I successfully updated yesterday using the newest build and just wanted to share some observations, for anyone else that's a bit of a noob and might run into similar debug challenges.
Connecting via serial: my device wouldn't turn on (all lights stayed lit and it was frozen) if I had all three pins connected. Instead, you should keep the GND pin unplugged and only connect it about one second after you power the device.
I have FTTH and my ISP requires outbound traffic on a tagged VLAN and PPPoE. I started by following npcomplete's post #116 to FlyingHampster, although I treated the eth0 reference as a typo or legacy reference and kept it as eth2.[vid]. I then needed to add the following (either to the end of /etc/fix_interfaces.sh or the startup script after fix_interfaces):
bridge vlan del vid 35 dev wan
bridge vlan add vid 35 dev wan pvid tagged
(Where 35 was my VID, yours may differ)
There may have been a better way, but this worked and didn't require heavy lifting. I did not muddle around with the [switch] configs, which is what most of the internet suggests if you google on this topic.
After flashing, my radios weren't working. They were enabled, but wouldn't start up the AP. Ultimately, I got things to work through a brute force process of trying different frequencies and channels. I started with World as the country target, but ultimately just switched to GB, as my device is a UK model. My 5Gz radios needed to be set to 80Mhz and I could only get them to startup if I set them to a low channel (I think channels 36 and 40) - not so great for isolation. At some point, I also started to see these in the kernel logs:
[ 1664.297335] brcmfmac: brcmf_msgbuf_tx_ioctl: Failed to reserve space in commonring
[ 1664.304955] brcmfmac: brcmf_cfg80211_get_channel: chanspec failed (-12)
but they went away after rebooting, so maybe a red herring. It's possible I could have found a more optimal setting of frequencies, but I got a bit impatient.
Because of the radio issues, I've temporarily reverted back to OEM. I'd also like to see how to setup band steering, if it's at all possible - I couldn't find much on the OpenWRT/LEDE forums other than 'maybe it's possible if you hack around with hostapd process/radio affinities'. I have a lot of devices connecting, so sort of keen to see load balancing and escalation working.
Overall, I think npcomplete did a great job describing the process - other than a few integration quirks with my ISP, and some of the quirks with the radios, it all went smoothly and never felt risky. Thank you. =)
You better keep gnd connected and lift tx of your serial console (rx on your router). Channels above 48 require DFS in europe, this means the wlan driver must scan for a potential weather radar on this channel for one minute, before it is allowed to transmit - in other words, try again and be patient.
Connecting via serial: my device wouldnât turn on (all lights stayed lit and it was frozen) if I had all three pins connected. Instead, you should keep the GND pin unplugged and only connect it about one second after you power the device.
Had the same, fortunately figured it out myself But yeah... like sih writes it is better to disconnect either Tx or Rx and leave GND be
Taking down the 6/18/18 build - nothing special with the build. Let me double check, but the everything should work out of the box. Let me send you a private build.
-Edit-
Re-built and tested the build again - no issues with connectivity. May be you want to perform factory reset? Either way this is just an incremental build nothing special.
It may have been because I didn't do a factory reset first -- but if there's no real reason to upgrade (security etc) then I won't bother right now lol
I will just hold off until a more substantial build.
Hi npcomplete!
A new stable of OpenWrt 18.06.0 has been released... I am not asking for any ETAs or something like this... but... you know... the weather ... and my EA9500 is getting thirsty for new updates
Any luck on the latest build? I have an EA9500 on firmware build 1.1.7.180968 and am wanting to flash my firmware to WRT. Should I wait on your results? Is there a somewhat idiot proof guide to help me with this adventure?
Thank you Thomas, I saw that, I just didn't know fi there was an updated version. Should I wait until npccomplete releases the new build?
So I saw the latest post and directions here
Instructions for flashing May 3rd build:
Enter CFE prompt and use Serial cable to flash and reboot flash -noheader 192.168.1.10:/openwrt.trx nflash0.trx
You will see a lot of ECC errors, don't worry, let the router do it's thing until you see log stop moving.
Reboot the router and enter CFE prompt.
Flash using serial cable again and reboot.
When the log stops moving. Run this: cat /dev/mtd1 > /tmp/nvram && mtd write /tmp/nvram /dev/mtd1
Reboot and you should be all set.
So with this, I am basically using the serial cable to flash it twice and reboot twice then run the cmd then reboot...
Once it has been flashed and reboot is it as simple as setting up my wifi password etc.. to start using the basic features? I don't want the internet to be down long. If something goes wrong is there a way to go back to original firmware?
Only problem you could face is like ucbmckee wrote:
Connecting via serial: my device wouldnât turn on (all lights stayed lit and it was frozen) if I had all three pins connected. Instead, you should keep the Tx or Rx pin unplugged and only connect it about one second after you power the device.
Once it has been flashed and reboot is it as simple as setting up my wifi password etc.. to start using the basic features? I don't want the internet to be down long. If something goes wrong is there a way to go back to original firmware?
Yes, the setup is relatively easy, shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes to fine-tune.
And there is a way back -- we have two ROMs, we flash only one. Backup is to rebot the router 3 (or was it 5?) times in a row and it should switch to the backup.
Thank you, all very helpful. Quick clarification before I start, when it says
"Set your machineâs IP to 192.168.1.10/255.255.255.0 with **Gateway = 192.168.1.1
Does this mean on my computer settings or router settings? Is this done under Adapter settings---IPV4 General tab? or do I need to go to advanced settings
I ended up re-flashing the WRT and was able to get back into WRT firmware. Once again I changed the PPoE and it locked up, restarted router and I cannot get to router menu. Attached you can see my linksys PPoE settings and where I tried to change it in WRT. It seems WRT crashes every time I select Save and Apply
I have now flashed my router 3 times with "openwrt-20180503.trx" and all three times it freezes when I select "Save and Apply" Any ideas of what I can do to remedy this issue? I need to be able to save my PPoE username and password
As I have been waiting for a reply, I keep finding things I did wrong. I didn't follow these directions below, I just flashed and rebooted. Geesh. Let me try these directions and see what happens.
Instructions for flashing May 3rd build:
Enter CFE prompt and use Serial cable to flash and reboot
flash -noheader 192.168.1.10:/openwrt.trx nflash0.trx
You will see a lot of ECC errors, don't worry, let the router do it's thing until you see log stop moving.
Reboot the router and enter CFE prompt.
Flash using serial cable again and reboot.
When the log stops moving. Run this:
cat /dev/mtd1 > /tmp/nvram && mtd write /tmp/nvram /dev/mtd1
Reboot and you should be all set.
I followed the directions and still locks up when I select "Apply & Save" I have no clue what to do next. One thing I find strange is that even though I flashed the firmware, it still has my password in the WRT menu. Is that normal. I'm really out of options here, any help would be great.
Once the flashing is complete. Power off the router and power back again. Wait for CRC errors you see and all the scrolling text. Then reboot one last time.
But yeah... like sih writes it is better to disconnect either Tx or Rx and leave GND be 
