Voxel Custom firmware build for Orbi RBK50/RBK53 (RBR50, RBS50) v. 9.2.5.2.5SF-HW & v. 9.2.5.2.5.1SF-HW

[Skippy Bosco]

Believe me. So many. There are other significant changes. In the GPL codes. Usually NG changes.log is too silent. So I check the changes myself by inspecting GPL codes.

Voxel.

For what it is worth, I flashed 2.7.0.70 to check it out, after tried flashing the latest Voxel back on and it soft bricked my router AND both my satellites (just a manual upgrade, no factory reset). I TFTP 2.7.0.70 back on and tried again and same thing happened. I ended up having to TFTP downgrade to .16 stock and then Voxel worked fine.

First time I've ever had the satellites soft brick.

 

[theoak]

For what it is worth, I flashed 2.7.0.70 to check it out, after tried flashing the latest Voxel back on and it soft bricked my router AND both my satellites (just a manual upgrade, no factory reset). I TFTP 2.7.0.70 back on and tried again and same thing happened. I ended up having to TFTP downgrade to .16 stock and then Voxel worked fine.

First time I've ever had the satellites soft brick.

Ugh, that is discouraging. What version were you on prior to the attempt to go to 2.7.0.70?

 

[Skippy Bosco]

I was on the latest Voxel. Flashed 2.7.0.70, then factory reset.. ran it for a couple of days. It was fine, no issues. Didn't notice any speed or other issues..

After a few days I wanted to go back to Voxell so I manually flashed the satellites one at a time. They appeared to come back fine, but when I flashed the router everything pulsed white. Not a big deal, usually that just means the router soft bricked and I needed to TFTP, but in this case the satellites also were soft bricked and needed flashing.

I could never get 2.7.0.70 to go to Voxel latest, I had to downgrade to .16 first.

Not a big deal, just a longer process than I anticipated going into it.

 

[Voxel]

For what it is worth, I flashed 2.7.0.70 to check it out, after tried flashing the latest Voxel back on and it soft bricked my router AND both my satellites (just a manual upgrade, no factory reset). I TFTP 2.7.0.70 back on and tried again and same thing happened. I ended up having to TFTP downgrade to .16 stock and then Voxel worked fine.

First time I've ever had the satellites soft brick.

Well. As I said already:

As a rule significant changes by NG/DNI mean something wrong.

So I am not surprised.My condolences . But I hope you do not think that it is my fault. You've flashed the stock fw.


Voxel.

 

[Skippy Bosco]

So I am not surprised.My condolences . But I hope you do not think that it is my fault. You've flashed the stock fw.

Not at all. I apologize if it came across that way. I was just reporting back for others that may have the urge to test out 2.7.0.70 so they can flash back down to .16 before they flash your amazing firmware back on so they don't have to deal with TFTP.

Thank you for your efforts. We all go into this fully aware of the consequence and hold no fault to you on our own actions.

 

[theoak]

As per Netgear forums ...

2.7.0.70 was for users who did not use Circle. They were upgraded to the next version of Circle. Probably in hopes to entice folks to the latest greatest features.

Those that use Circle were upgraded to 2.5.2.4. I imagine to not wipe out their existing settings and expectations. I imagine however when their subscription runs out, and or at Netgear's will, they would eventually roll to a firmware with the latest greatest parental controls.

@Skippy Bosco So essentially if you want to go to 2.7 - fine; however, to get back onto Voxel, roll back to stock 2.5, then upgrade to Voxel. Thank you for your valiant sacrifice

 

[armedmetallica]

With the Voxel firmware, is it possible to use a separate/different DNS for the Guest network? I would like to create an "Ad-Free" network using the Guest SSID by pointing the Guest network to the Pi-Hole DNS. Thanks!

I'm on stock firmware 2.5.1.16 - not sure what's happening but my DNS resolution over piHole DOES work on the guest network. I just tested it... connected to guest wifi, used another device to connect to pihole and changed the upstream DNS - and ran a DNSLeak test, and sure enough the new upstream resolvers come up.

