Voxel Custom firmware build for Orbi RBK50/RBK53 (RBR50, RBS50) v. 9.2.5.2.13SF-HW

[L&LD]

How are you accessing the router via ssh?

 

[thorax]

How are you accessing the router via ssh?

Putty

 

[L&LD]

Have you enabled ssh in the GUI? Are you sure you're using the correct username and password?

Do the username and password have the following features?

• 16 alphanumeric characters (max) only.
• No punctuation, dashes, underscores, spaces, or smiley faces.

Are you using copy/paste?

What device are you using to log in with (and, have you rebooted it very recently)?

 

[thorax]

Ah ha! No I did not enable SSH in the GUI! I did look around under Advanced and didn't see anything. Did I miss something in the docs about how to enable it?

edit: I just did some searches and it seems its enabled by default. I saw mention of attempting to change the password and that's where I found an issue. Even though I can login, when I attempt to change the password, it says the old (current) password is incorrect. If I login via telnet, can I use passwd to change the root password without screwing things up?

 

[thorax]

Just tried to login via telnet and the password doesn't work there either. Also attempted to do a password reset, but I can't start the process because it says my router's serial number is incorrect.

 

[L&LD]

I'm not sure if you can work around this issue with your router, but I would just do a full reset to factory defaults at this point. Do a quick search, but the reset may be faster.

 

[thorax]

I'm really trying to avoid having to set everything up again.

 

[CrimpOn]

Ah ha! No I did not enable SSH in the GUI! I did look around under Advanced and didn't see anything. Did I miss something in the docs about how to enable it?

edit: I just did some searches and it seems its enabled by default. I saw mention of attempting to change the password and that's where I found an issue. Even though I can login, when I attempt to change the password, it says the old (current) password is incorrect. If I login via telnet, can I use passwd to change the root password without screwing things up?

This seems inconsistent with the original post. Can you log in with SSH using "root" and the web GUI password, or not?

I just loaded Voxel 9.2.5.2.13.2SF-HW over Netgear V2.5.4.2 and PuTTY SSH works as expected. ("root" and web password). There is, of course, the usual PuTTY message about this being an unknown SSH and am I sure I want to proceed. I did nothing to enable SSH on the router.

Is there a particular reason to want to change the web GUI password using SSH or telnet, rather than the web GUI ?

I also deliberately entered the web GUI password incorrectly three times to bring up the Password Recovery process. Entered serial number (need new glasses). Entered two question answers. Password Recovery accepted. (Entered the original information again, rather than change the password or security questions.)

It is difficult to propose a solution when I cannot replicate the problem.

 

[CrimpOn]

I also used the Debug page to enable telnet, and PuTTY telnet to the Orbi works as well.

(It is a bit confusing to remember to use "root" and password for SSH and "admin" and password for telnet. telnet also takes "root", so I it is unclear to me whether it is better to use "root" or "admin" - - - or if it makes no difference at all for telnet.)

 

[thorax]

This seems inconsistent with the original post. Can you log in with SSH using "root" and the web GUI password, or not?

I just loaded Voxel 9.2.5.2.13.2SF-HW over Netgear V2.5.4.2 and PuTTY SSH works as expected. ("root" and web password). There is, of course, the usual PuTTY message about this being an unknown SSH and am I sure I want to proceed. I did nothing to enable SSH on the router.

Is there a particular reason to want to change the web GUI password using SSH or telnet, rather than the web GUI ?

I also deliberately entered the web GUI password incorrectly three times to bring up the Password Recovery process. Entered serial number (need new glasses). Entered two question answers. Password Recovery accepted. (Entered the original information again, rather than change the password or security questions.)

It is difficult to propose a solution when I cannot replicate the problem.

The only thing I can log into is the webgui. Both telnet and ssh say incorrect password. I also am unable to reset the password from either the webgui (says old password is incorrect) or from the forgot password (says the serial is incorrect).

 

[Voxel]

The only thing I can log into is the webgui. Both telnet and ssh say incorrect password. I also am unable to reset the password from either the webgui (says old password is incorrect) or from the forgot password (says the serial is incorrect).

