KR1 firmware upgrade warning and unbricking

Scott · Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:02 am Post subject:

Readers and posters. Please see our KR1 RK1006 ISSUES and SUCCESS threads for more info regarding the recent KR1 RK1006 firmware update.

evdoforums@coredevelopmen · EVDO Newbie Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 2

I turned my first one into a brick with the first update. Not impressed. Went around in circles with "no it is a dlink problem" and called dlink to hear "no it is a Kyocera" problem. Eventually called SmithMicro (God love'm) and they got it straighten out for me.

Just loaded the RK1006.bix and it is all nice and updated... and still slower than steam off of molasses in January in Chicago... DSL reports says 103Kb/s. And no, 801.11 is not the issue, I am directly wired. I can take the verizon card out and put it into my Mac and get 700Kb/s so it is not the service nor the location. I get 30% to 50% better performance by using my Treo as a bluetooth modem. The only thing I find moderately quick about the KR-1 is the admin web interface.

Had such high hopes for this but as it sits, the 4 we bought for the pilot are looking like surplus candidates. Sad

Scott · Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 6:40 pm Post subject:

UPDATE ON THE KR1 UPGRADING and "UNBRICKING" PROCESS

Kyocera's official word is that the KR1 recovery process only works with Windows and Internet Explorer (based on how the information was conveyed, we take this to mean Windows XP SP2 with IE v6.0.2900..., until we can receive further clarification). They are indicating that Firefox/Safari/Camino/Opera/Conquerer, etc, will not work. As well, this hints that consistently successful UPGRADES will only work with a Windows computer and Internet Explorer version 6.

(note to Mac users: Booster-Antenna.com can provide a KR1 that has already had the upgrade applied, or if you bought your KR1 from our store, use one of our upgrade services: (mail-in or advanced)

As of Feb 9th, 2007, Kyocera's seven-page firmware upgrade document does not warn against platform or browser type/version issues, even though these may appear to exist (and even though the document itself has a screen shot depicting the FireFox button bar).

They also fail to suggest that there is a need to remove the EVDO data device BEFORE attempting to upgrade. That is an important step everyone should take.

Kyocera's online document covering the recovery process does not yet reflect any of these new methods/policies either, as they include information for setting up your Mac to do the recovery process (Macs don't have Internet Explorer version 6): "Note: This procedure varies depending on your operating system. Please reference sections for Windows XP, Windows 2000, or MAC, as applicable."

Other items worth mentioning:

Only attempt the recovery process with your EVDO PC Card or USB modem/tethered phone REMOVED from the device (unplug the device prior to powering up the KR1).

Make sure the Ethernet cable is NOT plugged between the KR1 and computer at the time you power on the KR1.

AFTER the KR1 is powered on, and the computer has been set to the 192.168.0.2 static IP settings, and the subnet mask is set to 255.255.255.0 and the gateway is set to 192.168.0.1, THEN plug in the Ethernet cable between the two.

Do not close browser, open new browser windows, run apps, etc. while the process is taking place.

Make sure you wait TEN minutes BEFORE you remove the power cable from the KR1.

If it appears that the recovery process was successful, RESET the KR1 back to factory default settings prior to doing anything further.

Michael · Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:03 am Post subject:

IE7 ALERT
You can do a firmware upgrade on IE6/IE7, however, if you brick your KR1.

The firmware recovery pages DO NOT WORK with IE7, Only IE6 on Windows.

(We have tested Camino/Safari on Mac and it has worked to allow recovery sometimes, but Kyoocera's "official" word is that ONLY IE 6 on XP SP2 works.).
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pismo · Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 10:47 pm Post subject:

i have been using KR1 since they first came out.
with several different verizon and sprint cards.
i have done all the firmware upgrades with my mac pismo with no problems.
i just got a mac book pro and a sprint u720 so i went to do the RK1010 upgrade but forgot to pull the verizon card.
i BRICKED the KR1.
i tried everything with the mac book pro,pismo,imac under windows,ie7,safari,camino but i could NOT unbrick the KR1.
finally i tried my win 2000 box with ie6 and it unbricked with out a hitch.
i am using the u720 with the KR1 now it has great speed and everything is fine.
so if you are having trouble unbricking try to find a computer that has IE6.
if only i had looked at the second page of this post earler....!

