[GH-ISSUE #11] Volume Kernel not found flashing init / Download speeds halfened

kerem commented

2026-03-13 14:13:49 +03:00

Owner

Originally created by @gericho on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/4IceG/ZTE-MF286D/issues/11

eth0 PHY0 Down Speed :10 Half duplex
eth0 PHY1 up Speed :1000 Full duplex
eth0 PHY2 Down Speed :10 Half duplex
eth0 PHY3 Down Speed :10 Half duplex
eth0 PHY4 Down Speed :10 Half duplex
Using eth0 device
TFTP from server 192.0.0.1; our IP address is 192.132.35.204
Filename 'root_uImage'.
Load address: 0x84000000
Loading: #################################################################
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done
Bytes transferred = 18538264 (11adf18 hex)

NAND erase: device 0 offset 0x1000000, size 0x800000
Erasing at 0x17e0000 -- 100% complete.
OK

NAND write: device 0 offset 0x1000000, size 0x800000
 8388608 bytes written: OK

NAND erase: device 0 offset 0x1800000, size 0x1d00000
Erasing at 0x34e0000 -- 100% complete.
OK

NAND write: device 0 offset 0x1800000, size 0x1d00000
 30408704 bytes written: OK
zte_set_download_led(1) is called
blank download is done. send fin to PC...
eth0 PHY0 Down Speed :10 Half duplex
eth0 PHY1 up Speed :1000 Full duplex
eth0 PHY2 Down Speed :10 Half duplex
eth0 PHY3 Down Speed :10 Half duplex
eth0 PHY4 Down Speed :10 Half duplex
Volume kernel not found!
(IPQ40xx) #

and


U-Boot 2012.07 [Chaos Calmer 15.05.1,IPQ4019.ILQ.6.1.0.r2-00006-P-1] (Apr 19 2021 - 23:50:05)

smem ram ptable found: ver: 1 len: 3
DRAM:  256 MiB
machid : 0x8010001
NAND:  ID = 302012c
Vendor = 2c
Device = 1
ONFI device found
SF: Detected GD25Q16 with page size 4 KiB, total 2 MiB
ipq_spi: page_size: 0x100, sector_size: 0x1000, size: 0x200000
130 MiB
In:    serial
Out:   serial
Err:   serial
machid: 8010001
flash_type: 0
Uaztemain: enter into !
ZTE_InitFotaFlashPara: nand_curr_device=0
zte_getHandOffState: read data=0x4e from 0x0
Press ESC to abort autoboot in 0 seconds
Creating 1 MTD partitions on "nand0":
0x000001800000-0x000003500000 : "mtd=0"
UBI: attaching mtd2 to ubi0
UBI: physical eraseblock size:   131072 bytes (128 KiB)
UBI: logical eraseblock size:    126976 bytes
UBI: smallest flash I/O unit:    2048
UBI: VID header offset:          2048 (aligned 2048)
UBI: data offset:                4096
UBI error: ubi_read_volume_table: the layout volume was not found
UBI error: ubi_init: cannot attach mtd2
UBI error: ubi_init: UBI error: cannot initialize UBI, error -22
UBI init error 22
(IPQ40xx) #

