For some reason, lots of Chinese manufacturers don't like publishing updates on their websites. Instead they supplied me with a link to a Google Drive containing an instruction PDF and an small .exe with the 2.4.06 update - no love for us Linux freaks. I've locally linked them if you want to install.

Through online chatter, I thought the latest version was v4.0, but Treedix said:

Your device is currently running software version 2.3 and can be updated to the latest available version, v2.4.06. However, please note that version v4.0 includes minor hardware updates. Due to hardware incompatibility, existing devices cannot be upgraded to v4.0 via software.

So, do be careful running this update. Make sure it is for the right version of the device. If in doubt, contact Treedix directly.

Upgrading was easy.

1. Switch on the Treedix by flicking the switch up.
2. Plug a USB-C cable into the charging port of the Treedix.
3. Connect the other end of the USB cable to your computer.
4. On your computer, open the .exe.
5. On the Treedix, hold down the function button.
6. While holding down the function button, flick the Treedix switch to off.
7. The upgrade program should detect the device.
8. On your computer, click "Upgrade"
9. Wait until complete before disconnecting and restarting the Treedix.

There are no release notes, but it does now appear to correctly read some of the more advanced eMarkers.

Download OpenWRT

• Download the initramfs firmware file
• Rename the file to WN531A6.bin
• Download the sysupgrade file

Download the original firmware

Check the model number on your router. You can download the firmware from Wavlink directly. They have a specific firmware for WL-WN531A6-A and WL-WN531A6-C.

Make sure you download the correct one. You can also back up the original firmware from your router if you prefer.

Connect to the router

Power on the router, but don't connect it to your modem. Instead, connect it to your computer by Ethernet cable. The Ethernet cable will need to go into one of the LAN ports - not the WAN port. The router may take a few minutes to boot up.

In a web browser, visit http://192.168.10.1. The login screen should look like this: The default password is admin

If this is your first time using the router, you will need to go through the on-screen setup process.

Back up original firmware

This is an alternative to simply downloading from from Wavlink directly.

Click the setup icon at the bottom of the page. Click the USB Storage link. The USB disk is mounted at sda.

In your browser, go to http://192.168.10.1/webcmd.shtml - this is a "hidden" area which lets you run Linux commands.

Type the following line in the Command input box:

dd if=/dev/mtd4ro of=/media/sda/firmware.bin

Click Apply. After few seconds, you'll see this in the output box:

30080+0 records in 30080+0 records out

Type sync in the Command input box and click Apply.

Physically remove the USB stick from the router and put it in your computer. Verify that it contains a file called firmware.bin which is 15,400,960 Bytes in size.

Flash the OpenWRT firmware

From the main page, go to Setup, and then Firmware Upgrade. It should look like this:

Note - if you haven't connected before, this page may be slow to load - because it tries to connect to http://fw.iqs.link/firmware/router/WN531A6-WAVLINK.js but the page will load eventually.

Upload the WN531A6.bin which you renamed earlier.

When you hit the apply button, it will take a few minutes.

You need to wait until the rapid flashing red LED has been replaced with a solid blue light.

You can verify that the system has upgraded by SSH'ing into the unit with:

ssh root@192.168.1.1

Note! The IP address has changed to 192.168.1.1.

Set a password

After logging in via SSH, run passwd and set a secure password.

Install the rest of the firmware

Exit the SSH session.

On your machine, run: scp openwrt-ramips-mt7621-wavlink_wl-wn531a6-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin root@192.168.1.1:/tmp to transfer the upgrade firmware.

SSH back in using ssh root@192.168.1.1

Run:

sysupgrade -v /tmp/openwrt-ramips-mt7621-wavlink_wl-wn531a6-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin

This will take a few seconds, and then the router will reboot. Wait until it has stopped flashing red, and is solid blue.

If you try to SSH in again, it will fail becuase the host key has changed. Run:

ssh-keygen -f "~/.ssh/known_hosts" -R "192.168.1.1"

Then SSH in again with ssh root@192.168.1.1

You will need to set up a password again.

Install LuCi

By default, there is no web interface. For this step, you will need to connect the router to the Internet via its WAN port.

Once done, run opkg update

That should download the list of all the software packages available for OpenWRT. Once done, run:

opkg install luci

Once that completes, you can visit http://192.168.1.1 in the browser:

Let your configuration journey commence!

OK! OK! It wasn't as bad as all that. I built an Internet-connected electric blanket so I can yell at the Alexa to pre-warm the bed. One of the IoT switches needed a firmware update. All over and done with in a few minutes.

