Installing OpenWRT on GL-750s

jeffsf · 2019-01-24T19:35:52.983Z

A couple of updates that may be useful for anyone else working on this:

Serial, AR750S is “Deaf”

Two of the eBay-sourced “FTDI” adapters that I have used in the past with a variety of devices seem unable to drive the RX pin of the AR750S sufficiently or properly to send data to the device over serial. The serial pins appear to be 2.5 V logic. Using an Adafruit FTDI Friend resolved the issue.

Uploading Combined UBI Image Through U-Boot

The factory U-Boot doesn’t like post of *-factory.ubi, failing with

## Error: input file format error!
## Error: couldn't find start of data in next packet!

Creating a symlink to, for example, factory.bin allows use of

curl -v -F 'gl_firmware=@factory.bin' http://192.168.1.1/index.html

to upload NAND-based firmware (with the current GL.iNet U-Boot image).

No, it’s not booting completely yet and am working through challenges in getting the NAND driver to load. Edit: This may be due to there not being a NAND driver for the ath79 architecture. Looking into that now.

[    0.299727] ath79-spi 1f000000.spi: cs1 >= max 1
[    0.304503] spi_master spi0: spi_device register error /ahb/spi@1f000000/flash@1
[    0.312184] spi_master spi0: Failed to create SPI device for /ahb/spi@1f000000/flash@1

2019-01-28:

There are no NAND drivers for ath79 that are acceptable for upstream Linux or OpenWrt and it is exceptionally unlikely that there will be prior to Kernel 4.19 being adopted for ath79.

See, for example ath79: fix GL-AR300M nand support by mennozon · Pull Request #1428 · openwrt/openwrt · GitHub

To be clear, OpenWrt NOR-based targets should be functional, when they are available.

routrename · 2020-04-26T14:20:38.767Z

Hi

I’ve found this thread whilst trying to get OpenWRT 19.07.02 on my GL-AR750S.

I’m not that familiar with how OpenWRT works and is built - do I understand correctly that there isn’t a build available for my router and I need to make one myself?

Thanks!

ganam25324 · 2020-04-27T01:25:37.137Z

stable Index of /releases/19.07.2/targets/ar71xx/generic/

looollsss

snapshot Index of /snapshots/targets/ath79/nand/

lolls

read openwrt general wiki/docs on how to install/upgrade

cheers

routrename · 2020-04-27T07:05:41.956Z

Hi

I followed the instructions here: [OpenWrt Wiki] GL.iNet GL-AR750S (under " OEM easy installation").

And used the current release linked here (gl-ar750s-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin): Index of /releases/19.07.2/targets/ar71xx/generic/

The uploaded image file does not contain a supported format. Make sure that you choose the generic image format for your platform.

I also tried openwrt-ath79-nand-glinet_gl-ar750s-nor-nand-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin but received the same erorr.

ganam25324 · 2020-04-27T10:04:51.129Z

docs.gl-inet.com

Debrick via Uboot - GL.iNet Docs

Documentation for GL.iNet Productions

use .img via uboot and .tar from luci

if you have problems with stable:

https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/19.07.2/targets/ar71xx/generic/openwrt-19.07.2-ar71xx-generic-gl-ar750s-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin

start from snapshot factory image:

https://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/targets/ath79/nand/openwrt-ath79-nand-glinet_gl-ar750s-nor-nand-squashfs-factory.img

cheers

routrename · 2020-04-27T10:24:40.721Z

Hi @ganam25324 thanks for your repsonse!

I’m not quite sure what you’re saying - I understand the debrick tutorial but my router is on the latest GL firmware (3.101).

For both of the files (.bin and .img) you posted I get the following error:

Screenshot from 2020-04-27 11-23-401019×231 19.1 KB

I get the exact same error for the two .bin files you posted previously.

Thanks again!

ganam25324 · 2020-04-27T10:41:40.575Z

that screenshot looks like luci, if it is not accepting image follow instruction in debrick tutorial and falsh snapshot factory image via uboot not luci:

https://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/targets/ath79/nand/openwrt-ath79-nand-glinet_gl-ar750s-nor-nand-squashfs-factory.img

cheers

routrename · 2020-04-27T19:47:57.716Z

Thanks! I understand now. I was able to flash with the img provided using the instructions above (Debrick via Uboot - GL.iNet Docs).

I then found that the factory img did not contain luci so I had no web UI.

