Upgrading to the RouterTech.Org Custom Firmware (v2.96 - 20110502)

DISCLAIMER: The RouterTech.Org Custom Firmware is suppled WITH NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER.
NEITHER ROUTERTECH.ORG NOR ANY OF ITS MEMBERS ACCEPTS LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE
USE OR THE PURPORTED USE OF THE ROUTERTECH.ORG CUSTOM FIRMWARE, FOR ANY PURPOSE WHATSEOVER.
YOU USE THE ROUTERTECH.ORG CUSTOM FIRMWARE ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

IF THESE TERMS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE TO YOU, THEN YOU MUST NOT ATTEMPT TO USE THE FIRMWARE
AND YOU MUST DELETE THE FIRMWARE AND ALL ACCOMPANYING FILES FROM YOUR DISKS IMMEDIATELY.

NOTE: Using unofficial firmwares will void your warranty

Use a wired ethernet connection only for upgrading - NEVER use a wireless connection to upgrade your firmware.

!!! DIRE WARNING !!!
BEFORE trying to upgrade your firmware, YOU MUST FIRST VERIFY THAT YOUR ROUTER IS SUPPORTED BY THE ROUTERTECH CUSTOM FIRMWARE, and YOU MUST ALSO VERIFY THAT YOUR ROUTER IS USING THE CORRECT BOOTLOADER FOR THE FIRMWARE IMAGE THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO PUT ONTO IT. 

If you attempt to flash this firmware onto a router that is not supported, this is the quickest way of turning your router into an EXPENSIVE BRICK! Even if your router is supported, there is no guarantee that the process of flashing a new firmware will not go wrong and thereby turn your router into an expensive brick. 

For compatibility information, click here.

UPGRADING ROUTER FIRMWARES IS NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED. IF IN DOUBT, STOP RIGHT NOW.

To upgrade the router's firmware do the following:

1. Run the RouterTech Router Upgrade Checker (RUC), and save all the files that it generates in a secure place. You may need them later. If the program does not tell you that your router is supported, then stop right away. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. If you skip this step, and you brick your router, do not come and ask any questions on the forum.

2. Backup 
[a] your current firmware (or at least ensure that you have a backup of a working firmware), and
[b] your current configuration, and 
[c] the contents of your bootloader environment
[d] the contents of your router's /etc/led.conf file
DO NOT SKIP THE ABOVE STEPS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

3.  If your router is a wireless router, first confirm what wireless chip it uses - either the TNETW1130 wireless chip, or the TNETW1350A wireless chip  (if the bootloader environment contains anything like "WLAN_EEPROM0", "WLAN_EEPROM1", etc., then it probably has the TNETW1350A wireless chip and you should select the "1350A" firmware image). The RUC will be able to advise you about this.

4. Read these files: "firmware.txt" and "readme.first" and "faq.html", and take note of their contents.  DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. If you skip this step, and you brick your router, do not come and ask any questions on the forum.

5. If your router has your manufacturer's official firmware on it, verify that your router's firmware can readily be upgraded - a good test is to upgrade to your manufacturer's latest firmware. If you have problems doing that, then you will also have problems upgrading to any other firmware. 
 
6. Confirm that your router is configured for single-image upgrades. The RUC should be able to provide you with information about this. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. The RUC will also give you an indication of which firmware image you need for your router. If you skip this step, and you brick your router, do not come and ask any questions on the forum.

7. Reset your router to factory defaults. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. If you skip this step, and you brick your router, do not come and ask any questions on the forum.

8. Take the following steps below (1, 2 and 3):

UPGRADE PROCEDURE

1. For routers using the PSP boot loader (e.g., SWAMR/SWART2-54108/54125; Solwise SAR600EW, "R" series) and other routers requiring a single image upgrade (e.g., DLink G604T)

NOTE: Routers with the PSP boot loader mainly use single image upgrades. Some Adam2 routers (e.g., the DLink G6x4T series) also use single image upgrades. Only single-image upgrades are now supported. If your router requires separate images, then you must first convert it to use single images. The Router Repair Tool (RRT) can assist in this process.