My topology looks like this:

Cable Modem --> ASUS AC3200 --> Orbi in AP mode.

I have an AD domain and the DNS on the server is set to point to the pihole. The primary router (ASUS) sets DNS 1 as the AD server and DNS2 as the piHole.

It doesn't look like any other ports are getting through. I can't connect via RDP or via SMB or even PING the primary network devices when connected to the guest network.

Long story to say - it might be worth a try. Or maybe I screwed something up royally - and somehow managed to create an insecure guest network.

 

[samarth]

I'm seeing very strange behavior with Voxel Firmware - DNS resolution stops working if I flash Voxel-firmware.
I've not set DNS servers on my devices and all of them fail to open any webpage. But if I manually set any DNS server on the device, things start working fine.
Tried V9.2.5.1.19SF and V9.2.5.2.5SF.
Works perfectly fine on stock 2.5.1.16

 

[e38BimmerFN]

Hi Voxel,
Just curious to know if you have address the factory reset button and UI ERASE button feature for your FW yet? Or do users still have to revert to stock FW, factory reset then apply your FW?

Thank you for your time and efforts.

Continuation of

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-orbi-rbk50-v-2-5-0-42sf-hw.60308/

. . .
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/c...50-rbk53-rbr50-rbs50-v-9-2-5-1-19sf-hw.64782/
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/c...50-v-9-2-5-1-33sf-hw-v-9-2-5-1-34sf-hw.65137/

New version of my custom firmware build: 9.2.5.2.5SF-HW.

Changes (vs 9.2.5.1.34SF-HW):

1. Integration of changes from the stock v. 2.5.2.4.
2. Toolchain: Go is upgraded 1.14.6->1.14.7.
3. Toolchain: binutils is upgraded 2.34->2.35.
4. wireguard package is upgraded 1.0.20200712->1.0.20200729.
5. wireguard-tools package is upgraded 1.0.20200513->1.0.20200820.
6. unbound package (used in stubby) is upgraded 1.10.1->1.11.0.
7. net-lan init script is fixed (thanks to kamoj).
8. qcawifi.sh: Fix for guest Wi-Fi allowing DNS over TCP (thanks to R. Gerrits).
9. nano package is upgraded 4.9.3->5.1.
10. curl package is upgraded 7.71.1->7.72.0 (fixing CVE-2020-8231).
11. SAMBA: update config generation.
12. sysstat package is upgraded 12.2.2-12.4.0.
13. util-linux package is upgraded 2.35.2->2.36.
14. Host tools (bison): is upgraded to 3.7.1.
15. Host tools (mpfr): is upgraded to 4.1.0.

The link is:

https://www.voxel-firmware.com (thanks to vladlenas for his help with hosting).

P.S.

Some ORBI users issue not quite correct answers to others. So to clarify, just FYI:

1. My firmware does support OpenVPN client (i.e. OpenVPN secure connection for all gadgets connected to RBR/RBS). Not only OpenVPN server.
2. My firmware does support WireGuard client (i.e. WireGuard VPN secure connection for all gadgets connected to RBR/RBS).
3, My firmware does supports USB LTE modem (if modem is in CDC/RNDIS mode).
4. My firmware does support file server feature (something like NAS, i.e. SMB protocol).

Voxel.

 

[Skippy Bosco]

Hi Voxel,
Just curious to know if you have address the factory reset button and UI ERASE button feature for your FW yet? Or do users still have to revert to stock FW, factory reset then apply your FW?

Thank you for your time and efforts.

As of the most recent Voxel firmware it is still required to flash to stock before performing a factory reset.

