Archived
AI-assisted

ASUS LTE router – Entware and telemetry on stock firmware

Entware with autostart on the ASUS 4G-AC86U without custom firmware – via a hidden mechanism of the stock firmware – plus LTE monitoring with SQLite and a custom dashboard.

My idea, my hardware, my testing – code implemented with AI assistance, reviewed and improved.

Embedded Linux
LTE
Entware
SQLite
Shell

Entware (Stock-Firmware)LTE-Telemetrie

The problem

On the ASUS 4G-AC86U with stock firmware none of the usual guides for Entware or custom startup scripts work – every known autostart mechanism is ignored or reset on reboot.

The solution

Entware: the firmware automatically starts software from an asusware.arm directory on a USB drive. Entware and swap run permanently this way – no firmware modification needed.
Telemetry: monitoring of the built-in Quectel LTE modem (signal, carrier aggregation, neighbour cells, temperatures), stored in SQLite, local web dashboard, band locking – cooperating with the stock firmware.

Status

Archived – I no longer own the router. The code is published for anyone with the same hardware.

My part

Analysing the firmware and finding the working autostart path, testing on my own device, the telemetry concept. Implemented with AI assistance, reviewed and improved in my own daily use.