The best thing about the CH341a is that with other hardware, such as the Bus Pirate and Shikra I have found that I need to remove the SPI chip from the board to interact with it due to other circuits interfering with the targeted SPI chip. Using Strings to Search for “password” and “SSID”Īs you observe you can see that this particular router looks to have been reset before it was taken out of commission and sold since it has what looks like default values. Here is a picture of the chip clip with the headers. I also ohmed out the 8 to 16 pin header and found that it had the correct traces in place to interface directly with the 16 pin MX25L6445E chip and the CH341a ZIF socket. The headers that were provided with the 16 pin chip clip included an 8 to 16 pin as well as a 16 to 16 pin header. I will place the link for the 16 pin chip clip at the bottom of this blog along with a link for the CH341a programmer. I could solder wires onto the functioning pins of the MX25L6445E and interface it to the CH341a Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket but since I could use a 16 pin chip clip for future engagements I decided to purchase one.Īfter a quick internet search, I chose a 16 pin chip clip that included headers already soldered for interfacing with the ZIF socket of the CH341a. But it appears that we might have an issue with the 16 pin chip package (note that the middle 8 pins are not used.) The CH341a only comes with an 8 pin chip clip and header. Due to this information, we know that it is not necessary to use the 1.8v adapter. I will include links at the end of this blog on which items I bought or reference.ĭatasheet Pin Configuration and DescriptionĮxamining the datasheet, I noticed that this particular chip has a VCC of 3.3v and the actual package type on the board is a 16 pin chip.

It might be a little too step-by-step for intermediate or experienced people who have dumped firmware with other tools but I wanted to include the beginner as well because we all started somewhere right?īelow is a picture of the CH341a package that I got. After I worked with it and was able to successfully dump the firmware from the 1.8v IC without having to remove the SPI chip from the circuit board, I decided to write a blog about it. I decided to order it with one-day shipping. I considered creating a voltage divider to step the voltage down but after a little Googling, I came across the CH341a with the 1.8v adapter.

This would not have been a problem but both the shikra and bus pirate are rated for 3.3v chips. The issue I encountered was that the SPI chip I was trying to dump the firmware off of was a 1.8v chip. Note: This blog will also be a lab for any of the upcoming Wild West Hackin’ Fest Conferences.ĭuring a recent engagement, I came across an issue.

Ch341a 1.34