[SOLVED] Flashing (US) ROM on an (EU) TP-Link router?

Nov 26, 2021
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Hi,
I have TP-Link Archer C9 V5.1 (EU) router which has a limited wifi power due to euro regulations.
I live in Iraq and the allowed wifi power here is equivalent to the US wifi standards. So what I'm trying to do is not illegal.
Can I flash a (US) original (modified?) TP-Link firmware to my device ?
I already flashed the latest firmware from TP-Link website (US version) but the firmware seems the same for all regions and the router has automatically chosen EU options, my wifi power still terrible after the update.
Here is the link for the firmware: https://static.tp-link.com/2019/201904/20190415/Archer C9(US)_V5_190403.zip

Any help would be appreciated
 
Solution
It depends on the router. People used to like to use the setting for russia because I think it is the least restrictive.

After the EU and the USA/fcc threatened the router manufactures they seemed to have disabled this ability. It seems there is something different when the devices are manufactured. It is not in the router code because third party firmware code could bypass it and the binary firmware image you load to the radio chips is the same.
This makes me suspect the radio chips are somehow manufactured differently or the firmware in the radio chip is checking something in the router hardware to determine the region.

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
Hi,
I have TP-Link Archer C9 V5.1 (EU) router which has a limited wifi power due to euro regulations.
I live in Iraq and the allowed wifi power here is equivalent to the US wifi standards. So what I'm trying to do is not illegal.
Can I flash a (US) original (modified?) TP-Link firmware to my device ?
I already flashed the latest firmware from TP-Link website (US version) but the firmware seems the same for all regions and the router has automatically chosen EU options, my wifi power still terrible after the update.
Here is the link for the firmware: https://static.tp-link.com/2019/201904/20190415/Archer C9(US)_V5_190403.zip

Any help would be appreciated
Increasing transmit power on the router only changes 1/2 of WIFI communication. Your device transmit power is usually much lower.
 
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It depends on the router. People used to like to use the setting for russia because I think it is the least restrictive.

After the EU and the USA/fcc threatened the router manufactures they seemed to have disabled this ability. It seems there is something different when the devices are manufactured. It is not in the router code because third party firmware code could bypass it and the binary firmware image you load to the radio chips is the same.
This makes me suspect the radio chips are somehow manufactured differently or the firmware in the radio chip is checking something in the router hardware to determine the region.
 
Solution