i am hoping this RK 1010 firmware upgrade will help a problem i have been having with the wireless on the KR1.
i use an external antenna and amp on both the evdo and wifi on KR1.
without fail the wifi will lock up on the KR1 it might take a few minutes or it might take a day or so.
after wifi lockup the wired port will still work and a reboot of the KR1 would fix the wifi.
for this weekend i will try to use the KR1 with out external antennas and amps to see if that might be part of the problem.
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www.LaWirelessWeb.com

linuxkidd · Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 7:10 pm Post subject:

I can verify that normal flashing works fine with Firefox on Linux. Haven't needed to un-brick yet..

LK
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KR1/Sprint S620

tz1 · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 5:31 pm Post subject: Mac Unbricking

http://homepage.mac.com/tz1/.Public/MacUnbrick1010.zip

I haven't tried it without the preliminary steps, but it unbricks on a Mac (my Linux/XP laptop is out for repair). I'll have a linux unbrick as soon as I get a properly working linux box again.

1. Set your network panel for the ethernet interface for manual address for ethernet, e.g. 192.168.0.10 and connect the KR1.

2. Pull power, hold the reset button in, apply power while holding the reset button until the status light blinks green (if it goes orange, repeat as you've missed it).

3. Use ANY browser to http://192.168.0.1 to see the unbrick page where it asks for a firmware image. This is mainly to verify the connection.

4. Open a terminal or xterm window, and just type "unbriq". Double clicking on the unbriq program may also work. It should exit after a minute, but it may take 10 or more minutes for the unbricking to complete. The KR1 should reboot by itself and just start working again.

This installs RK1010. You can go from there to other firmware normally.

unbriqsrc.zip from the same homepage is reconstructed from a wireshark capture of a successful unbricking. If you have Linux, you should be able to compile it yourself. It has two files, the data packet stream and a writer, so "gcc -o unbriq unbriq.c unbdat.c" should work to compile it for any architecture.

Glen · EVDO Newbie Joined: 16 Jun 2007 Posts: 1

Michael wrote:

tz1 · Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 11:59 pm Post subject:

I suspect the problem is that the unbriq program (for the mac) is compiled for Intel. My G4 is several hundred miles away. I've made a universal binary but can't test it.

The original program unbricked my KR1 three times so far on my macbook (I use any browser including curl or wget to get the initial page first though).

I just put up a universal binary on my homepage. I'll try a Windows version when I get to my work computer (my regular laptop is having its hard drive replaced so I have limited windows access, and I don't have Visual c on it anyway).

tz1 · Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:42 am Post subject:

Now in more flavors!

At http://homepage.mac.com/tz1 I have several flavors of unbriq.

An unbriq.exe for windows, and unbriq-UniversalBin(.zip) for Macs, old and new, and linunbriq.

I've only tried the Mac version due to hardware limitations, but they are there if anyone else cares to try.

Remember the usage is get to the unbrick page using the techniques described (and to verify connection - do a refresh to be sure), then run the program in any terminal/command/shell window. It won't show anything but after 10-15 minutes the KR1 should be alive with RK1010 firmware.

linuxkidd · Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 2:18 pm Post subject:

Kyocera now has an official Unbrick method that is supposed to work with IE7. Check out http://www.kyocera-wireless.com/kr1-router/firmware.htm for full details.

Basically, they have a new KR1LDR-B0007.bix file that has a newer version of the firmware loader in it. You install this first via IE7, then do the firmware recovery process again and send the regular firmware file. It's my guess that you only need to do the loader file once. Everytime after that, I would expect that IE7 would work fine. But, you try that at your own risk.

On the firmware page linked above, it also has the full procedure for Vista unbrick's ( vista / ie7 )..

I HAVE NOT TRIED THIS! I'm only reporting on whats new at Kyocera's site.
LK

**EDIT: I just did a successful unbrick with IE7 running on XP SP2 with the procedure above. The only deviance from the document is that when I flashed the Firmware loader, when it finished, my WLAN light stayed on solid instead of blinking.. ( I let it sit for 20 minutes just in case... then power cycled and continued w/ the flash of the regular firmware ).
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KR1/Sprint S620