Rbr50v2 Conversion

[MR2MK1SC]

Hi,

Have modified both stock 2.7.5.4 and the latest voxel v9.2.5.2.28 and added them to the google drive

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OIY-LzWgfw7jH8lb1kx0M-oVRuiTIKOn?usp=sharing

Thank you! You have better support than NetGear.

 

[jb955]

Hello,

I have just joined the forum as I am wanting a bit of advice on converting an RBR50v2 into an RBS50v2 using schmellic's modified 'stock' RBR50_to_RBS50-V2.5.2.4.img with a view to then flashing with schmellic's modified version of Voxel's latest firmware RBR50_to_RBS50-V9.2.5.2.28SF-HW.
I have bought a second-hand RBR50v2 off ebay and have just downgraded it to the Netgear stock (unmodified) RBR50 2.5.2.4 via the web interface and confirmed it is running this version after rebooting.

I already have an RBK50v2 system up and running (RBR50v2 + 1 RBS50v2) and would like to extend the range to cover a garden room which the current system doesn't quite reach consistently.

I have read multiple articles and forum posts about the procedure and up until I discovered this brilliant thread I was about to proceed with the method described by Martin Paul Eve - thankfully I did more checking and soon realised I would have bricked my 'new' v2.

I am now wanting some sort of confirmation I am doing the right thing before I proceed...

My current thinking is that I start by flashing my current fully stock 2.5.2.4 with schmellic's modified 2.5.2.4 via Tftpd64 as shown in Netgear's instructions on manually flashing the RBR50v2.
Then flash with schmellic's modified RBR50_to_RBS50-V9.2.5.2.28SF-HW.img, again using Tftpd64 using the same method.
Or... can I go straight to RBR50_to_RBS50-V9.2.5.2.28 from the stock 2.5.2.4?
Also, will the converted unit connect to my current setup as I would like to test it before I flash the others to Voxel's firmware (modified by schmellic).
I hope this makes sense...

Many thanks for all your hard work and making this possible, I have already donated to Voxel as I have great respect for people who 'tinker' for the good of everyone else who wouldn't have a clue how to do it.
Also big thanks for the great work by kvr, schmellic and indoortraveler.

Kind regards,

John

PS - I've just noticed Voxel has an update - V9.2.5.2.29 - question for schmellic - "will you be modifying this update and placing it in you Google Drive folder?"

 

[MR2MK1SC]

Any chance this same mod could be applied to the latest ORBI RBR20 firmware? I have one that I'd be willing to test on for "the cause", if some can mod the firmware...

 

[seattlesawdust]

Joining forum to post appreciation for those who figured out the process and shared firmware to convert Orbi router to satellite - thanks very much!

 

[Amber-cucu-cloud]

Hi folks! Thanks for all your work on this!

Naive question, is it possible to 'go' from v2 to v1 on RBK50?

My end-goal is to flash the OpenWRT to enable a dedicated IOT SSID via VLANs, however only v1 firmware files are available, and flashing with that bricks both the router and satellites.

 

[kvr]

Hi folks! Thanks for all your work on this!

Naive question, is it possible to 'go' from v2 to v1 on RBK50?

My end-goal is to flash the OpenWRT to enable a dedicated IOT SSID via VLANs, however only v1 firmware files are available, and flashing with that bricks both the router and satellites.

What do you hope to achieve you can’t do with the standard VLAN capabilities?

The answer to go from V2 to V1 is “No”. They slightly differ in hardware. That’s why this thread exists.

 

[Amber-cucu-cloud]

What do you hope to achieve you can’t do with the standard VLAN capabilities?

The answer to go from V2 to V1 is “No”. They slightly differ in hardware. That’s why this thread exists.

Thank you for your response.

