Possibly bricked my TM-AC1900 while downgrading to RT-AC68U after flashing Merlin?

[JV13]

I got a free T-mobile branded RT-AC68U. I was able to successfully downgrade from TM-AC1900 to RT-AC68u 3.0.0.4_376.47 firmware. The problem arises when I was flashing Merlin firmware to the router. I'm not able to get into recovery after even though I hold the reset button while plugging in the outlet plug for 20 seconds. The Asus logo on the router do not flash at all. I used NVRAM reset after I flashed the Merlin firmware and also typed in "reboot."

Also, my local area connection says "network4" then it switches to "Network cable unplugged." And it toggles between the 2 every few seconds even though the ethernet cable is plugged in and untouched.

I also get this error message (attached picture).

Maybe something went wrong when I was flashing the Merlin firmware? The router also do not connect to the internet. How do I fix this issue? Thanks

 

[JV13]

Did you restore to "Factory Default settings"? and how did you clear your nvram? Reset button is not the best.

Hold on WPS button and power on your router, keep holding WPS button until power led begin to flash rapidly,release the button and wait 2-3 mins.Reconfig
Good luck

Where do I go to restore factory default settings? I'm not able to get into the config page because the router keeps disconnecting and reconnecting the ethernet cable connection.

I cleared nvram in putty. And also tried doing the WPS button trick. Neither worked at the moment.

 

[JV13]

http://192.168.1.1/Advanced_SettingBackup_Content.asp
Factory default

and i can see you are on .47 Fw version, did you tried with the latest .51?

http://asuswrt.lostrealm.ca/download

and many peoples like this FW also(like me) , the famous fork from John.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/fork-update-for-374-43-available.18914/

Ps: if you downgrade to 374.xxx coming from 376.xxx or 378.xxx , you absolutly need to do "Factory Defaults" or/and WPS button trick

I was able to do a factory default but after it resetted the router continued doing the same thing. It goes from unidentified network --> network 2 --> network cable unplugged --> unidentified network --> network 2 --> network cable unplugged. Does this unti I unplug my ethernet cable.

I was able to do the NVRam reset doing the WPS trick and the power LED blinked rapidly but after I was done, it was back to the same thing.

I'm not even able to get into recovery on the router. I am trying to do hold onto the reset button --> plug in power --> wait 30 seconds while holding the reset button. I am getting nothing on my end.

What can I possibly do now?

Thanks in advance.

 

[john9527]

It looks like your router thinks it's set up as an Access Point. I saw you said your tried some things via putty....so if you can telnet to the router try this

nvram set sw_mode=1
nvram commit
nvram reboot

 

[JV13]

What goes from unidentified network --> network 2 --> network cable unplugged --> unidentified network --> network 2 --> network cable unplugged? Computer ? Sorry but sound like a cable issue or NIC, did u tried with another cable cat5E or Cat 6
Did you tried bypassing router and connect directly to modem? you got your internet back?

Tried using another cable that came with my Airport extreme. No luck.

It looks like your router thinks it's set up as an Access Point. I saw you said your tried some things via putty....so if you can telnet to the router try this

nvram set sw_mode=1
nvram commit
nvram reboot

I was able to get into putty and enter in all those code. It continued doing the same thing. unidentified network --> network 2 --> network cable unplugged

Is there a way I can flash the OEM Asus ACRT68U firmware? My recovery is not working at all.

 

[john9527]

Tried using another cable that came with my Airport extreme. No luck.


I was able to get into putty and enter in all those code. It continued doing the same thing. unidentified network --> network 2 --> network cable unplugged

Is there a way I can flash the OEM Asus ACRT68U firmware? My recovery is not working at all.

I think I see conflicting posts from you....will the router go into recovery mode if you hold down the reset button while powering on? (don't need to pull the power plug, just power down, hold reset, power up.....wait for slow blink of power led).

If it will, download a copy of my fork and try loading it thru the Asus Firmware Restoration utility.
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/fork-update-for-374-43-available.18914/

 

[JV13]

I think I see conflicting posts from you....will the router go into recovery mode if you hold down the reset button while powering on? (don't need to pull the power plug, just power down, hold reset, power up.....wait for slow blink of power led).

If it will, download a copy of my fork and try loading it thru the Asus Firmware Restoration utility.
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/fork-update-for-374-43-available.18914/

I am having no luck using firmware restoration. It says connecting to wireless device and it counts up to 30 seconds and then it says wireless router is not in rescue mode.

 

[JV13]

I was able to get the firmware restoration to run but it disconnected midway while it was updating.

 

[L&LD]

How long did you wait for it to run? Leave it at least an hour or two (yes, really).

