TomatoUSB

Got my Asus RT-N16 today. Without even logging into the default firmware, I got started trying to install Tomato. I'm on a Mac so I used a wired connection and followed the Linux directions. Loosely.

My first mistake was not reading carefully — I tftp'ed, then I think I powered down the router before the .trx file was fully flashed. When I rebooted it just sat there blinking slowly in what looked like Recovery Mode. A few more reboots and it was clear I mucked it up.

So I downloaded the .trx from Asus, renamed it .bin, then tftp'ed that sucker to the router. Used "verbose" and "trace" in tftp to make sure I saw the bits shoved to the router.

Still no love.

I've tried the WDS-button 30/30/30 reset, I've tried waiting 20 minutes after tftp has completed before touching the router, I've read and reread all of the posts that other people have made about "oh crap did I brick it?" and I get the sense that I haven't bricked it, yet I'm in some sort of limbo hell where I'm not sure of the state of the router or how to recover.

Things I've tried:

1. Boot into recovery mode, flash tomato-K26USB-1.28.9054MIPSR2-beta-vpn3.6.trx using tftp
2. Boot into recovery mode, flash RT-N16_3.0.0.4_220.bin using tftp
3. Waited 20 minutes after tftp, device does not "reset" — I just keep pinging it for 20 minutes once a second and it never comes back up
4. Did the 30/30/30 reset using the WDS button, not the Restore button
5. Tried doing things in the "Restore" mode (slow blink power light) to no avail
6. Since the first failed flash, have never had a web server come up on the router on 192.168.1.1, nor have gotten a DHCP address from the router

When I tftp anything to the router, the flashing light turns solid, but never seems to reset or reboot or recover or anything. I don't have a Windows box so I can't use the recovery thingy.

Yours in a world of hurt,
ooglek

Whoops. Nevermind. Damn I suck. I didn't do a binary transfer when I did the TFTP, despite the instructions telling me to do so.

Kinda important, that.

I'm back in business, router is routing. :-)

Glad you are sorted,

The router CFE receives the firmware into ram then writes it slowly to flash so you do have to wait what seems a long time, especially with the 20MB Asus firmware.

When an invalid firmware is present the router won't boot and it sits there waiting in recovery mode.

You are correct the oft referenced dd-wrt 30/30/30 reset can't ever work on an Asus RT-N16 using the black recessed "RESTORE" button - because it would just put the router into restore mode.

I must check what, if anything, the red WPS button does on boot, experimentally and browsing the CFE source-code I have seen.

I have seen a "firmware recovery web page" from an RT-N16, must investigate further when/how to get that!

Note that on a MAC or Linux an alternative method to load tomatousb, as promoted by EasyTomato, is to first load a specific dd-wrt build, then use the dd-wrt interface to load tomatousb. Tomatousb should have its own 'signed' version for the RT-N16, to load directly from Asus firmware, then we wouldn't have this hassle!

On a N66U thread:

The reset button only works if the firmware manages to fully boot. The WPS button is the workaround to use when you have a firmware issue. (dunno if Asus accidentally switched gpio between the two buttons in CFE or what).