Basic DD-WRT Install FAQ for WRT1900AC?

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WeezyMoss
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 18 Feb 2016
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Sun Feb 21, 2016 3:08    Post subject: Reply with quote
ATHF wrote:
marksanctuary wrote:
The guide in this thread does not mention reseting before and after the firmware install.

Are you guys with the Marvell hardware doing factory resets to clear the nvram when going from factory to ddwrt?


From what I have read some do, some don't. I do, keep all my settings in a spreadsheet since I can't remember them all.


Can a few folks out there reply with whether or not they factory reset to clear the NVRAM going from factory to DD-WRT? Also did you encounter any issues. And what version you are running.

I still have time to return this v2 if I need to. Thanks all.
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marksanctuary
DD-WRT User


Joined: 10 Jan 2016
Posts: 62
Location: California, USA

PostPosted: Sun Feb 21, 2016 3:32    Post subject: Reply with quote
WeezyMoss wrote:
Thanks for the input about the version 1 vs version 2, but going back to the original questions:

Which version is stable for v1?
Which version is stable for v2?
And do I roll with one of the recommend/stable builds or wait for a better build?

WRT1900AC version2
Box is still unopened...

Thanks in advance.

For the router version I think its hard to control which you get when you purchase a router. Usually the older version (V1) sells out and is replaced by the newer later version (V2).

As for stable I can only refer to my experience with a V1 and what I see on the forums. DD-WRT and the wireless drivers are being worked on continually and stability on all Linksys Marvel routers will further converge down the road. When I bought my V1 almost 2 years ago I lived on the stock firmware for 18+ months until I felt the DD-WRT feature set I would use was stabile enough for my network setup.

Everyones tolerance level is different too for what they are willing accept as reliable performance and functionality. Some can't stand that the pings are still high while others don't really care. Plus what also won me over is the need for the DD-WRT builtin bandwidth features, accurate connected IP tables, and quickly updated Linux Kernels for better security.

I think the best way to proceed is to look at how you have built your network. Digest the issues still pending in DD-WRT to see what your pain points will be. And finally decide if you are willing to live with them and contribute feedback about the stuff that bothers you about DD-WRT.

_________________
Linksys WRT1900AC-V1 (BS 29048) Motorola SB6141 Netgear Gigabit Switches 16 Wired/12 Wireless
jsebean
DD-WRT User


Joined: 01 Dec 2015
Posts: 183
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Sun Feb 21, 2016 15:12    Post subject: Reply with quote
marksanctuary wrote:
WeezyMoss wrote:
Thanks for the input about the version 1 vs version 2, but going back to the original questions:

Which version is stable for v1?
Which version is stable for v2?
And do I roll with one of the recommend/stable builds or wait for a better build?

WRT1900AC version2
Box is still unopened...

Thanks in advance.

For the router version I think its hard to control which you get when you purchase a router. Usually the older version (V1) sells out and is replaced by the newer later version (V2).

As for stable I can only refer to my experience with a V1 and what I see on the forums. DD-WRT and the wireless drivers are being worked on continually and stability on all Linksys Marvel routers will further converge down the road. When I bought my V1 almost 2 years ago I lived on the stock firmware for 18+ months until I felt the DD-WRT feature set I would use was stabile enough for my network setup.

Everyones tolerance level is different too for what they are willing accept as reliable performance and functionality. Some can't stand that the pings are still high while others don't really care. Plus what also won me over is the need for the DD-WRT builtin bandwidth features, accurate connected IP tables, and quickly updated Linux Kernels for better security.

I think the best way to proceed is to look at how you have built your network. Digest the issues still pending in DD-WRT to see what your pain points will be. And finally decide if you are willing to live with them and contribute feedback about the stuff that bothers you about DD-WRT.

Honestly I completely disagree with the "v1 is superior" because i have a v2 and I know how stable it is. I don't doubt the v1 is stable, but saying the v2 is unstable because the v1 is stable makes absolutely no sense, especially if you don't have one. Heck... if there was ever anybody to put that to a test it would be you since you have both Wink

As for me, I got the v2, and it's perfectly stable. I use it daily. I rely on it's QOS, NAS and various other features as my daily driver.

I normally use Kong builds since they are tested and I have no issues, I read some of the latest BS builds have some throughput issues on both models. So I stick with this: Great uptime, great throughput, nothing out of the ordinary. Ping times are perfect on this build. Never get over 5ms on 5GHz which for wifi, is perfectly fine. NAS speeds are terrific.

I did have wifi issues with my laptop where connection would drop out so I switched to a Unifi AP for some time but the issue still persisted! Turns out the wifi in my PC is just garbage and I'm back to the WRT, dropped the power to 19dBm (default is 30dBm) and it runs perfectly fine with my laptop. I guess the laptops "ears" are too sensitive but it's not a WRT issue. It's a crappy PC anyway...

There are a couple bugs that affect it like the channel width selection for 5GHz but that isn't a v2 issue it affects all models but perfectly liveable. There's also a few drawbacks in teh Marvell driver that exists with both models (eg. WDS).

