How to upgrade IOS AP from ROMMON

Press the ESC button during AP startup to enter ROMMON mode. Then use the following command to upgrade the IOS AP.

ap: ether_init
ap: flash_init
ap: tftp_init
ap: set IP_ADDR
ap: set NETMASK
ap: set DEFAULT_ROUTER
ap: tar -xtract tftp://< server ip address >/< image name > flash:
ap: boot flash:/< image dir >/< image name >

The following is the upgrade process, I used an AIR-CAP3602I-A-K9.

1. Set the IP address

ap: set IP_ADDR 10.106.32.40
ap: set NETMASK 255.255.255.0
ap: set DEFAULT_ROUTER 10.106.32.1

2. Initialize TFTP and Ethernet

ap: ether_init
Initializing ethernet port 0...
Ethernet speed is 1000 Mb - FULL Duplex
ap: tftp_init
tftp_init success: You can now use tftp file system!
ap: flash_init
Initializing Flash...
...The flash is already initialized.

3. Load image

ap: tar -xtract tftp://10.76.76.160/haifengli/image/ap3g2-k9w8-tar.153-3.JF10.tar flash:

DPAA Set for Independent Mode
 tide_boot_speed = 1000 
DPAA_INIT = 0x0

extracting info (291 bytes)
ap3g2-k9w8-mx.153-3.JF10/ (directory) 0 (bytes)
extracting ap3g2-k9w8-mx.153-3.JF10/ap3g2-k9w8-mx.153-3.JF10 (230262 bytes)..................................................
extracting ap3g2-k9w8-mx.153-3.JF10/ap3g2-k9w8-tx.153-3.JF10 (73 bytes)
extracting ap3g2-k9w8-mx.153-3.JF10/ap3g2-bl-2600 (190140 bytes).........................................

4. Boot from new image

We can use the dir command to confirm the directory and filename in the flash before starting with the boot command. I deleted some content here.

ap: dir flash:
Directory of flash:/

28   -rwx  291       <date>               info
126  drwx  2496      <date>               ap3g2-k9w8-mx.153-3.JF10

ap: dir flash:/ap3g2-k9w8-mx.153-3.JF10
Directory of flash:/ap3g2-k9w8-mx.153-3.JF10/

127  -rwx  230262    <date>               ap3g2-k9w8-mx.153-3.JF10
128  -rwx  73        <date>               ap3g2-k9w8-tx.153-3.JF10
129  -rwx  190140    <date>               ap3g2-bl-2600


ap: boot flash:/ap3g2-k9w8-mx.153-3.JF10/ap3g2-k9w8-mx.153-3.JF10/
Rebooting system to reset DPAA...

IOS Bootloader - Starting system.
flash is writable
FLASH CHIP:  Numonyx Mirrorbit (0089)
Xmodem file system is available.
flashfs[0]: 127 files, 15 directories</date></date></date></date></date>

Another way is to use the following command.

ap: set BOOT flash:/< image dir >/< image name >
ap: boot

5. Verification

AP2c54.2d9c.xxxx>ena
Password: 
AP2c54.2d9c.xxxx#
AP2c54.2d9c.xxxx#show version
Cisco IOS Software, C3600 Software (AP3G2-K9W8-M), Version 15.3(3)JF10, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc3)