Skip to main content
Tech Radar Tech Radar TechRadar The source for Tech Buying Advice
Subscribe
RSS
(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)
Asia
flag of Singapore
Singapore
Europe
flag of Danmark
Danmark
flag of Suomi
Suomi
flag of Norge
Norge
flag of Sverige
Sverige
flag of UK
UK
flag of Italia
Italia
flag of Nederland
Nederland
flag of België (Nederlands)
België (Nederlands)
flag of France
France
flag of Deutschland
Deutschland
flag of España
España
North America
flag of US (English)
US (English)
flag of Canada
Canada
Australasia
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of New Zealand
New Zealand
Technology Magazines
(opens in new tab)
Technology Magazines (opens in new tab)
Why subscribe?
  • The best tech tutorials and in-depth reviews
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12.99
(opens in new tab)
View Deal (opens in new tab)
  • News
  • Best
  • Reviews
  • Opinion
  • How To
  • Versus
  • Deals
  • More
    • Appliances
    • Audiovisual
    • Cameras
    • Car Tech
    • Computing
    • Downloads
    • Entertainment
    • Fitness
    • Laptops
    • Phones
    • Smart Home
    • Tablets
    • TVs
    • Wearables
    • About Us
Tech Radar Pro
Tech Radar Gaming
Trending
  • Samsung Galaxy S23
  • Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
  • Wordle today
  • Best phones
  • Best VPN

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. How-to
  3. Computing

How to install custom firmware on your router

By Alex Cox
published 23 February 2017

Do more with your wireless hardware

  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
How to install custom firmware on your router

How to install custom firmware on your router

Custom router firmware might sound, to the uninitiated, equal parts intimidating and pointless. But installing Linux-based custom firmware can net you better router speed, increased internet privacy, intelligent traffic routing, and many more features that your router’s default firmware just can’t manage. If you’re slightly obsessive about your slow internet speed, the additional monitoring features of a custom firmware can’t be beaten.

We’re going to concentrate on DD-WRT in this guide, because it’s feature-packed and easy to get to grips with. If you have very specific needs, you may wish to opt for the more modular OpenWRT, and Tomato is a user-friendly option for certain Broadcom-based routers.

  • We’ve picked out the best wireless business routers of 2017
Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of 8
1. Check it’ll work

1. Check it’ll work

There are a great many routers on the market, and that means a lot of different hardware, much of which is not compatible with custom firmware – either because it’s locked down, doesn’t supply enough RAM or CPU power, or the software to support it simply doesn’t exist. Compatibility is only likely to drop as time goes on, since regulations around wireless frequencies are tightening.

We’re cheating a little when it comes to this guide, using the excellent Linksys WRT 3200ACM, a recent release that’s specifically geared towards supporting both DD-WRT and OpenWRT. 

If you’re wondering if your hardware is compatible, a google search of the model name and your desired firmware is likely to throw up answers, or you can check DD-WRT’s compatibility list (opens in new tab) or that of OpenWRT (opens in new tab). 

Make a note of the correct version of the software for your hardware, as listed in the compatibility database; differing specifications mean flashing the incorrect firmware could brick your device, so it’s important to get this part right.

Today's best Linksys WRT 3200 ACM deals
578 Amazon customer reviews (opens in new tab)
☆☆☆☆☆
Reduced Price
Belkin Linksys WRT3200ACM... (opens in new tab)
Walmart (opens in new tab)
$279.99
(opens in new tab)
$188.99
(opens in new tab)
View Deal (opens in new tab)
Linksys WRT3200ACM AC3200... (opens in new tab)
Newegg (opens in new tab)
$363.71
(opens in new tab)
View Deal (opens in new tab)
Linksys WRT3200ACMA-4T... (opens in new tab)
Amazon (opens in new tab)
$499
(opens in new tab)
View Deal (opens in new tab)
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Page 2 of 8
Page 2 of 8
2. Get prepared

2. Get prepared

Tightening our focus to just DD-WRT, now, let’s work on getting ready to flash – that is, replace – our router’s firmware. 

If you’re not using a device that specifically supports this sort of thing, let’s just reiterate: this is a mildly dangerous procedure, and if something goes wrong you could be left with a dead bit of kit. 

Follow the instructions and refrain from impatient unplugging, though, and you’ll be fine. It’s worth having the wiki (opens in new tab) and the so-called ‘peacock thread’ on DD-WRT’s forums (opens in new tab) on hand in case of any issues.

In basic terms, grab your router’s .bin file. If your router requires a ‘killer’ to wipe out the old firmware before the new version can be installed, pick that up first. 

Connect to your router with a wired ethernet connection, as wireless is likely not to work during the installation process, and you’ll need to be close to the hardware to power it off as required. 

Make sure you have a secondary connection handy – your 4G phone, for example – so that you can look up fixes if everything goes wrong. Before you move on, again, read the pages linked above. It’ll probably be fine, but we can’t take responsibility if you’ve missed a step and it’s not.

Page 3 of 8
Page 3 of 8
3. Flash away

3. Flash away

Ready? Of course you are. Make sure you’re connected via a wired connection (switch off your computer’s wireless module) and disconnect your router from the internet. 

Now give your router the most thorough reset possible by holding the reset button for 30 seconds, unplugging for 30 seconds with the button still held in, then replugging and continuing to hold the reset button for another 30 seconds. This may well be voodoo router pseudoscience, but it weighs heavy in the instructions and we’re not about to argue. 

