[OpenWrt Wiki] Linksys EA9500 V1

Devices with Broadcom WiFi chipsets have limited OpenWrt supportability (due to limited FLOSS driver availability for Broadcom chips). Consider this when choosing a device to buy, or when deciding to flash OpenWrt on your device because it is listed as supported. See Broadcom WiFi for details.

The Linksys EA9500 is a Broadcom BCM4709C0 (1.4 GHz, 2 cores) MU-MIMO Tri-Band WiFi router, which has one 2.4GHz and two 5GHz WiFi Interfaces, making it an interesting choice for wireless backhaul or repeater applications. The radios support MCS 0-9 (up through 1024 QAM) for devices and paths that are compatible with those high-density modulations.

Note: The first 5 GHz radio (BCM4366) is default limited to ch. 48 and below. The second 5 GHz radio (the other BCM4366) is default limited between ch. 100 and 140.

It has eight 1G LAN ports, one 1G WAN port, both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 interfaces and eight external antennas.

It is powered by an external 12V, 5A power adapter.

An experimental build is available, based on OpenWRT master of 10/08/2021, using the latest Broadcom driver (vs 10.10.122.301).

First flash this from Linksys UI: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tff1c9yomamsgh0/openwrt-EA9500-Non-US-20201219.zip?dl=0 (maintained by @npcomplete13)

Once in OpenWrt, flash to both partitions using these instructions:

Linksys secure-signs the firmware for this router, hence it is not possible to install using Factory UI. So, this router requires a serial cable connected to the router.

On boot, interrupt the boot by Ctrl+C and enter CFE prompt. Make sure tftp server is running. Download tftpd sever from here 562. Detailed instructions here 1.4k. Disassembly instructions here 890

From CFE prompt execute following. Where 192.168.1.10 is where your tftp server is running.

Also you may want to reset partial boots and boot partition using

NOTE: This router has two copies of firmware. The router switches between one or the other after three consecutive partial boots. You can force a partial boot by turning off router 10 seconds after booting. Once you have installed Openwrt on one partition, leave the second partition on Factory firmware.Tthis way you can dual boot into Openwrt or Factory.

→ generic.debrick

The EA9500 is a dual firmware device. meaning that there are 2 firmware partitions and Linksys firmware is copied to both partitions at the factory. When you install/update the Linksys firmware, or install/update OpenWrt, the new firmware is always written to the other partition. Upon restarting the EA9500, it will subsequently try to boot from the newly installed firmware image from other partition.

If the device fails to boot after install or upgrade:

Although being a manual procedure, the above method can be used to toggle between the two firmwares on demand.

Warning: If you install/update OpenWrt more than once, both partitions will be overwritten with OpenWrt firmwares, and you won't be able to revert back to Linksys OEM firmware using above method.

→ Basic configuration After flashing, proceed with this. Set up your Internet connection, configure wireless, configure USB port, etc.

The default network configuration is:

Please fill in real values for this device, then remove the EXAMPLEs

Numbers 0-3 are Ports 1-4 as labeled on the unit, number 4 is the Internet (WAN) on the unit, 5 is the internal connection to the router itself. Don't be fooled: Port 1 on the unit is number 3 when configuring VLANs. vlan0 = eth0.0, vlan1 = eth0.1 and so on.

→ hardware.button on howto use and configure the hardware button(s). Here, we merely name the buttons, so we can use them in the above Howto.

Please fill in real values for this device, then remove the EXAMPLEs

The Linksys Ea9500 has the following buttons:

Front: Insert photo of front of the casing

Back: Insert photo of back of the casing

Backside label: Insert photo of backside label

Note: This will void your warranty!

Describe what needs to be done to open the device, e.g. remove rubber feet, adhesive labels, screws, ...

Main PCB: Insert photo of PCB

How to connect to the Serial Port of this specific device:

Note that connecting a serial cable before powering on the EA9500 may occasionally hang the bootloader. If you find that this happens to you, leave the Ground connection floating (unconnected) until after you power on the router.

Not known

→ bootloader

None so far.

COPY HERE THE BOOTLOG WITH THE ORIGINAL FIRMWARE

COPY HERE THE BOOTLOG ONCE OPENWRT IS INSTALLED AND RUNNING