DIR 615 Flashing DD-WRT

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patkim
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 04 Dec 2013
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 6:10    Post subject: DIR 615 Flashing DD-WRT Reply with quote
Hi,
I have Dlink DIR 615 HW E4. Bought way back in 2012. I have a few queries before I flash it with DD-WRT.

1. Do I need to flash factory-to-ddwrt-firmware.bin first and then flash firmware.bin?

2. Today DD-WRT is supported as of Mar-2020. However the latest factory-to-firmware.bin is about 7 MB whereas all my earlier firmwares were just 3.5 MB. Does the router ROM has enough storage to flash 7MB bin file?

Any clarity will be good to know.
Thanks and regards.
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kernel-panic69
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 08 May 2018
Posts: 14125
Location: Texas, USA

PostPosted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 6:35    Post subject: Reply with quote
Your router is only 4MB flash. Something is wrong if the factory-to-ddwrt.bin is that big. Some suggestions and reading to get your router flashed to the latest build:

https://www.optimizationcore.com/network/flash-dd-wrt-firmware-d-link-dir-615-e4-router/

https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=480046

https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=155299

https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/D-Link_DIR-615_rev_E3

https://download1.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/betas/2017/04-24-2017-r31899/dlink-dir615e4/ <-- newest factory-to-ddwrt that is correct size

https://download1.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/betas/2020/03-05-2020-r42617/dlink-dir615e4/ <--- latest release

I cannot stress this enough, though: RESEARCH THE BUILD THREADS ... some builds are bad and even the initial flash may go wrong. Always have a means to de-brick if something goes awry.

EDIT: I re-opened an old ticket regarding the factory-to-ddwrt image size being too big.

https://svn.dd-wrt.com/ticket/2341

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patkim
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 04 Dec 2013
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 7:43    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks a lot @kernel-panic69.
Just to confirm does this mean I use the factory-to-ddwrt as of 4-24-2017 and then can flash the latest DD-WRT firmware as of 3-5-2020?

Are the 2 files independent of each other? I thought if you are say picking factory-to-ddwrt from 4-27-2017 folder then firmware must also be from the same release?

Moreover is Binary editing of the DD WRT BIN really required?
Thanks much for your help.
BR
Patkim
patkim
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 04 Dec 2013
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 11:04    Post subject: Reply with quote
Successfully flashed to factory-to-ddwrt (older one < 4 MB) and then to the latest DD WRT Firmware (3/5/20) for DIR 615 E4.
One thing I notice is that the WiFi LED no longer glows!

Thanks for your support.
Alozaros
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 16 Nov 2015
Posts: 6410
Location: UK, London, just across the river..

PostPosted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 11:16    Post subject: Reply with quote
edited: oops i must have had a long phone-call while writing it... Razz

in the past i had DIR-615H2 and D2 version too
both ware ralinc/mediatek now DIR series have a recovery room
you can ggl it, as well it has a serial interface that is pretty standard...and easy to recover.... but...

yep you can use an old factory to ddwrt, than on update use a newer build...
i have no idea about the very last builds, as i haven't seen anyone who has those to report but, im sure there are
some users that still use those units...for WAP or basic NAT, DNS, DHCP...

Bear in mind this unit has vary basic functions and does not support VPN or any modern internet features...
its firmware will be very stripped off and will provide vary basic use with max WAN speed of 40-50 MBit or
may be, even less.. its a router for your grand mam...!!!

personal advise
look at the forum threads, read first...find if someone has it in his signature and contact him for more details
or try an older build...
use old factory to ddwrt build and update to any newer build that match size of 4MB or less...
have a look at SVN for more details...

