This is a rebranded TP-LINK TL-WR841ND v7.x but the Rosewill web interface firmware updater will only accept firmware with Rosewill vendor bytes (in the file header). OpenWRT currently does not have those bytes by default, but there is an experiemental script that can add them. As an alternative, DD-WRT has everything we need, so we can use it to bootstrap.

• Tested with a Rosewill RNX-N300RT v1 hardware wireless router, purchased Dec. 2013
• Tested with DD-WRT v24 PreSP2 build 21061
• Tested with OpenWrt 12.09 final

Temporary flashes to DD-WRT and TP-LINK firmware are needed to get OpenWrt on this device.

Use the Rosewill web admin interface to flash to DD-WRT using the DD-WRT Rosewill RNX-N300RT firmware.

• Download factory-to-ddwrt.bin from http://www.dd-wrt.com/routerdb/de/download/Rosewill/RNX-N300RT/-/factory-to-ddwrt.bin/4063 (just go to this link and the file will sent to the browser as a download) – the DD-WRT firmware image has the Rosewill RNX-N300RT vendor bytes which the OpenWRT firmware currently lacks.
• Log into the Rosewill web admin interface at http://192.168.1.1, user admin, password admin
• Go to System Tools > Firmware Upgrade, browse to select factory-to-ddwrt.bin and click Upgrade > OK
• Wait for the firmware to be uploaded and the router to reboot. The browser should automatically connect again to the router at http://192.168.1.1/
• When the DD-WRT initial web login screen at about changing the default password appears, enter required information
  • Username: admin
  • Password: admin
• Continue to step 2

Use the DD-WRT web admin interface to flash to stock TP-LINK TL-WR841N/ND v7 firmware.

• Download TP-LINK TL-WR841ND v7 stock firmware by downloading the file wr841nv7_webrevert.rar from the DD-WRT forum post at http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=521084#521084. You must have a forum account and be logged in to see it.
• Be sure that you unrar the file to get the file wr841nv7_webrevert.bin
• In the DD-WRT web admin interface, go to Administration > Firmware Upgrade
  • Firmware Upgrade
    • After flashing, reset to: choose Reset to Default settings
    • Please select a file to upgrade: click "Browse…" and select the extracted wr841nv7_webrevert.bin file from the .rar download archive
    • Click "Upgrade" and wait for the firmware update to complete
• Wait for the firmware to be uploaded and the router to reboot. When DD-WRT reports the firmware flash is complete, reconnect the browser to http://192.168.1.1/
• When the TP-LINK initial web login screen appears, log in as:
  • Username: admin
  • Password: admin
• Continue to step 3

Use the TP-LINK web admin interface to flash to OpenWRT version 12.09 or later.

• Download the correct OpenWrt …squashfs-factory.bin image for this hardware: for OpenWrt 12.09, the direct link is http://downloads.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09/ar71xx/generic/openwrt-ar71xx-generic-tl-wr841nd-v7-squashfs-factory.bin (be sure to get the -factory firmware, NOT the -sysupgrade firmware)
• Go to System Tools > Firmware Upgrade, browse to select openwrt-ar71xx-generic-tl-wr841nd-v7-squashfs-factory.bin and click Upgrade > OK
• Wait for the firmware to be uploaded and the router to reboot. The browser should automatically connect again to the router at http://192.168.1.1/
• The OpenWrt 12.09 LuCI web interface setup screen should appear

• Tested with a Rosewill RNX-N300RT (v1 ?) hardware wireless router, purchased December 2014
• Tested with OpenWrt 14.07 final

Another way to install is by using the experimental rosewill-mod.py script. (Right click to save.) Use a TL-WR841ND v7.x factory.bin file. (version 15.05)

$ python3 rosewill-mod.py < in.bin > out.bin

(Replace in.bin with the file name of the downloaded factory.bin file.)

Connect to your router over ethernet, then flash the out.bin through your router's graphical interface. (http://192.168.1.1) Use the modified image for the first installation only.

• Unplug the router's power cord
• Connect any router LAN port directly to your PC
• Configure your PC with a static IP address: 192.168.1.2
• Plug the power on to the router
• Wait until the "SYS" LED starts flashing repeatedly
• Press the "WPS/Reset" button (on the front of the router) once – the "SYS" LED will now start flashing at a faster rate

• The router is now in failsafe mode and can be reached by telnet at 192.168.1.1 with no username or password required
  • see generic.failsafe for more, including how to mount the usual file system

This requires a working u-boot-mod bootloader from ThinkPenguin, which you probably never touched. It also requires a very broken rootfs. When turning on the router in this state, you will probably see the lights flash all at once, then a few seconds later all of them flicker very fast.

Stop network manager and dhcp and whatever gives you a dynamically set address. Give yourself the static IP of 192.168.1.2/24. Connect the router via the first LAN port. Turn on the router. You might not need to press and hold the reset button during boot. Optionally run:

  nmap 192.168.0.0/24

You should see that an http port is open on the router. Go to http://192.168.1.1 in your browser. Select the proper image and upload it. Wait for the router to reboot and for lights to blink like normal.