vi is super hard to use, much difficult than making internet connection to 703n.
How the hell those people built something so in-constructive !?
Are they expecting everybody are expert ? huh ?
If google is so constructive, then those people wouldn't have problems at all. sign

Well.  I don't think Openwrt is for technically uninitiated.  Otherwise, we cannot explain the success of IPhone/Ipad.  In any case, if someone want learn Openwrt, he/she need to prepare to really dug into it.  Otherwise, it is probably to find a resident expert for set up everything and can be called upon when anything goes wrong or need further change.  I know this sounds cruel but this is just fact.

BTW, I don't know why vi is so hard. all one need to know are a few commands like i, a, q, q!, x, and may be a few more to begin with.

(Last edited by twinclouds on 2 Apr 2012, 02:22)

Someone who has used linux since the "mid 90's"--to whatever depth--doesn't fall into the category of what would normally be considered "technically uninitiated".

Things may or may not require more time than the poster feels able to commit right now--that has often happened to me--but I don't think we should assume that he is unable or unwilling to do what is needed.

One can say that the web interface would be easier, but he doesn't appear to have that option.  I've gotten into trouble with a web interface because I didn't know exactly what clicking on an option was going to do.  This networking stuff is very fiddly--it's easy to break things. 

The knowledge base on the wr703n is not very strong right now.  It's a nifty little device, but because getting and maintaining serial console is so dicey, I would say it's not the best for stepping outside the tried and true--but somebody has to, or we'll never get anything new.

@Lizby,
First of all, I didn't mean that the comments were for johan666, if that was what you meant.  I just want to warn people that if they want pursue 703n and Openwrt route, they should not expect for plug and play experience.  That is certainly not for johan666 but there are certainly people I feel fit this category.  Sorry for any misunderstanding.

(Last edited by twinclouds on 2 Apr 2012, 04:19)

i want to ask,

can i back to original firmware without serial cable?
im newbie..
can i do with web interface only?
Thx in advance.

You have misunderstood what I'm saying.
Basically all I said previously is based on "his" theory.

Why not !
WebUI, mtd, sysupgrade
You can switch between Stock and Openwrt freely !

Thats what i want too. I believe that it is easier to learn chinese than setup repeater mode with openwrt   

It will be good for you to learn chinese.
At least you can copy those text then paste to google translate then you will know what is it.
And it would be good too if you know how to setup repeater mode in openwrt.

Actually, that was what I meant.  What I said was about what you quoted but not about you.  However, I probably didn't express my opinion clearly.  Sorry for the misunderstanding again.

(Last edited by twinclouds on 2 Apr 2012, 16:52)

@johan666, I am on travel right now and want to set up repeater mode when back in a couple of days.  Can you provide some brief instructions regarding the best way to set it up?  Thanks.
BTW, I figured out how to set up it as router so it can be used in hotels (ethernet wan/wifi lan).  The issue previously I had was because I didn't set the wifi lan in dhcp mode.  After setting it up correctly, it works fine now.
Openwrt is actually quite powerful and not difficult to use.  It is just not plug and play.

(Last edited by twinclouds on 2 Apr 2012, 18:27)

Hey, what's your current config right now ?
no need to post your config files, I'm not an expert, so just tell in human readable constructive way, ha ha

BTW, setup repeater is quite easy.
With WDS, simply just bridge the AP and STA together, that's it.
Without WDS, simply bridge won't work, then you need "relayd",
Bind the AP and STA to separate interface, then create a interface use Relay bridge protocol(this relayd), then relay them......
check my previous post (if you understand my bad english)
And you can check Openwrt docs about bridge relay, I learnt from there too.
http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/recipes/relayclient
However relay mode in the current trunk is quite unstable .....

(Last edited by johan666 on 2 Apr 2012, 20:21)

Thanks.
I am going to set up a new one as the client, so you can assume the entire config file is at default.
I will read your previous posting when install.  I was asking how you did the repeater because as you said, without WDS, it cannot be done directly.  I thought things might have changed recently, but as you indicated, it is not the case yet.  I will try what you said using relayd and read paillassou's posting to see what I can accomplish.
Actually, set up the router in client mode is very easy with stock firmware.
BTW, dd-wrt is available for 703n already.  It has some minor bugs but it works overall.  The only issue is that it is not so easy to add new functions as Openwrt.

(Last edited by twinclouds on 2 Apr 2012, 22:46)

Without WDS, w/o relayd, AP and STA directly bridge will cause the whole wifi can't start....... as I remember.
Maybe it has changed / fixed in recent build, I haven't test it.
Try on error, maybe you can share you result.