_________________
Atheros
TP-Link WR740Nv1 ---DD-WRT 55179 WAP
TP-Link WR1043NDv2 -DD-WRT 55303 Gateway/DoT,Forced DNS,Ad-Block,Firewall,x4VLAN,VPN
TP-Link WR1043NDv2 -Gargoyle OS 1.15.x AP,DNS,QoS,Quotas
Qualcomm-Atheros
Netgear XR500 --DD-WRT 55460 Gateway/DoH,Forced DNS,AP Isolation,4VLAN,Ad-Block,Firewall,Vanilla
Netgear R7800 --DD-WRT 55460 Gateway/DoT,AD-Block,Forced DNS,AP&Net Isolation,x3VLAN,Firewall,Vanilla
Netgear R9000 --DD-WRT 55363 Gateway/DoT,AD-Block,AP Isolation,Firewall,Forced DNS,x2VLAN,Vanilla
Broadcom
Netgear R7000 --DD-WRT 55460 Gateway/SmartDNS/DoH,AD-Block,Firewall,Forced DNS,x3VLAN,VPN
NOT USING 5Ghz ANYWHERE
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ian5142
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 23 Oct 2013
Posts: 2318
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 14:18    Post subject: 615 E3 and C1 Reply with quote
I flashed 615 E3 before. Like it was stated above, flash an older factory-to-ddwrt build then the latest dd-wrt weubupgrade. Make sure to do a NVRAM reset after flashing to the latest, via GUI is fine. Doing a 30-30-30 Hard reset on these units puts them in the D-Link recovery room.

I have recovered several of these via serial and TFTP. The recovery room really only works with a switch in between and using Internet Explorer (IE 9 worked, Firefox didn't).

_________________
Before asking a question on the forums, update dd-wrt: Where do I download firmware? I suggest reading it all.
QCA Best WiFi Settings


Some dd-wrt wiki pages are up to date, others are not. PM me if you find an old one.

Atheros:
Netgear R7800 x3 - WDS AP / station, gateway, QoS
TP-Link Archer C7 v2 x2 - WDS Station
TP-Link TL-WDR3600 v1 - WDS Station
TP-Link 841nd v8 - NU
D-Link 615 C1/E3/I1 x 7 - 1 WDS station
D-Link 825 B1 - NU
D-Link 862L A1 x2 - WDS Station
Netgear WNDR3700v2 - NU
UBNT loco M2 x2 - airOS

Broadcom
Linksys EA6400 - Gateway, QoS
Asus N66U - AP
Netgear WNDR3700v3 - not used
MediaTek
UBNT EdgeRouter X - switch
kernel-panic69
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 08 May 2018
Posts: 14125
Location: Texas, USA

PostPosted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 14:49    Post subject: Reply with quote
The factory-to-ddwrt image sizes for E1, E3, and E4 should be fixed again in the next release. Can't believe that was going on for 3 years and wasn't noticed or reported Rolling Eyes

@patkim, glad things worked out without issue.

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ian5142
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 23 Oct 2013
Posts: 2318
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 19:03    Post subject: Wiki Reply with quote
I don't know if anyone ever created a ticket but it was mentioned on the wiki page.

It is starting to get really hard to support 4MB devices now. Even some 8MB devices are lacking features. I have known about this for at least 1.5 years.

_________________
Before asking a question on the forums, update dd-wrt: Where do I download firmware? I suggest reading it all.
QCA Best WiFi Settings


Some dd-wrt wiki pages are up to date, others are not. PM me if you find an old one.

Atheros:
Netgear R7800 x3 - WDS AP / station, gateway, QoS
TP-Link Archer C7 v2 x2 - WDS Station
TP-Link TL-WDR3600 v1 - WDS Station
TP-Link 841nd v8 - NU
D-Link 615 C1/E3/I1 x 7 - 1 WDS station
D-Link 825 B1 - NU
D-Link 862L A1 x2 - WDS Station
Netgear WNDR3700v2 - NU
UBNT loco M2 x2 - airOS

Broadcom
Linksys EA6400 - Gateway, QoS
Asus N66U - AP
Netgear WNDR3700v3 - not used
MediaTek
UBNT EdgeRouter X - switch
kernel-panic69
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 08 May 2018
Posts: 14125
Location: Texas, USA

PostPosted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 20:14    Post subject: Reply with quote
The last alpha build I saw in the hopper all the images were the correct size. It has been an ongoing issue, I just got lucky and found the ticket and re-opened it and BS fixed it and closed it. Guess we'll see if it sticks.
_________________
"Life is but a fleeting moment, a vapor that vanishes quickly; All is vanity"
Contribute To DD-WRT
Pogo - A minimal level of ability is expected and needed...
DD-WRT Releases 2023 (PolitePol)
DD-WRT Releases 2023 (RSS Everything)

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Linux User #377467 counter.li.org / linuxcounter.net
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