ASUS

01Flash AJKFi

Easiest: one installer file through ASUS Rescue Mode, and the router installs the newest AJKFi by itself (about 10 minutes). Or the 2-step way: an OpenWrt starter file, then AJKFi from the OpenWrt page. A Windows PC and one network cable - no SSH, no serial cable.

Option A - Direct installer (about 10 minutes)

One file through Rescue Mode. The router downloads the newest AJKFi from the internet and installs it by itself.

1. Before you start. Download the installer AJKFi-Installer-RT-AX52.trx and the ASUS Firmware Restoration tool below, and check their sizes. Unzip the tool - you need a Windows PC. Connect the PC with a network cable to LAN 1, and connect the router's WAN port to a working internet line. Turn the PC's Wi-Fi off.
2. Give the PC a fixed address. Press Windows + R, type ncpa.cpl, press Enter. Right-click Ethernet → Properties → Internet Protocol Version 4 → Properties. Choose Use the following IP address: IP 192.168.1.10, mask 255.255.255.0, leave the rest empty, press OK.
3. Rescue Mode upload. Switch the router off. Hold the Reset button with a paper clip, switch the router on and keep holding until the power light blinks slowly, then let go. Open Rescue.exe from the unzipped tool (right-click, Run as administrator), press Browse, choose AJKFi-Installer-RT-AX52.trx and press Upload. If Windows Firewall asks, press Allow. Wait for Successfully recovered the system.
4. Wait about 10 minutes. Set the PC back to Obtain an IP address automatically. The router downloads the newest AJKFi, checks it and installs it by itself, then restarts. Do not switch it off or unplug the internet cable. To watch it, unplug the PC's cable for 5 seconds, plug it back in and open http://192.168.1.1 - the AJKFi installer page shows what it is doing.
5. Done. The Wi-Fi AJK PISOWIFI appears and the admin page opens at http://10.0.0.1:8080. Carry on with 02 Activate.
6. Same message for more than 15 minutes?. Read it - it says what is wrong (most often: no internet on the WAN port). To finish by hand, press the OpenWrt page link on the installer page (user root, no password) and do Stage 2 of Option B with the AJKFi file.

Option B - 2-step: OpenWrt starter file, then AJKFi

1. Before you start. Download all three files below from the download folder and check each size: the stage 1 file, the AJKFi file and the ASUS Firmware Restoration tool. If your browser saved a file with (1) or any bracket in its name, rename it back. Unzip the tool - you need a Windows PC. Connect the PC with a network cable to LAN 1 and leave the WAN port empty. Turn the PC's Wi-Fi off.
2. Give the PC a fixed address. Press Windows + R, type ncpa.cpl, press Enter. Right-click Ethernet → Properties → Internet Protocol Version 4 → Properties. Choose Use the following IP address: IP 192.168.1.10, mask 255.255.255.0, leave the rest empty, press OK.
3. Stage 1 - Rescue Mode upload. Switch the router off. Hold the Reset button with a paper clip, switch the router on and keep holding until the power light blinks slowly, then let go. Open Rescue.exe from the unzipped tool (right-click, Run as administrator), press Browse, choose OpenWrt-24.10.5-ASUS_rt-ax52-initramfs-stage1.trx and press Upload. If Windows Firewall asks, press Allow. Wait for Successfully recovered the system, then about 3 minutes more. Do not switch it off.
4. Check that OpenWrt started. Set the PC back to Obtain an IP address automatically (same window as before). Unplug the cable from the PC for 5 seconds and plug it back in. Open http://192.168.1.1 - you should see the OpenWrt login page. Username root, password empty, press Login.
5. Stage 2 - flash AJKFi. In OpenWrt: System → Backup / Flash Firmware. Under Flash new firmware image press Flash image..., choose the AJKFi file (AJKFi-ASUS_rt-ax52_pisowifi-v...-sysupgrade.bin, the newest version) and press Upload. On the next screen untick Keep settings, then press Continue. Wait about 5 minutes. Do not switch it off and do not close the page early.
6. Check that AJKFi is running. Unplug the PC's cable and plug it back in. The Wi-Fi AJK PISOWIFI appears and the admin page opens at http://10.0.0.1:8080. That is the end of flashing - carry on with 02 Activate.

02Activate

1. Plug in the internet. Put your internet cable into the router's WAN socket. The router needs to reach us once to collect its licence.
2. Open the admin page. Connect to the Wi-Fi called AJK PISOWIFI, then open http://10.0.0.1:8080. Sign in with admin / admin.
3. Activate. Open System. If you sent us your Account ID when you bought, press Check In Now and the licence arrives by itself. If you were given a licence code, type it in instead. The page shows Licensed when it is done.

No licence yet? Buy one online or message us.