But I can't help wondering how much time we lose to software updates. Every time I turn on my games console, I have to wait for another interminable update. It's practically a trope.

Lucy

@Lucycaulfield

Haven’t turned my PlayStation on for about two months, can’t wait for 80 hours of updates 🙃

---

john mack

@jonnymack74

*checks watch*
Don't worry kids, your Xmas console will have finished it's updates in the next few hours
After dinner you can stick the discs in and wait another hour for it to install then another few hours for the patches to download
Go to bed and play on boxing day
#PS4 #Xbox

---

There's got to be a better way to do this. Software updates are - usually - important. But why are they so large and cumbersome?

• URL http://[IP]/adm/file.cgi?todo=inject_telnetd
• Telnet username root
• Telnet password Aq0+0009

History

Four years ago to the day, I wrote an exposé of the hideous security failings of Sercomm IP Cameras. The blog has since attracted 200 comments - as people try to unlock their cameras, and find out what flaws they have.

Despite my best efforts at contacting Sercomm - the OEM who manufactures the cameras - and the "security" resellers who irresponsibly sell them to unsuspecting customers, the flaws remain unpatched.

Factory Reset

Most of the Sercomm cameras have a custom firmware which locks them down. As documented in my previous blog post, resetting the cameras is depressingly easy.

1. Stick paperclip in the reset hole for a few seconds.
2. The default login name is administrator
3. There is no password set!

Turning on Telnet

The process for enabling Telnet was first published in 2011. It depends on the firmware that Sercomm have pre-loaded, but you just need to visit the specially crafted URl: http://[IP]/adm/file.cgi?todo=inject_telnetd

Firmware Trickery

Over on my GitHub repo of Sercomm API commands, you'll find a copy of the firmware for the iCamera 1000.

A contributor to the blog, Paul Chambers, describes how he deciphered the firmware.

The firmware is a modified SquashFS filesystem. Inside, it contains a symlink from /etc/passwd -> /mnt/ramdisk/tmp/passwd

/etc/rc.sethost contains the string passwd

Running rc.sethost does various things including writing a passwd file to /mnt/ramdisk/tmp/passwd

Inside that, I saw root:9sXicXdz8JrVk:0:0:root:/root:/bin/sh

The string 9sXicXdz8JrVk is a traditional DES based hash

I patched rc.sethost to skip the call to crypt. Then I got:

root:Aq0+0009:0:0:root:/root:/bin/sh

I double-checked it was correct by running

squashfs-root$python -c "import crypt;print crypt.crypt('Aq0+0009', '9s')"

9sXicXdz8JrVk

So the username is root and the password is Aq0+0009

There you have it. Different cameras may have different firmwares with different passwords - but I'd guess that they all follow a similar pattern. This particular password works on Firmware version V3.0.01.29

Enjoy!

Our testing personal are testing the new firmware of n520,and the above question you metioned will be soluted by this new firmware, and it will be provided in one or two weeks .

The N520 is the original name of the 511EB.

I also sent emails to Waterstone's and Elonex, asking about the bugs with the device. Waterstone's rather unhelpfully said...

Thank you for taking the time to write to us. I have looked into your query and regrettable you would have to contact Elonex in order to enquire as to their firmware release updates. I sincerely apologise that we have been unable to resolve this noted issue on your behalf. I hope this information has helped with your enquiry.

Elonex haven't even bothered to respond. Please call or email Elonex and ask them when they will release the new firmware. While the N520 firmware should work with the 511EB, there's no guarantee that it will.

Previous blog posts about the 511EB

• Review Part 1
• Review Part 2
• Firmware Update

Nokia phones "running" Android

A few years ago, I coaxed my Nokia N810 into running a prototype version of Android - NitDroid. The project has been resurrected by Stephen Hyde at NITDroid.com.

This latest video shows the Nokia N900 running Android's FroYo.

Why Is This Useful?

Nokia coined the term "Mobile Computer" for its range of phones. Computers aren't hermetically sealed consumer devices. They allow the customer to modify both hardware and software. You would be understandably upset if the computer you bought last year wouldn't let you install the latest version of Windows, MacOS, or Linux. But that's the situation mobile phone customers are faced with today.

The Android G1 has been abandoned by HTC and T-Mobile - much to the chagrin of customers. The HTC Hero has only been grudgingly updated to Android 2.1. Nokia left the N800 and N810 to rot. Nokia regularly stops development of its "mobile computer" software even when the devices are in active use.

