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TM 1900 to RT - AC68U - (Help)

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refused the connection

i need ideas ill test anything i need to to get this working before i go and buy a new router and trash this pos
 
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hmmm trying

no go..

Receive file size=44797998
The file transferred is not a valid firmware image.
 
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Big complaint is not getting into proper recovery mode.

  • Some TM-AC1900 ship with a firmware version that allows SSH access. If you get one of these, you can skip steps 5-10 of the guide. To check if you have SSH available, go to Administration > System in the router configuration interface. If your firmware permits SSH, there will be a setting to Enable SSH. If so, choose Yes, then Apply. Move on to step 11.
Try the instructions found here:

Hi all, I've just solved the issue finally. The main problem I was having was the Asus Firmware Restoration Tool was not allowing me to return to an Asus Firmware. This is what I did it make it work.
  1. Power off the router with the power button on the back.
  2. Click and hold the WPS button located on the right sight side of the router.
  3. Power on the router while continuing to hold the WPS button.
  4. Watch the power LED light, it will begin to flash.
  5. Release the WPS button.
  6. Power off the router.
  7. Press and hold the reset button on the back of the router.
  8. Power on the router while continuing to hold the reset button.
  9. This will enable emergency mode.
  10. Open Asus Firmware Restoration Tool.
  11. Upload Firmware and your done.
My problem was I was never able to successfully upload the firmware usuing the Restoration Tool. It would interrupt and never work. But Step 3 to Step 6 made it work!

OR

Boot into Recovery Mode.
  • Set you computer IP 192.168.1.2/255.255.255.0
  • When router is off, keep holding reset button down and turn on your device.
  • When power light slowly starts to blink try to connect via 192.168.1.1 (use wired connection).
  • First select option to Restore/Clean NVRAM, then select Reboot.
  • Let it fully boot up (could take couple of minutes) and then turn it off again.
  • Now boot into recovery mode again using same method as before (hold down reset while powering on)
  • Download OEM firmware from Asus site: http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/wireless/RT-AC68U/FW_RT_AC68U_90043802695.zip
  • On recovery page (192.168.1.1) select downloaded firmware file and click "Upload"
  • Patiently wait until upgrade process is complete and router fully reboots.

OR

Community Wiki
Last Edited by Ch1ngl1ng August 15, 2018 at 12:45 PM
From the other router posts at, like here

You can flash this router to an RT-AC68U: http://www.bayareatechpros.com/ac1900-to-ac68u/. There are few change/additions needed in the guide before the latest ASUS firmware can be flashed, though.
  • Avoid CFE 1.0.2.5 from the RT-AC68P, as the newest Asus firmwares (3.0.0.4.384.20624 and later) detect this on the TM-AC1900 and revert the mod. Instead, use CFE 1.0.2.0 US AiMesh; it was dumped from an actual RT-AC68U by user goggles99 at SNB. The CFE generator [pipeline.sh] by danielfeng has this version available.
  • Some TM-AC1900 ship with a firmware version that allows SSH access. If you get one of these, you can skip steps 5-10 of the guide. To check if you have SSH available, go to Administration > System in the router configuration interface. If your firmware permits SSH, there will be a setting to Enable SSH. If so, choose Yes, then Apply. Move on to step 11.
  • The T-Mobile certificates have to be wiped from the mtd5 partition. This can be done after all of the steps in the guide have been completed, but must be done before any newer version of ASUS firmware is flashed. As of this writing, the firmware included in the bayareatechpros guide is 3.0.0.4.376.3626, so the steps below should be performed when this version is running on your router.
Wiping T-Mobile certificates from the mtd5 partition

These instructions originally existed on SNB before that forum thread was shut down [snbforums.com]. Credit to XVortex and rdallen. After you've performed these steps, you can flash 3.0.0.4.384.21045 (and possibly newer) using the GUI.

Code:
# Backup MTD5 (dd produces identical bin)
cat /dev/mtd5 > /jffs/mtd5_backup.bin

# Copy mtd5_backup.bin from router using scp
# From host: scp admin@192.168.1.1:/jffs/mtd5_backup.bin ./

# Mount MTD5
mkdir /tmp/asus_jffs
mount -t jffs2 /dev/mtdblock5 /tmp/asus_jffs

# Copy mtd5 files from router using scp
# From host: scp admin@192.168.1.1:/tmp/asus_jffs/* ./

# Wipe mtd5 files and reboot
rm -rf /tmp/asus_jffs/*
sync && umount /tmp/asus_jffs
rm -rf /jffs/.sys/RT-AC68U
nvram unset fw_check && nvram commit && reboot
-----

ASUS RT-AC68U firmware downloads [asus.com]

SNB now disallows discussion [snbforums.com] about converting TM-AC1900 to RT-AC68U with AiMesh. So, modding information may be a bit harder to come by going forward. Some discussion has moved to this thread [whirlpool.net.au] on whirlpool.