Try to shorten your WebGUI password and to avoid very specific symbols. There could be some issues to store specific symbols in nvram. Such as e.g. " ' % ` & ^ etc.

Voxel.

 

[thorax]

Try to shorten your WebGUI password and to avoid very specific symbols. There could be some issues to store specific symbols in nvram. Such as e.g. " ' % ` & ^ etc.

Voxel.

Password is only lower case letters and numbers. Also, I can't change the password via the webgui because it says the old password is incorrect.

edit: Hey I fixed it! I did the password reset via the webgui with the old password field blank. Now I can login via SSH and telnet!

 

[CrimpOn]

This is a really awkward situation. The password cannot be made shorter or less complicated if it cannot be changed. The obvious solution is to do a Factory Reset which accomplishes two goals: (1) eliminates any garbage in the parameters and (2) sets the administrative password to "password". Since Voxel's firmware disables this procedure, it becomes a multi-step process of

• Save the config
• Manually load 2.5.4.2
• Factory Reset
• Manually load Voxel
• Verify that things work (password change, ssh, telnet)
• Choose between reloading the saved config or doing a manual config

I found reading the serial number on my Orbi quite a chore because of the tiny font. I often confuse B and 8, S and 5, Z and 2, etc. If the serial number has been entered correctly and the Orbi rejects it, that argues for, "something is very wrong."

 

[thorax]

See my edit above. I was able to change it from the webgui by leaving the old password field blank.

 

[Voxel]

There is workaround to change your WebGUI password for my build (Orbi RBR50 v1 only). Just prepare USB stick, create the file on your USB, from the root of USB:

/autorun/scripts/post-mount.sh
(should be executable if ext2/3/4)

or e.g. Windows
E:\autorun\scripts\post-mount.sh

and this post-mount.sh should contain

#!/bin/sh

/bin/nvram set http_passwd="YourNewPassword"
/bin/nvram commit

Then attach it to your RBR. wait 10 sec. and reboot your RBR (unplug USB stick).

Voxel.

 

[CrimpOn]

There is a storm raging on the Netgear Orbi forum because Netgear has begun pushing a new firmware version without warning or approval (truly "automatic") that removes telnet access from the debug screen. Many users have customization or routines which rely on terminal access, and they are frustrated (and angry) when they manually load a previous firmware version only to have their Orbi update again the next night. For one person, the automatic update introduces 800 bytes of garbage in the configuration file.

I have a distinct memory of Voxel posting once that he was unable to prevent Netgear from looking for firmware updates, and had added the "9" to the beginning of his versions to prevent the Netgear process from recognizing new Netgear firmware as more recent. Firmware version is in a file in the root folder (firmware_version) and also in a parameter (Router_Version).

I understand that these will be replaced every time the router reboots. Would changing those text entries to start with a number larger than "2" keep this firmware update from happening before a reboot happens?

 

[Voxel]

I understand that these will be replaced every time the router reboots. Would changing those text entries to start with a number larger than "2" keep this firmware update from happening before a reboot happens?

Most probably "yes".

Voxel.

 

[mith_y2k]

There is a storm raging on the Netgear Orbi forum because Netgear has begun pushing a new firmware version without warning or approval (truly "automatic") that removes telnet access from the debug screen. Many users have customization or routines which rely on terminal access, and they are frustrated (and angry) when they manually load a previous firmware version only to have their Orbi update again the next night. For one person, the automatic update introduces 800 bytes of garbage in the configuration file.

Link? I only saw one guy complaining about it and having a pretty unusual configuration

 

[Voxel]

Link? I only saw one guy complaining about it and having a pretty unusual configuration

I do not have a time to seek this issue but I've got the same question in my P.M. from another user of SNB. So I do react this.

Voxel.

 

[mith_y2k]

I do not have a time to seek this issue but I've got the same question in my P.M. from another user of SNB. So I do react this.

Voxel.

@CrimpOn mentioned it so I was hoping he had a link handy. I’m just curious, TBH I’m not going back to stock firmware for many reasons including ssh access