Un-Bricking the WZR-HP-G300NH router
A while back I completely bricked my Buffalo WZR-HP G300NH router. I was trying to flash Open-WRT from DD-WRT in an effort to fix an issue with Wifi constantly dropping. Needless to say, something went wrong and I would up with a virtually lifeless router.
I tried following the guide found here, but after many failed attempts I was frustrated and quit.
Now, I can proudly say that said router has now been successfully un-bricked!
These are the steps I took using Ubuntu Linux:
- Download the stock firmware from Buffalo’s website found here.
- After downloading the .zip file extract the actual flash file to your Desktop. The version I downloaded was called “wzrhpg300nh-pro-v24sp2-14998.” The file name you get may vary, but the important part is that the file you have has no extension.
- Now open a terminal session and run the following commands:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install tftp-hpasudo /etc/init.d/networking stop
sudo ifconfig eth0 192.168.11.2sudo ifconfig eth0 netmask 255.255.255.0sudo arp -s 192.168.11.1 02:AA:BB:CC:DD:1Acd /home/user/Desktop
- Now get your router ready to receive the file. Plug an Ethernet cable into your computer and into the LAN 1 port on the router. DO NOT PLUG THE ROUTER INTO A WALL OUTLET YET
- Now back in the terminal do the following.
tftp 192.168.11.1
verbose
binary
trace
rexmt 1
timeout 60
put wzrhpg300nh-pro-v24sp2-14998 <–replace with the name of the file you downloaded
- At this point your computer will keep attempting to send the firmware file to the router. Now QUICKLY plug your router’s power cord in.
- After about 10 seconds you should see the file start to transfer.
- After the transfer is complete the router will reboot, when the Wifi light comes on, the process is complete.
- Turn networking back on by running the following in the terminal:
sudo service networking start
- If all went well, you should be able to log into your router by navigating to http://192.168.11.1/
TIPS:
- Do not replace the MAC address with your own, use 02:AA:BB:CC:DD:1A. Trust me, it works.
- After running “sudo /etc/init.d/networking stop” you see “Ignoring wlan0” run this command.
sudo ifconfig wlan0 down
Sucks for me, guess it doesn’t even notice the router
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo apt-get install tftp-hpa
Reading package lists… Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information… Done
The following NEW packages will be installed:
tftp-hpa
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 17.7 kB of archives.
After this operation, 81.9 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ natty/main tftp-hpa i386 5.0-21ubuntu2 [17.7 kB]
Fetched 17.7 kB in 0s (29.8 kB/s)
Selecting previously deselected package tftp-hpa.
(Reading database … 136428 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking tftp-hpa (from …/tftp-hpa_5.0-21ubuntu2_i386.deb) …
Processing triggers for man-db …
Setting up tftp-hpa (5.0-21ubuntu2) …
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo /etc/init.d/networking stop
* Deconfiguring network interfaces… Ignoring unknown interface wlan0=wlan0.
[ OK ]
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo ifconfig eth0 192.168.11.2
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo ifconfig eth0 netmask 255.255.255.0
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo arp -s 192.168.11.1 02:AA:BB:CC:DD:1A
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ cd Desktop/
ubuntu@ubuntu:~/Desktop$ tftp 192.168.11.1
tftp> verbose
Verbose mode on.
tftp> binary
mode set to octet
tftp> trace
Packet tracing on.
tftp> rexmt 1
tftp> timeout 60
tftp> put wzrhpg300nh-176
putting wzrhpg300nh-176 to 192.168.11.1:wzrhpg300nh-176 [octet]
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Transfer timed out.
tftp>
Jay, I had the same problem initially with my flash. What I did to solve the problem was disabling wifi before I started any of the process. Basically click on the wifi in the upper right hand corner (where you would normally select the network), and uncheck “Enable Wireless.”
I have now bricked, and recovered mine more times than I can count. By far one of the most finicky routers I have ever owned.
IT Worked!
You are great, my friend!
It takes a lot of time to take the green (wireless) light on, be patient…
Glad it worked for you ogry.
Patience is definitely the key here.
hello every time I run the network stop command my ubuntu freezes
Instead of running the network stop command, try right clicking on the networking icon in the menu bar, and uncheck “Enable Networking”. Then continue with the tutorial omitting the network stop command.
Hi Craig just wanted to say thank you for your post…..I now no longer have a bricked router “booyah”. Followed your instructions and an all good now (running Gargoyle – kick arse firmware), only thing that I added was a switch in the mix – i think it helped to keep the port open i.e. time outs etc could be wrong here but it helped, also your advise to kill the network Ethernet and WiFi really helped as I had the same issue as Angel. Thanks again
Good deal! I’m glad that this has helped more than just me. I still remember all the trouble I had with this thing. It is now being utilized as an expensive switch as I was never able to completely resolve wifi issues.