Follow these steps for single image upgrades:

  1. Point your browser at http://192.168.1.1 (or whatever the IP address of your router is)
  2. Supply your username: (default "Admin")
  3. Supply your password: (default "Admin")
  4. Click on "Log in"
  5. At the main menu screen, click on "Tools" at the top menu bar
  6. If you have not yet reset your router to factory defaults, you must reset the router to factory defaults NOW (e.g., by selecting "Tools->System Commands->Restore defaults" or whatever option your current firmware offers). DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. After that, the router will reboot. Wait for it to reboot, and repeat steps 1-5 above, and then move on to step 7 below.
  7. Click on the "Update Gateway" at the left menu bar
  8. Click on "Browse" to open the file browser, and select the relevant *.firmware.upgrade.img file 
  9. Click on the "Update Gateway" button
  10. The router will be restarted - this will take a few minutes
  11. Wait for at least 7 minutes before doing anything else (even when the progress counter has reached 100%, particularly for the 1350A wireless firmware, you still need to wait for at least 5 extra minutes after the progress bar reaches 100%, because the router will need to reboot itself a couple of times). Do NOT try to refresh your browser until at least 7 minutes have elapsed, and do NOT interrupt the upgrade process. If you are feeling impatient, go and boil the kettle, make yourself a cup of tea, finish drinking it, and then come back!
  12. If the LEDs on your router are not correct, but everything else is working, then you need to login via telnet/ssh and select the correct LED file for your router (if available)
  13. For wireless routers, if you are having trouble upgrading from the web interface, try turning off the wireless access point to free up some RAM.

AND

2. Then you MUST restore the router's configuration settings to factory defaults:

  1. Login to the router again as described above
  2. Click on "System" at the top menu bar
  3. Click on "Restore Defaults", to reset the settings to the factory default settings
  4. After this process is finished, reboot the router and wait for at least 3 minutes before doing anything.

3. After this, you WILL need to reconfigure your router for your ISP:

  1. Login to the router again as described above
  2. Click on "Setup" at the top menu bar
  3. The click on "New Connection" (or select the default QuickStart PPPoA connection to configure it - in which case, you should skip step 4 below and go to step 5). If you don't use the default "quickstart" connection, then you must delete it after creating another connection.
  4. Select your ISP from the drop-down list (for some default settings), or select "Another ISP" if your ISP is not listed
  5. Supply your ISP username and password
  6. Click on "Apply", and then "Connect"
  7. This should connect you to the internet
  8. Click on  Setup/Modem, and select MULTI_MODE (if not already selected - if it is already selected, then go to step 9)
  9. Click on "Apply"
  10. Wait for about one minute while the system reconnects
  11. Click on "System"
  12. Click on "Save All" to save your configuration 
  13. If the LEDs on your router are not correct, but everything else is working, then you need to login via telnet/ssh and select the correct LED file for your router (if available)
  14. Go to the RT Configurations menu, and configure the RouterTech extra settings
  15. Reboot your router. You must do this once you have finished configuring your router for your ISP, and have saved your settings.

NOTE - you may be dumped back to the login screen before you've had time to save your configuration. This is due to the sntp function kicking in and updating the router's date/time from ntp time servers. The system might then detect a significant difference between the current date/time and the default one in the router's clock. and will log you out so that you can login again with the date/time corrected. Don't worry, just login normally and carry out the last two steps above.

WIRELESS SECURITY (for AR7WRD-based routers only)

1. The wireless access point (AP) in the AR7WRD wireless firmwares is now disabled by default. This means that you need to enable it manually in the wireless setup menu. You will need to repeat this step everytime you reset to defaults.
2. The firmware for the AR7WRD wireless routers comes with wireless security enabled by default (WEP). Some default encryption codes are supplied.  This has certain implications, which should be noted:

You should also change the default SSID from the default to something less obvious.

You can access this setting by going to the "Wireless/Setup" submenu.

 

SETTINGS

You can obtain information about various settings for your router, at the links listed below:

NOTES: see these

Visit our forum: http://www.routertech.org/