TP-Link TL-WA854RE Rev. V1 (Unofficial Support)

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For development of a build specifically for this device, DD-WRT team needs one in hands, so what's better ?
We donate money so they could buy a device themselves.
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Donate a repeater ( if someone has one that get's dust).
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Total Votes : 41

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VSparxx
DD-WRT User


Joined: 12 Jan 2016
Posts: 99

PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 15:22    Post subject: Re: TP-Link TL-WA854RE Rev. V1 Reply with quote
Plauto wrote:
VSparxx wrote:
I see that the firmware posted by GreyDoc was downloaded 3 times, so it's me and other two guys.
Now if those two are still here, it'd be great to know if all is working for them, you know..some input regarding their devices and this firmware.


Since I have too this item (TP-Link TL-WA854RE Rev. V1, EU-version, Firmware Version: 3.14.8 Build 140827 Rel.34191n) I wanted to vocally show that at least one more guy is interested in upgrading it to DD-WRT, not least because, as mentioned, current firmware is not able to run for very long times (40 days or so) without needing a reboot or a power cycle.

Four things are holding me back from trying:
- afraid of bricking! Embarassed especially given that there is no RJ45, which means to way at all to try anything to recover besides breaking open the case, which I'm not willing to do;
- I don't have a replacement ready so that I cannot risk interrupting the service the device is doing at the moment in case of bricking;
- I'd like to know if it is possible to revert back to the original firmware;
- ehm, where is the DD-WRT firmware version for the TL-WA854RE v1? Embarassed I think the mentioned "WA901NDv3 build 28647" firmware is the one here: ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2016/01-02-2016-r28647/tplink_tl-wa901ndv3/
but... "Modified"? Is this the right one? Is there a patch somewhere?

Kudos to everyone involved in this remarkable feat and thanks for any help or suggestions; I got the device for about 20 euro - it would be incredible added value being able to use such a cheap contraption with DD-WRT!


So first, the firmware you need for your WA854RE is attached to GreyDoc's post, it's the second in this thread, you need to be logged in to see it. I also attached it now to the first post, as a measure of security, one can download both and compare them, as a corrupted download can and most surely will brick the device.
Basically for upgrading you need:
1. the said firmware
2. upgrade via web interface of your stock firmware
3. don't disconnect your repeater from the wall outlet until you see "ddwrt" SSID
3. connect and enjoy great firmware
4. Idk if there is a way of rolling back to the default firmware as I wasn't interested in doing that, it was working so shitty with so much hassle needed to maintain the connection stable that I was basically sleeping at the wall outlet where the repeater was connected, so for me it was a one way ticket Very Happy...going to DD-WRT and not looking back.

I'm using it from day one ( the first day when I made this thread and GreyDoc posted the modified firmware), and all I can say is it's much..much more stable than stock, not even once I needed to reboot it, also it now got tons of features.

Also about the "scary of bricking it" part, it was much more scarier for me, when I upgraded blindly, if you'll read the first post you'll understand Very Happy

Now if you upgrade to DD-WRT with GreyDoc's modified firmware, then further upgrades to newer builds will be done with firmwares for WA901NDv3, the ones that have "webflash" in their names, but at this point I don't wanna take the risk of upgrading to a newer build as the device is rock solid on the first one so without a separate official thread on FTP for our device I wouldn't experiment a lot with it.
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Plauto
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 05 Feb 2016
Posts: 10

PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 19:49    Post subject: Re: TP-Link TL-WA854RE Rev. V1 Reply with quote
VSparxx wrote:
So first, the firmware you need for your WA854RE is attached to GreyDoc's post, it's the second in this thread, you need to be logged in to see it. I also attached it now to the first post, as a measure of security, one can download both and compare them, as a corrupted download can and most surely will brick the device.
Basically for upgrading you need:
1. the said firmware
2. upgrade via web interface of your stock firmware
3. don't disconnect your repeater from the wall outlet until you see "ddwrt" SSID
3. connect and enjoy great firmware
4. Idk if there is a way of rolling back to the default firmware as I wasn't interested in doing that, it was working so shitty with so much hassle needed to maintain the connection stable that I was basically sleeping at the wall outlet where the repeater was connected, so for me it was a one way ticket Very Happy...going to DD-WRT and not looking back.

I'm using it from day one ( the first day when I made this thread and GreyDoc posted the modified firmware), and all I can say is it's much..much more stable than stock, not even once I needed to reboot it, also it now got tons of features.

Also about the "scary of bricking it" part, it was much more scarier for me, when I upgraded blindly, if you'll read the first post you'll understand Very Happy

Now if you upgrade to DD-WRT with GreyDoc's modified firmware, then further upgrades to newer builds will be done with firmwares for WA901NDv3, the ones that have "webflash" in their names, but at this point I don't wanna take the risk of upgrading to a newer build as the device is rock solid on the first one so without a separate official thread on FTP for our device I wouldn't experiment a lot with it.


Thanks for the heads up to the correct file, as you see I was already set on the road to Bricking Land!Very Happy

Actually, being able to keep up to date the DD-WRT firmware with its upgrades would be part of the appeal of the transition...

