Need help to rescue firmware on Conduit IP67 Base Station

bertrik
Sat, 09 Aug 2025 15:35:26 +0000
MultiTech Gateways

From an old project at work, I received a MTCDTIP-LEU1-226A-868 gateway. I wanted to re-use/wipe/reconfigure it and donate it to community nearby. I tried upgrading the firmware and got stuck and now I think I should perhaps first ask some question before I make matters worse.

What I did:

The gateway came with mlinux 3.x, with some extra scripts / config modifications made by my coworkers. I wanted to get rid of any old stuff, and put recent firmware on it.

I configured it to do DHCP on both the poe-interface and any USB-ethernet interfaces by editing /etc/network/interfaces . This makes it easier to access it over the network (for me).

I progressively updated it up to newer mlinux firmware updates from MultiTech Developer Resources » Downloads all the way up to mlinux 6.3.0. This took some time but worked out well. From some firmware version on, you need to access the built-in web server to create an admin user name and password (even the uboot bootloader is locked), but I can manage that.

Now today I wanted to make sure that the gateway is actually working as a LoRaWAN gateway for TTN. So I downloaded the global_conf.json from the TTN gateway console and copied it to the gateway’s file system. I discovered that upon starting the packet forwarder, it overwrites my config file. Frustrated with this, I decided to try to flash it with mpower firmware instead, which should offer a web GUI for configuration, which should hopefully work a bit more user-friendly. This seemed to work OK, it booted up, except the http server for the commissioning web page wouldn’t come up, so I cannot create an initial user. I then held the button inside for about 10 seconds in an attempt to recover.

Now upon booting, it reports that /etc/network/interfaces cannot be read. No network is coming up, the commissioning web page is not available, I cannot log in. So I’m now in a bit of a chicken&egg problem: can’t access the web page to create an admin user, but also can’t login as admin user to fix the web page.

Before I make things worse, I’m hoping someone here can give some help.
I have a working PoE injector with ethernet access on my LAN. I can access the serial console inside. If needed I think I will be able to format/write a USB stick or sd card if required.

What can I do now to get control back over the gateway? Preferable end up at an mpower configuration with a GUI. If it means going back to mlinux, that would be workable I think.

4 posts - 2 participants