Other Tips:

If you are having problems accessing the mini-CFE webserver this works:
  1. Power off the router using the power button
  2. Set your PC's IP to 192.168.29.2 (assuming the recovery mode is gateway is 192.168.29.1)
  3. Navigate to 192.168.29.1 using your browser -- the browser continue to try and access the page until it is available
  4. Press and hold the reset button while powering-on the router
  5. When the mini-CFE webpage appears on the browser, release the reset button
  6. As long as the browser status is still spinning -- looking for a webpage -- the mini CFE web page will load
Link to this Wiki
 
Last edited:
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jsfitz54 what do you think i should try?

Start with the first one (example) and work through the list. Pay attention to the first bullet point... (are you sure about no SSH option?)
 
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SSH refused connection.

What do mean refused connection. You click on the SSH box and hit APPLY on the bottom of the screen.
 
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I don't have SSH access in settings

I just got over the FLU so give me a few days to test all this.
 

Arthurb

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Gosh, it almost hurt reading this. Someone asking for help and someone just feeding information without reading, or understanding the replies.
What you are going to have to do is use the USB Instruction on this page;
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NsZMONmJ70zMmoAKKQJXbTVKytaPJptWTpqih1TD5n8/edit

The new firmware works really hard to keep you from upgrading the router to the RT-AC68U, even though it is the same hardware.

Make sure that after you upgrade, that you go back to this page;
https://www.bayareatechpros.com/ac1900-to-ac68u/
and follow the instructions at the bottom of the page to remove the lock stuff in the MTD5 partition.

I have worked on mine for 8 hours today and there is no way to get the "Enable SSH" to happen in the newer firmware.

Good Luck

Oh, this page may also be helpful;
https://lazymocha.com/blog/2018/04/16/flash-t-mobile-cellspot-tm-ac1900-to-asus-rt-ac68u-p/
 
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It almost hurts reading this i feeel no one is listening to me..

Giving me a link doesn't help me.... I need to know what to do do do step by step.

Thanks for replying.
 

jeffifixit

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So I read through this entire post because I have 2 of these T mobile routers.
I hacked both of them in about 1 hour and i forgot to lock the MD5 check on the second one.
After being on the net for 50 mins the router rebooted and reverted to the T Mobile firmware, but this time to the new firmware that locks you out.

I tested flashing it several different ways from the recovery mode with zero success. Tried the Asus restore utility and that did nothing.


After doing more research I successful downgraded back to TM-AC1900_3.0.0.4_376_1703-g0ffdbba.trx - enabled SSH and reflashed

I stumbled across this document which outlines a few different methods to achieve this.
Not too hard to follow but you have to read it carefully. This helped me so I hope it helps you. It is possible to fix a unit that is locked out.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NsZMONmJ70zMmoAKKQJXbTVKytaPJptWTpqih1TD5n8/edit#
* The exploit below does not work on the latest Firmware Version:3.0.0.4.384_45708 , which allows you to use the wget function and write the firmware.

I did test the current firmware to see if the following exploit would work: It failed

validForm = function(){document.form.SystemCmd.value = "ping\necho hello world";return true;}

Now press the Diagnose button, and you should see the output from the command "hello world".



For the record, the reason I have two of these so i could play with the Airmesh features.
It's been running for 12 hours without issues.

Operation Mode:Access Point(AP) mode Firmware Version:3.0.0.4.384_45708 SSID:ASUS_OFFICEASUS_OFFICE
 
Last edited:

Leap

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Hey all,
Last night, I ran into the exact same scenario as "ice5192." I was on 376.3199 and received the "Not a valid firmware" error as well.

I was successful with the following solution:

*********************
Just ignore everything else and follow the "NO CFE USB Instructions" from "https://docs.google.com/document/d/...aPJptWTpqih1TD5n8/edit#heading=h.9c99cywuzc0n"

One thing that got me was the keyword "Console." It just means the Console TAB, within the inspect mode.

I am now on "Asus 3.0.0.4.384_45708"
*************************
 

jeffifixit

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Hey all,
Last night, I ran into the exact same scenario as "ice5192." I was on 376.3199 and received the "Not a valid firmware" error as well.

