How to Install OpenWrt on macOS

OpenWrt is an open-source operating system designed to run on embedded devices, such as routers. In this tutorial, we will go through the steps required to install OpenWrt on a macOS machine.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure that you have the following prerequisites:

• A macOS machine with administrative rights.
• A USB drive with a capacity of at least 512MB.
• OpenWrt firmware for your router. You can download it from OpenWrt's official website.

Step 1: Download Required Tools

In order to install OpenWrt on macOS, we need to download the following tools:

1. Etcher - A software tool used for flashing image files to USB drives.
2. Terminal - A command-line interface built into macOS.

Step 2: Prepare USB Drive

The next step is to prepare the USB drive by formatting it and creating a bootable disk. Here's how to do it:

1. Connect the USB drive to your Mac machine.
2. Open the Disk Utility application from Applications > Utilities.
3. Select the USB drive from the sidebar, click on the Erase button.
4. Name the new partition OpenWrt and select MS-DOS (FAT) as the format.
5. Click the Erase button to format the partition.
6. Once the format is complete, unmount the USB drive.

Step 3: Flash OpenWrt Firmware

Now, we are ready to flash the OpenWrt firmware onto the USB drive using Etcher. Here are the steps:

1. Open Etcher and select the OpenWrt firmware you downloaded earlier.
2. Connect the USB drive to your Mac machine and select it as the target location in Etcher.
3. Click the Flash button to start the flashing process.
4. Once the flashing is complete, safely eject the USB drive.

Step 4: Boot the Router

Now it's time to boot the router using the USB drive we just prepared. Here are the steps:

1. Insert the USB drive into the router and connect a network cable to the WAN port.
2. Power on the router and wait for it to fully boot up.
3. Open a web browser and navigate to the router's IP address.

Step 5: Install OpenWrt

The final step is to install OpenWrt on the router. Here are the steps:

1. On the router's web interface, navigate to System > Backup/Flash Firmware.
2. Click the Choose File button and select the OpenWrt firmware file.
3. Click the Flash image... button to start the firmware installation process.
4. Wait for the installation to complete and then reboot the router.

After the router has booted up, it will be running OpenWrt. You can log in to the OpenWrt web interface by navigating to the router's IP address in a web browser.

Congratulations, you have successfully installed OpenWrt on your router using macOS!

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