Originally created by @gericho on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/4IceG/ZTE-MF286D/issues/11 ``` eth0 PHY0 Down Speed :10 Half duplex eth0 PHY1 up Speed :1000 Full duplex eth0 PHY2 Down Speed :10 Half duplex eth0 PHY3 Down Speed :10 Half duplex eth0 PHY4 Down Speed :10 Half duplex Using eth0 device TFTP from server 192.0.0.1; our IP address is 192.132.35.204 Filename 'root_uImage'. Load address: 0x84000000 Loading: ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ################################################################# ############################ done Bytes transferred = 18538264 (11adf18 hex) NAND erase: device 0 offset 0x1000000, size 0x800000 Erasing at 0x17e0000 -- 100% complete. OK NAND write: device 0 offset 0x1000000, size 0x800000 8388608 bytes written: OK NAND erase: device 0 offset 0x1800000, size 0x1d00000 Erasing at 0x34e0000 -- 100% complete. OK NAND write: device 0 offset 0x1800000, size 0x1d00000 30408704 bytes written: OK zte_set_download_led(1) is called blank download is done. send fin to PC... eth0 PHY0 Down Speed :10 Half duplex eth0 PHY1 up Speed :1000 Full duplex eth0 PHY2 Down Speed :10 Half duplex eth0 PHY3 Down Speed :10 Half duplex eth0 PHY4 Down Speed :10 Half duplex Volume kernel not found! (IPQ40xx) # ``` and ``` U-Boot 2012.07 [Chaos Calmer 15.05.1,IPQ4019.ILQ.6.1.0.r2-00006-P-1] (Apr 19 2021 - 23:50:05) smem ram ptable found: ver: 1 len: 3 DRAM: 256 MiB machid : 0x8010001 NAND: ID = 302012c Vendor = 2c Device = 1 ONFI device found SF: Detected GD25Q16 with page size 4 KiB, total 2 MiB ipq_spi: page_size: 0x100, sector_size: 0x1000, size: 0x200000 130 MiB In: serial Out: serial Err: serial machid: 8010001 flash_type: 0 Uaztemain: enter into ! ZTE_InitFotaFlashPara: nand_curr_device=0 zte_getHandOffState: read data=0x4e from 0x0 Press ESC to abort autoboot in 0 seconds Creating 1 MTD partitions on "nand0": 0x000001800000-0x000003500000 : "mtd=0" UBI: attaching mtd2 to ubi0 UBI: physical eraseblock size: 131072 bytes (128 KiB) UBI: logical eraseblock size: 126976 bytes UBI: smallest flash I/O unit: 2048 UBI: VID header offset: 2048 (aligned 2048) UBI: data offset: 4096 UBI error: ubi_read_volume_table: the layout volume was not found UBI error: ubi_init: cannot attach mtd2 UBI error: ubi_init: UBI error: cannot initialize UBI, error -22 UBI init error 22 (IPQ40xx) # ```

kerem commented

2026-03-13 14:13:59 +03:00

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Owner

@4IceG commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024):

Hi @gericho ,
Have you tested other initramfs-zImage.itb images from official OpenWrt releases?

You can install official OpenWrt image and update it to my image via sysupgrade (without saving the settings).
I don't know why the initramfs-zImage.itb image doesn't work, but I had such a router (to be repaired) and not every initramfs image started correctly.

@4IceG commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024): Hi @gericho , Have you tested other initramfs-zImage.itb images from official OpenWrt releases? You can install official OpenWrt image and update it to my image via sysupgrade (without saving the settings). I don't know why the initramfs-zImage.itb image doesn't work, but I had such a router (to be repaired) and not every initramfs image started correctly.

kerem commented

2026-03-13 14:14:04 +03:00

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Owner

@gericho commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024):

Yes thank you! Partially "solved" by using the 23.05.2 initramfs and your sysupgrade. BTW I found the download is half the speed compared to the original Nordic B12 (~200Mbit vs ~110Mbits, upload speeds about the same), is there any chance to configure the QMI protocol (or other configs) to achieve the same Nordic B12 Speed? Tested by a Home Assistant automation that schedules a speed test every 15 minutes, so I am sure it is not caused by the provider (1 week continuous test 24/7). In modemband is see same aggregated bands B3 and B20 as the Nordic B12 (Wind-IT)

@gericho commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024): Yes thank you! Partially "solved" by using the [23.05.2](https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/23.05.2/targets/ipq40xx/generic/openwrt-23.05.2-ipq40xx-generic-zte_mf286d-initramfs-zImage.itb) initramfs and your sysupgrade. BTW I found the download is half the speed compared to the original Nordic B12 (~200Mbit vs ~110Mbits, upload speeds about the same), is there any chance to configure the QMI protocol (or other configs) to achieve the same Nordic B12 Speed? Tested by a Home Assistant automation that schedules a speed test every 15 minutes, so I am sure it is not caused by the provider (1 week continuous test 24/7). In modemband is see same aggregated bands B3 and B20 as the Nordic B12 (Wind-IT)

kerem commented

2026-03-13 14:14:09 +03:00

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@4IceG commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024):

Unfortunately, there is a problem with performance degradation on OpenWrt.

Examples of topics with this problem:

Help with increase speed for 5G modem
https://forum.openwrt.org/t/help-with-i … dem/168785
Zyxel NR7101 low performance
https://forum.openwrt.org/t/zyxel-nr710 … nce/174991
Low USB3 speed
https://forum.openwrt.org/t/low-usb3-speed/174044

Problem has recently been noticed because we haven't used such fast modems before. The search for a solution to this situation is ongoing. In my builds I try to add methods that are currently being tested.

