Instacom usb to serial adapter debrick router

Instacom usb to serial adapter debrick router install#

HyperTerminal in Windows XP: Start Button->All Programs->Accessories->Communication->HyperTerminal PuTTY (All), HyperTerminal (WinXP and older), minicom (Linux), picocom (Linux), terminalbpp (Win).You connect and talk to the router from a PC using terminal/console programs such as: On routers with two Serial ports (Tx0/Tx1 and Rx0/Rx1), use the '0' ports for your connections (I've not seen a router yet that connects to the '1' side). Rx and Tx are labeled relative to the cable, so Rx line needs connected to the router's Tx, because the router labels are also relative to it, so Tx and Rx get crossed for proper connection.

Then you can guess at the Rx and Tx lines. Some boards are NOT marked with pin designation, so use a multimeter to determine power and ground to avoid shorting the serial cable TTL chip. There are three or four connections for serial to function properly: Vcc (+3.3V, but usually not connected), GND, Tx and Rx. Serial cable can be either USB or DB9 connection type and be capable of voltage level shift to +3.3V, not +5V. Some routers have serial ports inside the WAN port, and here is a link to some Serial port pinouts.

Instacom usb to serial adapter debrick router install#

Unless it has an OEM header, you have to either solder the wires to the pads, or remove solder from the holes to install an appropriate header. Serial ports are normally four or five pins on the router board. The last resort is to desolder the flash chip and use a programmer to flash CFE (if needed) and firmware. Otherwise JTAG is required to debrick, if available, which can also replace a corrupted CFE.

Routers with a serial port AND working CFE (bootloader) can often be recovered with a serial adapter, using CFE low-level commands.