Saturday, April 4, 2015

Unbrick an Edimax BR-6428nS V2 Router After a Bad Firmware Upgrade (and a Driving Update)

This blog has been inactive for over a year, but a recent discovery today made it clear to me that I need to leave something for others after a very satisfying discovery.
 
Yesterday I tried to upgrade my new, 10 hours old router's firmware. The upgrade screen said the update was successful, but the router became unresponsive with the WLAN LED light always on, unlike its operational mode (blinking).
 
I spent many hours searching for a solution, and all I came with was the TFTP method for other Edimax routers, but it didn't help me. Only later, after a "Eureka!" moment, I discovered how to make it work.
 
So here it is: if your router gets bricked and you have the BR-6428nS V2 model, here is what you need to do:
 
1) Unplug the router's power cord.
2) Connect your PC to the router's #1 port.
3) Set your PC's network card to a static IP as follows:
IP: 192.168.2.100
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0 (the default)
Default gateway: 192.168.2.1
 
4) Plug in the power cord and wait a few seconds until the network adapter shows signs of network connection.
5) Browse to 192.168.2.1. You should see an upload form.
6) Upload the most current GOOD firmware file (.bin file).
7) Wait for about a minute until the router is upgraded and rebooted. The router should function normally now.
8) You may now return to normal work settings (obtain IP automatically). If you forgot your password, you can do a router reset by holding the reset button for about 10-15 seconds.
 
I hope this post will help others who got stuck and frustrated like I was today.
 
And as for the driving update: my books, Pass Your Driving Test and Pass Your Permit Test are now available exclusively on Amazon Kindle (and in paperback form!). You can get them here:
 
Pass Your Driving Test (Kindle) - also available for Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Owners' Lending Library users.
 
Pass Your Driving Test (Paperback) - perfect for in-car practice
 
Pass Your Permit Test (Kindle) - also available for Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Owners' Lending Library users.
 
If you found this post useful, please let me know in the comments. :)
Nadav
 
nadavs