Recovery procedure for APPro54G devices

 This document describes principles and the process of restoring original firmware in following devices: AirLive WL-5470AP, AirLive/OvisLink WL-5460AP, Planex GW-AP54SP, Planet WRT-414, and Planet WAP-4035.

NOTE: Before any changes to device's firmware, make sure you are following the latest version of this document and required files. Look for updates at the following address:

    http://approsoftware.com/download/rtl8186/recovery/

CAUTION
Procedures described below require advanced knowledge of:

• network configuration and administration,
• Linux operating system,
• APPro54G software,
• devices based on RTL8186 chipset,
• topics related to microcontroller programming,
• topics related to programming of flash memory.

Users that does not have appropriate knowledge should ask a specialist for help. Improper completion of the procedures will make a permanent damage to your hardware.

CAUTION
Using this software on other devices that indicated, attempting to install other version of software than provided with the tools, or attempting to install software from other vendors, will cause damage to the hardware.

DISCLAIMER
This software is licensed free of charge, and is not covered by any warranty in scope allowed by regulations in force. Unless stated otherwise, copyright holders and/or other parties provide the software “as is”, without any warranty, either explicit or implied, including implied warranty related to commercial use and other specific applications. Entire risk related to quality and effectiveness of this software is carried by person that uses this software. In cases where the software turns out to be defective, person that uses the software is responsible for all costs related to service procedures, repairs and corrections.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCEDURE
Firmware recovery procedure is divided into three basic stages:

• installation of intermediate firmware,
• transmission of flash image file,
• flash memory programming.

Methods of intermediate firmware installation

• in case of fully functional eth0 interface (LAN1 in two-port devices or LAN2 in 5-port devices), it is recommended to install using TFTP protocol;
• in case of fully functional eth1 interface (LAN2 in two-port devices or WAN in 5-port devices), and failing eth0 port, it is recommended to install using Web interface;
• if all eth ports (LAN) are defective, it is recommended to install using Web interface, via the wireless connection.

NOTE: Port descriptions match those found in APPro54G User's Guide, and NOT ALWAYS are in line with port descriptions on actual device (especially in older Planet devices).

• in Planet WRT-414 device eth0 is the same as any of LAN1-LAN4 (group of four ports placed close to power socket);
• in Planet WAP-4035 device eth0 is the same as any of LAN2-LAN5 (group of four ports placed close to power socket);
• in AirLive/OvisLink WL-5460 and Planex GW-AP54SP devices eth0 is the LAN1 port (closest to power socket);
• in AirLive WL-5470, eth0 is the same as one of LAN1-LAN4 ports.

Limitations

• software installation using the Web interface is possible only when device has properly installed APLite firmware or APPro with hardware module;
• software installation via TFTP is possible only when device has bootloader version 1.4 or older, or the latest version of the bootloader (NEW_1.4a_WL5460APv2_Ovislink). This limitation should not cause any problems, since APPro4G always was installed on devices with bootloader v1.4, or its most recent version.

NOTE: In devices AirLive/OvisLink WL-5460 and WL-5470, that have the most recent NEW_1.4a_WL5460APv2_Ovislink bootloader, there is another option to restore original firmware using bootloader's built-in Web interface. For more details, please refer to manufacturer's documentation.

Choosing the right version of intermediate firmware
To choose appropriate intermediate firmware file, you need to take to account both device type and method of installation:

• for installations based on Web interface, use the file recovery.bin;
• for TFTP installation on devices: AirLive/OvisLink WL-5460/70 and Planex GW-AP54SP, use the file recovery-ovislink.bin;
• for TFTP installation on devices: Planet WRT-414 and Planet WAP-4035, use the file recovery-planet.bin.

CAUTION
Using improper intermediate firmware will damage your AP.

Choosing correct flash image file
Flash image file has to be consistent with the AP device type:

• on AirLive/OvisLink WL-5460, use the file ovislink5460v2-flash.bin,
• on AirLive WL-5470, use ovislink5470-flash.bin,
• on Planet WRT-414, use the file planetwrt414-flash.bin,
• on Planet WAP-4035, use the file planetwrt4035-flash.bin,
• on Planex GW-AP54SP, use the file planexAP54SP-flash.bin.

CAUTION
Using improper flash image file will damage your AP.

Tools and accessories

• a PC with Linux system and basic software tools installed;
• serial interface adaptor (optional), with following settings: 38400, 8N1, Flow Control: none;
• the device should not be connected to local network;
• connections between AP and PC should be done without any intermediary devices.