So I did:

scp openwrt-ath79-nand-glinet_gl-ar750s-nor-nand-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin root@192.168.1.1:/tmp/
ssh root@192.168.1.1
sysupgrade -v openwrt-ath79-nand-glinet_gl-ar750s-nor-nand-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin

However, this also doesn’t have luci:

root@OpenWrt:~# opkg list-installed | grep luci
root@OpenWrt:~#

This is a bit off topic now - but I do I understand correctly that I should install luci manually for this image?

Thanks again for your help.

ganam25324 · 2020-04-27T20:57:24.611Z

snapshot dont have luci by defaulf, you just need to install luci, no need to try to flash again.

fix your cofig for minimun internet connectivity via ssh:

vi /etc/config/network

and then:

opkg update
opkg install luci-ssl

OpenWrt Wiki – 30 Jan 17

Installing OpenWrt development snapshots

Installing OpenWrt development snapshots For experienced users only! The steps below install OpenWrt development snapshot firmware on your device. The development branch can contain experimental code that is under active development and should not...

also next time no need to use factory image you can use sysupgrade image, if luci doesnt accept image try from ssh or uboot will do.

next release will fix this… ar750s nand is not in stable repo yet… you can dig a bit a look at the image builder… pretty easy to use for custom needs… no need to compile from source.

routrename · 2020-05-03T21:11:14.798Z

Thanks for this! This worked!

For reference, here’s what I added to /etc/config/network to get it working.

       option dns '8.8.8.8'  
       option gateway '192.168.1.254'

ganam25324 · 2020-05-04T02:56:09.713Z

@routrename yay! cheers #staysafe

muzicman82 · 2020-05-08T06:18:42.720Z

Newbie coming in here… what would I gain or lose by going to vanilla OpenWRT?

alzhao · 2020-05-08T09:31:58.828Z

You gain skills.
You loss wifi and the UI by default. You need to connect the the LAN port and install all packages including turning on the wifi.

ganam25324 · 2020-05-09T02:11:57.779Z

gl.inet UI is great for openwrt beginners and for what is thought for: travelers. vanilla is more of a pro-user, you should know what you are doing thing as @alzhao stated vanilla doesn’t have wifi on by default, and in gl-750s case you should install a snapshot release that also has no gui at all at first install.

mikelosat · 2020-06-20T02:12:13.501Z

Nothing to make friends, even uploading the NAND file “openwrt-ath79-nand-glinet_gl-ar750s-nor-nand-squashfs-factory.img” the AR750S router goes to BRICK. The WIFI LEDs after the flashig remain off and it is not possible to access the 192.168.8.1 interface.

to be able to load this firmware: “openwrt-ath79-nand-glinet_gl-ar750s-nor-nand-squashfs-factory.img” is it necessary that another firmware is already installed before?
What am I doing wrong I don’t understand?

npkamen · 2020-06-22T04:36:18.589Z

mikelosat:

uploading the NAND file “openwrt-ath79-nand-glinet_gl-ar750s-nor-nand-squashfs-factory.img” the AR750S router goes to BRICK. The WIFI LEDs after the flashig remain off and it is not possible to access the 192.168.8.1 interface.

WIfi is probably switched off by defailt (as indicated earlier in this very thread). 192.168.8.1 is the default IP address for gl.inet firmware only. OpenWRT uses 192.168.1.1.

Start here:

OpenWrt Wiki – 1 Oct 16

Quick start guide for OpenWrt installation

Quick start guide for OpenWrt installation So you want to install OpenWrt on one of your devices. The following preparation is recommended, before flashing OpenWrt firmware: * Don't rush the installation, take your time. If something seems weird...

turttle2013 · 2020-08-22T15:42:56.542Z

I received the same error and followed the hard reset insteuctions and it loaded great

turttle2013 · 2020-08-22T15:45:06.405Z

Once you ha
Ve you lan set for the static ip addreas use a different browser. I used edge

ccchan · 2020-08-30T18:28:47.506Z

wow a newbie layman walk by, before buying a 750s. (got a mango for pilot testing)

embedded + linux is really hard to use.

i’ll buy a device from GL inet, rather than buy a cheap Chinese 2nd hand router and flash myself.

This is overwhelming to non-engineers!

Hope it is still smooth after Slate’s 3yr support period…

thx

Johnex · 2020-08-30T18:40:42.521Z

For most users there is no need to use anything but the GL firmware.

It’s a steep curve, but that is why we have this wonderful community where people help eachother