Linksys WAP54G

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worked fine for restoring the proper MAC address while keeping the NVRAM configuration intact. worked fine for restoring the proper MAC address while keeping the NVRAM configuration intact.
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[Added by tmittelstaedt 31 October 2009]<br> [Added by tmittelstaedt 31 October 2009]<br>

Revision as of 10:41, 1 November 2009

Linksys WAP54G Hardware Spec


WARNING - DD-WRT was not originally intended to be loaded on a WAP unit. It was found that it will run but it is a tricky unit to load and have function correctly. Below are a compilation of methods/instructions to assist you with creating a DD-WRT loaded WAP unit.

Hard reset does not work on this device so it is not possible to clear the NVRAM using the reset button. This can be problematic if you need to reset the device in order to access it. If this happens you can reinstall the linksys firmware using the tftp method and then reset it.

LOAD AT YOUR OWN RISK.


MAC ADDRESS CHANGES - redhawk

If you really want your WAP to have the correct MAC address when it boots up there are 2 methods....one simple but not permanent, and one not so simple but permanent.

Method 1 -

For V1.x only On the Administration>>Commands tab enter

nvram set et1macaddr=<your MAC address minus 1 here> (due to the port swap) (i.e. 00:11:22:33:44:54)

nvram commit

Run then Save as Startup....now reboot the unit for the new MAC to take effect.

For V2 units - This unit version has a unique motherboard flag and should be recognized as a WAP on the Status tab.

For MAC alterations on a V2.0- V3.x - follow the same step above except substitute the et1macaddr with et0macaddr and don't use the minus 1, use your actual MAC address. (i.e. 00:11:22:33:44:55)

This will need to be re-entered if you do a hard reset (like when doing firmware upgrades).

Example of startup script for a V1:

nvram set et1macaddr=00:11:22:33:44:54
nvram set boardnum=2
nvram commit

Example of startup script for a V2.0:

nvram set et0macaddr=00:11:22:33:44:55
nvram commit

Example of startup script for a V3.X:

nvram set et0macaddr=00:11:22:33:44:55
nvram set WAPver=3
nvram commit

Once the script is run and saved as a startup....power cycle the unit. It should then be recognized as a WAP unit on the status tab.


Method 2 - Works for all WAPs (For V2.0 and V3.X use actual MAC and MAC+1) Extract your CFE, edit in your MAC address, et0macaddr = MAC, and il0macaddr=MAC+1. (For V1.x... Use your MAC-1 for the lan_hwaddr and your MAC for the wan_hwaddr), then put the CFE back on using the HairyDairyMaid or TJTAG utility. This method is risky. You could potentially turn your router into a brick. Once this is reinstalled on the unit and the firmware has been loaded, your unit will have its own MAC addresses permanently embedded and will show every time you boot.


[note] - for the V1s, search for the embedded text string "hwaddr" using your hex editor. This will find the two MAC addresses that are embedded. Again due to the port swap the LAN MAC address needs to be entered as MAC-1 and wan_hwaddr needs to be entered as the MAC for the V1.X only

[note] - my WAP 1.0 required 192.168.1.1 using tftp.exe for the firmware load the first time... my V2.0 and 3.1 required 192.168.1.245 using tftp.exe for the firmware load the first time.


WARNING - Use only VINT-micro firmware builds on v1.x WAP units. If you try to use the standard V24 you will brick the WAP V1.X unit.


For loading firmware on the WAP54G V1.X - Has fixed LED displays starting with V24 RC5. - redhawk

  • Connect PC to LAN port on WAP
  • Configure PC for STATIC IP as 192.168.1.2 Mask 255.255.255.0, Gateway 192.168.1.245
  • Press and hold Reset Button on WAP unit for 30 seconds, unplug unit, Plug back in still holding reset button an additional 30 seconds.
  • Open Browser, URL = http://192.168.1.245
  • Login as: Username/Password <blank>/admin
  • Navigate to Administration Tab. Change the DD-WRT xxx_generic.bin file to xxx_generic.trx
  • Upload the new xxx_generic.trx file to the router.
  • Wait 5 minutes after it says it completes successfully.
  • Unplug WAP unit, plug it back in.
  • Press and hold Reset Button on WAP unit for 30 seconds, unplug unit, Plug back in still holding reset button an additional 30 seconds.
  • Now use URL = http://192.168.1.1
  • Go to the Administration>>Commands tab.
  • Enter the following

nvram show | grep boardnum (then click on "Run Commands")

If it returns blank then issue the following commands... if it returns a boardnum=2 then you won't have to.


nvram set boardnum=2
nvram commit


  • Click "Run" button and then: "Save Startup" button. - (only if you had to enter boardnum=2 manually)
  • Power cycle the WAP unit.
  • Check the Status page... it should now display the unit as a "Linksys WAP54G v1.x"
  • Configure as you would any other router.

Power = Power, Diag = Diag or Commit

WLAN - Link LED is now a Radio On/Off indicator, Act = Wireless Activity

LAN - Link = Link, Full/Col = Full, 100 = 100

Thanks goes to Eko for making this unit display correctly.


For loading the firmware on the WAP v2.0 - follow the steps for the WAP v3.x below... except don't include the nvram variable for WAPver=3. The v2 units have a unique board and should be already recognized by the RC5 and later firmware. Eko informed me that there are no special variables needed for the v2 units. [redhawk - 11/16/07]

NOTE: On my V2.0 unit, it has original 2.07 Linksys firmware installed... this FW would not upgrade to DD-WRT. I first downloaded the latest 3.04 FW from the Linksys site and upgraded to it first. Then it would accept the DD-WRT micro_generic build (renamed to .trx extension) directly from the web GUI in the Linksys pages.

