Overclock and Merlin 380.58 / AC3200 can not make it work

[garyd9]

Just to add a "me too" to this thread: My US AC3200 wasn't able to be o/c'd with the 1.0.1.6 CFE. After I managed to make the needed edits to 1.0.1.5 and go backward to it (which took several tries), o/c to 1200 was trivial (and actually helpful for maxing out ipv6 bandwidth.)

Some hints:

In the CFE thread from @hggomes, there's 3 different "mtd-write" versions. Use v2. I tried first with v3, but it didn't actually write anything on my AC3200. (Also, the mtd-write in the v3 archive expects "-i and -d" switches - despite that thread's first post stating that v3 doesn't expect those switches. Either there's a typo in the thread message or the wrong mtd-write binary is in the v3 .rar archive. I have NFC which.)

Finally, now that I've already done it (and it works), now is the perfect time to ask: How was I supposed to edit the CFE file? (lol.) I used the cfe editor from that thread, popped into advanced mode, and copied the secret code (WPS PIN) and _all_ the lines that had MAC addresses from the 1.0.1.6 I extracted. I have no idea if I was supposed to copy all of them or just one of them. (It seemed odd that the basic mode only changed one of them.)

Could I have just used the CFE editor to change the "clkfreq" line in the 1.0.1.6 CFE and written that to get the same result? (I realize there'd be the risk of not being able to back out of the change if the o/c failed, but I'm curious...)

 

[hggomes]

CPU clkfreq on 1.0.1.6 CFE is locked, it will work only at 1000 or less frequency's, not higher, that's where v1.0.1.5 comes in.

You should never edit clkfreq on the bootloader, you risk a permanent brick if your router is not stable at that frequency or not valid, always keep the original value there so you can escape from the new overclocked frequency via NVRAM, if it's part of the bootloader you will never be able to recover it, unless you re-write the NAND via JTAG/Programmer, otherwise you will have a 6 antenna dead router next to you.

 

[FTC]

All right!, did the CFE rewrite and mine is also now a US 1.0.1.5 AC3200 overclocked. (converted from EU model). Note that in my case it was the mtd_write V3 that did the trick.. the V2 one did look like writing the CFE but up on reboot just had done nothing.

In any case, thanks to channel unlocking with hgg firmware, I can still use my old EU (and legal) frequencies / power levels.

By the way, the overclock gained me aprox. a 15% increase in USB3 transfer speeds, and also verified with BogoMIPS (result is now aprox. 2400 BogoMIPS)

 

[gendo]

I am curious as to why the 1.0.1.5 CFE for this router hasn't shown up before; I've only got it because I bought an excess RT-AC3200 off a client that didn't need it to use as a test and development platform (my RT-N66U was getting a bit long in the tooth).

 

[hggomes]

Once again, thank you for sharing it and time wasted on testing/reporting.

RT-AC3200 was the only model not overclocking due to bootloader lockup, while all other models could overclock just fine.

@FTC

Yes, OC has a great impact on the router performance, no doubts about it, specially:

1. Services encryption performance. (ex: OpenVPN)
2. USB transfer rates.
3. Services performance in general.


If you are able to set it to 1400mhz stable, it represents a 40% performance increase, matching the new models frequency (RT-AC3100, RT-AC88U, RT-AC5300), no wonder why the bootloader cpuclk frequency was locked...

 

[gendo]

Once again, thank you for sharing it and time wasted testing/reporting it.

RT-AC3200 was the only model not overclocking due to bootloader lockup, while all other models could overclock just fine.

@FTC

Yes, OC has a great impact on the router performance, no doubts about it, specially:

1. Services encryption performance. (ex: OpenVPN)
2. USB transfer rates.
3. Services performance in general.


If you are able to set it to 1400mhz stable, it represents a 40% performance increase, matching the new models frequency (RT-AC3100, RT-AC88U, RT-AC5300), no wonder why the bootloader cpuclk frequency was locked...

No time wasted; like I said...its a test & dev platform lol

 

[Dragon]

Can the 1.0.1.5 cfe be edited to european? I'm interested in doing the mod, but I'd rather stick to right region if I can.

 

[FTC]

Can the 1.0.1.5 cfe be edited to european? I'm interested in doing the mod, but I'd rather stick to right region if I can.

Hi, in theory yes, changing the various apperances of 'ccode', however I did not want to run the risk since failing with a CFE flash could brick the router... and you gain nothing if already using a firmware such as hgg's one that has all channels already available.