03Set the admin password

1. Change admin / admin. Go to Settings → Admin Account and set your own password. Anyone connected to your Wi-Fi can reach this login page, so do it before the machine goes out.
2. Put the dashboard on your phone. Open http://10.0.0.1:8080 on your phone. Android (Chrome): menu ⋮ → Add to Home screen. iPhone (Safari): Share → Add to Home Screen. It gets the AJKFi icon and opens straight to the Dashboard.
3. Open it from anywhere (Cloud Remote). Sign in at ajkfi.com, open My machines and press Remote - the dashboard opens already signed in, from anywhere with internet (AJKFi 3.55 or newer, Lite 1.4 or newer). Give the machine a name there with Rename. Remote can be switched off on the router under Network → Cloud Remote.

04Name your Wi-Fi

1. Name your customer Wi-Fi. Network → Wireless. Rename AJK PISOWIFI to your shop name. Leave it open - customers pay at the portal, not with a password. Name it before you open: the name cannot be changed while a customer with running time is connected.
2. Add a hidden Wi-Fi for the coin slot. On the same page, under Add Another SSID, add a second SSID on the 2.4 GHz radio, tick Hidden, and give it a password - required, the coin slot will not join a Wi-Fi without one. 2.4 GHz matters: the coin slot board cannot see 5 GHz.

05Connect the coin slot

1. Flash the board. Easiest: open ajkfi.com/flash (the ESP8266 Online Flasher) in Chrome or Edge on a computer, plug the board in with a USB data cable and press Connect and flash - choose New board for a new one, Update for one already in service (it stays paired with the router). Or use PyFlasher or NodeMCU Flasher: 115200, DIO, erase yes on a new board, no when updating. From coin slot 2.5 on, later updates come from the router: Settings → Coinslot Hardware → Update coin slot.
2. Pair it with the router. On the router tap Pair coin slot in Settings → Coinslot Hardware, then power the board. A coin slot 2.9 or newer finds the router by itself: within about a minute the router shows Paired - no phone, nothing to type. Then set the lock to Active HIGH in Settings → Coinslot Hardware → Coin acceptor wiring and tap Save to coin slot. Older board, or two machines pairing at the same time: join the board's own Wi-Fi AJKFi-Coinslot-Setup from a phone, pick the coin slot Wi-Fi, type its password, set the lock mode to Active HIGH and press Save & connect.
3. Wire it. Three wires from the coin acceptor to the ESP8266 board: COIN to D6, SET (the lock wire) to D7, and GND to GND. The ground wire is not optional - without it the coin slot counts coins that were never inserted. The 12 V adapter runs the acceptor and the board together through the base board's DC socket.

   

4. Test it and put it in the box. Insert a real coin through the portal and watch it appear. Then drop a coin without tapping INSERT COIN: it must come back out - if it is taken, switch the lock the other way in Settings → Coinslot Hardware → Coin acceptor wiring on the router and tap Save to coin slot (coin slot 2.4 + AJKFi 3.45 or newer; older boards: on the board's setup page, hold its FLASH button 3 seconds). If coins go in but no time is credited, try the coin signal (D6) setting there the other way. The wires do not change. Then mount everything in the box and test one more coin. Swapping in a new board later: tap Pair new coin slot in Settings → Coinslot Hardware first.

06If it will not start

1. Stuck after stage 1. Wait 5 minutes, then switch the router off and on once. Make sure the PC is back on Obtain an IP address automatically and try http://192.168.1.1 again. Still nothing: do stage 1 again (Rescue Mode works at any point before stage 2).
2. Going back to ASUS before stage 2. Same Rescue Mode and Firmware Restoration tool, but choose the official RT-AX52 firmware (download it from ASUS's support page for the RT-AX52) instead of the stage 1 file. Afterwards set the PC's network card back to automatic.
3. Going back to ASUS after AJKFi is installed. In the AJKFi admin page: System → Firmware → Check for Firmware, choose ASUS stock, press Download & Check. When every check is green, type FLASH and press Flash. Do not switch it off. After about 5 minutes the router comes back as ASUS at http://192.168.50.1 - then use Administration → Restore/Save/Upload Setting → Factory default in the ASUS page. If it is ever interrupted, Rescue Mode with the Firmware Restoration tool and the official ASUS firmware brings it back.
4. AJKFi installed but the router will not start. Rescue Mode alone will not fix this one - it needs a 3.3 V serial cable (a USB-TTL adapter, or a NodeMCU board) connected inside the router. Message us on Facebook first; we will send the exact steps.
5. Anything else. Message us on Facebook with a photo of the label and tell us which stage you reached. A second wrong step is what turns a fixable router into a repair job.

Stuck? Message us on Facebook with the model and a photo of the label before trying anything else - a second wrong step is what turns a fixable router into a repair job.

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