Flashing the Router Firmware: From Stock to Ours, Step by Step

A two-and-a-half-minute video walks through the whole process. You can open it from the first link under Related pages at the end of this guide, or from the Video Tutorial button under "How to Flash Firmware" on the Router page. Chinese pages get Chinese narration, every other language gets English.

• Check that your model is supported: sign in, open the Router section and find the model by brand. The hardware revision (v1, v2 and so on) has to match too.
• Your account must be active. Personal, Family and Enterprise plans can all use a router.
• Have a network cable ready for the router's WAN port, which goes to your modem or upstream router. While flashing, connect your computer to the router by cable as well if you can; it is steadier than Wi‑Fi.
• Download the stock firmware for your model from the manufacturer's site and keep it, in case you ever want to go back.

• The firmware is made for your account on the spot, which is why it takes a few minutes. At busy times the build may wait in a queue; the page says so. Just wait — there is no need to click again.
• The firmware's interface language is the language you were using on the website when you clicked build. Use the site in English and the router's admin pages are in English; for another language, switch the site first and then build.
• The download link is valid for one day. If it expires, build again.

1. Sign in and click Router in the navigation bar.
2. Find your model and click Firmware, or scroll down to Build Router Firmware and pick the model from the brand list.
3. Click Start Building and wait 3 to 5 minutes. The entry under Recent Builds changes to Completed, and you get an email.

• GL.iNet stock system (the case in the video): use the file ending in sysupgrade.bin.
• Another brand's stock system: use the file with factory in its name.
• Already on our firmware and upgrading: use the file with sysupgrade in its name.
• If the zip contains only one file, that is the one.
• This firmware is for you alone. It carries your account details so the router can sign in by itself after flashing. Do not send the file to anyone else or share it publicly.

1. Under Recent Builds, click Download. You get a zip file.
2. Open your Downloads folder and extract it.
3. The extracted folder contains the firmware file.

GL.iNet is the example here. On other brands, look for Firmware Upgrade, System Upgrade or Local Upgrade in the stock admin panel; the procedure is the same.

1. Connect your computer to the router, open the stock admin panel in a browser (192.168.8.1 on GL.iNet) and sign in with the admin password.
2. In the left menu open System, then Upgrade, and switch to Firmware Local Upgrade.
3. Click the upload area, pick the firmware file you extracted, and wait until verification shows Pass.
4. Switch Keep Settings off. This is the step people miss most often: the two systems do not share a configuration format, and keeping the old settings causes all sorts of odd problems.
5. Click Install. The page changes to Upgrading and rebooting. It takes two to three minutes; do not unplug the router or close the page meanwhile.

It is normal for the old page to stop loading once the progress finishes: the router now runs a different system, and both its address and its Wi‑Fi have changed.

The new Wi‑Fi name is www.anyfq.com and the password is also www.anyfq.com. Computers and phones have to switch to this Wi‑Fi before they can get online or open the router's admin page. A computer connected by cable does not need to switch.

The new admin address is 192.168.11.1 — type it in full, including the http part at the start.

No sign-in, no region to pick. As long as your account is active, the router connects by itself within 10 minutes. From then on every device on this Wi‑Fi goes through the service automatically — TVs, set-top boxes and game consoles included.

Two things worth doing afterwards. Change the Wi‑Fi password and the admin password in the admin page, since the defaults are public. And plug in the network cable so the router can go online once: it has to work out which region it is in before it raises the wireless power to the level allowed there, so a weak signal right after flashing is normal.

An account is bound to one router at a time. If your account was used on another router before, sign in, open the Router section, and under the Build Router Firmware heading you will see the model that is Bound, with Unbind next to it. Click Unbind. You can do this even if the old router is broken or not at hand.

There is nothing to do on the new router: it connects automatically and is bound to your account. Flashing the new router before unbinding works too; it connects by itself once you unbind.

After expiry the router stops routing through the service, while your home network carries on as usual. Once you renew, the router recovers by itself — no need to sign in again or re-flash.

1. Is the broadband working? From a device on the router, open any ordinary website. If that fails, check the cable in the WAN port and the modem.
2. Has the account expired? Sign in on the website and check the expiry date. After renewing, wait a few minutes.
3. Is the account still bound to the old router? In the Router section, look at the bound model. If it is not this router, click Unbind.
4. Restart the router once: unplug it, wait ten seconds, plug it back in and give it two to three minutes.
5. Sign in manually: open 192.168.11.1 and log in to the router with username root and password www.anyfq.com. Then go to Services, then VPN, enter your account email and password, and save.