TP-Link TL-WA730RE

This device is NOT RECOMMENDED for future use with OpenWrt due to low flash/ram.
DO NOT BUY DEVICES WITH 4MB FLASH / 32MB RAM if you intend to flash an up-to-date and secure OpenWrt version onto it! See 4/32 warning for details.

1) This device does not have sufficient resources (flash and/or RAM) to provide secure and reliable operation.
This means that even setting a password or changing simple network settings might not be possible any more, rendering the device effectively useless. See OpenWrt on 4/32 devices what you can do now.

2) OpenWrt support for this device will end after 2019.
19.07 will be the last official build for 4/32 devices. After 19.07, no further OpenWrt images will be built for 4/32 devices. See OpenWrt on 4/32 devices what you can do now.

Supported Versions

BrandModelVersionCurrent ReleaseOEM InfoForum TopicTechnical Data
TP-LinkTL-WA730REv118.06.9https://www.tp-link.com/en/home-networking/range-extender/tl-wa730re/View/Edit data
v1 front v1 left angle v1 right angle v1 back
v1 front v1 left angle v1 right angle v1 back

Hardware Highlights

ModelVersionSoCCPU MHzFlash MBRAM MBWLAN HardwareWLAN2.4WLAN5.0100M portsGbit portsModemUSB
TL-WA730REv1Atheros AR7240350432Atheros AR9285b/g/n-1--

Installation

ModelVersionCurrent ReleaseFirmware OpenWrt InstallFirmware OpenWrt UpgradeFirmware OEM Stock
TL-WA730REv118.06.9https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/18.06.9/targets/ar71xx/tiny/openwrt-18.06.9-ar71xx-tiny-tl-wa730re-v1-squashfs-factory.binhttps://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/18.06.9/targets/ar71xx/tiny/openwrt-18.06.9-ar71xx-tiny-tl-wa730re-v1-squashfs-sysupgrade.binhttps://www.tp-link.com/en/support/download/tl-wa730re/v1/#Firmware

From OEM to OpenWrt firmware

Warning!
This section describes actions that might damage your device or firmware. Proceed with care!

  • Download with PC -factory.bin as shown above and rename it to openwrt.bin.
  • On a device with an OEM firmware, open the configuration utility (default http://192.168.1.254) and select “System Tools”, “Firmware Upgrade”, “Browse” to select openwrt.bin, “Upgrade”. Similar to original firmware upgrade instructions from user guide and FAQ (http://www.tp-link.com/en/download/TL-WA730RE_V1.html#FAQs).

firmware upgrade

  • On the following window select “OK”.

confirmation

  • After the automatic reboot (takes a few minutes) and configuring your PC IP address manually (between 192.168.1.2/24 and 192.168.1.254/24), OpenWrt LuCI is reachable via http://192.168.1.1 with defaults. See First Login for more details.

From OpenWrt to OEM firmware

Warning!
This section describes actions that might damage your device or firmware. Proceed with care!

LuCI procedure

  • On PC log in to the LuCI web interface of device (default http://192.168.1.1).
  • Select “System”, “Backup / Flash Firmware”, at “Image” use “Browse” to select firmware file “tplink.bin”, “Flash image...”.

flash new firmware

  • LuCI shows MD5 checksum of the file and select “Proceed”.

verify

SSH/terminal procedure

  • Upload the renamed firmware image tplink.bin from your PC to the device /tmp folder with for example WinSCP.
  • Revert back to original firmware by using sysupgrade in terminal:
sysupgrade /tmp/tplink.bin
  • After using the LuCI or SSH/terminal procedure, there is an automatic reboot (takes a few minutes). By configuring your PC IP address manually (between 192.168.1.1/24 and 192.168.1.253/24), the device configuration utility is reachable via http://192.168.1.254 with factory defaults. Information can also be found in the original manuals and FAQs (http://www.tp-link.com/en/download/TL-WA730RE_V1.html#FAQs).

OEM firmware debug shell with root privilege

There is a hidden debug shell with root privilege in the OEM firmware (TL-WA730RE_V1_100921).

  • Link: default http://192.168.1.254/userRpmNatDebugRpm26525557/linux_cmdline.html
  • User: osteam
  • Password: 5up

debug shell

Photos

tl-wa730re_v1_serial.jpg

Bootloader

The bootloader is uboot with enabled ethernet network device. To access uboot console type quickly tpl if you see Autobooting in 1 seconds.

Recovery

uboot + tftp

You can do recovery using uboot and tftp. Prepare a tftp server at 192.168.1.100 containing openwrt-15.05.1-ar71xx-generic-tl-wa730rev1-squashfs-factory.bin.

erase 0x9f020000 +0x3c0000
tftpboot 0x81000000 openwrt-15.05.1-ar71xx-generic-tl-wa730rev1-squashfs-factory.bin
cp.b 0x81000000 0x9f020000 0x3c0000
bootm 0x9f020000

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  • Last modified: 2019/02/12 14:08
  • by tmomas