 

[Voxel]

I'm seeing very strange behavior with Voxel Firmware - DNS resolution stops working if I flash Voxel-firmware.
I've not set DNS servers on my devices and all of them fail to open any webpage. But if I manually set any DNS server on the device, things start working fine.
Tried V9.2.5.1.19SF and V9.2.5.2.5SF.
Works perfectly fine on stock 2.5.1.16

Sorry but I failed to reproduce. Did not you try to use, say, DNSCrypt Proxy v2? Additional plus of its using is increasing your privacy.

Voxel.

 

[Voxel]

Just curious to know if you have address the factory reset button and UI ERASE button feature for your FW yet? Or do users still have to revert to stock FW, factory reset then apply your FW?

As of the most recent Voxel firmware it is still required to flash to stock before performing a factory reset.

Unfortunately this issue is hard to trace and debug. First, some codes in NG/DNI GPL sources are not available (only binaries). I do not like reverse engineering. Second, it is too troublesome and too time consuming to trace the issue by trial & error method.

Trial and error - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

One attempt and soft brick. I have to spend at least 20 min recovering RBR to try next attempt.

Voxel.

 

[Voxel]

FYI: Version 9.2.5.2.5.1SF-HW is released. See the very first post (updated).

Voxel.

 

[NemesisXT]

Continuation of

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-orbi-rbk50-v-2-5-0-42sf-hw.60308/
. . .
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/c...50-rbk53-rbr50-rbs50-v-9-2-5-1-19sf-hw.64782/
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/c...50-v-9-2-5-1-33sf-hw-v-9-2-5-1-34sf-hw.65137/

New version of my custom firmware build: 9.2.5.2.5SF-HW.

Changes (vs 9.2.5.1.34SF-HW):

1. Integration of changes from the stock v. 2.5.2.4.
2. Toolchain: Go is upgraded 1.14.6->1.14.7.
3. Toolchain: binutils is upgraded 2.34->2.35.
4. wireguard package is upgraded 1.0.20200712->1.0.20200729.
5. wireguard-tools package is upgraded 1.0.20200513->1.0.20200820.
6. unbound package (used in stubby) is upgraded 1.10.1->1.11.0.
7. net-lan init script is fixed (thanks to kamoj).
8. qcawifi.sh: Fix for guest Wi-Fi allowing DNS over TCP (thanks to R. Gerrits).
9. nano package is upgraded 4.9.3->5.1.
10. curl package is upgraded 7.71.1->7.72.0 (fixing CVE-2020-8231).
11. SAMBA: update config generation.
12. sysstat package is upgraded 12.2.2-12.4.0.
13. util-linux package is upgraded 2.35.2->2.36.
14. Host tools (bison): is upgraded to 3.7.1.
15. Host tools (mpfr): is upgraded to 4.1.0.

[Edited]

Version 9.2.5.2.5.1SF-HW.

Changes (vs 9.2.5.2.5SF-HW):

1. Toolchain: GCC is changed 10.2.0->9.3.0 (issue with IPv6 when using GCC 10.2.0).

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/orbi-rbk50-rbr50-rbs50-ipv6-not-recognized.66058/​

2. wireguard-tools package is upgraded 1.0.20200820->1.0.20200827.
3. nano package is upgraded 5.1->5.2.
4. ethtool package is upgraded 5.4->5.8.
5. Host tools (mpc): is upgraded to 1.2.0.

The link is:

https://www.voxel-firmware.com (thanks to vladlenas for his help with hosting).

P.S.

Some ORBI users issue not quite correct answers to others. So to clarify, just FYI:

1. My firmware does support OpenVPN client (i.e. OpenVPN secure connection for all gadgets connected to RBR/RBS). Not only OpenVPN server.
2. My firmware does support WireGuard client (i.e. WireGuard VPN secure connection for all gadgets connected to RBR/RBS).
3, My firmware does supports USB LTE modem (if modem is in CDC/RNDIS mode).
4. My firmware does support file server feature (something like NAS, i.e. SMB protocol).

Voxel.

Voxel, do you have any plans to support RBS50Y model?

 

[Voxel]

Voxel, do you have any plans to support RBS50Y model?