Installation procedure via TFTP for devices with working port eth0

• for PC's network card (connected directly to the AP) set following IP configuration:
  • IP Address: 192.168.1.200,
  • Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0,
  • Default gateway: ---.
• connect serial console (if available);
• TURN OFF the AP;
• PRESS AND HOLD RESET BUTTON (make sure the button is pressed!!!);
• power on the AP, and (with the Reset button pressed all the time) wait for about 5 seconds;
• release Reset button;
• with the tftp command send PROPER intermediate firmware to the AP:
  • tftp -m binary 192.168.1.6 -c put recovery-ovislink.bin (AirLive/OvisLink, Planex);
  or
  • tftp -m binary 192.168.1.6 -c put recovery-planet.bin (Planet);
• wait for AP to update its firmware and make a restart. The operation takes about 3 minutes. The successful completion is indicated with flashing LEDs Status and WEP/WPA (if available on your AP);
• using ftp program send PROPER flash image to address 192.168.1.6 (login: admin, password: admin);
• using telnet program log on to the address 192.168.1.6 (login: admin, password: admin);
• type following command:
  • recovery-ovislink5460 (for AirLive/OvisLink WL-5460 device);
  or
  • recovery-ovislink5470 (for AirLive WL-5470 device);
  or
  • recovery-planetwrt414 (for Planet WRT-414 devices);
  or
  • recovery-planetwap4035 (for Planet WAP-4035 devices);
  or
  • recovery-planexAP54SP (for Planex GW54SP devices).
• after successful completion of these operations you should see messages similar to following:
      1984+0 records in,
      1984+0 records out.
• restart your AP.
  NOTE: First restart of recovered device may take even few minutes.
• after performing operations described above, device operates with factory firmware and default settings.

Installation procedure via Web interface for devices with working port eth1

• for PC's network card (connected directly to the AP) set following IP configuration:
  • IP Address: 192.168.100.200;
  • Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0;
  • Default gateway: ---.
• recovered AP should have APPro module installed;
• power on the AP and wait until OK LED (green) on the module is lit, and the Status LED of the AP goes off;
• restart AP (press and hold Reset button until Status LED is lit);
• when Status LED goes off, launch your Web browser and open following address http://192.168.100.252/;
• enter login: admin and password: admin;
• install appropriate intermediate firmware using firmware upgrade options in Web interface;
  NOTE: DO NOT interrupt firmware upgrade process. In case of any errors, repeat the procedure.
• after the following message is displayed:
      Updated successfully! (size = 1040402 bytes)
      Please reboot your AP
  you need to restart the AP;
• wait for restart of the AP device. This operation takes about 3 minutes, and its completion is signaled with flashing Status and WEP/WPA LEDS (if available on your AP);
• using ftp program send PROPER flash image to address 192.168.100.252 (login: admin, password: admin);
• using telnet program log on to the address 192.168.100.252 (login: admin, password: admin);
• type following command:
  • recovery-ovislink5460 (for AirLive/OvisLink WL-5460 device);
  or
  • recovery-ovislink5470 (for AirLive WL-5470 device);
  or
  • recovery-planetwrt414 (for Planet WRT-414 devices);
  or
  • recovery-planetwap4035 (for Planet WAP-4035 devices);
  or
  • recovery-planexAP54SP (for Planex GW54SP devices).
• after successful completion of these operations you should see following messages:
      1984+0 records in,
      1984+0 records out.
• restart your AP.
  NOTE: First restart of recovered device may take even few minutes.
• after performing operations described above, device operates with factory firmware and default settings.

Installation procedure via Web interface for devices with wireless connection only (in case of both LAN ports damaged)

• recovered AP should have APPro module installed;
• power on the AP and wait until OK LED (green) on the module is lit, and the Status LED of the AP goes off;
• restart AP (press and hold Reset button until Status LED is lit);
• when Status LED goes off, establish a wireless connect with the device using following settings:
  • SSID: APPro,
  • wireless card's IP address: 192.168.100.200,
  • wireless card's subnet mask: 255.255.255.0,
  • wireless card's default gateway: ---.
• launch your Web browser and open following address http://192.168.100.252/;
• enter login: admin and password: admin;
• install appropriate intermediate firmware using firmware upgrade options in Web interface;
  NOTE: DO NOT interrupt firmware upgrade process. In case of any errors, repeat the procedure.
• after the following message is displayed:
      Updated successfully! (size = 1040402 bytes)
      Please reboot your AP
  you need to restart the AP;
• wait for restart of the AP device. This operation takes about 3 minutes, and its completion is signaled with flashing Status and WEP/WPA LEDS (if available on your AP);
• re-establish a wireless connection with the device, using following settings:
  • SSID: recovery;
  • wireless card's IP address: 192.168.100.200,
  • wireless card's subnet mask: 255.255.255.0,
  • wireless card's default gateway: ---.
• using ftp program send PROPER flash image to address 192.168.100.252 (login: admin, password: admin);
• using telnet program log on to the address 192.168.100.252 (login: admin, password: admin);
• type following command:
  • recovery-ovislink5460 (for AirLive/OvisLink WL-5460 device);
  or
  • recovery-ovislink5470 (for AirLive WL-5470 device);
  or
  • recovery-planetwrt414 (for Planet WRT-414 devices);
  or
  • recovery-planetwap4035 (for Planet WAP-4035 devices);
  or
  • recovery-planexAP54SP (for Planex GW54SP devices).
• after successful completion of these operations you should see following messages:
      1984+0 records in,
      1984+0 records out.
• restart your AP.
  NOTE: First restart of recovered device may take even few minutes.
• after performing operations described above, device operates with factory firmware and default settings.