As regards downgrading, here I see that there are files for reverting back to the original firmware - would it be hard to have one for the WA854RE as well?

Last question: I'm using the device as a range extender (doh!) and I found the original interface very straightforward to setup the bridge to the preexisting AP - is there a more or less equivalent function and setup panel within the DD-WRT?

Again, thanks for the help!
VSparxx
DD-WRT User


Joined: 12 Jan 2016
Posts: 99

PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 20:02    Post subject: Re: TP-Link TL-WA854RE Rev. V1 Reply with quote
Plauto wrote:
VSparxx wrote:
So first, the firmware you need for your WA854RE is attached to GreyDoc's post, it's the second in this thread, you need to be logged in to see it. I also attached it now to the first post, as a measure of security, one can download both and compare them, as a corrupted download can and most surely will brick the device.
Basically for upgrading you need:
1. the said firmware
2. upgrade via web interface of your stock firmware
3. don't disconnect your repeater from the wall outlet until you see "ddwrt" SSID
3. connect and enjoy great firmware
4. Idk if there is a way of rolling back to the default firmware as I wasn't interested in doing that, it was working so shitty with so much hassle needed to maintain the connection stable that I was basically sleeping at the wall outlet where the repeater was connected, so for me it was a one way ticket Very Happy...going to DD-WRT and not looking back.

I'm using it from day one ( the first day when I made this thread and GreyDoc posted the modified firmware), and all I can say is it's much..much more stable than stock, not even once I needed to reboot it, also it now got tons of features.

Also about the "scary of bricking it" part, it was much more scarier for me, when I upgraded blindly, if you'll read the first post you'll understand Very Happy

Now if you upgrade to DD-WRT with GreyDoc's modified firmware, then further upgrades to newer builds will be done with firmwares for WA901NDv3, the ones that have "webflash" in their names, but at this point I don't wanna take the risk of upgrading to a newer build as the device is rock solid on the first one so without a separate official thread on FTP for our device I wouldn't experiment a lot with it.


Thanks for the heads up to the correct file, as you see I was already set on the road to Bricking Land!Very Happy

Actually, being able to keep up to date the DD-WRT firmware with its upgrades would be part of the appeal of the transition...

As regards downgrading, here I see that there are files for reverting back to the original firmware - would it be hard to have one for the WA854RE as well?

Last question: I'm using the device as a range extender (doh!) and I found the original interface very straightforward to setup the bridge to the preexisting AP - is there a more or less equivalent function and setup panel within the DD-WRT?

Again, thanks for the help!


Look at the first post, there is a "how to" section.

As about the revert file, of course it's possible to do a revert file, but we need someone who will actually do it, but of course as I already mentioned, i'm not interested into reverting back to crappy default as it was a nightmare for me, can't see any benefits in a easy setup interface if it's working like crap.

Also upgrading a device you're relying on to each DD-WRT build isn't recommended practice, as all these builds are on beta channel, i'd recommend updating once in month maybe, and keeping an eye on the forums threads will help, as there are many bugs reported, so a build where after upgrading wifi doesn't get up will not be a good option, hope you got my point.
VSparxx
DD-WRT User


Joined: 12 Jan 2016
Posts: 99

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 7:14    Post subject: Reply with quote
I've added a "working upgrade builds" section in the first post, i'll take the risk from time to time and do an upgrade on my device to see if it's safe to upgrade.
dja
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 22 Mar 2015
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 17:18    Post subject: Reply with quote
I want to say thanks a lot. Just one minor issue however. And im posting this in the hope that there's a solution.

Sometimes randomly the internet wont work for a split second. Like it wont load a webpage specifically. Its weird because when a huge file downloads and the internet has to be active consistently, it doesnt have issues at all. But sometimes its like it cant grab the information from a source or whatever, and then just shows "webpage couldnt be found" for example.

Does anyone have the same issue? If not than I may have to go back to official firmware. If yes, is there a solution for this? THanks in advance!
VSparxx
DD-WRT User


Joined: 12 Jan 2016
Posts: 99

PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 17:24    Post subject: Reply with quote
dja wrote:
I want to say thanks a lot. Just one minor issue however. And im posting this in the hope that there's a solution.

Sometimes randomly the internet wont work for a split second. Like it wont load a webpage specifically. Its weird because when a huge file downloads and the internet has to be active consistently, it doesnt have issues at all. But sometimes its like it cant grab the information from a source or whatever, and then just shows "webpage couldnt be found" for example.

Does anyone have the same issue? If not than I may have to go back to official firmware. If yes, is there a solution for this? THanks in advance!


You will have to be more specific on how is it set up, it's in client bridge mode or just client ?
Also it would help if you'd list the things you already tried, to eliminate the problem.
You can post a screenshot of your wireless settings tab.

As for me, it's working like a real champ from the day I installed DD-WRT on it, no problems at all, mine is in client mode though, as the client bridge isn't the best way to go at all.

