💻 Router Hack Day

Here’s a link with step-by-step notes on what we’ve done so far!

On June 24th (1–6 p.m) we’re meeting again to work toward installing open firmware such as OpenWrt or FreshTomato on an old FH1206 router. We have plenty of routers to go around, which we’re selling for $8 each. Proceeds will be split evenly between Philly Community Wireless and Iffy Books.

This will be an informal event, more like a hackathon than a structured workshop. We recommend bringing a laptop if you have one.

Last month we focused on showing folks how to gain access to the router’s serial shell. This month we’re examining the stock firmware, modifying it slightly, and flashing it to the router to see if it works.

• Firmware download for Tenda FH1206 router

The routers we’re trying to hack were sold under the name Atlas Media AMW-DBR1200AC, but they’re actually repackaged Tenda FH1206 routers.

Here’s a blog post with our progress on the router so far.

And here are more details to get you started:

• FCC page for Atlas Media AMW-DBR1200AC

• User manual for Atlas Media AMW-DBR1200AC

• Firmware for Atlas Media AMW-DBR1200AC router

• FCC page for Tenda FH1206

• Tenda FH1206 manual

• Firmware for Tenda FH1206 router

• Wireless Cat page with hardware details

• unblob, a program you can use to decompress the firmware files

• OpenWrt build for a similar Tenda router

• CPU details: Broadcom BCM5358B0

• Command for opening serial connection with your router:

minicom -D /dev/ttyUSB0 -c on

• Docker command for decompressing firmware with unblob:

docker run \
–rm \
–pull always \
-v /Users/iffybooks/Documents/Router_firmware/output:/data/output \
-v /Users/iffybooks/Documents/Router_firmware/input:/data/input \
ghcr.io/onekey-sec/unblob:latest –report firmware_reoirt.json /data/input/firmware.bin

• Jim’s unsqhashfs instructions