I was successful with the following solution:

*********************
Just ignore everything else and follow the "NO CFE USB Instructions" from "https://docs.google.com/document/d/...aPJptWTpqih1TD5n8/edit#heading=h.9c99cywuzc0n"

One thing that got me was the keyword "Console." It just means the Console TAB, within the inspect mode.

I am now on "Asus 3.0.0.4.384_45708"
*************************

Yeah not to extremely hard just have to use a different exploit to get it to work. Screenshot for what he means by "console" and where the text goes.
Capture.JPG


Hey all,
Last night, I ran into the exact same scenario as "ice5192." I was on 376.3199 and received the "Not a valid firmware" error as well.

I was successful with the following solution:

*********************
Just ignore everything else and follow the "NO CFE USB Instructions" from "https://docs.google.com/document/d/...aPJptWTpqih1TD5n8/edit#heading=h.9c99cywuzc0n"

One thing that got me was the keyword "Console." It just means the Console TAB, within the inspect mode.

I am now on "Asus 3.0.0.4.384_45708"
*************************

I haven't gotten great speeds when i do a speed test though with the AImesh. Not sure why .. both of my asus are hardwired for ethernet backhaul.
 
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So I read through this entire post because I have 2 of these T mobile routers.
I hacked both of them in about 1 hour and i forgot to lock the MD5 check on the second one.
After being on the net for 50 mins the router rebooted and reverted to the T Mobile firmware, but this time to the new firmware that locks you out.

I tested flashing it several different ways from the recovery mode with zero success. Tried the Asus restore utility and that did nothing.


After doing more research I successful downgraded back to TM-AC1900_3.0.0.4_376_1703-g0ffdbba.trx - enabled SSH and reflashed

I stumbled across this document which outlines a few different methods to achieve this.
Not too hard to follow but you have to read it carefully. This helped me so I hope it helps you. It is possible to fix a unit that is locked out.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NsZMONmJ70zMmoAKKQJXbTVKytaPJptWTpqih1TD5n8/edit#
* The exploit below does not work on the latest Firmware Version:3.0.0.4.384_45708 , which allows you to use the wget function and write the firmware.

I did test the current firmware to see if the following exploit would work: It failed

validForm = function(){document.form.SystemCmd.value = "ping\necho hello world";return true;}

Now press the Diagnose button, and you should see the output from the command "hello world".



For the record, the reason I have two of these so i could play with the Airmesh features.
It's been running for 12 hours without issues.
I learned something today!!
The exploit below does not work on the latest Firmware Version:3.0.0.4.384_45708 , which allows you to use the wget function and write the firmware.

THAT guy is GREAT !!
User17347427
/grin.

-----------------------------------------

The trick to getting 1703 installed is timing!
Sometimes it doesn't work....

Post #36 here you see the firmware restoration tool UI window.

Following Lazymocha's Guide CLICK HERE
Step: 6 & 7
Mini-CFE webpage
If you are having problems accessing the mini-CFE webserver see if this works:
  1. Power off the router using the power button
  2. Set your PC's IP as explained in Step 4
  3. Navigate to 192.168.29.1 using your browser -- the browser continue to try and access the page until it is available
  4. Press and hold the reset button while powering-on the router
  5. When the mini-CFE webpage appears on the browser, release the reset button
  6. As long as the browser status is still spinning -- looking for a webpage. If it stops refresh the page -- the mini CFE web page will load.
Some have said to keep holding the reset button down for 10 seconds after you start to load the firmware.
So, browser searching status spinning for 192.168.29.1- holding reset, power on router - if browser spins, the mini-CFE opens and you click firmware - keep holding reset for 10 seconds while firmware uploads.. let go reset.
Don't waste any time finding that firmware to load to mini-CFE as that web browser must be searching trying to connect to 192.168.29.1. If browser gives up searching (stops spinning) you have to click refresh.. it can stop the process. That is why ping is mentioned on some guides.
It helps to tape on a 'zip tie end' on top of the reset button so it's easy to press, you have a few things to do at once during this one step.

If this doesn't work,
Try Google Chrome incognito mode.
Some mention to turn on AP mode in the router, then try.



If accessing the mini-CFE webserver doesn't work at all for you...
You are experiencing the effects of a locked firmware...
You have to change Guides.

