Factory To OpenWRT

: Parent Category: Router Firmware; Category: OpenWRT; Published: 11 March 2012

TL-WR1043ND

TL-WR1043ND Ver:1.8 [ Flash Firmware from stock Factory to OpenWRT ]

Download OpenWRT

Download the latest stable build (currently called "backfire") from : http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/ .
Check the released date, in this example, the "10.03.1" is the latest

Click to the sub-folder " /10.03.1/ar71xx/ " (this device uses Atheros AR71xx chip series)
Scroll down and locate the " xxx-tl-wr1043nd-v1-xxx " file

Download the file to your computer

Note:

Use " xxx-factory.bin " to flash from stock firmware to OpenWRT
Use " xxx-sysupgrade.bin " to upgrade existing OpenWRT (if your device already flashed with previous version of OpenWRT)

Flash To OpenWRT

Important:

Unplug everything
Connect only 1 cat cable to the device's LANport 2 or 3
DO NOT connect any WAN cable or through wireless link during flashing & setup
Ensure the setup PC & the device has sufficient power battery supply (in case of power failure)
Clear browser cache, close & re-open again each time during flash/setup firmware (before & after)

( Note: I personally prefer to use latest FireFox )

Login to the device, go to " System Tools --> Factory Defaults tab "
Click Restore to reset the device clean before flashing

DO NOT touch anything until the process complete !!

Once the device reset, open browser login to 192.168.1.1
Default login Id & password = admin

( Note: Some TP-Link devices latest firmware use 192.168.0.1 )

Go to " System Tools --> Firmware Upgrade tab "
Click Browse to the downloaded " xxx-factory.bin " file
Click Upgrade to to start flash

DO NOT touch anything until the whole process complete !!

Once flashed successfully, the default OpenWRT webgui will show with default IP 192.168.1.1
Login to the device with default user ID = root (with no password)