Opensource Firmware for TP-Link WDR4300 / OpenWRT

OpenWRT - More than just Wireless Freedom

As a big fan of TP-Link's Routers and the opensource firmware OpenWRT I decided to start blogging about this interesting topic.

You'll find a lot of infos on the internet about OpenWRT and
many reasons why
to use it for your network device, but I'll post specific info here for the
TP-Link WDR4300 dualband router with OpenWRT.

For the moment I'm preparing a preinstalled debian squeeze compiler in Virtualbox, you'll be able to use & download this build machine soon - for any OpenWRT device.
I did some improvements on auto updating sources and building OpenWRT with already included

• luci
• luci-ssl
• qos
• ipv6 support
• bash
• bash autocompletion
• nano editor
• blkid
• block-mount
• e2fsprogs
• ntfsprogs
• kernel with enabled ext4 and ntfs support
• all available iptables options

and some other fine adjustments to make this opensource-firmware
a better out-of-the-box experience for you too.

You can find TP-Link WDR4300 OpenWRT uploads of trunk snapshots on google drive.

A short explanation:
factory files are used to crossgrade firmware from stock to OpenWRT
sysupgrade files are only for upgrading OpenWRT

Anyway you'll make a wise decision using the squashfs firmware due to the
included failsafe mode.

Accessing the WDR4300 with OpenWRT

 

If you already flashed the factory upgrade it's necessary to telnet (192.168.1.1) in
and set a password using passwd command.

Otherwise the services won't start. From telnet you can also enable luci executing

/etc/init.d/uhttpd enable
/etc/init.d/uhttpd start

Those steps work if you're on the same subnet, so it's a good idea to give your pc a temporary IP like
192.168.1.2 in subnet 255.255.255.0.

Reverting TP-Link WDR4300 from DD-WRT or OpenWRT to stock.

Check back later.

cheers, best regards

Jürgen Dorn