Hi guys,
I've successfully converted my WDR7500v5 to v3 replacing u-boot via console and flashing the v3 firmware (you can flash openwrt for the v3 without problems too)
Can someone share the v5 u-boot to revert back to the original firmware, I just want to try to revert back for testing.
Thanks for all the information!

I have a WDR-7500 v3 running a chinese firmware. Is it possible to use the webgui to flash to OpenWRT? I remember trying it previously but was told the firmware is not "correct". Is the boot lock or something?

EDIT: I realise my current firmware 3.13.35 Build 150423 Rel.50479n which has the RSA checks. Any idea how to overcome it? Am I able to TFTP to upload OpenWRT?

(Last edited by colordeficiency on 16 May 2016, 07:13)

I'm having an unusual problem with one of my WDR7500v5 units. Wireless is working fine (both bands) as is everything else, however wired ethernet connections are dropping constantly, being down more than 90% of the time.

I've checked to be sure it's not device specific, but this happens with any wired connection and any cable, so it's definitely something happening in the router.

I will check my other v5 tomorrow to see if it has the same issue - I'm honestly hoping I just accidentally shorted something while messing about with this unit.

Hi,

I wanted to notify you on my recent discovery. I've bought wdr7500v5 from Ali at the end of April. I had intentions to mod it to archer c7v2 with the flash swap. However after opening the case I've found out the flash inside is already 16 MB. Web gui is in english and it's advertising itself as the legit Archer C7v2:

Firmware Version:    3.14.1 Build 141110 Rel.44276n
Hardware Version:    Archer C7 v2/v3 00000000

Soldering of the flash looks clean (either factory soldering or very skilled human) and stored MAC is the same as the one on the sticker.

U-boot is is unlocked with 'tpl' command.

Is it possible that TP-link now sells Archer C7 in WDR7500 cases?

Seller or someone else has modified it, not TP-Link. Those modified ones are still available in Aliexpress.

How do you tell a modified Aliexpress router from unmodified one? Any links to either one to show the difference?

I just tried doing a fresh install of Chaos Calmer on TP-Link Archer C7 AC1750 v1.1 through the link provided on this site (https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/hwdata/tp- … erc7ac1750) and there is no presence of "wifi" settings in the interface. Had to downgrade to Barrier Breaker.

(Last edited by eth on 29 May 2016, 20:21)

I don't know what to look for, but I can provide you with the link where I've bought the modified router:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Chinese- … 73380.html

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/TP-LINK- … 66877.html

This is modified to Archer C7, don't know if it will run OpenWRT.

(Last edited by PJK on 1 Jun 2016, 17:15)

Hello,

I bought a Archer C7 v2.0 BR4A and flashed OpenWrt on it. Everything is working fine, but Wifi Speed (2.4 and 5GHz) never seem to go over 54Mbit/s. I set the operating mode to "N" in 2.4GHz settings and to "AC" in 5GHz setting. What is the issue here? The N setting worked fine with my previous router (WDR-4300 with OpenWrt).

I just bought the one mike3e linked to (not sure if it's the same you are linking to).
Seeing as ClioBrando got OpenWrt installed on a reflashed v5, I'm hoping mine will too. It was just too tempting saving almost half off the price on a new C7 purchased locally. One of the customers who purchased it previously mentioned that he flashed OpenWrt on it that worked fine.

Yes, you can replace the v5 uboot with the V3 version and use Openwrt without problems.
Be aware if you don't backup your entire flash, you won't be able to revert back to V5.

(Last edited by ClioBrando on 23 Jun 2016, 22:26)

If it will arrive modded you won't have to. You could flash OpenWrt directly via u-boot. As the C7 firmware was quite old it should also be possible to flash it via web interface.

I recently got an AC1750 with Firmware version 3.14.3 Build 151014 Rel.49676n that I'm trying to flash. When uploading the openwrt factory I keep getting the following error:

Error code: 18005
Upgrade unsuccessfully because the version of the upgraded file was incorrect. Please check the file name.

I've tried renaming it openwrt.bin and ArcherC7v2_en_3_14_3_up_boot(150427).bin as suggested in this chain, but I always get the same error.

Anything else I can try?

it seems like you used WPA TKP encription for wifi password, try to use only AES and let us know

I installed OpenWRT on my C7 v2 last night (15.05 from here) and ran into a couple strange issues. 

For one, the 5GHz radio seemed to basically refuse working at anything other than 119/80MHz and was undetectably by my Nexus 10.  Any ideas?