My understanding is that there is a way to procure a VLAN network on the RBR50, which has to be set to a router mode. Per what I can see on Netgear website, this seems to be a special use case for connected IPTVs to bypass NAT. I didn't think it solves my problem of creating a segregated SSID: RBK50 doesn't allow multiple SSIDs, which is reserved for the "Pro" lineup. This is also counter to my network topology, which involves main gateway that manages DHCP on multiple VLANs. My current setup is:

pfsense router -> managed switch -> RBR50 (AP mode) -> Wired back-haul on LAN1 in a 'Star' configuration​

I would be thankful for any suggestions. Right now I resorted to running a standalone wireless router just for IOT devices. I am able to get my hands on the v.1 of the RBR50, which I can then flash with the OpenWRT firmware, but I noticed that this topic was discussing 'conversions' and thought I'd try asking first.

Update: in thinking a bit more about this, maybe segregating on a device level (eg., running a 2.4gHz wireless router for IOT devices) is a sensible solution. I don't feel ready venturing into the OpenWRT territory with my state of knowledge.

 

[jasonjsimon]

Hey guys. I used this solution a few months back to convert a spare RBR50V2 to RBS50 - which is amazing! Thanks for all the work that went into solving that.
Now the incredibly stupid question. Is there a way I can convert it back to a RBR50? My primary RBR50 seems to be dying and I'd like to replace it with my spare.
Is there a workable way to revert a converted device?

 

[jasonjsimon]

I can't seem to flash any earlier version of firmware on the RBR50V2 (converted to RBS50). It seems to start the firmware update, resets and still boots up with 2.7.4.24 (most current version). Any ideas on how I can re-enable telnet on the device?

 

[Danimalito]

Thank you for sharing the solution and the motivation for me to try "MOD" myself. I have done it successfully.

Hello not computer savvy but I’m interested of converting my rbr50v2.

 

[Danimalito]

Hey guys. I used this solution a few months back to convert a spare RBR50V2 to RBS50 - which is amazing! Thanks for all the work that went into solving that.
Now the incredibly stupid question. Is there a way I can convert it back to a RBR50? My primary RBR50 seems to be dying and I'd like to replace it with my spare.
Is there a workable way to revert a converted device?

Hello I would like to convert my rbr50v2. Not comp savvy here. What’s the process like ? Thanks!

 

[L&LD]

Did you start reading from post 1?

 

[scott_j]

Hi,

Have modified both stock 2.7.5.4 and the latest voxel v9.2.5.2.28 and added them to the google drive

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OIY-LzWgfw7jH8lb1kx0M-oVRuiTIKOn?usp=sharing

Just came to say thank you to @kvr @schmellic for sharing.
RBR50v2 converted to RBS50 working perfectly with my RBR20/RBS20 network.

I stuck with 2.7.4.24 as that was the latest available for the RBR20, not sure if that matters, but all are talking happily according to app and web interface.

Cheers,
Scott.

 

[evidlo]

Would it be possible to go the other way, @schmellic ? Convert an RBS50 to an RBR50?

I have an old satellite that I would like to make use of.

 

[thebruhh]

Created account just like others to say thank you - @schmellic and @kvr !!

I'm glad you all made it a dumbed down version because I had no clue how to tftp and what not.

For those reading and thinking well "okay, now what" even though it's spelled out in a few posts on here what I did was the following:

1. My RBR50v2 router I plugged it in and setup it up without any internet. Once it's broadcasting as a router without internet:
2. On my PC downloaded the firmware that @schmellic linked in gdrive (in my case I downloaded the v.2.7.5.4 as my orbi router and satellites were on that version). as a reference the firmware of the rbr50v2 was on V2.3.5.30.
3. Connect PC to the wifi that the RBR50V2 router you wanted turned into a satellite (it's the default one it did with its preset password).
4. Once connected obviously there's no internet, but you go to the 192.168.1.1 and type in the admin/pw you setup. THere's a small chance if you did something wrong it might be 10.0.0.1 and type in the admin/pw you setup.
5. Once on the Orbi webui page navigate to the firmware section, select the Manual tab and upload the file you downloaded from @schmellic . Give it about 3-5 minutes to install.
6. Once installed you need to sync it. On your actual Orbi router webui, go to add satellites, and then follow instructions (click Sync on the newly convertered Router to Satellite then click Sync on the webui page for your actual router).
7. Give it a few minutes and you will be filled with joy once you see the router turn blue for acting as a satellite
8. Reap the benefits.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU you computer geniuses.