Now log in to your router’s interface via a web browser (usually you’ll find it at 192.168.1.1 or similar) using the default password, and find its firmware upgrade options – in our case it was in the slightly obscure ‘connectivity’ panel. 

You’ll need to perform a manual upgrade, using the .bin file downloaded earlier. Click ‘start’ – or whatever your router requires – and click past any warning messages. Now move your hands away from the keyboard. Don’t touch anything. Let it go about its business; the installation should take about 2 minutes, and you should leave the unit for around five minutes once it’s done before performing another 30/30/30 hard reset to ensure its memory has been cleared and you’re working with completely fresh hardware. 

Page 4 of 8
Page 4 of 8
4. Configure wireless

4. Configure wireless

Head back to your router’s settings page and you should now see the DD-WRT interface. Set an admin login and password (don’t forget them, because you’ll need them later), then you’ll be system info page, which gives you an overview of your running hardware. 

Hook your internet connection back up and you should see its WAN address appear here. Your wireless connections, however, will have forgotten whatever settings they may have been given previously, defaulting to unsecured connections with the SSID ‘dd-wrt’.

Click the ‘wireless’ tab to see all the wireless interfaces your router has to offer, and name them appropriately – make sure you pay attention to the capabilities of each interface when you pick your names. 

Click ‘apply settings’. Now head over to the ‘wireless security’ tab, and set up WPA2 Personal (AES) passwords for each of your access points. You may later need to go back to basic settings and fiddle with certain things. Specifically, you may need to define the regulatory domain for your access points – you’ll find the appropriate options by checking the ‘advanced settings’ box under each SSID.

Page 5 of 8
Page 5 of 8
5. All the tools

5. All the tools

A quick poke around the DD-WRT interface (check the ‘services’ section, in particular) shows that it has tons of features on board by default. There’s a firewall, various VPN options, all the tools you need to use your router as a NAS, adblocking, a webserver – the list keeps going, and you’ll find specific documentation for each element on the wiki. There’s probably far more here than your router’s default firmware could manage. 

But there’s more to play with besides, as we’ll discover by connecting to DD-WRT’s Linux shell. Windows users should grab PuTTY (opens in new tab) to get connected; Linux and macOS users can just use their terminal app. 

We’re using macOS vintaqge terminal app Cathode (opens in new tab), simply because it’s unbelievably pretty. 

Once you have the appropriate software, connect via Telnet to your router’s address – on the command line, this is as simple as typing, for example, ‘telnet 192.168.1.1’. Log in with the username ‘root’ and the password you set earlier on. 

Page 6 of 8
Page 6 of 8
6. Take command

6. Take command

You’re now in a Linux shell, sort of; it’s a cut-down, condensed Linux shell, running ‘ash’ (which stands for 'Another SHell') on top of BusyBox, which compresses common Linux commands into a smaller space. 

You can poke around with it using all the shell commands you’re used to – if you don’t already know your way around, our how to use Linux Commands is a great starting point. 

Having access to the console might seem a little useless when there’s a perfectly capable web interface on offer, but there are a couple of things it’s well suited to doing. 

Try running ‘top’ to see the individual elements and threads being run on your router at any one time, for instance. And direct access to your router can be massively useful for diagnosing network issues later on – you can use the ‘ping’ and ‘traceroute’ commands to test connectivity with the web or individual devices in your home.

Page 7 of 8
Page 7 of 8
7. What next?

7. What next?

There are so many avenues to explore that it may be a bit overwhelming to know which way to turn with a DD-WRT installation. Indeed, beyond making sure your basic networking functions work, there’s no clearly defined path.

Consider setting up OpenVPN (opens in new tab), so you can connect to your home network safely and privately from wherever you happen to be – it’s finicky, but worth doing. You could also, if your DD-WRT router is a secondary device, set it up as a repeater bridge (opens in new tab) to extend your wireless network efficiently over a long distance. 

Even if you don’t add on any extra features, keep an eye on your bandwidth and signal strengths within the web interface – even if it’s only your family whose access you’re managing, you’ll likely be able to spot the culprits when everything slows to a crawl...

  • The 10 best wireless routers of 2017
Page 8 of 8
Page 8 of 8
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
Alex Cox
Social Links Navigation
See more Routers & storage how-to
  1. Alfred Pennyworth leans on a bar as he stares into the camera
    1
    HBO Max, Paramount Plus join Netflix in frustrating 2023 TV show cancellation spree
  2. 2
    The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s S Pen is a waste of valuable battery space
  3. 3
    Heard of the Ninja Speedi?
  4. 4
    One of the worst parts of Microsoft Teams is getting a welcome makeover
  5. 5
    Intel’s 31TB SSD sees huge price drop at Walmart but it won’t fit your PC
  1. Oura (Third Generation) smart ring
    1
    Apple Watch owners' next must-have gadget is a sleep-tracking smart Oura Ring
  2. 2
    Final Fantasy 16 may already have been outdone by a new 16-bit RPG
  3. 3
    Microsoft Teams Premium is officially here for everyone
  4. 4
    Condivisione password, Netflix non sa più che pesci pigliare
  5. 5
    ChatGPT already feared to be behind multiple cyberattacks

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab).

  • About Us (opens in new tab)
  • Contact Us (opens in new tab)
  • Terms and conditions (opens in new tab)
  • Privacy policy (opens in new tab)
  • Cookies policy (opens in new tab)
  • Advertise with us (opens in new tab)
  • Web notifications (opens in new tab)
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers (opens in new tab)

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.