EdgeRouter Lite (ERLite-3) & ERPoe-5 Firmware v3.0.1 — Free Download (EdgeOS Octeon e100) | Techeia<br>Skip to contentLoading…<br>Ask Techeia
Back to BlogEdgeRouter Lite (ERLite-3) & ERPoe-5 Firmware v3.0.1 — Free Download (EdgeOS Octeon e100)<br>May 20, 2026<br>By Techeia Editorial<br>7 min read
The EdgeRouter Lite (ERLite-3) was Ubiquiti's first compact EdgeMAX router, launched in 2014 at $99. It shipped a 500 MHz dual-core Cavium Octeon CN5020 SoC and three Gigabit Ethernet ports — modest by today's standards, but more than enough to saturate gigabit WAN with hardware NAT offload enabled. The ERPoe-5 is essentially the same router with two extra PoE-out ports tacked on.
Both devices were end-of-life'd from active development around 2020. The product pages on Ubiquiti's store have been gone for years. So it came as a genuine surprise when Ubiquiti pushed a new firmware — EdgeOS v3.0.1 — for the e100 platform in October 2025. The update brought modern WireGuard, an updated kernel, and current CVE patches to a 10-year-old router. Almost no external blogs have covered this release because, by 2026, the world had moved on.
This page mirrors the official ER-e100.v3.0.1.5862409.tar firmware from dl.ui.com. Same byte content as Ubiquiti's CDN, hosted here for download stability.
Why v3.0.1 Matters on the ERLite-3
The ERLite-3 spent most of its life on the v1.x and v2.x branches. v2.0.9 was the last "release" before this surprise jump to v3.0.1. The improvements are real:
Linux kernel updated from 3.10.x to 4.14.x LTS with backported CVE patches through Q3 2025. The 3.10 kernel had aged badly — it's a 2013 release.
OpenSSL 1.1.1w replaces the heavily-patched OpenSSL 1.0.2 in v2.x. Fixes interop issues with current Let's Encrypt certificate chains.
WireGuard as a native kernel module — no more compiling external .deb packages, no more breaking on every kernel update. Just enable it in the config.
strongSwan upgraded to 5.9.13 — fixes Windows 11 24H2 IPsec interop bugs that broke many road-warrior tunnels.
FRR (Free Range Routing) replaces the ancient Quagga BGP/OSPF daemon. EVPN-VXLAN support if you want to do exotic data-center networking on a $99 router.
Hardware NAT offload is more stable on the e100 platform — fewer dropped sessions under sustained gigabit load.
Compatible Hardware
The e100 firmware binary covers exactly two models:
ERLite-3 — 3 × GbE RJ45, fanless, USB 2.0 console, 5 W power.
ERPoe-5 — 5 × GbE RJ45 (2 with 24 V passive PoE-out), 25 W power.
The two share the exact same SoC and EdgeOS partition layout. If you have either device, this firmware works. ER-X / ER-X-SFP uses the e50 binary (different SoC). ER-4 / ER-12 use e300 . ER-8 uses e200 . Cross-loading is rejected by EdgeOS's image verifier — no risk of bricking, but the wrong file won't install.
Download EdgeOS v3.0.1 for ERLite-3 / ERPoe-5
Official Ubiquiti firmware (build 5862409). ~75 MB. Direct CDN mirror, SHA256 verified.
Download Now
Upgrading Your ERLite-3 / ERPoe-5 to v3.0.1
Web GUI (Recommended)
Take a config backup first. Log in at https://192.168.1.1. Click System (bottom-left). Click Back Up Config . Save the .config file to your local PC. This is your insurance policy.
Download the firmware from the button above.
Still in System panel, scroll to Upgrade System Image .
Click "Upload a file" and select edgerouter-lite-erlite-3-v3.0.1.tar. The router uploads it (45 seconds), verifies the signature (15 seconds), then prompts you to reboot.
Click Reboot . The ERLite-3 is unreachable for 3-4 minutes during the boot + config migration.
Log in again. Verify the version in the GUI top-right shows v3.0.1.5862409.
CLI Upgrade Over SSH
ssh ubnt@192.168.1.1
# Backup current config<br>show configuration commands > /tmp/erlite-pre-v3.cli
# Pull firmware via the EdgeOS image manager<br>add system image https://assets.techeia.com/downloads/firmware/edgerouter-lite-erlite-3-v3.0.1.tar
# Confirm both images present<br>show system image
# Reboot to apply<br>sudo reboot
TFTP Recovery (Bricked ERLite-3)
If your ERLite-3 won't boot, the EdgeOS bootloader (U-Boot) supports TFTP recovery. You'll need a console cable (USB-to-serial adapter into the RJ45 console port — see our CH340 driver guide if your adapter isn't recognised by Windows yet).
Connect at 115200 baud 8N1.
Power-cycle. During the U-Boot 3-second countdown, press any key to drop to the Octeon ubnt_e100# prompt.
Set up the network:<br>setenv serverip 192.168.1.50 # your PC's IP<br>setenv ipaddr 192.168.1.20 # router's recovery IP<br>saveenv
Start a TFTP server on your PC and put the firmware file in its serving directory.
From the U-Boot prompt:<br>tftp 0x8000000 ER-e100.v3.0.1.5862409.tar<br>bootoctlinux 0x8000000
The router boots from RAM into a recovery shell. From there, use add system image to flash the firmware permanently.
Known Issues on the e100 Platform
RAM Pressure During Upgrade
The ERLite-3 has 512 MB RAM. The .tar firmware buffers in /tmp during upload, and the EdgeOS...