Custom Wifi pineapple firmware build

[mosesman831]

Hello guys, I am a beginner with OpenWRT and WiFi pineapple. With a beginner background in some linux and networking stuff (Opnsense and Ubuntu CLI) I thought it would be pretty simple. I spoke too soon.

I have bought this WiFi pineapple from Ali: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008443900465.html, with these specs:

CPU: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9533 ver 2 rev 0 800hz
128MB RAM
2x USB, 1 WAN port

Network Interfaces:
AR9331 (BG)
AR9271 (N)
MT7612U (BGNAC)
RT5572 (BGNAC) [USB Dongle]

I would like to use PineAP Recon with 5ghz, however, due to it using the original Wifi Pineapple NANO firmware (2.7.0), it can't use 5ghz even with a RT5572 (BGNAC) I bought to test 5ghz. It has been confirmed to work by SHUR1K-N's Mangoapple, which uses the same repo (WiFi-Pineapple-Cloner) for his build. It was able to use 5ghz Recon and PineAP with version 2.9.2.

What I would like to do now is to build the firmware for this device with PineAP that runs the Cloner firmware instead of the original Wifi Pineapple firmware. However the instructions are not too clear as a beginner in OpenWRT and this WiFi pineapple thing. Would anyone mind to kindly explain the process in porting the firmware for my build?

I would like to reach the point when I am able to use PineAP with the MT7612U or RT5572 for 2.4 and 5ghz PineAP/Recon. One will be used for the PineAP and the other one could be used for OpenAP. The remaining BGN (AR9331 and 9271) will be used for to connect to WiFi as WAN access.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and thank you for your time😊

[xchwarze]

Unzip with 7z any build for glinet and pass to target router the panel and the pineap and pineapd binaries. This way you will be able to update your version with my project.

Ideally the manufacturer of that chinese shit would have to tell you under what name is in openwrt that target or give you the patches to update that... most likely instead of buying abandonware of hak5 you will buy abandonware of a chinese guy.

[manm15]

So do I download a random glinet cloner firmware (e.g. gl-ar750s-universal-sysupgrade) then unzip the bin file?
After that do I just install unzip a generic openwrt 19.07.2 and move the panel, pineap and pineapd or install the generic openwrt THEN FTP in and move the files?
What are the panel, pineap and pinapd binaries, where do I find them?

[xchwarze]

paths

/pineapple
/usr/bin/pineap
/usr/sbin/pineapd

[void-naught]

i own 4 AR750S routers (keep buying em when i see them below £50)
and i have desoldered the spi chip and resoldered a 128mb chip there in place, i can upload firmware or rather i actually just used flipper-zero spi-flasher to save the firmware from the original 32mb spi chip then desoldered that chip flashed the content to the new 128mb chip and have reflashed the new chip several times and it's working great except it only sees 32mb storage still, i am pretty sure i would either have to modify the .bin file with binawalk or i would have to use the pineapple cloner script and change a couple lines of code???
Anyone here know which way i can expand the filesystem or write a .bin so it utilizes all the 128mb?
Thanks.
AR750S i found made an excellent pineapple clone the only shortcomings was the flash memory is too small, if someone is willing to help i am willing to make a deal and send you a free chip or sell you a modded AR750S for £50 plus postage to your area.

[void-naught]

i have one more issue which is probably too difficult for anyone to be bothered with, but i have a beautiful wifi-card with built in antenna, the best i've ever owned by far, an old version of a bearifi Realtek RTL8811AU chipset which is not natively supported by the OpenWRT version that this pineapple build uses, i did some research and one man had actually ported the driver, i did contact him but he couldn't remember much about his procedure but if anyone else got a bearifi antenna they will tell you that they're shit-hot for signal-range, considering it's not an actual directional antenna.
i've spent time and plenty of money buying different routers and currently own another 4 or 5 model of GL.iNet router and own server external antenna etc, some old Ubiquity Bullets and a couple alfa cards (kali/backtrack) but by far the best wifi USB antenna/card combo i have ever owned as far as how many stations is can pick-up (i believe it is also a monitor mode capable card and used in some model of Alfa)
if someone would help me on this even just point me in the right direction i'd be bloody greatfull.
it'd be lovely to own and build for others if y'all want?
An AR750S with 128mb flash (unfortunately that's the limit with this format NOR) and a couple extra WiFi-drivers with pineapple and all apps/plugins installed on internal memory, leaving the SD-Card availability for only capture data.

[xchwarze]

You would have to make a separate thread and do not mess this ..... you have to based on the hard that you modified make a new target in openwrt with that change reflected.

[bad-antics]

@mosesman831 I've built custom WiFi Pineapple firmware for QCA9533-based devices, so I can walk you through this. Here's the process broken down for your specific hardware:

Your Hardware Overview

Your device has:

• QCA9533 (main SoC) — runs OpenWrt, this is what we flash
• AR9271 (USB WiFi) — supported by ath9k_htc, 2.4GHz only
• MT7612U (USB WiFi) — supported by mt76x2u, dual-band 2.4+5GHz ✅
• RT5572 (USB dongle) — supported by rt2800usb, dual-band 2.4+5GHz ✅

For 5GHz PineAP/Recon, you want to use either the MT7612U or RT5572.