@4IceG commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024): Unfortunately, there is a problem with performance degradation on OpenWrt. Examples of topics with this problem: Help with increase speed for 5G modem [https://forum.openwrt.org/t/help-with-i … dem/168785](https://forum.openwrt.org/t/help-with-increase-speed-for-5g-modem/168785) Zyxel NR7101 low performance [https://forum.openwrt.org/t/zyxel-nr710 … nce/174991](https://forum.openwrt.org/t/zyxel-nr7101-low-performance/174991) Low USB3 speed https://forum.openwrt.org/t/low-usb3-speed/174044 Problem has recently been noticed because we haven't used such fast modems before. The search for a solution to this situation is ongoing. In my builds I try to add methods that are currently being tested.

kerem commented

2026-03-13 14:14:14 +03:00

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@gericho commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024):

All the posts you highlighted, refer to low-speed USB interfaces due to some CPU peaks caused by the Kmod driver ... if I understood correctly. So I installed HTOP to measure CPU peaks after uninstalling or disabling all the less important packages you included as aria2, adblock, smb and so on, the CPU now barely touches the 5% in idle, the only process that is a little "high" on CPU and intermittently is wrtbwmon and ubus.sock. Running the speedtest, the CPU2 reaches 100% whereas other cores stay around 40-60% with no apparent process using it. So yes, seems related also to CPU usage

What I did to increase the down speed by 40+Mbit

removed all the (to me) "unnecessary" packages
removed ipv6 DHCP on the wan (my ISP does not support it)
disabled and re-enabled UPLOAD band aggregation in modemband

I am not sure what did the 60Mbit up-jump here, but it seems to fairly work, not 200Mbits as the Nordic B12 for now, but I'm reaching easily 150-170Mbits where before seemed to be capped at 90-110, kindly let me know. I'll study that patch on the youtube video, not sure it applies to the mf286d too.

@gericho commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024): All the posts you highlighted, refer to low-speed USB interfaces due to some CPU peaks caused by the Kmod driver ... if I understood correctly. So I installed HTOP to measure CPU peaks after uninstalling or disabling all the less important packages you included as aria2, adblock, smb and so on, the CPU now barely touches the 5% in idle, the only process that is a little "high" on CPU and intermittently is [wrtbwmon](https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/services/network_monitoring/wrtbwmon) and [ubus.sock](https://openwrt.org/docs/techref/ubus). Running the speedtest, the CPU2 reaches 100% whereas other cores stay around 40-60% **with no apparent process using it**. So yes, seems related also to CPU usage What I did to increase the down speed by 40+Mbit - removed all the (to me) "unnecessary" packages - removed ipv6 DHCP on the wan (my ISP does not support it) - disabled and re-enabled UPLOAD band aggregation in modemband I am not sure what did the 60Mbit up-jump here, but it seems to fairly work, not 200Mbits as the Nordic B12 for now, but I'm reaching easily 150-170Mbits where before seemed to be capped at 90-110, kindly let me know. I'll study that patch on the [youtube video](https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/services/network_monitoring/wrtbwmon), not sure it applies to the mf286d too.

kerem commented

2026-03-13 14:14:19 +03:00

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@4IceG commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024):

@gericho You can test new build.

disabled, reboot, enabled, reboot UPLOAD band aggregation in modemband

If I understand correctly, you turned off band aggregation for upload, this should give a visible increase in speed.

@4IceG commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024): @gericho You can test new build. > * disabled, reboot, enabled, reboot UPLOAD band aggregation in modemband If I understand correctly, you turned off band aggregation for upload, this should give a visible increase in speed.

kerem commented

2026-03-13 14:14:24 +03:00

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@gericho commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024):

In fact I disabled it but I don't have enough data collected to call it a statistic. So I re-enabled it. As mentioned in the previous post, I'm still not sure which change caused the speed increase. I'll investigate further. Thank you for the new release! I'll test it as soon as possible.

@gericho commented on GitHub (Jan 21, 2024): In fact I disabled it but I don't have enough data collected to call it a statistic. So I re-enabled it. As mentioned in the previous post, I'm still not sure which change caused the speed increase. I'll investigate further. Thank you for the new release! I'll test it as soon as possible.

kerem commented

2026-03-13 14:14:29 +03:00

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@gericho commented on GitHub (Jan 27, 2024):

Unfortunately, the last version also has CPU caps somewhere (a speed test shows one CPU reaches 100% in htop). I also noticed the system/routing report non "advised" configuration in an orange banner on top, but I didn't dig deeper into that detail.

@gericho commented on GitHub (Jan 27, 2024): Unfortunately, the last version also has CPU caps somewhere (a speed test shows one CPU reaches 100% in htop). I also noticed the system/routing report non "advised" configuration in an orange banner on top, but I didn't dig deeper into that detail.

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[GH-ISSUE #11] Volume Kernel not found flashing init / Download speeds halfened #9