Firmware is the software that controls the operation of a hardware device, in this case, the TP-Link MR3420 V5 router. It manages the router's functions, features, and security settings. Firmware updates are released by the manufacturer to fix bugs, patch security vulnerabilities, and add new features to the device.
Thankfully, the community is robust. Wiki pages, YouTube tutorials, and GitHub repositories are dedicated solely to navigating the v5’s bootloader quirks. The reward for this patience is a device that punches leagues above its weight. tp-link mr3420 v5 firmware