I decided to prepare instructions for emergency recovery of firmware on ASUS routers. When, after an unsuccessful firmware, or some other action, the router does not turn on, all indicators are blinking, they are constantly on, or only the power indicator blinks. Also, when the firmware fails, it is impossible to enter the settings of the ASUS router. Simply put, if after turning on the power of the router it does not work, does not ping and cannot open the control panel, then there is a chance to restore it.
I thought it would be wrong to write an instruction without checking everything on my own experience. Fortunately, I did not have an ASUS router with a flashed firmware. But unfortunately, I ended up with a practically new ASUS RT-N12 +, which I decided to turn into a brick and restore. Everything for the purity of the experiment 🙂 Without hesitation, I decided to flash my RT-N12 + with firmware from another model in order to disable it. I downloaded the firmware from RT-N12VP B1, but it didn't install. The router is not dead! I tried several firmwares, but they were not installed. Then I decided to use the proven method: I ran a software update and turned off the power by about 15%. I turned on the router, but it did not boot anymore. The power indicator was constantly on, and the other indicators blinked slowly at intervals of about 2 seconds. It was only later that I realized that it automatically went into recovery mode. Now I have a patient, I can restore him.
This instruction should be suitable for any more or less new ASUS router: RT-AC51U, RT-N10, RT-G32, etc. I have not tested it, but this method should also be suitable for restoring the original ASUS firmware after installing DD -WRT.
A small diagram of our actions:
- Download the firmware and the Firmware Restoration utility from the official site. Strictly for our router model.
- Install the Firmware Restoration utility.
- Let's connect the ASUS router to the PC and put it into recovery mode.
- Let's start the recovery process through the utility.
- Let's wait until the firmware is restored and the router is rebooted.
Before moving on to this not very simple procedure, I advise you to reset your router and try to go to its control panel. Perhaps your reason is different, and you do not need all this.
Download firmware and Firmware Restoration utility to restore ASUS router
First we need to download the Firmware Restoration utility and the firmware for our router. All of this can be downloaded from the official ASUS website. On the page that is specifically dedicated to our router. Therefore, first we need to find out the model of the router. To do this, look at the sticker on the bottom of the device. I have ASUS RT-N12 +.
Then go to the website: http://www.asus.com/ru/support/.
Important! If you cannot find your router using the link above, you can search on http://www.asus.com/ua/support/, or https://www.asus.com/support/... For my RT-N12 + model, I found the firmware only from the last link. Most likely because this model is for the European market.
We follow the link and enter the model of our router in the search bar. For example, "RT-N12". In the search results we find our model (it is important that the model exactly matches) and next to it click on the "Drivers and utilities" link.
Next, select the version of Windows that is installed on your computer. Open the "Utilities" tab and download the "ASUS Firmware Restoration" utility by clicking on the "Global" link. We save it to the computer.
Then open the "Firmware" tab, and download the first firmware for our router in the list.
We should have two archives on our computer. The firmware must be extracted from the archive so that the file with the .trx extension is in the folder or on the desktop.
The folder with the Firmware Restoration utility can also be extracted from the archive.
Next you need install the Firmware Restoration utility... To do this, in the folder, run the file Setup.exe, or Rescue.exe. Installation is very easy, just follow the instructions. Upon completion, the wizard will offer to run the utility. You can agree, as the shortcut will not appear on the desktop. And to start it later, you will have to search in the Start menu.
The firmware has been downloaded, the utility is installed. You can go on.
Preparing your computer
On the computer, in the properties of the network adapter, you need to register a static IP address.
Right-click on the connection icon and select "Network or Sharing Center". Then select "Change adapter parameters".
Right-click on the adapter "Local Area Connection", or "Ethernet" (this is in Windows 10) and select "Properties." In the TCP / IPv4 properties, write down the IP address 192.168.1.10 and the subnet mask 255.255.255.0.
Important! When finished, don't forget to return the IP settings to their original settings. Most likely, this is an automatic receipt of addresses. Otherwise, there will be problems with the internet connection.
If you have a laptop or computer with a Wi-Fi adapter, be sure to turn off Wi-Fi. This can be done in the same "Network Connections" window. Just turn off "Wireless".
Power on the adapter when finished.
It is also advisable to temporarily disable the built-in firewall and antivirus. Since they can block the operation of the program and nothing will work. I did not disconnect, but during the process Dr.Web anti-virus asked me for permission to connect.
Let's move on to the main thing.
We connect the ASUS router in recovery mode and start the process
Connect the router to a computer or laptop via a network cable.
Further attention!
- Turn off the power to the router. You can pull the adapter out of the outlet, the plug from the router, or turn off the button. I just pulled the plug from the router.
- Press and hold the "RESET" button. It is usually signed "WPS / reset".
- Without releasing the "RESET" button, turn on the power of the router.
- Continue to hold the button until the power indicator on the ASUS router starts blinking slowly.
In my case, the power indicator was on all the time, and all the other indicators blinked slowly. But everything is fine, the router was in recovery mode.
If this happened to you, it means that the router has entered recovery mode. If not, try again.
Farther run the Firmware Restoration utility (if it is not running for you). Click on the "Browse" button and select the firmware that we downloaded. To start, click on the "Download" button.
If everything is successful, then the status should appear: "Loading the system restore file ...".
Further the status of automatic system recovery.
Everything is ready.
We are waiting for the router to reboot. Everything, we can customize and use.
Error: "No devices found in recovery mode"
This error may appear at the very beginning, when the Firmware Restoration program cannot detect the router in recovery mode.
In this case, you need to check the router itself first. Whether it is in recovery mode. This can be understood by the behavior of the indicators. I wrote about this above. Try to close everything, restart the computer, check the connection of the router and restart it in this mode. Also disable antivirus and firewall.
Update: if it was not possible to restore the router using the method described above
This solution was suggested by dream in the comments. And judging by the reviews, it works. There are already several comments that this method helped to restore the ASUS router.
- In the settings of the network card on the computer, you need to register the IP address: 192.168.1.2. Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0. I showed how to do this in the article above.
- Turn off the power of the router, hold down the WPS button, turn on the power of the router.
- When the Power indicator starts flashing, you need to hold down the Reset button for 5-10 seconds without releasing the WPS button. Then you need to release the WPS button first, then Reset.
- After that, the power indicator should blink once every few seconds. Quote from the comment: "If the pings went up to 1.1 with TTL = 100, then it turned out to put the router into recovery mode."
Apparently, ASUS routers are not software killable. And if the problem is not in the hardware itself, then there is always a chance to fix the router. Since it is very difficult to break its bay with the wrong firmware (and I checked it), it turns out that most often the firmware flies when the electricity goes out at the time of the software update. My Asus RT-N12 +, which suffered for the sake of this article, now works fine. And a couple of minutes ago it didn't even boot.
Describe your cases in the comments, share tips and ask questions. I will answer everyone!
