Aerohive HiveAP 120 Wireless Access Point

Published by Fudgy McFarlen on

Idea / Approach:  Install openWRT on a desktop – this will allow easy fiddling. When competent move to AP120 hardware

Research links: 6-8-2026

Yes — the Aerohive HiveAP 120 line has OpenWrt support through the AP121/HiveAP 121 device entry, and the OpenWrt wiki lists “Aerohive AP121 / HiveAP 121 / HiveAP141” as a supported device family. The firmware selector also shows an OpenWrt build target for aerohive_hiveap-121, which is the closest matching supported model for the HiveAP 120 family.[toh.openwrt]

What that means

  • If your unit is a HiveAP 120 variant, it is likely in the same hardware family as the AP121/HiveAP 121 support page, but you should verify the exact board revision before flashing.[openwrt]

  • OpenWrt community docs and forum posts show actual installs on AP121/HiveAP 121 hardware, including flashing notes and boot issues specific to that platform.[forum.openwrt]

  • There is also a published install guide and multiple community references indicating this platform has been run with OpenWrt successfully.[github]

Practical caution

  • Do not assume every HiveAP 120 label maps identically to the AP121 image without checking the hardware revision, NAND size, and bootloader behavior first.[forum.openwrt]

  • If you want, I can help you confirm whether your exact HiveAP 120 board is the AP121-compatible one and point you to the safest flashing method.

AI References

  • [^1]: https://toh.openwrt.org/?features=type_wifiap%2Cpower_poe\&columns=VIRT_edit%2Cbrand%2Cmodel%2Cversion%2Ccpu%2Ccpucores%2Ccpumhz%2Cflashmb%2Crammb%2Coutdoor%2Cvlan%2Cwlan24ghz%2Cwlan50ghz%2Cdetachableantennas%2Cwlancomments%2Cdevicepage%2CVIRT_hwdata%2Coemdevicehomepageurl%2Cwikideviurl%2Cowrt_forum_topic_url%2Cfccid%2Cavailability%2Cpicture%2Cwhereavailable%2Ccomments
  • [^2]: https://openwrt.org/toh/aerohive/ap121
  • [^3]: https://git-01.infra.openwrt.org/?p=openwrt%2Fopenwrt.git%3Ba%3Dlog%3Bh%3Dce7681d3289fd3befd20275aa54161f393bf561b
  • [^4]: https://forum.openwrt.org/t/howto-install-on-aerohive-ap121/25429
  • [^5]: https://forum.openwrt.org/t/aerohive-ap121-doesnt-boot-after-fresh-install/86957
  • [^6]: https://github.com/NWSpitfire/AP121-OpenWRT-Install
  • [^7]: https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/10suztb/running_openwrt_on_very_cheap_aerohive_ap121_guide/
  • [^8]: https://openwrt.org/toh/hwdata/aerohive/aerohive_ap121
  • [^9]: https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org/?version=22.03.0\&target=ath79%2Fnand\&id=aerohive_hiveap-121
  • [^10]: https://openwrt.org/toh/aerohive/start
  • [^11]: https://lists.openwrt.org/pipermail/openwrt-devel/2019-October/025224.html
  • [^12]: https://openwrt.org/toh/views/toh_admin_available
  • [^13]: https://openwrt.org/toh/aerohive/hiveap-330
  • [^14]: https://www.amarketplaceofideas.com/aerohive-hiveap-121-wireless-access-point.htm
  • [^15]: http://fixes.brecht-schule.hamburg/tutorials/aerohive/openwrt-on-ap121
  • [^16]: https://fixes.brecht-schule.hamburg/tutorials/aerohive/openwrt-on-ap121
  • [^17]: https://bugs.openwrt.org/index.php?do=details\&task_id=2535\&order=severity\&sort=desc\&pagenum=19\&order2=summary\&sort2=desc
  • [^18]: https://forum.openwrt.org/t/a-wireguard-comparison-db/187586
  • [^19]: https://git.openwrt.org/openwrt/staging/ansuel/?id=3f183065e12c757af344e5de9e4edbdedf8e6fa3\&h=4b0a2ca9a47ce30f08161b5b12991f15d590938c\&path=package%2Fdevel%2Fstrace%2Fpatches%2F100-workaround–pt-reg-collisions-ppc.patch
  • [^20]: https://eko.one.pl/forum/viewtopic.php?id=18970
  • [^21]: https://forum.archive.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=73700
  • [^22]: https://openwrt.org/tag/poe

 

 

Research Links

Purchasing Links

Aerohive AP120 Chipset Information 

   _______                     ________        __
 |       |.-----.-----.-----.|  |  |  |.----.|  |_
 |   -   ||  _  |  -__|     ||  |  |  ||   _||   _|
 |_______||   __|_____|__|__||________||__|  |____|      

          |__| W I R E L E S S   F R E E D O M

 

AR7100-AR9160-AR9103-Block-Diagram

OpenWrt is described as a Linux distribution for embedded devices.Instead of trying to create a single, static firmware, OpenWrt provides a fully writable filesystem with package management. This frees you from the application selection and configuration provided by the vendor and allows you to customize the device through the use of packages to suit any application. For developer, OpenWrt is the framework to build an application without having to build a complete firmware around it; for users this means the ability for full customization, to use the device in ways never envisioned.

PB44

  The big chip next to the ethernet ports is a VSC7385 – SparX-G5™ – 5-port Integrated Gigabit Ethernet Switch

PB44 Notes

 

Photos inside AeroHive 120

 

Flashing Firmware Onto Aerohive Ap 120

Flashing Research Links

OpenWRT

Building DD-WRT

DD-WRT Forum Submission Data

TPM Module Notes

 

Images submitted to DD WRT Forum

JTAG Pinout – J2

  • JTAG_ENABLE      J2-14  
  • TDI                        J2-3    
  • TDO                      J2-5    
  • TMS                      J2-7       
  • TCK                      J2-9     
  • TRST_L                 J2-1     

UART PinOut J1 – AR7100 has a single Tx/Rx UART port with 16550 equivalent debug / console

  • UART_SOUT    JP1-5
  • UART_SIN       JP1-3
  • Ground            JP1-6

Flash Memory – Original FirmWare

Entering U-Boot at power up

  • Connect console cable using the pinout for the UART shown above
  • Open Putty and select serial and the com port corresponding to your link
  • Power up the unit
  • When the space bar 4 second count down notice comes up hit the space bar as instructed to stop the normal boot sequence.
  • When prompted for the password enter:  aerohive
  • If the password is correct for your unit prompt will come up as   boot>

 

 

FBF9T40k


OpenWRT and Aerohive Table of Contents TOC

 

 

 

Categories: CommunicationComputingInternetWiFi
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