21:17)

It works very well with the V5 model. Use the 10.03.1 rc3 build. 10.03 has several bugs on this hardware that are fixed with the test release.

You can use the web interface to flash to openwrt. It works without issue.

Thank you!
It seems having ver5 instead of ver7.1 is not that bad? :-)

I first thought not to buy it in the shop, when I found that available unit is ver5, but than decided to take anyway.

Hmmm...
checked Backfire-10.03.1-rc3
http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … c3/ar71xx/
Files are dated by Aug.25, 2010.
You suggest to flash
http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … actory.bin
using web interface, correct?

Trunk snapshots at
http://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/trunk/ar71xx/
are much more fresh, dated (obviously) by Oct.16th
And there is a build for WR841nd ver7 in Trunk.

Are there any improvements in trunk comparing to backfire-10.03.1-rc3, or t's not suitable for testing (may do not work at all)?

The Version 5 of that router works just as well. It's also tested a bit more, so less problems to worry about.

That's correct, flash that file. (http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … actory.bin)

The trunk snapshots are newer, but not nearly as well tested. Bleeding edge, you know. ;-) As far as I know, there isn't anything too major in trunk that isn't in in 10.03.1 rc3. I'd worry more about bugs in the trunk snapshots. For my use, I've stuck with the rc3 builds.

Successfully flashed TP-Link WR-841ND v5 with OpenWrt Backfire

# uname -a
Linux OpenWrt-WR841ND 2.6.32.16 #1 Wed Aug 25 15:20:15 PDT 2010 mips GNU/Linux

Process was very robust and fast - it took me less than 2 minutes to get router up and running using OpenWrt.
Wireless connection from Windows Vista host (Atheros adapter @300Mbps) established at 130Mbps.

Network - Wifi configuration

Enable:  [v]
Type: mac80211
Channel: auto
Transmit power:
Mode: 802.11g+n
HT mode: 20MHz

Changed HT mode to 40Mhz - 2nd channel below.

Now Access Point / wireless doesn't work at all.
Should setup 40Mhz - 2nd channel below work?

I also tried using Ch.4 (as it was with native firmware in Auto or my test environment)
Doesn't help.

Missing Transmit power in LuCI web interface looks somewhat strange.
Checked from CLI.

root@OpenWrt:~# iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

eth1      no wireless extensions.

br-lan    no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  Mode:Master  Frequency:2.432 GHz  Tx-Power=27 dBm
          RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off

mon.wlan0  IEEE 802.11bgn  Mode:Monitor  Tx-Power=27 dBm
          RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off

root@OpenWrt:~# iwlist txpower
lo        no transmit-power information.

eth0      no transmit-power information.

eth1      no transmit-power information.

br-lan    no transmit-power information.

wlan0     unknown transmit-power information.

          Current Tx-Power=27 dBm       (501 mW)

mon.wlan0  unknown transmit-power information.

          Current Tx-Power=27 dBm       (501 mW)

Can someone who owns WR841ND or similar router check what is actual Tx-Power, and is it "known" or "unknown"?

I just wonder if it is problem with firmware (probably known bug), missing default settings, or something else.

Hello everyone,

I have a TP-LINK WR840N, which is sold only in China for now. I have opened the device, and it has chips as follows: ATHEROS AR7241, ATHEROSAR9287, 32MB RAM(Zentel A3S56D40FTP), 4MB FLASH(SPANSION S25FL032P), MP1482.

I have put the pictures in the followling website:

http://www.right.com.cn/forum/thread-41697-1-1.html

and I can email you the high resolution pictures, my email: sunoldman@foxmail.com

It is said that WR840N have the same chipsets as WR841 v7, is that right?
Can WR840N run OpenWrt as well?

(Last edited by sunoldman on 27 Oct 2010, 16:13)

vplessky wrote:

Missing Transmit power in LuCI web interface looks somewhat strange.
Checked from CLI.

Has someone solved the problem? I am going to buy the router (v.5) and use it with radio working perfectly under OpenWrt...

(Last edited by bogmarcin on 27 Oct 2010, 18:49)

bogmarcin wrote:
vplessky wrote:

Missing Transmit power in LuCI web interface looks somewhat strange.
Checked from CLI.

Has someone solved the problem? I am going to buy the router (v.5) and use it with radio working perfectly under OpenWrt...

I entered value for Tx Power manually, and so far it works.
There was no answer on my question (why Transmit Power is missing) so far.

Here is how Network - WiFi settings look like on my TP-Link WR841ND v5

A quite impressive power - 27dBm - is it real (or some OpenWrt's 'fantasising') or have you changed the manufacturer's antennas? (or have you pumped it up in a power-increasing section on GUI?) It's quite important to me whether it works when powered by OpenWrt because I am going to buy the device due to, among other things, the high power, which is even suggested by manufacturer's long 5dBi aerials.

But, going back to the point, could you explain in detail how and where exactly you have fixed the problem with WLAN?

(Last edited by bogmarcin on 28 Oct 2010, 14:30)

bogmarcin wrote:

A quite impressive power - 27dBm - is it real (or some OpenWrt's 'fantasising') or have you changed the manufacturer's antennas? (or have you pumped it up in a power-increasing section on GUI?) It's quite important to me whether it works when powered by OpenWrt because I am going to buy the device due to, among other things, the high power, which is even suggested by manufacturer's long 5dBi aerials.

