Oct 27, 2025
OpenWrt is an open source operating system for routers. Traditional routers doesn't allow for much customizations. This is where OpenWrt comes in place, it opens doors to many advanced features, as its a fully customizable Linux device.
Security - Many old routers and even recent ones
stop receiving the latest security updates and gets forgotten by the
manufacturer. OpenWrt being a community maintained project allows it
to have the latest security patches and updates regularly.
Features
- Ad blocking, VPN , traffic shaping, DNS filtering
Full
control - You decide which features to use, not the
manufacturer.
This was the only router at my home which was OpenWrt compatible. While installing OpenWrt to this router was not easy as other routers it was what I had available. A major advantage of this device is its seperate LTE interface which allowed for seamless internet access during outages.
First, we’ll need a device for UART access to the router’s shell. You'll need a CH340 USB TTL module (Driver for Windows). Also a Windows machine with PuTTY and Tftpd64 installed.
•Start with disassembling the antennas
•Then remove the
screws under the sticker as shown with the circles
•Then pry open the device from its edges and move to the
middle
•Now remove both antenna connecters on the
motherboard
•Also remove the outer antenna connectors (this
was an old image, the physical antennas shouldnt be connected in this
step)
•After disassembling remove the motherboard from the case and
flip it
•Now get your Ch340 TTL adapter and connect RX to TX ,
TX to RX and GND to GND
•Also connect an ethernet cable which
we'll later use for connecting it to our computer
•At the end you should have a similar setup like this
•Make sure you connected the Ch340
•Download the kernel
image for the router and the sysupgrade
file
•Rename the kernel file to
initramfs-kernel.bin
•Rename the sysupgrade file to
sysupgrade.bin
•Place both of them in a folder to access them
easily
•Open up device manager and check Ports(COM & LPT) for
your serial line
•Open PuTTY and select Serial as the
connection type
•Type in your serial line (in this case COM4)
and set the speed exactly to 115200
•Set your IP adress as
shown
•Power on the router while the CH340 is connected
•While
powering it on focus on the PuTTY instance and hold down 1 until you
see this screen
•Once you see this screen make sure:
Input device IP =
192.168.0.1
Input server IP = 192.168.0.5
Linux Kernel
filename = initramfs-kernel.bin
•Open Tftpd64 and change
current directory to where your kernel file is stored
•After setting this up, the file transfer should start and you
will see a OpenWrt shell
•Change back your ip settings to
default, if not you wont be able to access it
•Open your terminal (not PuTTY) and type:
scp /path/to/sysupgrade.bin root@192.168.1.1:/tmp•Then go back to PuTTY and type:
sysupgrade -v /tmp/sysupgrade.bin
You've successfully installed OpenWrt to your MR600 v2, you can login to the interface after a reboot from 192.168.1.1. By replacing the stock firmware, you’ve unlocked a ton of new possibilities that your router’s manufacturer never intended to give you. My following posts will cover how we can utilize OpenWrt in our network.
