Archer C7 v5 — Custom OpenWrt SNAPSHOT Build

Custom OpenWrt SNAPSHOT firmware for TP-Link Archer C7 v5 (tplink,archer-c7-v5, ath79/generic, MIPS 24kc).

Built via the official OpenWrt ASU (Attended SysUpgrade) service on 2026-04-27 with extra packages preinstalled — primarily aimed at running the device as a wireless extender / repeater (STA + AP simultaneously).

Images

File	Purpose	Size	MD5
openwrt-...-squashfs-factory.bin	First-time install from stock TP-Link or via TFTP recovery	8.2 MB	95fc6713fb336479fadc7bf4ae0a21ed
openwrt-...-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin	Upgrade from a running OpenWrt via sysupgrade / LuCI	8.2 MB	dac51c478528ee1c856af83469ee53be

Build details

• Distribution: OpenWrt SNAPSHOT

• Target: ath79/generic

• Profile: tplink_archer-c7-v5

• Kernel: 6.12.80

• SoC: Atheros QCA9558 (2.4 GHz n) + QCA9882 (5 GHz ac)

• Architecture: MIPS 24kc, big-endian, musl libc

• Build hash: 1738ced1d643f561a96a59b4160003dad4a3366f9ebbe27e2be5872630e27d16

• Build command:

  make image PROFILE=tplink_archer-c7-v5 \
       PACKAGES="luci luci-ssl wpad-mbedtls -wpad-basic-mbedtls \
                 relayd luci-proto-relay luci-mod-network luci-app-firewall \
                 nano htop ip-full diffutils"
  

Packages preinstalled on top of OpenWrt defaults

Package	Why
luci, luci-ssl	Web UI with HTTPS support out of the box
wpad-mbedtls (replaces wpad-basic-mbedtls)	Full WPA3 + 802.11s mesh + 802.11r capable
relayd, luci-proto-relay	Classic transparent wireless extender glue (STA→AP bridging without WDS support)
luci-mod-network, luci-app-firewall	Full LuCI network/firewall configuration UI
nano, htop, ip-full, diffutils, tcpdump-mini	Reasonable on-device admin/debug toolset

Hardware notes — what this device can and cannot do

The Archer C7 v5 is 802.11ac Wave 1 + 802.11n — it cannot do 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) regardless of firmware. WPA3 is fully supported via wpad-mbedtls.

Installation

From stock TP-Link firmware (web UI)

1. Open http://192.168.0.1 (default stock IP)
2. Advanced → System Tools → Firmware Upgrade
3. Upload *-factory.bin
4. Wait ~3 minutes, the router reboots into OpenWrt at 192.168.1.1

From an existing OpenWrt (recommended for upgrades)

scp openwrt-...-sysupgrade.bin root@192.168.1.1:/tmp/
ssh root@192.168.1.1 "sysupgrade -n /tmp/openwrt-...-sysupgrade.bin"

The -n flag drops existing config (clean install). Drop it to keep current settings.

If scp fails because the minimal SNAPSHOT image lacks sftp-server, use a stream upload instead:

cat openwrt-...-sysupgrade.bin | ssh root@192.168.1.1 "cat > /tmp/up.bin"
ssh root@192.168.1.1 "sysupgrade -n /tmp/up.bin"

TFTP recovery (when web UI is dead and you cannot SSH)

The Archer C7 v5 has TFTP recovery built into its bootloader. The image used must be in TP-Link safeloader format (the *-factory.bin qualifies) and stay under ~7.1 MB — the bootloader's RX buffer truncates anything larger.

The official OpenWrt SNAPSHOT factory image is currently 6.88 MB and works for TFTP recovery. This custom build, with LuCI added, weighs 8.2 MB and is too large for TFTP recovery. Keep an unmodified SNAPSHOT factory image around as a recovery fallback.

Recovery procedure:

1. Set the PC's Ethernet IP to 192.168.0.66/24
2. Run a plain RFC 1350 TFTP server on 0.0.0.0:69 serving the file as ArcherC7v5_tp_recovery.bin (the bootloader sends TFTP options that tftpy mishandles — a server that ignores options is required)
3. Power off the router
4. Hold the Reset button
5. Power on, keep holding Reset for ~15 seconds, then release
6. The router fetches the file from 192.168.0.86 → 192.168.0.66:69 and reboots into the new firmware

A minimal RFC 1350 TFTP server (Python, no options) is documented in the build notes — feel free to use any equivalent.

First boot

ssh root@192.168.1.1     # no password yet — set with `passwd`

LuCI is at http://192.168.1.1 — first login forces you to set a root password.

Wireless extender setup (relayd)

Rough outline:

1. Network → Wireless → Scan on the radio that should be the upstream client
2. Join Network, pick the SSID, enter password — OpenWrt creates a wwan interface
3. Network → Interfaces → Add new interface…, select Relay bridge, pin it to lan and wwan
4. Add an AP-mode SSID on the other radio, attach it to the lan network
5. Reload Wireless / restart the relay interface

Clients now connect to the AP, get DHCP from upstream, and end up in the upstream LAN.

License

Inherits from upstream OpenWrt — GPL-2.0 (kernel) + various permissive licenses (userspace).

Credit

Built with OpenWrt ASU — official Attended SysUpgrade service maintained by the OpenWrt project.