Mobile phone manufacturers exist to sell phones. They don't get any extra revenue for releasing new firmware. Indeed, the cost of developing, testing, and shipping new firmware is prohibitively expensive. Not to mention dealing with customer complaints when things inevitably go wrong.

We are finally in a position to change that mindset. Hackers (in the original sense of the word) are now able to create custom firmware for new phones. Take a look at the XDA Developer Forums. Almost every Android phone released can have an improved firmware running on it.

True, a significantly older phone may not have hardware capable of running bleeding edge code - but it's enough to give it a new lease of life.

I'd love it if Nokia updated the N95 8GB firmware. The hardware is still incredibly capable.

In these tough economic times, it makes perfect sense to focus efforts on software, rather than hardware.

Look at the PS3 or the Xbox 360. A single model with firmware updates to increase its functionality.

Rather than tooling up a factory for a 6 month run of hardware - phone manufacturers should be looking to keep churning out a limited number of models of high spec phones for years. As manufacturing efficiencies improve, the hardware becomes cheaper and - like the PS3 and Xbox - cheaper models can be produced.

The PS3 came out in November 2006. Nearly 4 years ago. Can you think of a phone released four years ago which is still in production - let alone receiving firmware updates? The original iPhone was released in 2007 - it got a firmware update earlier this year but won't be receiving iOS4. Also, you can't buy a new iPhone 2G. Apple aren't in the business of selling inexpensive hardware.

The Future

I predict - or rather, I hope - we will see the following pattern emerge. Either from Google or Nokia.

• An insanely expensive and over-spec'd phone will be released.  I expect in the £500 - £1,000 range.
• A public roadmap for its OS will be released - new features promised every 3-6 months.
• A guarantee that official firmware development will continue for at least 3 years.
• The OS will be sufficiently open to allow "homebrew" firmware to run.  Hackers will jump at it.
• The hardware will sell - poorly at first.
• As production efficiencies are found, the price will come down.  The hardware capabilities will stay compatible with older models.
• The firmware will progress based upon consumer need, manufacturer desire and what hackers manage to achieve.
• At around the 18 month mark, major new features in the firmware will be announced.  This keeps the MNO happy as they don't have to subsidise the cost of new hardware for customers coming to the end of their contracts.
• At the 2 year mark, the next hardware revision will be launched.  More memory and megapixels - cheaper price.
• If the hardware is still selling, expect others to follow.

The fly in the ointment for this is continuous manufacturer profitability.  Apple, I understand, gets a cut of call and text revenue.  Google gets a cut of apps sold.  Microsoft and Sony sell licences for releasing games on their platform.

Would this "super phone" have to sell firmware updates?  Would MNOs subsidise firmware rather than hardware?  Would customers part-exchange  an unfashionably old phone for the latest model?

Or will we be stuck with phones that are thrown on the scrap-heap by their creator in order to force us into buying the latest model?

One thing's for certain.  Where there are hackers - there will always be updates.

V0.47 was released on 12th March 2010. The previous firmware (V0.41) was released on 18th January 2010. The next release should include note taking functionality.

You may be interested in part 1 and part 2 of my review.

This firmware update resolves some issues when processing very large eBooks, word wrapping issues and some minor bugs with symbols. You can now mount the eBook on Linux - I don't know about Mac. It also adds a new menu item "Digital Editions" for any DRM'd eBooks you may have rented.

New features!

Search with ePubs.
Jump directly to chapters within ePubs (Menu - See List).
Search within PDFs.
The system font looks clearer to me.
The default font is smaller and clearer
Auto Shutdown is can now be set to 40 minutes, 60 minutes or never.
Let me know in the comments if you spot any more!

So, how do you install the new firmware?

1. Download the .zip file from Elonex.
2. Unzip the file - there will be two files inside update.bin and update.cde.
3. Plug your 511EB into your computer via the USB cable (or insert the microSD card into your computer)
4. Place these two files in the root directory of your SD card.  This means the very top directory.
   

   Root Folder

5. Unmount the eReader or SD card.  Place the microSD card back in the reader.
6. From the main menu of your 511EB go to "5 Settings"
7. Press the right arrow twice, then the down arrow twice so you're on "System Maintenance".
   

   511EB System Maintenance Screen

8. Press "1" to update the firmware.
9. Here's a video of what happens
10. Your reader is now updated!

I updated from the orignal software, which was

System ver: 2.21

Software ver: 0.35

My eReader now shows

Hardware ver: 2.21

System ver: 0.47

Software ver: 0.47

If you have any problems, you can call Elonex on 0871 222 3456