But, going back to the point, could you explain in detail how and where exactly you have fix the problem with WLAN?

My fix is "manual fix".  As you have seen, there are no answers on forum so far.
I have checked with iwconfig what actual values are.

root@OpenWrt:~# iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

eth1      no wireless extensions.

br-lan    no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  Mode:Master  Frequency:2.432 GHz  Tx-Power=27 dBm
          RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off

mon.wlan0  IEEE 802.11bgn  Mode:Monitor  Tx-Power=27 dBm
          RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off

root@OpenWrt:~# iwlist txpower
lo        no transmit-power information.

eth0      no transmit-power information.

eth1      no transmit-power information.

br-lan    no transmit-power information.

wlan0     unknown transmit-power information.

          Current Tx-Power=27 dBm       (501 mW)

mon.wlan0  unknown transmit-power information.

          Current Tx-Power=27 dBm       (501 mW)

wlan0     unknown transmit-power information. -> is very strange and confusing.
Than I just entered 27 to web interface.

By the way, I can confirm that signal from WR841ND is very strong.

Antennas are standard WR841ND - same which were in the box when I bought it.
They look well done and solid - better than antenna from my ASUS WL-500G Premium v1.
And antenna on ASUS is better than non-detachable antennas on Linksys WRT54GL

Settings (generated from Web UI):

root@OpenWrt:/etc/config# cat wireless

config 'wifi-device' 'radio0'
        option 'type' 'mac80211'
        option 'channel' '5'
        option 'macaddr' 'd8:5d:4c:bf:25:b4'
        option 'hwmode' '11ng'
        list 'ht_capab' 'SHORT-GI-40'
        list 'ht_capab' 'TX-STBC'
        list 'ht_capab' 'RX-STBC1'
        list 'ht_capab' 'DSSS_CCK-40'
        option 'disabled' '0'
        option 'txpower' '27'
        option 'htmode' 'HT40-'

config 'wifi-iface'
        option 'device' 'radio0'
        option 'network' 'lan'
        option 'mode' 'ap'
        option 'encryption' 'psk'
        option 'key' '<your pass phrase>'
        option 'ssid' 'OWrt'


root@OpenWrt:/etc/config# cat /var/run/hostapd-phy0.conf
ctrl_interface=/var/run/hostapd-phy0
driver=nl80211
wmm_ac_bk_cwmin=4
wmm_ac_bk_cwmax=10
wmm_ac_bk_aifs=7
wmm_ac_bk_txop_limit=0
wmm_ac_bk_acm=0
wmm_ac_be_aifs=3
wmm_ac_be_cwmin=4
wmm_ac_be_cwmax=10
wmm_ac_be_txop_limit=0
wmm_ac_be_acm=0
wmm_ac_vi_aifs=2
wmm_ac_vi_cwmin=3
wmm_ac_vi_cwmax=4
wmm_ac_vi_txop_limit=94
wmm_ac_vi_acm=0
wmm_ac_vo_aifs=2
wmm_ac_vo_cwmin=2
wmm_ac_vo_cwmax=3
wmm_ac_vo_txop_limit=47
wmm_ac_vo_acm=0
tx_queue_data3_aifs=7
tx_queue_data3_cwmin=15
tx_queue_data3_cwmax=1023
tx_queue_data3_burst=0
tx_queue_data2_aifs=3
tx_queue_data2_cwmin=15
tx_queue_data2_cwmax=63
tx_queue_data2_burst=0
tx_queue_data1_aifs=1
tx_queue_data1_cwmin=7
tx_queue_data1_cwmax=15
tx_queue_data1_burst=3.0
tx_queue_data0_aifs=1
tx_queue_data0_cwmin=3
tx_queue_data0_cwmax=7
tx_queue_data0_burst=1.5
hw_mode=g
channel=5


ieee80211n=1
ht_capab=[HT40-][SHORT-GI-40][TX-STBC][RX-STBC1][DSSS_CCK-40][SHORT-GI-40][TX-STBC][RX-STBC1][DSSS_CCK-40]

interface=wlan0
wpa_passphrase=<your pass phrase>
wpa=1
wpa_pairwise=CCMP
ssid=OWrt
bridge=br-lan
wmm_enabled=1
bssid=d8:5d:4c:bf:25:b4
ignore_broadcast_ssid=0
vplessky wrote:

As you have seen, there are no answers on forum so far.

I am not an expert in OpenWrt, but my suggestion would be to replace your LUCI GUI with the Gargoyle front-end, which is, in my opinion, the best GUI ever, and, if my memory is not at fault, sometimes such a strategy can change a lot in terms of an OpenWrt device's full functionality and is much better than messing around and tinkering with some small and often hard manual changes.

(Last edited by bogmarcin on 29 Oct 2010, 11:02)

bogmarcin wrote:

I am not expert in OpenWrt, but my suggestion would be to replace your LUCI GUI with the Gargoyle front-end, which is, in my opinion, the best GUI ever, and, if my memory is not at fault, sometimes such a strategy can change a lot in terms of an OpenWrt device's full functionality and is much better than messing around and tinkering with some small and often hard manual changes.

This is certainly good idea.
Problem is that Gargoyle requires about 2MB of flash, and WR841ND has just 450KB or so after flashing with Backfire 10.03.1
So I need to reflash it completely with Gargoyle firmware.

BTW:  Have you tried X-Wrt user interface for OpenWrt?