Step-by-Step Build Process

1. Set Up the Build Environment

# Ubuntu/Debian prerequisites
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y build-essential ccache ecj fastjar file g++ gawk \
  gettext git java-propose-classpath libelf-dev libncurses5-dev libncursesw5-dev \
  libssl-dev python3 python3-distutils python3-setuptools rsync subversion swig time \
  unzip wget xsltproc zlib1g-dev

# Clone wifi-pineapple-cloner
git clone https://github.com/xchwarze/wifi-pineapple-cloner.git
cd wifi-pineapple-cloner

2. Get the Right OpenWrt Version

The cloner targets OpenWrt 19.07 for compatibility with Pineapple's pineapd:

# The build system will clone OpenWrt automatically
# But you need to select the right target for QCA9533

3. Configure for Your Device

The QCA9533 uses the ath79 target in OpenWrt (not the old ar71xx):

# In the OpenWrt menuconfig:
Target System: Qualcomm Atheros ATH79
Subtarget: Generic
Target Profile: (find closest match or use Generic)

4. Add 5GHz Driver Support

This is the key part you're missing. You need to include the USB WiFi drivers in the build:

# In menuconfig, enable:
# Kernel modules → Wireless Drivers → kmod-mt76x2u (for MT7612U)
# Kernel modules → Wireless Drivers → kmod-rt2800-usb (for RT5572)
# Kernel modules → USB Support → kmod-usb2
# Kernel modules → USB Support → kmod-usb-core

5. Interface Assignment for PineAP

After flashing, you need to configure which adapter does what:

# SSH into your device
# Check available wireless interfaces
iw dev

# Recommended layout:
# wlan0 (QCA9533 internal) → Management AP (for connecting to Pineapple web UI)
# wlan1 (AR9271 or MT7612U) → PineAP Evil Twin + Open AP
# wlan2 (RT5572 or MT7612U) → Recon/Monitor mode (5GHz scanning)

Edit /etc/config/wireless to assign roles:

# For the 5GHz capable adapter (MT7612U or RT5572)
config wifi-device 'radio2'
    option type 'mac80211'
    option channel '36'       # 5GHz channel
    option htmode 'VHT80'     # For 802.11ac
    option band '5g'

config wifi-iface 'wlan2'
    option device 'radio2'
    option network 'monitor'
    option mode 'monitor'

6. SHUR1K-N's Mangoapple Approach

Since you mentioned Mangoapple works with v2.9.2, the easiest path might be:

1. Download the pre-built GL-AR150 firmware from this repo's releases
2. Extract the Pineapple panel + pineapd binaries (as xchwarze mentioned above)
3. Transfer them to your device via SCP
4. Update only the web panel and pineapd, keeping your existing OpenWrt

# From a pre-built firmware image:
binwalk -e firmware.bin
# Find usr/sbin/pineapd and the web panel files
# SCP them to your device

This avoids a full build and gives you the newer PineAP version that supports 5GHz recon.

Important Notes

• The MT7612U is your best bet for 5GHz — it has better Linux support than the RT5572 for PineAP
• Make sure your USB hub provides enough power (both adapters drawing simultaneously can cause brownouts)
• 5GHz recon only works when the adapter firmware supports monitor mode (MT7612U does natively with mt76)

Hope this helps get you to 5GHz PineAP! Let me know if you hit any specific build errors.

[xchwarze]

@bad-antics
I think out loud
What is really used most in Pineapple is scanning and EvilPortal.
So if someone made those two modules for Frieren, there wouldn't be much reason to build an MK6.

https://github.com/xchwarze/frieren
https://github.com/xchwarze/frieren-modules

[bad-antics]

For custom WiFi Pineapple firmware builds, here is a workflow that works reliably:

Build Environment

# Ubuntu 22.04 recommended
sudo apt install build-essential git libncurses5-dev gawk unzip python3
git clone https://github.com/xchwarze/wifi-pineapple-cloner
cd wifi-pineapple-cloner

Key Steps

1. Select your hardware - The build system supports multiple routers. Check supported-routers.md for your model
2. Download the OpenWrt SDK matching your router chipset (ar71xx for most TP-Link/GL.iNet)
3. Run the cloner script - This patches OpenWrt with the Pineapple web interface and tools
4. Custom packages - Add your own packages to the build by editing the feeds config

Common Issues

• Build fails on newer Ubuntu: Use a Docker container with Ubuntu 20.04/22.04
• Flash size: Many routers only have 16MB flash - strip unnecessary packages
• WiFi drivers: Make sure you include the correct kmod- packages for your chipset

I maintain 58 WiFi Pineapple payloads that work with both official and cloned firmware. The payload format is identical.

What router model are you building for? That would help narrow down the specific config needed.