This is especially sad because the NYC Mesh project (https://nycmesh.net/) to create a mesh network in NYC uses TP-Link routers pretty heavily.
TP-Link begins router firmware lockdown due to FCC proposed regulation
21–30 of 77 posts
Re: TP-Link begins router firmware lockdown due to FCC proposed regulation
#22I wonder how long until it's cracked. As the saying goes, "If there's a will, there's a way."
Re: TP-Link begins router firmware lockdown due to FCC proposed regulation
#23Re: TP-Link begins router firmware lockdown due to FCC proposed regulation
#24There seems like a fairly large opportunity for manufacturers willing to release products with sufficiently locked down baseband but a hackable host OS.
Also, amateur radio operators are legally allowed to operate these devices with modified firmware (including baseband). So why am I no longer allowed to buy these?
Re: TP-Link begins router firmware lockdown due to FCC proposed regulation
#25Well crap... I have two C7s. IMO there might not be (or at least have been) a better mainstream router for the price.
I got an Archer C7 during the Winter Shopping Season, that was affected by this. In the current revision, I got around the lock by booting into recovery mode and uploading OpenWRT via TFTP. I expect that future models will close this hole, and then I definitely won’t be buying TP-LINK devices in the future. I think it’s a bit extreme to say the C7 is the best. It never was the best performer, and already 802.11ac Wav…
> I expect that future models will close this hole, and then I definitely won’t be buying TP-LINK devices in the future.
I suppose people will start rooting these devices. It's not like consumer routers have particularly impressive security track record.
Re: TP-Link begins router firmware lockdown due to FCC proposed regulation
#26Is this limited to devices sold in the US? They are going to impose it on every other place that sells them?
Afiu tp-link has no obligations to manage two devices trees for a niche community. Stubborn minority effect at play here. [1] http://fooledbyrandomness.com/minority.pdf
Re: TP-Link begins router firmware lockdown due to FCC proposed regulation
#27So are there still good, cheap 802.11ac routers that OpenWRT supports well? Now may be the right time to upgrade my 802.11n router.
I'd really like to know this too. Been sitting on my wrt54g for far too long and starting to feel the need for speed.
Re: TP-Link begins router firmware lockdown due to FCC proposed regulation
#28I thought the FCC walked back on this?
Re: TP-Link begins router firmware lockdown due to FCC proposed regulation
#29Is this limited to devices sold in the US? They are going to impose it on every other place that sells them? Afiu tp-link has no obligations to manage two devices trees for a niche community. Stubborn minority effect at play here. [1] http://fooledbyrandomness.com/minority.pdf
That's something I'm also wondering about.
IIRC, the first thing my stock WDR3600 firmware asked me about was which country I am in, which means that frequency locking can be easily bypassed (not power levels, though).
To make this as bulletproof as FCC wants they would have to make separate firmware image for the US and prevent US firmwares from being "upgraded" to non-US.
edit:
And this is exactly what they did:
Recent US firmware (e.g. Archer C7 v2 151014 US) do not install unsigned firmware, including earlier versions of firmware and international versions. Thank you, FCC.
Source: http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/archer-c5-c7-wdr7500
Re: TP-Link begins router firmware lockdown due to FCC proposed regulation
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
I got an Archer C7 during the Winter Shopping Season, that was affected by this. In the current revision, I got around the lock by booting into recovery mode and uploading OpenWRT via TFTP. I expect that future models will close this hole, and then I definitely won’t be buying TP-LINK devices in the future. I think it’s a bit extreme to say the C7 is the best. It never was the best performer, and already 802.11ac Wav…
> I expect that future models will close this hole, and then I definitely won’t be buying TP-LINK devices in the future. I suppose people will start rooting these devices. It's not like consumer routers have particularly impressive security track record.
It's somewhat ironic that the scary security issues could actually be the path to freedom, sort of like jailbreaking and rooting any other device.
Perhaps that's the way it should be, they come insecure by default and you're supposed to exploit that to enable installing your own, more secure, software...