TFTP Recovery (De-Bricking)
The serial-less TFTP recovery method for the
TP-Link TL-WDR4300 also works for the Archer C7 (confirmed on v1.1 and v2) and the Archer C5 (v1.20).
For firmware revisions before 3.14.1 (140929), the router looks for an IP address of 192.168.1.66 and a file named ArcherC7v2_tp_recovery.bin. Firmware 3.14.1 updates the bootloader to look for an IP address of 192.168.0.66 and a file named ArcherC7v3_tp_recovery.bin even on hardware v2 units, but may also load ArcherC7v2_tp_recovery.bin. Some v1.1 units may also look for ArcherC7v1_tp_recovery.bin. The model Archer C5 looks for the file ArcherC5v1_tp_recovery.bin.
Setup your computer to 192.168.0.66 or 192.168.1.66 as appropriate for your version (SubnetMask /24 = 255.255.255.0) and connect it to LAN1. Start TFTP server (e.g.
tftpd-hpa on debian) and provide recovery file with it. An Archer C7 will repeatedly try at 5-second intervals to connect to the TFTP server if you have the “wrong” address.
To activate TFTP Recovery press and hold WPS/Reset Button during powering on until WPS LED turns on.
For de-bricking with an OpenWrt image use the factory.bin image.
In case you are flashing back original firmware, make sure original firmware image name does not contain word
boot →
return_to_factory_firmware.