Buffalo WHR-G300N v1

Wikidevi Notes
OEM Gemtek WRTR-237GN (WRTR-237GN_V02)

On the 'Buffalo AirStation' page on Wikipedia

Links of Interest

 * support: WHR-G300N
 * http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=64460

Flashing DD-WRT
Supported by dd-wrt as of = v24 SP2 - build 13744 - 20100126

First Time Flashing instructions
These instructions are for WHR-G300N v1 only. Go here for WHR-G300N v2 instructions.

Buffalo, unfortunately, encrypts their firmware, and their routers will accept only encrypted firmware in the web interface.

WHR-G300N v1 is now only supported by dd-wrt V24-preSP2, created by BrainSlayer. Go to the Brainslayer latest build folder and the WHR-G300N subfolder, and download the firmware.tfp file.

The first time you flash, the TFTP method can be used to bypass this 'encrypted' firmware requirement. Afterwards, the router firmware can be changed through the Web interface normally.

The easy way
There is a more convenient way to flash the firmware:

Every time the router boots it looks for a file called "firmware.ram" on a tftp server at 192.168.11.2. Now if you start a tftp server (e.g. TFTP32) and offer this file (simply rename firmware.tftp), the router fetches it automatically and flashes itself. This way you don't have to try to hit enter at the right time and it's fully automatic.

Steps to using TFTP32 and flashing your router:

--- Mekanik 22:35, 27 September 2009 (CEST) This method worked just fine for me today; just a couple points:
 * 1) Perform a reset on the router. This is done by holding in the reset button for about 20 seconds with the router powered on. You will see a bunch more lights illuminate when it's been reset.
 * 2) Statically set your computer's IP to 192.168.11.2, subnet mask 255.255.255.0, no gateway. Make sure your computer's and firewall are off, and the only thing connected to the router is the power cable, and the Ethernet cable coming from the computer.
 * 3) Download TFTP32 Standard, install it somewhere, and run it.
 * 4) Where it says Server Interface, this is simply which of your network adapters the server will be running on. You'll want to choose 192.168.11.2 from the dropdown. Note: This will only detect IPs of network adapters that are up, so be sure your router has power and is hooked up to your PC with an ethernet cable before you run TFTP32.
 * 5) Click Settings.
 * 6) Where it says Base Directory, click Browse and navigate to wherever you've placed your "firmware.ram" file.
 * 7) Under Global Settings, the only box you want checked is TFTP Server.
 * 8) I left TFTP Security and TFTP Configuration settings alone, but if you know better, then change what you need to.
 * 9) Under Advanced TFTP Options, made sure Show Progress Bar was checked, and also Checked Bind TFTP to this address and set it to my network adapter's address. Then hit Okay.
 * 10) If it says you need to restart TFTPD32, click Okay, then close and reopen TFTPD32. Again, make sure that your router is on before you run TFTP32, and that the correct network adapter IP is selected.
 * Now, unplug the power to your router for a second, then plug it back in.
 * 1) The red light will probably start flashing. After a few seconds, you'll see a line pop up in the TFTP Server status window showing the progress of the file transfer. It will disappear after a couple seconds.
 * 2) The red light will flash and go solid a lot for a couple minutes.
 * 3) *DO NOT UNPLUG THE POWER UNTIL IT IS DONE!
 * 4) *Stop the TFTP server after the transfer is complete (light is solid) or else the router will restart the flash process again after flashing is complete.
 * 5) When it's done, you will see it reboot, then all the normal green lights will illuminate.
 * 6) Don't forget to set you computer's IP and DNS back to Dynamic.
 * 7) Once your computer has grabbed a 192.168.1.x IP, try to load http://192.168.1.1. You should see a DD-WRT page wanting you to pick a new password. Don't do it just yet.
 * 8) The rest of these steps are to merely ensure that your NVRAM is cleared of all the old data.
 * 9) Unplug your router's power, leave it out for 30 seconds, then plug it back in.
 * 10) Once it's up again and your computer has an IP, go to http://192.168.1.1 again, pick any name and password, and it should let you in to DD-WRT.
 * Now, do another hard reset on the router.
 * 1) Once it's back up, go to http://192.168.1.1 again, pick your name and password, and go about setting up your router.

Item 10: TFTP32 didn't save the changes I made so I reconfigured it and ignored it's request to restart it.

