OpenWrt User Guide

Many users who have not encountered OpenWrt routers may feel overwhelmed by various menus upon first use. Now, Jingdouyun supports flashing the OpenWrt router system, and here I will discuss the basic settings and advanced tutorials for OpenWrt and answer some detailed questions.

Introduction to OpenWrt: OpenWrt is a Linux distribution suitable for embedded devices. Unlike the original firmware, OpenWrt is not a single, static firmware but provides a writable file system that allows users to add software packages. This enables users to freely choose applications and configurations without being limited by device providers and allows customization of devices using software packages suitable for specific applications. For developers, OpenWrt serves as a framework, allowing them to obtain desired applications without the hassle of building the entire firmware; for users, this means complete customization capabilities and using devices in ways that differ from the past. OPKG includes over 3500 software packages. By default, LuCI is used as the web interface. –Excerpt from: Wikipedia

Currently, OpenWrt is an open-source system that anyone can compile themselves, including LEDE, which is a branch of OpenWrt. OpenWrt is divided into hard routers and soft routers. The hard routers that install OpenWrt support WiFi, and Jingdouyun is a hardware router that supports WiFi and runs OpenWrt. The settings we need to configure include modifying the login IP (router IP), dialing, setting the WiFi password, installing plugins, etc. Let’s get started together.

1. Basic Section

We usually enter the router address: 192.168.1.1 (before flashing Jingdouyun, it may be 192.168.7.1 or 192.168.15.1) to access the backend. The default username is: root, password: password

1. Modify the Router Gateway (Change Router IP)

Enter the router backend, and first, we need to configure the network. Often, the default address of the optical modem is also 192.168.1.1, so we need to modify the router IP, for example: 192.168.0.1. The steps to modify are:

[Network] → [Interface] → ipv4 (IP Address) # Enter 192.168.0.1

Diagram as follows:

2. Configure WAN Port for Internet Access

If this OpenWrt is used as a secondary router, generally plugging into the WAN and LAN ports will allow internet access. If your optical modem has router dialing functionality, you do not need to dial again; plugging in Jingdouyun will also allow normal internet access. However, in some places, you need to dial to access the internet, which means Jingdouyun needs to dial. In this case, we need to configure the WAN port, which means modifying the relevant protocol to access the internet normally. The setup steps are:

[Network] → [Interface] → Click on WAN [EDIT] → In the [Protocol] item, select [PPPoE] → Choose [Static address] → Click [Switch Protocol] → Fill in the broadband account and password → Click [SAVE & APPLY]

3. Set Chinese Interface

Many OpenWrt interfaces are already in Chinese, but some may not have the Chinese operating interface set. So how do we set the web interface to Chinese? Well, follow me.

Click [System] → [Software] → [UPDATE LISTS] → [Available packages] → [Filter:] input luci-i18n-base-zh-cn click [FIND PACKAGE] to search → Click [luci-i18n-base-zh-cn] in front of [Install] to install → After installation, click [System] → [System] → [Language and Style] → [Language] select Chinese, save and apply → refresh the interface.

4. Configure WiFi

Jingdouyun supports dual-band WiFi of 2.4G and 5G, meaning there are two WiFi signals, and we need to set them separately. Setting WiFi generally involves setting the name, password, and encryption method. The detailed settings are as follows:

(Note: To distinguish between 2.4G and 5G, you can check the wireless display; bgn is 2.4G and nac is 5G)

[Network] → [Wireless] → 2.4G settings → Click [Modify] → Ensure the mode is [N] → Set the rate to [40MHz] → [Advanced settings] → Select [CN] for the country code → [ESSID] is the WiFi name (in English or numbers) → Click [Wireless Security] to choose an encryption method → It is recommended to use [WPA2-PSK] → Set the password and save.

[Network] → [Wireless] → 5G settings → Click [Modify] → Ensure the mode is [AC] → Set the rate to [80MHz] → [Advanced settings] → Select [CN] for the country code → [ESSID] is the WiFi name (in English or numbers) → Click [Wireless Security] to choose an encryption method → It is recommended to use [WPA2-PSK] → Set the password and save.

5. Change Router Backend Login Password

The default IP address is 192.168.1.1, username: root, password: password. How do we change the password to our own? Here’s how to change it:

Management password setting steps: Click [System] → [Management Rights] → Enter the password you want to set → In the [Dropbear instance] below, change the interface to [LAN], save and apply.