No such plans, sorry. I do not have this gadget to start its support. And I do not want to buy it just for fun. It is not cheap.

Voxel.

 

[e38BimmerFN]

Ok, thank you Voxel for let me know.
I hear you about trying to reverse engineer and Time and Trials.

Just seems odd that what ever works in stock FW, something that changes with your FW break the reset function. Seems like that feature would be kind of a global feature across NG router products. Though Orbi has proven to be quite different. Probably something in files you don't have access too.

I'll be sure to mention that if a reset is needed while using your FW, users will need to re-load stock FW first, reset then load back your FW should a reset be needed.

Thank you for your time.

Unfortunately this issue is hard to trace and debug. First, some codes in NG/DNI GPL sources are not available (only binaries). I do not like reverse engineering. Second, it is too troublesome and too time consuming to trace the issue by trial & error method.

Trial and error - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

One attempt and soft brick. I have to spend at least 20 min recovering RBR to try next attempt.

Voxel.

 

[samarth]

Sorry but I failed to reproduce. Did not you try to use, say, DNSCrypt Proxy v2? Additional plus of its using is increasing your privacy.

Voxel.

Not sure what the problem was, but going back to stock, factory reset, and setting up everything from scratch and then flashing your firmware seems to have fixed the issue.
Quick question - I don't want to set nocloud=1 since that stops me from using the Orbi app from outside the home network. If I don't set nocloud=1 that, entware doesn't seem to work. I want to enable stubby and change it's config. But my changed config doesn't persist reboots. Is there a way to change the config for stubby that persists reboots and I can have access to Orbi via Orbi App remotely?

 

[Voxel]

Is there a way to change the config for stubby that persists reboots and I can have access to Orbi via Orbi App remotely?

In brief the answer is: Yes.

Well. "nocloud=1" is just for unification of using Entware for R7500/R7800/R9000/R8900/RBK50. Maybe I have to re-design his scheme. But now:

R7500 (my build is still used with Entware): does not support ReadyCLOUD (ReadyCLOUD is why I use "nocloud=1").​

R7800: supports ReadyCLOUD. I.e. it creates the "/opt" directory by default conflicts a bit with Entware.​

R9000/R8900: supports ReadyCLOUD. I.e. it creates the "/opt" directory by default conflicts a bit with Entware.​

Orbi RBK50: does not support ReadyCLOUD (in the stock fw at least yet).​

If you are a bit experienced in Linux, check the script after installation of Entware (common for all router above):

/mnt/sda1/autorun/scripts/post-mount.sh

and how "nocloud" is used there. Could be corrected for your need (until I change the scheme).

Stubby config: check the file QuickStart.txt from my archive with firmware. Everything is there:

. . .
2. Overlay partition on USB.

Original stock firmware uses tmpfs overlay partition (in RAM). So all you changes in
the files/dirs are kept only until next reboot of router/satellite. If you need to keep
your changed/added files you should use external USB disk/stick formatted as
ext2/ext3/ext4 with /overlay directory on the root where you should add your new or
modified files keeping the dirtree of Orbi. For example, if you wish to use your own
/etc/dnscrypt-proxy-2.toml just place it into /overlay/etc/dnscrypt-proxy-2.toml.
. . .

I.e. is you wish to use your own /etc/stubby/stubby.yml config surviving reboot just place it into /mnt/sda1//overlay/etc/stubby/stubby.yml on USB.

Sorry, no offences, but RTFM.

Voxel.

 

[digital10]

Voxel does what Netgear don't
I feel sorry for anyone using Orbi with its finicky stock firmware without knowing about Voxel

 

[john_matrix]

Hello,
Just installed the Voxel firmware V9.2.5.2.5SF-HW on my RBK50v2 (without USB).
At the moment, wifi performance is better than stock firmware and UI is more responsive.

Thank you very much Voxel!

PS: any chance that you build a firmware for RBK40?