 

[tarzan_nojane]

I have tried severat times to load the RBR20_to_RBS20-V2.7.4.24.img using tftp. Each time I get the response "Transfer successful: 21233793 bytes in 23 second(s), 923208 bytes/s", but the device will not automatically reboot and finish loading the new firmware. No issues using tftp to load either stock RBR20-V2.7.4.24 or RBR20-V2.7.3.22 firmwares to my RBR20 device. Can any users report success with RBR20 conversion?

 

[johanneshijo]

Thank you very much to all who contributed, thanks to this thread I successfully converted two unused RBR50v2 to two useful RBS50. Even revived one which I bricked before, while using the method for a v1 on a v2.

 

[Julian Brooks]

@schmellic and the others contributing to the RBR50v2 conversion conversation...
Can anyone tell me though, once the RBR50v2 is converted to an RBS50v2 and on Voxel firmware V9.2.5.2.28SF-HW.img from @schmellic, can future Voxel firmware be loaded via the web interface directly from Voxel downloads, do they need to be further modded first as @schmellic has done, or do these need to be loaded now via TFTP with out changing anything? I would like to avoid bricking my RBS50v2 (converted from RBR50v2).

 

[schmellic]

@schmellic and the others contributing to the RBR50v2 conversion conversation...
Can anyone tell me though, once the RBR50v2 is converted to an RBS50v2 and on Voxel firmware V9.2.5.2.28SF-HW.img from @schmellic, can future Voxel firmware be loaded via the web interface directly from Voxel downloads, do they need to be further modded first as @schmellic has done, or do these need to be loaded now via TFTP with out changing anything? I would like to avoid bricking my RBS50v2 (converted from RBR50v2).

Just popped in to say the latest voxel version has been modded and is up on my Google drive. To answer your question, all new versions have to be modded and loaded via TFTP, unfortunately the web interface won't load even the modded file

 

[alexnev]

First of all, big thank you to @schmellic for keeping this alive and making new latest firmware.

I want to post a few lines about my experience, it may be helpful to someone.

I had a spare RBR50 v2 router (i got used RBR50 v1 router off ebay for the usb socket) which i set to WW mode (although i'm in NA) and it had latest
V9.2.5.2.32SF-HW firmware from Voxel on it.
At my first try I loaded custom V9.2.5.2.32SF-HW firmware from schmellic from regular firmware update portal to convert it to RBS50. It loaded successfully, but satellite always was connecting to the network using 2.4GHZ backhaul. No mater location. I tried to test it instead of knowlingly working well genuine RSB50, converted one always was stuck on 2.4GHZ.

First thought of mine was that i forgot to switch it into NA mode (may be relevant for correct channel selection). Since any firmware only can be loaded through TFTP after conversion - i quickly learn how to do it.

So at first attempt to get it right i flashed voxel V9.2.5.2.32SF-HW RBR50 firmware and set router back to NA through SSH. As you all know - there is no way to factory reset units on voxel firmware - it was likely the reason for my future troubles. So after changing it to NA under voxel true RBR firmware i flashed it back to RBS50 using schmellic modified firmware. Connected satellite to the network and it was again stuck on 2.4 GHZ no matter what... So it didn make a difference.

I read that people had similar issues in the past and factory reset of converted unit was key to solve it. So at the next attempt I flashed schmellic modified firmware RBR50_to_RBS50-V2.5.2.4 through TFTP, which is factory based and allows for reset. After flashing I did full factory reset. I tried to connect satellite to network (all my units are running latest V9.2.5.2.32SF-HW firmware) but it wasnt connecting (likely due to different firmware). So after reset i flashed through TFTP schmellic V9.2.5.2.32SF-HW modified firmware. It went well.
After some dancing (had to use ethernet cable to connect satellite first) new converted unit succesfully connected to the network through 5 GHZ backhaul.

Thank you schmellic again!