If you receive a error message saying "Unable to downgrade firmware" go to http://192.168.1.245/fw-conf.asp, set pull-down menu "DownGrade Header :" to disable and click [apply]. If this setting executed successful you see a message "Your changes have been saved". [ddvelzen - 18/01/08]


WARNING - Use NEWD-Micro build on the WAP v2.0 and 3.X units.

For loading the firmware on the WAP54G v3.X Use V24-RC5 or later for Reset button function

  • Connect PC to LAN port on WAP
  • Configure PC ethernet port to IP: 192.168.1.2, SM: 255.255.255.0, GW: 192.168.1.245
  • Unplug power. Wait 15 seconds
  • Press and hold Reset Button on WAP unit for 30 seconds, unplug unit, Plug back in still holding reset button an additional 30 seconds.
  • Open your favorite browser (I used Firefox) and go to: http://192.168.1.245
  • Login as:

User: <blank>

Password: admin

Hit the Administration tab, and upload the MICRO version of the firmware.

  • Wait 5 minutes after it says it completes successfully.
  • Press and hold Reset Button on WAP unit for 30 seconds, unplug unit, Plug back in still holding reset button an additional 30 seconds.
  • Go to: http://192.168.1.1 in your browser and login with the default un/pw for DD-WRT...

[Added by redhawk - 11/16/07]

  • Next go to the Administration>>Command tab
  • Type in: [note] - this is only needed for v3.x WAP units with V24-RC5 and later firmware.


(do not include these next two lines if it is a V2.0 unit...the WAPver variable is not needed except on V3.X units)

nvram set WAPver=3
nvram commit


  • Click on the "RUN" button and then the "Save Startup" button... you want this to run each time it reboots.
  • Reboot the router again then configure.

[Added by lerley - 1/29/08]

I kept getting "upgrade failed" message when trying to update the micro firmware on my WAP54G v3.1 - I ended up doing the following to make it work:

  • Reset as above
  • Upload micro firmware through web interface and get failed message
  • Power cycle router
  • Tftp micro firmware to router (still at 192.168.1.245) as per instructions in Recover from a Bad Flash#Recovering with TFTP
  • When router boots, go to 192.168.1.1 and log in with DD-WRT defaults
  • Go to Administration - Upgrade Firmware and upload micro firmware again
  • Power cycle router

At this point it worked great and I could configure it. Probably still need the nvram stuff as above...


[Added by rfuhrman 19 April 2008]

WAP54v31 hardware, running Firefox on brand new WAP54v31, loading dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin ....on upload completion received "upload failed" message ala 'lerley'. My WAP54 was unaffected, I was still in Admin page, so no need to panic.... Simply switched to IE and ran same exact commands at 192.168.1.245, perfect upload 1st try. Then I could later use Firefox for finishing the configuration.

So I assume do not use browser of choice, but rather use IE for 1st upload (this is same as suggested for WRT54GL install notes).


[Added by redhawk0 02 March 2009] If you are having trouble reconnecting to your WAP unit after firmware upgrade it could be due to the arp table holding the old MAC address for that unit. Try the trick listed here ....credit for tip goes to sprocket87...much thanks.


[Added by hammmy 19 October 2009]
The command referenced by redhawk above is

netsh interface ip delete arpcache

from the Windows command line. If from Internet Explorer the web GUI becomes unresponsive to button presses, clearing the ARP cache and reloading IE worked fine for me.

On a v3.1 WAP54G with a SST chip and running v24-sp2 micro 10/10/2009 firmware, if I entered

nvram set et0macaddr=XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
nvram set WAPver=3
nvram commit

into the Administration>Commands box as a startup script, the WAP would erase all NVRAM configuration and corrupt itself, requiring a reboot to access the web GUI or telnet.

What was not clear in this documentation is that only

nvram set WAPver=3
nvram commit

is needed in the startup script and after that the WAP will automatically use its correct MAC address instead of the default WRT MAC.

On my v3.1 (after several bad flashes from OpenWRT and the Linksys web GUI as well as numerous pin 16 shorts--in other words, who knows how typical this v3.1 is of the model), just the WAPver=3 command would still result in a wipe of the NVRAM configuration and general mayhem until a reboot. However, using

nvram set et0macaddr=XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
nvram commit

worked fine for restoring the proper MAC address while keeping the NVRAM configuration intact.


[Added by tmittelstaedt 31 October 2009]

I have both a WAP54G v3 and WAP54G v3.1 I've upgraded both of them by loading the latest Linksys firmware v3.04.03 on them, doing a factory reset from the Linksys firmware, then loading the current DD-wrt firmware (v24-sp2 micro build 13064) With both units, putting the

nvram set WAPver=3

in as per the above instructions causes the unit to reset to default settings. This is on clean units that have never had anything other than Linksys firmware on them, were 30/30/30 reset before loading dd-wrt, etc. Also, both units refused to take the dd-wrt firmware using the web upload feature of the Linksys firmware, both had to be tftp uploaded. Linksys must have added some sort of check for upgrade firmware.

Also, both have to have the

<code>nvram set et0macaddr=XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
nvram commit

saved as the startup script or the MAC address will not be correct.

Lastly, there is one other idiosyncrasy of these units that is important. The dd-wrt firmware will turn these units into NAT routers, similar to a 2MB flash WRT54G. However, the wireless interface and the ethernet interface are reversed. The firmware considers the wireless interface the WAN interface, and the ethernet interface the LAN interface. Thus, you cannot substitute one of these units for a regular WRT54G in NAT mode. You CAN use it as a gateway router, routing between subnets with NAT switched off, or as an access point, or as a LAN2wireless bridge.