1/21/15 5:03 PM

i have a secondary tp-link router that is pretty flakey. its not our primary router, i use it for backups and other stuff as a shadow network so i dont interrupt wifey and whatever our primary network usage might be.

even so, it's frustratingly flakey. i'm debating trying out the open-source firmware DD-WRT...wondering if anyone's ventured down this road.

1/21/15 6:46 PM

Yes, it opens up some options but doesn't put lipstick on a pig.

1/22/15 1:18 PM

Same here, flashed my old Linksys G router with DD-WRT to gain bridge mode, and will be doing the same with my current WRT160N once I get my new router (EA6300) up and running.

Can't remember if my current AP (TP-Link WR841N) had to be flashed with DD-WRT as it came with a bridge mode. The TP-Link AP has been ultra-reliable and has only had to be restarted once or twice in two years. Certainly I've never had to go into the UI after the initial setup.

1/22/15 1:27 PM

Man - I have absolutely no idea what you guys are talkin about!

1/22/15 3:02 PM

I don't like linksys after debugging one over one summer. Will never buy them again.
So IMHO, nuking it and replacing it with new firmware can't be bad :)

Sandiway

P.S. To PLee, routers are like little computers. You can run Linux on them for example...

1/23/15 8:26 AM

it's a secondary router, so if it bricks no big loss.

next router i get will probably be a netgear or linksys. probably the former. when i had those, they were bulletproof. never needed to reboot them.

ever since getting these 2 models, a D-Link and the aforementioned TP-Link, i had to kludge an automatic nightly reboot to our network HW with an outlet timer.

1/25/15 2:41 PM

quote:

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next router i get will probably be a netgear or linksys.

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1/25/15 3:51 PM

Wait a minute, you want an Alfa?

1/25/15 4:54 PM

quote:

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Wait a minute, you want an Alfa?

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1/25/15 6:45 PM

I sell tablet POS systems and Linksys routers are a common denominator to constant issues. My experience is that this brand is seemingly unreliable.

I believe this is one place where you get what you pay for. I suppose if you are just sending email and light browsing, they would operate just fine. However when the demand is high or constant, the Linksys brand is just not up to the task.

I've had excellent results with Netgear and Apple routers with the Tablet based POS systems which demand great and consistent service.

Sometimes, you get what you pay for.

2/3/15 9:17 AM

I'm a network engineer and therefore I've only used DD-WRT compatible access points for many years. I use it to more securely isolate my part of the wireless space from the "guest" space. It offers far more powerful options and capabilities than any stock firmware I've seen.

The only issue I ever had with it was with a Buffalo router. High end model, all the bells and whistles, and came with a branded version of DD-WRT already installed. Even after returning for replacement twice the bloody thing would never work in layer 3 mode, could only get it to work in bridging mode. Ended up putting an ASA firewall at the network edge so this was actually ok from a security perspective.

2/3/15 12:39 PM

I don't know why the damned things are so ubiquitous, but after I had two fail, I started using other product--which, to my delight, have lasted...well...so far they haven't stopped lasting.