Troubleshooting

• in case of any errors during installation, repeat given operation without restarting or turning off the AP. This is especially important in case of installing intermediate firmware via Web interface;
• if recovered original firmware does not operates as expected, try to restore default settings;
• if the device was used with AProuter or APKonfigurator software, AP's configuration may be invalid and prevent the normal operation of the device. In such case you need to ask for assistance developers of mentioned software, or copy configuration memory block from other device;
• original firmware from some manufacturers does not guarantee backward compatibility of configuration data. This means that copying older version of configuration data can disable AP device. Our intermediate firmware allows to avoid such problems by overwriting configuration data with default values;
• original firmware in some devices may corrupt configuration data, if the Reset button is held or pressed multiple times when the previous restart routine hasn't completed yet. Our intermediate firmware allows to avoid such problems by overwriting configuration data with default values;
  NOTE: Original firmware for AirLive/OvisLink WL-5460 v2 performs checksum tests of hardware configuration data to establish whether it runs on manufacturer's actual hardware. If user damaged such data areas (e.g. with the APKonfigurator software), installation of original firmware will cause AP to restart periodically (after each failed verification of hardware configuration data). In such cases it is necessary to manually restore proper hardware configuration data.

Advanced topics

• to verify proper hardware configuration data, you need to log on to the AP, and type the following command:
  • ~ # cat /proc/mtd_nvram/hw.conf
    following parameters will be shown:
    HW_BOARD_ID=2
    HW_NIC0_ADDR=00:30:4f:42:19:1d
    HW_NIC1_ADDR=00:30:4f:42:19:1e
    HW_WLAN0_WLAN_ADDR=00:30:4f:42:19:1d
    HW_WLAN0_REG_DOMAIN=3
    HW_WLAN0_RF_TYPE=7
    HW_WLAN0_TX_POWER_CCK=0707070707070707070707070707
    HW_WLAN0_TX_POWER_OFDM=0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0
    HW_WLAN0_ANT_DIVERSITY=1
    HW_WLAN0_TX_ANT=1
    HW_WLAN0_INIT_GAIN=4
    HW_WLAN0_CCA_MODE=0
    HW_WLAN0_LED_TYPE=2
    Values assigned to HW_NIC0_ADDR, HW_NIC1_ADDR, and HW_WLAN0_WLAN_ADDR should be consistent with data placed on device's case;
• tool dd (http://www.busybox.net/downloads/BusyBox.html) allows to save, copy, and modify selected areas of flash memory. With this tool you can fix some problems related to corrupted areas with configuration data. To fully utilize tool's capabilities, you need to familiarize yourself with following memory map:
  

  start	len
  0x00000000	0x00006000	bootloader	24k
  0x00006000	0x00002000	HW settings	8k (hardware configuration)
  0x00008000	0x00004000	DS settings	16k (default settings)
  0x0000c000	0x00004000	CS settings	16k (current settings)
  0x00010000	0x001F0000	Firmware image	1984k (actual firmware)

  
  command syntax:
  • dd [if=FILE] [of=FILE] [bs=N] [count=N] [skip=N] [seek=N] [conv=notrunc|noerror|sync]
  
  for example, to restore default contents of configuration area DS settings and CS settings, use the command:
  • dd if=ovislink5460v2-flash.bin of=/dev/mtd bs=1k seek=32 skip=32 count=32
• in case of damaged all communication ports (eth0, eth1, and WLAN) or damaged LAN1 and no possibility of installing intermediate firmware (e.g. device doesn't have APPro software installed), it is still possible to REMOVE existing firmware. In order to remove firmware, you need to connect serial console and type following command:
  • <RealTek>FLW 00010000 080800000 001F0000
  • confirm operation when asked:
    Flash Program from 80800000 to 00010000 with 001F0000 bytes?
    (Y)es, (N)o->Y
    Flash Write Successed!
    <RealTek>
  • Device's firmware will be removed, and its flash memory - cleared.

APProSoftware.com Team