After completing the above settings, restart to finish. This completes the basic configuration (restart is in the system menu, or you can unplug the power and plug it back in).

2. Advanced Section

1. Log in to the SSH Command Interface

Generally, using OpenWrt requires logging into SSH since OpenWrt itself is a Linux system, making it very convenient to perform related command operations (of course, many users may find it cumbersome and can also operate through the web interface).

(Note: Common tools for logging into SSH include PuTTY and Xshell, while Mac computers can directly use the terminal’s SSH command).

SSH login steps: Open PuTTY → Enter the router IP in the IP address → [Open] → The first time you use it will prompt whether to accept the key, click [Yes] → When [login as:] appears → Enter root → Enter management password (the password will not be displayed).

As shown in the figure:

2. Install Official Plugins or Drivers

Software packages are generally divided into official and third-party, with third-party further divided into online and offline installations (i.e., local). Here, I will introduce the installation method for official packages, and later I will introduce the installation method for third-party packages.

Method 1: Install via WEB interface: [System] → [Software] → [Refresh List] → [Available Software Packages], # Select the corresponding software to install; it also supports related driver installations (provided you are connected to the internet).

Method 2: Log in to SSH and enter commands for installation.

opkg update                 # Update software source
opkg install pack_name      # Install software package, pack_name represents the required package name
opkg remove pack_name       # Remove software package

Note: Package names that contain luci are for the Luci interface and will automatically install the main program, while package names with zh-cn are for the Chinese language pack.

3. Install Third-Party Plugins

As mentioned, I also covered the installation method for official plugins or drivers; in fact, most users want to play with third-party plugins, such as ad-blocking plugins, remote download, etc. Here, I will divide it into online installation and offline installation (local).

Online installation can be done by finding the corresponding address and entering it directly (for example, ad-blocking http://x.mivm.cn/Hosts/?URL=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vokins/yhosts/master/hosts), or entering the command via SSH:

opkg install pack_url            # pack_url represents the direct link address

Some plugins do not provide direct links and need to be downloaded locally for installation. Here, I must introduce a tool called WinSCP. Its usage is as follows:

After installation, open it → Select file protocol [SCP], fill in the IP, username, password just like SSH → [Login]. The first time you log in, it will prompt whether to accept the key, click [Yes]. Then you can transfer files.

We drag the downloaded file with the ipk extension directly into the OpenWrt system directory, which is “/tmp”, and then enter the following command in the SSH:

opkg update                     # Update the software source
opkg install /tmp/xxx.ipk       # xxx.ipk represents the software package file name
opkg install /tmp/*.ipk         # You can also use *.ipk instead, which will install all ipk files in the /tmp directory (only one of the two commands needs to be run)

If there is an error during the software package installation, it is likely due to dependency issues or CPU architecture differences. We can try different software packages or change the architecture and refer to the official documentation for details.

To check your CPU architecture, you can enter the command:

cat /proc/cpuinfo

Another issue might be missing dependency environments, which can be resolved by updating the software source with the command opkg update.

3. Q&A Section

1. How to customize DNS?

Answer: [Network] → [Interface] → Modify [WAN] → [Advanced Settings] → Uncheck [Use the DNS server from the local announcement] → Fill in the custom DNS server → [Save/Apply]

2. How to share a USB storage device?

Answer: Install Samba service, which can be found in the software package.

3. What kind of OpenWrt system is suitable for Jingdouyun?

Answer: Choose different versions of OpenWrt based on the version of the opboot system you are flashing. If your version is opboot1.08, please flash the 64M version; if it is opboot1.09, please flash the 128M version.

4. How to reset the system after receiving Jingdouyun?

Answer: There are two methods to reset the system: one is to go to [System] → [Backup/Upgrade] → [Restore Factory Settings], and the other is to press and hold the reset button for more than 6 seconds to restart and reset.

5. How to set Jingdouyun as a bypass router?

Answer: If you just want to use OpenWrt as a bypass router with its plugins, how to set it? The general steps are to bridge all physical interfaces together as LAN ports, set the IP to 192.168.0.254 (with the main router at 192.168.0.1), gateway: 192.168.0.1, broadcast: 255.255.255.0, set DNS to: 114.114.114.114 (or 119.29.29.29), and then disable the DHCP server, save and apply.