In Windows, simply drag and drop the folder containing your firmware file on top of onehttp-0.8.exe to launch the web server. onehttpd is a handy minimalist web server which can handle the task. First, we need to set up an http server on the host computer to send the file to OpenWrt. One way to do it is to use nc, which is documented here, but I found it easier to use wget, which is also available in failsafe mode. If you cannot telnet into the TL-WR703N and get a console as shown above, then you will have to proceed to Method #2.īefore we can flash our new firmware file, openwrt-ar71xx-generic-tl-wr703n-v1-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin, we need to transfer it to the TL-WR703N. Step 5: After PuTTY connects, and you hit the enter key, you should be presented with the OpenWrt console: Step 4: Telnet to your TL-WR703N, in Windows, you can use PuTTY: Step 3: Set your IP address to 192.168.1.2 and click OK:

Step 2: double click on Internet Protocol Version 4: Step 1: open the Ethernet adapter’s property sheet: Instructions for this how to do this in Windows are below. Next, set your host computer’s ethernet IP number to 192.168.1.2, and connect a CAT-5 cable between the TL-WR703N and the computer. OpenWrt will always enable the ethernet port, and set its IP number to 192.168.1.1 when in failsafe mode. The LED should begin flashing very quickly, indicating that you are in failsafe mode. As soon as the LED turns on again, press the reset button. The blue LED will flash once, and then go off for a few seconds. To get it into failsafe mode, power up the unit. However, it will only work if your TL-WR703N will actually go into failsafe mode. YOU DON’T NEED TO ACCESS THE TL-WR703N’s SERIAL PORT. This is the easiest way to unbrick a TL-WR703N, because it doesn’t require any soldering, or even opening up the case. Unfortunately, the Raspberry Pi serial port was too flaky. The next step was to figure out how to get it loaded into my TL-WR703N. Fortunately, nebbia88 posted a special firmware which enables both the LAN port and WiFi by default, which I downloaded from dropbox (20170927: link is dead. It turns out that my version of the TL-WR703N boots up with the ethernet port disabled, and the version of OpenWrt that I installed did not enable it. In my haste to flash it with OpenWrt, I missed the Gotchas in the OpenWrt wiki. The problem is that mine has the newer bootloader which disables the LAN port: After hooking it up, configuring it, and firing up PuTTY, I found via the serial terminal output that OpenWrt was booting up just fine, but that the ethernet port was disabled. the Raspberry Pi runs on 3.3v! I dug up the instructions on how to hook it up on the OpenWrt forum. This morning, I realized that I actually had a 3.3V UART in my house that I could use to connect to my bricked TL-WR703N‘s serial port.

Debrick Router Serial