Also i'm afraid as of now you can't go back to official firmware, we need a revert firmware for that, but it hasn't been done.
dja
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 22 Mar 2015
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2016 4:12    Post subject: Reply with quote
I actually found the solution. Im not too technical on to why this would fix the problem. Maybe you could explain :p.

But what I did was enable the mac adress clone... Why would that fix it tho!?

To be specific I followed the link under HOW TO to configure my repeater. So everything thats in the qualcomm atheros guide is what I did. Basically client bridge, have my connection asigned to the primary router, adding a virtual interface etc.

Its great to see a quick reply so it seems you may still be coming back. Would you have any idea why mac adress cloning could have fixed my problem? There wasnt actually any connection interference because the signal is great. It was just when trying to reach adresses sometimes, it would be like no access towards that adress. In like a split second it would work again.
VSparxx
DD-WRT User


Joined: 12 Jan 2016
Posts: 99

PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2016 6:01    Post subject: Reply with quote
dja wrote:
I actually found the solution. Im not too technical on to why this would fix the problem. Maybe you could explain :p.

But what I did was enable the mac adress clone... Why would that fix it tho!?

To be specific I followed the link under HOW TO to configure my repeater. So everything thats in the qualcomm atheros guide is what I did. Basically client bridge, have my connection asigned to the primary router, adding a virtual interface etc.

Its great to see a quick reply so it seems you may still be coming back. Would you have any idea why mac adress cloning could have fixed my problem? There wasnt actually any connection interference because the signal is great. It was just when trying to reach adresses sometimes, it would be like no access towards that adress. In like a split second it would work again.


Well I suppose because it's physically wanting to reproduce your main router's wireless AP enabling wireless mac clone got it the same address as on your main router, so it's like the same AP now.

Great you found the answer quickly, you can come back after a few days of usage and tell if all is working great, and i'll add this one to the "how to" section, so anybody having the same problem could see this.
dja
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 22 Mar 2015
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Thu Feb 11, 2016 15:44    Post subject: Reply with quote
Still working like a charm for 2 days straight without error. I'd say go ahead but if you wanna wait for a week I can come back and share the good or bad news then.

Thanks for the clarification.^^ Also thanks again for this thread. The repeater was underwhelming with stock firmware.
VSparxx
DD-WRT User


Joined: 12 Jan 2016
Posts: 99

PostPosted: Thu Feb 11, 2016 16:03    Post subject: Reply with quote
dja wrote:
Still working like a charm for 2 days straight without error. I'd say go ahead but if you wanna wait for a week I can come back and share the good or bad news then.

Thanks for the clarification.^^ Also thanks again for this thread. The repeater was underwhelming with stock firmware.


Sure, come back and write about your experience with this device and DD-WRT, that way we all, that share our experience here on the forums, make other's decisions easier.
basti_egger
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 19 Feb 2016
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2016 22:07    Post subject: Re: TP-Link TL-WA854RE Rev. V1 Reply with quote
Did atually exactly what is recommended above but ended up with the error 'Error code: 18005 Upgrade unsuccessfully' Sad
I tried to name the .bin file aexactly after the original firmware file, but that didn't help Sad

Any ideas how I could convince my repeater to accept DD-WRT?
VSparxx
DD-WRT User


Joined: 12 Jan 2016
Posts: 99

PostPosted: Sat Feb 20, 2016 17:16    Post subject: Re: TP-Link TL-WA854RE Rev. V1 Reply with quote
basti_egger wrote:
Did atually exactly what is recommended above but ended up with the error 'Error code: 18005 Upgrade unsuccessfully' Sad
I tried to name the .bin file aexactly after the original firmware file, but that didn't help Sad

Any ideas how I could convince my repeater to accept DD-WRT?


I know there are 2 revisions of this repeater, so maybe yours is v2, as this is only for v1.
Also if it's v1 but the US version then it's locked due to local rules which are different from Eu rules, blame FCC for this Sad
I've read somewhere that a guy from US contacted TP-Link support and after some talking the rep emailed him a firmware which put it in a state where it can be flashed with other firmwares.
jonny5k
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 22 Feb 2016
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2016 21:40    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi, I've TL-WA854RE v2.0, with 1.0.0 Build 20150916 Rel. 34723. When I try to use this firmware, I get Checksum error. Do you think I need another modified version?

Any idea on how to get this version?

Thanks, J5
VSparxx
DD-WRT User


Joined: 12 Jan 2016
Posts: 99

PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2016 22:38    Post subject: Reply with quote
jonny5k wrote:
Hi, I've TL-WA854RE v2.0, with 1.0.0 Build 20150916 Rel. 34723. When I try to use this firmware, I get Checksum error. Do you think I need another modified version?

Any idea on how to get this version?

Thanks, J5


I'll try and talk with GreyDoc and maybe he will modify the header of this one for V2 also, but you need to be sure it got the same hardware inside or just upgrade with the risk of bricking it.
jonny5k
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 22 Feb 2016
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2016 23:04    Post subject: Reply with quote
Don't know how I can detect CPU and Ram of V2, but if you can modify the bin for me, I will try it without problems.. Smile
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