For another, the NTFS USB Hard Drive (Western Digital 3.5" 3TB Backup) I had hooked onto the USB2.0 port started spinning at full speed 24/7 for no apparent reason (it was recognised as /dev/sda2 and I had it auto-mounted on /mnt/usb-ntfs with a rc.local script and shared it on SMB).  Is there a way to stop NTFS mounts from spinning like mad when not accessed?  Alternatively, would formatting the hard drive to ext4 and setting it as a mount point allow me to do this?  Would sharing using NFS solve this?

I had to revert to TP-Link official firmware because of these (which is giving me completely different problems..) so any help would be great.

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this forum. I've used OpenWRT for a small TP Link rooter, and have bought a used Archer C5 v1.20 I want to install OpenWRT to.
As it shares the same electronic with C7, have you tried this trick to get the full bandwidth, transforming it into a C7 version?   http://www.hagensieker.com/archerc5toc7/index.php
My version is an European one, not sure if the image to use is the "US" or not, and if the trick will not brick it....
Your recommendations are welcome :-)

I'm new from here. I want to know how to "connect ttl"? Many thanks!

I believe 5GHz WLAN driver (ath10k) is not completely working yet. With 80MHz channel width, channel not auto and AES only encryption should give stable 5GHz network and decent speed.

(Last edited by PJK on 21 Jul 2016, 12:41)

Hi,
I'm having troubles flashing openWRT on archer C7 V2
After the firmware upgrade, there's no light on other than the power LED.
I've tried several of combinations from 2 different OEM firmware to 3 openWRT releases

Firmware Versions:   
3.14.2 Build 150304 Rel.58409n
3.14.1 Build 141110 Rel.44276n

OpenWRT version:
openwrt-15.05-ar71xx-generic-archer-c7-v2-squashfs-factory
openwrt-15.05.1-ar71xx-generic-archer-c7-v2-squashfs-factory
openwrt-ar71xx-generic-archer-c7-v2-squashfs-factory.bin

None wroked...
any ideas?

-- UPDATE:
Just saw the post about the new gd25q128 flash for V2.0 devices with serial numbers greater than 215C.
I'll check trunk later today.
from downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/trunk/ar71xx/generic/

(Last edited by firewormus on 4 Sep 2016, 13:12)

Same problem I like firewormus:

hardware: Archer C7 ac1750 v2.0

I tried flashing OpenWRT from stock firmware web-interface:
openwrt-15.05.1-ar71xx-generic-archer-c7-v2-squashfs-factory.bin
openwrt-15.05-ar71xx-generic-archer-c7-v2-squashfs-factory.bin

Аfter reboot get all leds off besides power. Lan-interface not available (but if i connect wire to lan-port, then lan-led blinking).

TFTP recovery (reset+power) of stock firmware - success (stock firmware without boot, image file size =16252928).

What may be related problem to flashing OpenWrt?

Thank you.

(Last edited by wmo on 4 Sep 2016, 08:49)

what firewormus is saying is that there's now two versions of v2.

Try flashing trunk version ... it contains a new kernel that supports the gigadevice flash.

Alternatively, you can build your own version of 15.05 using a patched kernel, the patch for the chip should already be in the branch, or at least it's on the openwrt-devel mailing list.

Wiki has all the instructions on building and contributing, give it a read.

Hi,

I was already reading through some threads and the wiki. I was able to successfully flash 15.05.1 on my Archer C7 v2 without any serious problems. The router is currently set to AP and everything works as expected. The only thing I am not sure is the current status of the ath10k driver and 5Ghz wireless.

Does the current version contain a driver which allows 5Ghz wireless at 160Mhz? I am not able to get it to work but this may also be a misconfiguration. Not sure if the information I found (limited to 80Mhz) is still valid.

Thanks!

(Last edited by rustikus on 4 Sep 2016, 18:26)

So, i was install trunk version of OpenWRT. This solve problem with flashing firmware for Archer C7 ac1750 with new gd25q128. SSH connect successfuly .

Next question: can i patch OpenWRT ImageBuilder 15.04 (stable, not trunk) for my router (with gd25q128) ?

80 MHz is max for that hardware regardless of what firmware/drivers. To be honest I'm not sure if I ever heard of a 160MHz chipset. I know the standard allows for it, but all the ac stuff is mostly 80MHz. Some devices even do 40MHz 802.11ac