''Item 12: After the transfer is complete, close TFTP32. If you don't, it will fetch the firmware again when it reboots!''  --

Alexis October 8, 2009 - It worked seamlessly for me as well. Same remark as Mekanik, shutdown the TFTP server at the end of the transder.

vtomer December 27, 2009 - Mac instructions can be found here : http://www.thevivekspot.com/2009/12/how-to-flash-buffalo-routers-firmware_27.html

--LokeTheMan 09:11, 7 June 2010 (CEST) The computer fetched only local IP for the tftp32 until I found to plug in a routers lan-slot instead of wan, after that operation ran through easily.

First suggested solution
This router can be flashed with the tftp.exe or the tftp program in linux or another operating system. I found it worked well. Others prefer the tftp32 method below. To flash with tftp:

Someone else has stated that 'the trick with this router is to wait for the blinking red light to stop and then start the tftp transfer. Be ready to press enter the very moment the red diag light stops blinking." I found that was too late.
 * 1) Do a reset on your router to restore it to default values
 * 2) Set up your tftp according to note 11 of the peacock announcement. http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=51486 Set your IP to 192.168.11.1 and your computer static IP to 192.168.11.2. Make sure wireless is off and the only thing connected to either the router or the computer is the cable from the computer's ethernet port to the LAN port of the router. Firewalls disabled.
 * 3) Select firmware.tftp as the file to transfer, from wherever you downloaded that file to.
 * 4) Unplug the router and plug it in. Count to 1 and then hit upgrade. It should go and you should see if flash. If you don't see the flash upgrading after a minute, repeat. MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT UNPLUG THE ROUTER IF IT IS UPGRADING. Timing is everything. I found that if you waited until the red light was solid, you were too late.
 * 5)  Wait. Open a webpage and wait until you can access the router at 192.168.1.1. You will have to set your computer back to auto IP and auto DNS to get to the router and 192.168.1.1.
 * 6) Remove the power cord to the router and count to 30. Plug the power back in.
 * 7) Wait. Open a webpage and wait until you can access the router at 192.168.1.1. You will have to set your computer back to auto IP and auto DNS to get to the router and 192.168.1.1.
 * 8) Set the password and user name to anything you wish. Then do ANOTHER hard reset on the router.
 * 9) Wait. Open a webpage and wait until you can access the router at 192.168.1.1. You will have to set your computer back to auto IP and auto DNS to get to the router and 192.168.1.1.
 * 10) When you can access the router, you should again be asked for your username and password. Set these and then configure your router the way you want it.

Please note that tftp can be run in linux as well as windows. The tftp32 program below is a windows only program.

Revert Instructions
To revert this router to Buffalo firmware, see this post for file and instructions. You must be logged in to view the file! http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=67659&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45

Serial flash
It is possible to flash this device through its serial interface. This is also handy for troubleshooting.


 * Solder pins to the 4 pin serial header near the Wi-Fi part:
 * Connect a 4 pin serial level shifter cable between the computer and router


 * Prepare TFTP server (located in the download area)
 * Download the latest DD-WRT WHR-G300N build to the root folder of the tftp, and rename it to firmware.bin
 * Set the IP address of the computer or device running the tftp server to 192.168.11.2/24
 * Set your console program to 57600, 8, n, 1
 * The boot timeout is 3 seconds, so you will have to be very fast with the next step
 * While powering on, the following message will display at the console:

- Please choose the operation: 1: Load system code to SDRAM via TFTP. 2: Load system code then write to Flash via TFTP. 3: Boot system code via Flash (default). 4: Entr boot command line interface. 9: Load Boot Loader code then write to Flash via TFTP. -

run ut_fw
 * Select [4], and put in this command:
 * Then, the firmware.bin image will be loaded from the tftp server and automatically flashed
 * After the automatic reboot, DD-WRT will be accessible at 192.168.1.1

Links
See this thread and thread linked within that thread for further guidance: http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=38307

WHR-G300N's FCC application submitted 2008-Sep-09 approved 2008-Sep-10 (FCC ID: FDI-09101538-0): https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=818365&fcc_id='FDI-09101538-0' (Ralink 3052 F "RT3052F" SoC CPU Network Processor + WLAN Controller)

USB Info
No USB

Pictures
Images