 

[JV13]

How long did you wait for it to run? Leave it at least an hour or two (yes, really).

I was able to get the router to connect on the firmware restoration earlier. And I let it ran for about 1hr and came back to this. The router recovery went all the way to 100% then this popped up:

 

[L&LD]

Unless anyone else has more suggestions for you to try, it seems like your router is done for.

 

[john9527]

There are two more things to try...
- use tftp to try and upgrade
- since you can telnet to the router, we can see if you can access the usb port and try to load the code directly from the Linux shell

Are you familiar enough with Windows to assign a static ip to you Ethernet adapter?

 

[L&LD]

I just thought of something else. Do you have another router handling DHCP when you're trying this?

Try connecting the computer you are using without any other network connections to the computer or to the router you're trying to un brick.

 

[JV13]

I appreciate you guys helping me fix this issue. Turns out it is a lot more complex than I thought to fix the router.

Unless anyone else has more suggestions for you to try, it seems like your router is done for.

That doesn't sound good. What do you think went wrong with the router? I messed up on changing the Hex code? Firmware flashing issue?

There are two more things to try...
- use tftp to try and upgrade
- since you can telnet to the router, we can see if you can access the usb port and try to load the code directly from the Linux shell

Are you familiar enough with Windows to assign a static ip to you Ethernet adapter?

-TFTP I would assume does the same thing as Putty, just different programs?
-I am able to telnet, which firmware should I try to flash through the USB port? Since I am not able to get into restore mode would this process still work?

Yes, I understand how to set up an static IP.

I just thought of something else. Do you have another router handling DHCP when you're trying this?

Try connecting the computer you are using without any other network connections to the computer or to the router you're trying to un brick.

When I am fixing the router I am connecting the router straight to my computer with no internet connection. Are you suggesting I should connect the Asus router to my main router with internet connection?

 

[L&LD]

No, straight to your computer with NO OTHER connections on either.

Did you try rebooting the computer while the (dead) router was attached?

 

[JV13]

No, straight to your computer with NO OTHER connections on either.

Did you try rebooting the computer while the (dead) router was attached?

Yes, it has been connected only to my computer with no internet connection. And yes, I tried rebooting.

 

[john9527]

OK....let's step and check a few things.
Let's see if your CFE edit was correct. Use putty to log into the router and enter

cat /dev/mtd0 | grep macaddr

You should see the three mac address entries that you had to edit when changing your CFE. If they are incorrect, since you can still get to the router, you can correct the CFE and try flashing it again.

If that looks OK
-See if you have tftp installed on your PC. Open a cmd window and type tftp and see if you get help txt. If not, install tftp through Control Panel-Programs-Programs and Features-Turn Windows features on or off
-Set your PC to a static address of 192.168.1.2 with netmask 255.255.255.0
- Put the router in recovery mode with the hold reset/power on slow blink
- Open a cmd window in Run as administrator on the PC and try to ping the router

ping 192.168.1.1

- If the ping works, put the code in your current working directory and

tftp -i 192.168.1.1 PUT codename.trx

give it time and wait for a response from tftp...hopefully something like Transfer Successful...then reboot

If this fails, then we'll go to the last method for trying an update.

 

[L&LD]

Yes, it has been connected only to my computer with no internet connection. And yes, I tried rebooting.

Have you tried giving your laptop a manual IP address like 192.168.1.100 and rebooting with the router and only the router attached?

 

[JV13]

OK....let's step and check a few things.
Let's see if your CFE edit was correct. Use putty to log into the router and enter

cat /dev/mtd0 | grep macaddr

You should see the three mac address entries that you had to edit when changing your CFE. If they are incorrect, since you can still get to the router, you can correct the CFE and try flashing it again.

If that looks OK
-See if you have tftp installed on your PC. Open a cmd window and type tftp and see if you get help txt. If not, install tftp through Control Panel-Programs-Programs and Features-Turn Windows features on or off
-Set your PC to a static address of 192.168.1.2 with netmask 255.255.255.0
- Put the router in recovery mode with the hold reset/power on slow blink
- Open a cmd window in Run as administrator on the PC and try to ping the router

ping 192.168.1.1

- If the ping works, put the code in your current working directory and

tftp -i 192.168.1.1 PUT codename.trx

give it time and wait for a response from tftp...hopefully something like Transfer Successful...then reboot

If this fails, then we'll go to the last method for trying an update.

My computer is not recognizing the router now. I tried restoring the router, no luck now.

Router might be GG

 

[Trexx]

I would try posting over on this thread as there is a TON of knowledge on working with the TM-1900 there.

http://slickdeals.net/f/7193262-t-m...uter-by-asus-free-for-postpaid-25-deposit?v=1