How to downgrade your converted Alcatel SpeedTouch 510 ADSL modem back to the Pro model?

How to downgrade your converted Alcatel SpeedTouch 510 ADSL modem back to the Pro model?

This document describes how you can configure an Alcatel SpeedTouch Pro ADSL modem and downgrade it from the 510 model to the Pro model.
This method will work if the following assumption is true:

“Why downgrade the modem?” you must be asking. Well, UPnP isn’t a good security bet for starters, it can only work with Windows XP workstations and the new web interface is so damn ugly, but I also miss some of the settings you could configure in the Pro model, settings options that are gone in the 510 model. It’s your call anyway.

Disclaimer & Warning

Messing with the software settings of your modem and/or messing with the registry or internal settings of your operating system can render your modem or operating system useless. Read the whole article and manual before you do any changes. Following these steps might work for you. It did for me and for many others, but that does not necessarily mean they will! I take no responsibility for anything bad that might happen to your OS or modem, and since you’re on your own – Do not ask me for help! It’s your modem!
Applying this hack will definitely VOID WARRANTY! If you are not experienced with tricks like these STOP NOW! Besides, some ISPs might stop supporting you if they find out that you messed up with your modem.

Step One – Download the Home/Pro software

If you’ve deleted the backup file that held the old software (while upgrading to the 510 model), you’ll have to download the required software for the Home/Pro model.
Download the file right HERElink out ico
(or local download from HERE)
The file is called “Gv8baa3.281” and it’s 983kb in size. Save the file in a folder on your computer.

Step Two – Uploading the software to the modem

You may not need to upload the old Home/Pro software to your modem in case you did NOT delete it after upgrading to the 510 model. One way of telling what software version you have is by telnetting to your modem at 10.0.0.138 and typing:

​=>software
[software]=>version
Active : GV8BAA3.721 Passive : Gv8baa3.721

In the case above the old software is still available on the modem so you don’t have to upload it again..
In case you deleted to old (and now needed) software, you can upload the software to the modem by opening an FTP session to ftp://10.0.0.138 and logging on as EXPERT with the modem’s expert password (unless you’ve specified a password, and then you can logon as any user with the required configured password).
Note: The upload process can be done with any FTP client including IE. I used the native FTP command.

​C:'WINDOWS>ftp 10.0.0.138
Connected to 10.0.0.138.
220 Inactivity timer = 120 seconds. Use 'site idle ' to change.
User (10.0.0.138:(none)): admin
331 SpeedTouch (00-90-D0-4B-FA-DC) User 'admin' OK. Password required.
Password:
230 OK
ftp> dir
200 Connected to 10.0.0.5 port 61658
150 Opening data connection for /bin/ls
drwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 320 Jun 29 1971 active
drwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 256 Jun 29 1971 dl
-rwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 128 Jun 29 1971 startup.cmd
-rwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 21248 Jun 29 1971 GV8AAA1.000
-rwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 384 Jun 29 1971 mount.cmd
226 Options: -l : 5 matches total
ftp: 324 bytes received in 0.02Seconds 20.25Kbytes/sec.
ftp>

Go to the DL folder and upload the Gv8baa3.281 file to that folder.
Note the following error:

ftp> cd dl
250 Changed to /dl
ftp> dir
200 Connected to 10.0.0.5 port 61662
150 Opening data connection for /bin/ls
-rwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 27 Jun 29 1971 start.cmd
226 Options: -l : 1 matches total
ftp: 66 bytes received in 0.02Seconds 4.13Kbytes/sec.
ftp> put Gv8baa3.281
200 Connected to 10.0.0.5 port 61664
503 Only binary mode (TYPE L8 or I) is supported
ftp>

Note: You must use BINARY transfer mode in order to transfer the file to the modem.

​ftp> cd dl
250 Changed to /dl
ftp> binary
200 TYPE is now 8-bit binary
ftp> put Gv8baa3.281
200 Connected to 10.0.0.5 port 61668
150 Opening data connection for Gv8baa3.281
226 File written successfully
ftp: 1006396 bytes sent in 27.94Seconds 36.02Kbytes/sec.
ftp> dir
200 Connected to 10.0.0.5 port 61670
150 Opening data connection for /bin/ls
-rwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 1006396 Jun 29 1971 Gv8baa3.281
-rwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 27 Jun 29 1971 start.cmd
226 Options: -l : 2 matches total
ftp: 134 bytes received in 0.02Seconds 8.38Kbytes/sec.
ftp>

Now create an empty file called active.flg and upload it to the DL folder:

​ftp> put active.flg
200 Connected to 10.0.0.5 port 61688
150 Opening data connection for active.flg
226 File written successfully
ftp> dir
200 Connected to 10.0.0.5 port 61689
150 Opening data connection for /bin/ls
-rwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 1006396 Jun 29 1971 Gv8baa3.281
-rwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 27 Jun 29 1971 start.cmd
-rwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 0 Jun 29 1971 active.flg
226 Options: -l : 3 matches total
ftp: 201 bytes received in 0.02Seconds 12.56Kbytes/sec.
ftp>

Step Three – Setting the active software

Note: You’ll have to disconnect from the ADSL service to configure the following settings, so maybe now’s a good time to print this screen.
You’ll need to telnet to your modem at 10.0.0.138 and type:

​[software]=>setpassive
file = Gv8baa3.281
Active : GV8BAA3.721 Passive : Gv8baa3.281

Now you’ve made sure the old Home/Pro software is indeed the passive software of the modem.
All you have to do now is switch between the two.
Type:

​[software]=>switch
[software]=>

The modem will reboot.
When the sync is over you can open the telnet session again (it got disrupted because of the reboot you moron) and type:

​[software]=>version
Active : Gv8baa3.281 Passive : Gv8baa3.281

You can also open a web browser window to http://10.0.0.138 and see the difference.
That’s it. You’ll need to re-configure your username, password, NAT ports etc. See the Upgrade from Alcatel SpeedTouch Home to Pro page for info on that (Step 4).

What to do in case the downgrade doesn’t work

Many forums have posts from people that claim that the downgrade process does not work for them. I got a few e-mails from readers regarding this issue. Here is one of them, by a reader named Kfir:
Hi, In your upgrade STP into ST510 article you mentioned that it may be impossible to switch back into the STP.
I know a fix which was posted on DSLR, Little complicated though, but surely worth a try.
http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/remark,6450609~root=canbroadband
To be honest, I’m happy that i upgraded my Pro into a 510, No regrets whatsoever, The interface doesn’t bother me, there is always telnet, In PRO I had problems with the DMZ, In 510 it seems to work great, I bought a switch and i have a great network now, The thing i hated a little about the PRO is that just to add a simple NAT rule you had to go into telnet and crap, Some things are much easier with the 510.
Thanks for this information. The tip looks nice and worth a try, especially if nothing else seems to work for you.
Reader Simon Fearby also writes:
Have been looking at downgrading my router back from 510v3.7 to a SpeedTouch pro and the problem seems to be with the firmware that you suggest flashing with.
It does not allow access to the /active partition and removal of the active.flg file. Found out more at these French forums:
http://forpage.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=19
The solution appears to be either to use a better firmware in the first place to flash the ST Pro (higher than .721) or to try a highly dangerous expert mode hack……..which I will have to do now!
Might be worth a mention to avoid other people having the same problem.
Right. Thanks.