Stock firmware can be setup as repeater very easily, but need to use the same SSID. (and you should know some freakin chinese)
TP-Link said other models can, but not 703n, firmware limitation.

dd-wrt is good, I have tried before.  Built with webui and usb 3G, printer and storage support, Hotspot etc. Suitable for most users.
But I need some flexibility in settings, so I switch back to openwrt.

@johan666:
Thanks. 
All I want to do is using the Openwrt 703n as an processor for the network and use it as an adapter for an wired ethernet adapter, e.g. as a remote wireless webcam.  I really don't meed it to be a wifi repeater but on an ethernet repeater.  Do you think the regular Openwrt client mode will work?  One more thing, if you set up the relayd repeater, can the device on the main network access the 703n in the repeater mode.
(BTW, I am taking a few days off so I am on line all the time right now :-) .)

If you don't need wifi repeating, no problem and no additional setup is needed.
Why you ask will it work ?  what kind of problem you think will occur ?
In my case, my Plasma TV only have ethernet connection, so I plug client mode 703n so that my TV can access my DLNA server wirelessly.
And of coz I do repeating to extend wifi coverage...... although my existing coverage is enough.
Somehow it is just for "fun" in getting familiar in configuration rather than actual needed.

In relayd repeating, of coz I can reach my device.
However, in the repeating zone I make it both AP and STA side unreachable to my device,
as a result I can't reach the devices in repeating zone too, separate my network to them.
Of coz you can make them reachable if you need.
In this case, no firewall is invoked.
I think only openwrt can do that, interesting huh !

@johan666: I haven't try the client mode yet.  I don't have any problem right now but just want to know is there likely any possible problem.  In any case, I will try it out and to see how it works.

Hi guys,

Can anyone upload a binary image of the TL-WR703N uboot partition? Here is a possible simple way to extract it:

On the "mothership" computer (with IP address 192.168.1.7):

nc -l -p 5050 > uboot.bin

On the OpenWRT console:

nc 192.168.1.7 5050 < /dev/mtdblock0

Thank you in advance!

Could you please provide more information on how you got your radio working again? I think I did the same thing while flashing my TL-WR703n according to this: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/v … MZKmoJmNUJ . I got through the flashing part, but when I tried to telnet to it, I couldn't connect.

(Last edited by lawt6224 on 3 Apr 2012, 21:54)

Sure, I will be happy to help.  However, I don't think you are having the same problem as I had.  To provide you the right direction, I need to understand what you did.
1. Did you flash from the stock firmware or another version of Openwrt?  Were you using factory.bin or sysupgrade.bin?
2. When you said you could not connect through telnet, were you trying to do so through wifi or through ethernet cable?  Which ip address you were using?

I flashed from the stock firmware and used factory.bin. I am unable to connect through telnet through wifi, but I am able to use telnet through ethernet.

I am now attempting to remove OpenWrt by following http://wiki.daviddarts.com/PirateBox_DI … t#Recovery , but when I plug the 703n into my computer my wireless internet stops working (although it still appears to be connected), so it can't download the original image.

Thank you for any help you can provide!

Uploaded here https://sites.google.com/site/tuckata/d … =0&d=1 is art (/dev/mtdblock4) partition from AR9331-based device (from TL-WR740N V4.21).

twinclouds, can you please upload the stock u-boot from 703n? I've dipped deep in Google and can't find it anywhere...

What you have is perfectly normal.  The trunk openwrt firmware has wifi and web interface disabled  I would first enable the web interface.  You should do the following:
1. Telnet into 703n using ethernet cable.
2. Edit the file /etc/config/network using vi (or any other editor if it is available).
3. Change the static ip address to any ip address that is not used in your home network.  For example, if your home network gateway has the ip address of 192.168.a.1, you can change your router ip to 192.168.a.x as long as this address is not used by any other device on the network.
4. do "/etc/init.d/network restart" from telnet or restart the router.
5. See if you can telnet into 703n at 192.168.a.x instead of 192.168.1.1.
6. If you can, connect 703n to your home network.  In one of the computers on the network, telenet into 192.168.a.x. Once you are connected into 703n from the computer on the home network, do "opkg update".
7. If opkg update works, do "opkg install luci".
8. Do "/etc/init.d/uhttpd enable" and "/etc/init.d/uhttpd start"
9. Now you can connect to the 703n using a browser with the address 192.168.a.x
10.  You can then do what ever you need to from the web interface.  You can reflash the original firmware also.  On the other hand, if you want to try openwrt, you can enable wifi through the web interface in the network/wifi section and do anything else you want to do from there.  (If you enable wifi, change the power to 18 or 20 dBm.  The default value is too high.)
Everything should work fine.  If you hang at any steps, please let me know and I will be happy to help as much as I can.
Good Luck.
PS.  Also, if anybody found there's any incorrect steps above, please let me know also.

I certainly can.  Please pm me and provide me the email address that you want me to send to.

How can I install mpcs?