" Directions for rolling back to AC68 after AC1900 rollback: " Direct Google Docs Link. We call this the Google Doc. Guide. You can download it here

What is wrong with the T-Mobile 3199 firmware
The Cellspots are USUALLY now shipped out with firmware 3199, that makes it harder for you to downgrade that firmware. Sometimes you get lucky with the above steps, sometimes you don't.
This is also caused if you have a converted a Cellspot -TM-AC1900 to RT-AC68U, that did not do the MTD5 commands, and attempted to do a firmware update past 3.0.0.4.384.20308.

Why is my converted Cellspot rolled back to 3199??
Those that changed a Cellspot to RT-AC68U in the past might experience this because the ASUS Firmware 3.0.0.4.384.20624 and newer is a 'smart firmware' that identifies converted Cellspots and revert them back to a T-Mobile Cellspots with T-Mobile firmware- 3199. (You could say ASUS put in a virus/trojan to sniff out Cellspots)
Note: Merlin's is made off of ASUS firmware and will stop you updating firmware to 384.6 because it is triggering the 'cellspot rollback'... (or trying to)

To stop this from happening, you must complete the guide and do the MTD5 commands to make your router immune to this 'ASUS type smart firmware'.
IF you don't do these MTD5 commands, the safest highest version of firmware you can use of ASUS's is 384.20308.
The first MTD5 commands erases T-Mobile certificates and solves this issue. These first commands should be done on (according to Lazymocha's Guide instructions) 376.3626.
The last 2 MTD5 commands fills in that missing area to the regular size of the normal RT-AC68U. (Ahh haaa! MUST be done on firmware 384.xxxxx. that is why 384.20308 is the last safest firmware.. and you should install this to do the last 2 MTD5 commands)

IF you need to use this Google Doc. Guide,I recommend using the (No CFE USB Instructions). IF you still have your old 'original_cfe.bin' from converting THIS router in the past (not one from another router), then you can use the (USB Instructions).
 
Last edited:

jeffifixit

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two things:

One is I used to connect my USB drive to the router and stream shows from it. However in firmware 3.0.0.4.384_45708 that feature is no longer working. Possible a USB issue but.. that is highly unlikely. Can someone else replicate?

Well i figured out part of the problem after reading some post: the AImesh router can not view the usb shared drive. It just doesn't work like that.* But it does work on the main router, so i was able to still use the usb on the main router which is in a different room. Testing our the USB application via torrent adders tonight.
*https://www.snbforums.com/threads/cant-access-usb-drive-on-aimesh-node.54722/


Secondly I am seeing that ASUS updated the firmware to a new version. 3.0.0.4.384_45713-g0f2983e which I have not tested or upgraded to.
 
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two things:

One is I used to connect my USB drive to the router and stream shows from it. However in firmware 3.0.0.4.384_45708 that feature is no longer working. Possible a USB issue but.. that is highly unlikely. Can someone else replicate?

Secondly I am seeing that ASUS updated the firmware to a new version. 3.0.0.4.384_45713-g0f2983e which I have not tested or upgraded to.
Question 1)
That sounds like a bug, you should ask over here CLICK HERE so they are aware of the bug .
Question 2) thanks for the heads up : )

You're right, there is an update! CLICK HERE
  • Version 3.0.0.4.384.45713
  • 2019/04/11
  • 39.76 MBytes
  • ASUS RT-AC68U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.384.45713
  • Bug Fix
    - Fixed browser no response problem when enabled Traffic analyzer.
    - Fixed VLAN bug for Movistar.
    - Fixed the problem which causes lots of SQUASHFS error in system log.


  • Please unzip the firmware file first then check the MD5 code.
    MD5: 1029c47675545caca1723b0a53ac6956
Maybe - Fixed VLAN bug for Movistar. has to do with your first issue?
So before going to that site to talk about it, I would update your firmware since it has SOME fix for something to do with movistar?
With out the latest firmware installed, talking about bugs is somewhat pointless.

I will install the latest now and see if my router gets rolled back /grin! (since I have a spare in my drawer!)

BRB!

EDIT: I am not rolled back. :p
on 45713.

By the way, you will still see logs of the router checking for firmware.. which was introduced 45708 (It is still 'calling home'). So ahh, make sure you have future proofed before these recent firmware updates.. doing the MTD5 commands!
 
Last edited:

Gigaslackr

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Does anyone know if this process will work for an Sp-ac2015 as well? I would really like to restore the stock Asus firmware instead of using the sprint firmware
 
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I gave up on this months ago. I got tired of asking for help. I have the Wifi 6 AX6000 and the AC86U set on Merlin and working on mesh setup
 
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