Warning TP-Link TL-WR1043ND Bricked

[Stuart7111]

I successfully loaded Gargoyle 1.5.10 to my WR1043ND however there seemed to be some lacking features as there was no setting for Quotas in the Firewall menu so I thought it might be best to check on an older Gargoyle version such as 1.4.7

After trying to load 1.4.7 I have bricked the WR1045ND as it did not complete the update and after repower it is not responding. I did wait at least 1 hour for the update to complete.

I am not finding anything clear on how to resolve this issue. I have done many flash/updates on routers and never had this problem before so the main point is to warn others against this situation.

Hope this warning helps someone.

[BashfulBladder]

http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl- ... lsafe.mode

You don't mention if you tried failsafe mode &:

Code: Select all

mount_root
mtd -r erase rootfs_data

If that doesn't get the UI back, try flashing from failsafe.

I don't recall seeing anything in Gargoyle's code that would disable Quotas unless somehow the listing for the page was deleted.

[Stuart7111]

Thanks for the suggestion. I have tried the failsafe option, but it doesn't even have a SYS light coming on, just the PWR light and Port 1 light when connected.

I also thought it odd the Quotas option was missing on Gargoyle 1.5.10 That was the only reason I had bought this router.

[DoesItMatter]

It's almost impossible to brick current Atheros devices.

It's always recoverable via Serial unless there is some kind of
power surge or you somehow managed to destroy the bootloader

If you are flashing 3rd party firmware - you need to know Serial recovery

[raghavK.dua]

Hey stuart7111 I am also having the same problem.In my case installation of firmware went upto 100% and then the router restarted but after the restart my router was behaving just like yours .If u find any solution please inform us.My router was only 12 days old.

[fidjit]

I bricked mine when I first got it and found this procedure which I stored away. It's a bit old but it worked for me. Good luck !


1) Download and install small http server: http://home.lanck.net/mf/srv/index.htm
2) Download the sysupgrade binary at * below
3) Copy the file downloaded in 2) to the default directory created when you installed 1) above.
Set your computer with static address 192.168.1.9 and subnet mask 255.255.255.0
Unplug the wr1043nd power cable. Plug the power cable back in and repeatedly tap the QSS button on the right like crazy for about 30 seconds.
Have your computer connected to a LAN port of the wr1043nd. Then ping it with this command:
ping 192.168.1.1
If it responds, we’re good to go
Since your wr1043nd already runs Gargoyle which is Openwrt underneath, it's easier to upgrade the firmware using the openwrt command sysupgrade and the sysupgrade firmware. There's no need for command mtd.

* http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 ... pgrade.bin

To get this file to the router you need to telnet to the router:
telnet 192.168.1.1
then you enter
cd /tmp
To get the file into this directory enter:
wget http://192.168.1.9/openwrt-ar
71xx-tl-wr1043nd-v1-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin
then, we’re ready to upgrade
#go to /tmp directory
cd /tmp
#check firmware file integrity
md5sum openwrt-ar71xx-tl-wr1043nd-v1-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin
#use sysupgrade to flash sysupgrade image. it's one line
sysupgrade -n openwrt-ar71xx-tl-wr1043nd-v1-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin
Wait a few minutes. If successful, the wr1043nd will reboot and become openwrt with default IP number 192.168.1.1.
If it doesn’t reboot, wait a few more minutes and repower the router, it should then allow access.

[ericwong]

It's almost impossible to brick current Atheros devices.

It's always recoverable via Serial unless there is some kind of
power surge or you somehow managed to destroy the bootloader

If you are flashing 3rd party firmware - you need to know Serial recovery

Yes, I have helped someone in Australia debrick their router using serial for this model before.

It can be done if you are technically savvy enough.