Looking for some help from the community, any ideas?
BLUF: Trying to repurpose an old POS Archer C7 to use as a VPN gateway router.
I've unsuccessfully tried tftp to revert my archer C7 V2 TP Link router to a a previous firmware so that I can put DD-WRT on it. I checked out the forums and found a recommendation to use the SparkFun USB to Serial Breakout - FT232RL.
I bought the adapter, downloaded the drivers, tried connecting with Putty in windows and Linux. No luck at all on Linux, but Windows I can get some feedback. I open my serial connection, but I just get a LOT of non-printable characters, probably Chinese characters here and there, then some arbitrary Latin characters mixed in.
Did I screw up a solder maybe? I can't find anything that would indicate where I went wrong.
Yes, I realize it would be easier to toss this and buy a different router, but that not the point. I'm trying to learn and practice these skills.