Posted: Wed May 27, 2020 20:08 Post subject: New to WRT32X - have some questions
I'm not new to DD-WRT, I've been using it on some old WRT54Gs and a WDR3600 for years.
I've bought a WRT32X to replace the WDR3600, but I'm finding conflicting info.
After reading things about bad wifi on DD-WRT, I tried OpenWRT. Didn't find the UI as easy, and had a really weird issue with web pages taking ages to load.
But, I've read other things since, saying DD-WRT is better than OpenWRT on this model. But, other conflicting things. Hoping you could answer a few questions:
- What build will give good stable wifi? I've read that 2019 build r40134 is good - https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=320527. Also been told any May 2020 builds are good, but no specific build number suggested.
- Where do I download it from? I tried the FTP site ftp.dd-wrt.com, but I can't seem to get a directory listing for 2019 or 2020 in Explorer , Cmd, Chrome, or Filezilla?
Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 14221 Location: Texas, USA
Posted: Wed May 27, 2020 20:21 Post subject: Re: New to WRT32X - have some questions
ian2000t wrote:
I'm not new to DD-WRT, I've been using it on some old WRT54Gs and a WDR3600 for years.
I've bought a WRT32X to replace the WDR3600, but I'm finding conflicting info.
After reading things about bad wifi on DD-WRT, I tried OpenWRT. Didn't find the UI as easy, and had a really weird issue with web pages taking ages to load.
But, I've read other things since, saying DD-WRT is better than OpenWRT on this model. But, other conflicting things. Hoping you could answer a few questions:
- What build will give good stable wifi? I've read that 2019 build r40134 is good - https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=320527. Also been told any May 2020 builds are good, but no specific build number suggested.
You are still "new". Most of your questions are already discussed in the sticky at the top of THIS forum, for one.
ian2000t wrote:
- Where do I download it from? I tried the FTP site ftp.dd-wrt.com, but I can't seem to get a directory listing for 2019 or 2020 in Explorer , Cmd, Chrome, or Filezilla?
Can you read? Totally misinterpreted and out of context. I was saying that you could flash the WRT3200ACM firmware to it, but reverting to WRT32X firmware is pretty much a crap shoot or basically impossible outside of serial recovery, and even that is probably a no-go. _________________ "Life is but a fleeting moment, a vapor that vanishes quickly; All is vanity"
Contribute To DD-WRT Pogo - A minimal level of ability is expected and needed... DD-WRT Releases 2023 (PolitePol)
DD-WRT Releases 2023 (RSS Everything)
----------------------
Linux User #377467 counter.li.org / linuxcounter.net
Joined: 17 Feb 2010 Posts: 611 Location: Yorkshire (GOC)
Posted: Fri May 29, 2020 14:34 Post subject: Re: New to WRT32X - have some questions
ian2000t wrote:
I'm not new to DD-WRT, I've been using it on some old WRT54Gs and a WDR3600 for years.
I've bought a WRT32X to replace the WDR3600, but I'm finding conflicting info.
After reading things about bad wifi on DD-WRT, I tried OpenWRT. Didn't find the UI as easy, and had a really weird issue with web pages taking ages to load.
But, I've read other things since, saying DD-WRT is better than OpenWRT on this model. But, other conflicting things. Hoping you could answer a few questions:
- What build will give good stable wifi? I've read that 2019 build r40134 is good - https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=320527. Also been told any May 2020 builds are good, but no specific build number suggested.
- Where do I download it from? I tried the FTP site ftp.dd-wrt.com, but I can't seem to get a directory listing for 2019 or 2020 in Explorer , Cmd, Chrome, or Filezilla?
Nothing wrong with DD-WRT on the WRT32X. Why would you want to mess with OpenWRT when you do not seem to have a grasp of the basics?
Just follow the sticky (to the letter) for the installation. Forget, backing it out... why would you? I've been running DD-WRT on a number of routers for over a decade and NEVER ONCE had any compulsion to switch to anything else... it just works!
F/W download link in my sig... _________________ Linksys WRT32X v1 - r45677
Linksys WRT1900AC v1 - r45677
TP-Link Archer C9 v1 - r45677
Firmware: ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2021/
Thanks for the advice guys. I've done lots of reading, but the problem is you're never sure who to trust, as many things you read contradict - i.e. OpenWRT apparently has more stable wifi on WRT32X than DDwrt....
Anyway, I've installed r42015 as I saw lots of posts about this being a good "goto build" for many users. It's a bit older, but thought it was a good start to get things setup right. But, something is really not right. The DDWRT UI is so slow and unreliable for me that I can't actually connect to it long enough to configure anything anymore. It feels like the device might be constantly rebooting while I'm trying to configure it, but I can't be sure.
I followed the guide and used the FW_WRT32X_1.0.666_DDWRT.img to flash from the Linksys FW - so this flashed the partition 2, and then booted into it. I haven't yet installed the "full" build yet, I was going to stick to the minimal one just to prove that Internet/Wifi speeds work well first.
After I first installed it, the DD-WRT UI was VERY slow and unresponsive - meaning I had to click on tabs several times before it would load properly, which is odd, but I managed to configure Wifi and get a device connected to it (same responsiveness on LAN or Wifi). Also managed to turn on SSH and practice checking the current partition, and rebooting to the alternative partition (1 - still linksys FW), and then back again. All fine so far, apart from the slow UI.
Today, I can't even reliably get on the UI. Also many settings seem to have reverted, including SSH being disabled again. So, now I'm stuck with a WRT32X with Linksys FW on part 1, DD-WRT on part 2, however I can't use DD-WRT even enough to re-enable SSH. Therefore, I can't switch back to partition 1 to start over.
So I managed to get back to stock through 3 failed boots. Then installed DD-WRT again.
Then I've been using Firefox ESR freshly installed to acces UI. I've still had a few times it's almost like it's timed out, and won't respond again until i close and reopen the browser. But much better experience than last time.
I followed the guide and upgraded to full DD-WRT on the same partition. All good.
Set up 2.4 and 5ghz access points and pointed it to my current router for gateway. All working fine. I'll use that for a bit to check wifi stability and speed, before i swap it over to Pppoe and replace my current router with it. That can then go into the garage as an access point.
I'm not new to DD-WRT, I've been using it on some old WRT54Gs and a WDR3600 for years.
I've bought a WRT32X to replace the WDR3600, but I'm finding conflicting info.
After reading things about bad wifi on DD-WRT, I tried OpenWRT. Didn't find the UI as easy, and had a really weird issue with web pages taking ages to load.
But, I've read other things since, saying DD-WRT is better than OpenWRT on this model. But, other conflicting things. Hoping you could answer a few questions:
- What build will give good stable wifi? I've read that 2019 build r40134 is good - https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=320527. Also been told any May 2020 builds are good, but no specific build number suggested.
- Where do I download it from? I tried the FTP site ftp.dd-wrt.com, but I can't seem to get a directory listing for 2019 or 2020 in Explorer , Cmd, Chrome, or Filezilla?
Nothing wrong with DD-WRT on the WRT32X. Why would you want to mess with OpenWRT when you do not seem to have a grasp of the basics?
Just follow the sticky (to the letter) for the installation. Forget, backing it out... why would you? I've been running DD-WRT on a number of routers for over a decade and NEVER ONCE had any compulsion to switch to anything else... it just works!