But anybody who pretends the router isn't stable but doesn't have one is making it up. "Oh because v2 users on the forums have more issues than v1 users" when odds are given that the v2 is replacing the v1s on the market that mentality is just confirmation bias.

There literally is no difference between the two as far as stability goes.

So use whatever router you want. Are you looking to do NAS with NTFS, use the v2, it has a faster CPU and gives me ~70MB/s. Don't listen to anybody about temperature garbage. BS had to say the same so I don't know what else to say to that. Otherwise best bet is return it if it's unopened since the v1 is equally as good as so many have stated. You will run fine too and you can enjoy the nicer temperatures. Laughing

Testing pings right now on wifi:
Cool

_________________
Want to get ahold of me? Contact me via one of the links here: http://jse.io/ or via discord at https://discord.gg/NmYX6enh
---
Current Router Setup:
OEM Satellite internet -- I'll likely get back to DD-WRT again when I get better internet
vnvjeep
DD-WRT User


Joined: 06 Feb 2014
Posts: 125

PostPosted: Sun Feb 21, 2016 16:45    Post subject: Re: Made the plunge, but have problems Reply with quote
harijay wrote:


I am about to embark on flashing dd-wrt on my wrt1900AC v1 . I am running the stock firmware version 1.1.10.167514

Just in case I run into the same problem , where can I get the 1.08 firmware from Linksys? I tried looking at their downloads page and could only find the version 1.10


My plan is to download the Kong version from 2/15/16 img file. Flash using the excellent instructions from jsebean and then enjoy the new goodness of dd-wrt.

Just wanted to be prepared and have access to the 1.08 firmware in case I face the same problem as vnvjeep.

Thanks
harijay


Hey Harijay... I think I found it on a linksys messageboard a while back, and kept it just incase. That is the version they refer to going back to due to the constant rebooting issues is evident in the v1.10 version.

Here's a link for it: http://downloads.linksys.com/downloads/firmware/1224701051259/FW_WRT1900AC_1.1.8.161917_prod.img
marksanctuary
DD-WRT User


Joined: 10 Jan 2016
Posts: 62
Location: California, USA

PostPosted: Sun Feb 21, 2016 18:00    Post subject: Reply with quote
jsebean wrote:
marksanctuary wrote:
WeezyMoss wrote:
Thanks for the input about the version 1 vs version 2, but going back to the original questions:

Which version is stable for v1?
Which version is stable for v2?
And do I roll with one of the recommend/stable builds or wait for a better build?

WRT1900AC version2
Box is still unopened...

Thanks in advance.

For the router version I think its hard to control which you get when you purchase a router. Usually the older version (V1) sells out and is replaced by the newer later version (V2).

As for stable I can only refer to my experience with a V1 and what I see on the forums. DD-WRT and the wireless drivers are being worked on continually and stability on all Linksys Marvel routers will further converge down the road. When I bought my V1 almost 2 years ago I lived on the stock firmware for 18+ months until I felt the DD-WRT feature set I would use was stabile enough for my network setup.

Everyones tolerance level is different too for what they are willing accept as reliable performance and functionality. Some can't stand that the pings are still high while others don't really care. Plus what also won me over is the need for the DD-WRT builtin bandwidth features, accurate connected IP tables, and quickly updated Linux Kernels for better security.

I think the best way to proceed is to look at how you have built your network. Digest the issues still pending in DD-WRT to see what your pain points will be. And finally decide if you are willing to live with them and contribute feedback about the stuff that bothers you about DD-WRT.

Honestly I completely disagree with the "v1 is superior" because i have a v2 and I know how stable it is. I don't doubt the v1 is stable, but saying the v2 is unstable because the v1 is stable makes absolutely no sense, especially if you don't have one. Heck... if there was ever anybody to put that to a test it would be you since you have both Wink

As for me, I got the v2, and it's perfectly stable. I use it daily. I rely on it's QOS, NAS and various other features as my daily driver.

I normally use Kong builds since they are tested and I have no issues, I read some of the latest BS builds have some throughput issues on both models. So I stick with this: Great uptime, great throughput, nothing out of the ordinary. Ping times are perfect on this build. Never get over 5ms on 5GHz which for wifi, is perfectly fine. NAS speeds are terrific.

I did have wifi issues with my laptop where connection would drop out so I switched to a Unifi AP for some time but the issue still persisted! Turns out the wifi in my PC is just garbage and I'm back to the WRT, dropped the power to 19dBm (default is 30dBm) and it runs perfectly fine with my laptop. I guess the laptops "ears" are too sensitive but it's not a WRT issue. It's a crappy PC anyway...

There are a couple bugs that affect it like the channel width selection for 5GHz but that isn't a v2 issue it affects all models but perfectly liveable. There's also a few drawbacks in teh Marvell driver that exists with both models (eg. WDS).

But anybody who pretends the router isn't stable but doesn't have one is making it up. "Oh because v2 users on the forums have more issues than v1 users" when odds are given that the v2 is replacing the v1s on the market that mentality is just confirmation bias.

There literally is no difference between the two as far as stability goes.

So use whatever router you want. Are you looking to do NAS with NTFS, use the v2, it has a faster CPU and gives me ~70MB/s. Don't listen to anybody about temperature garbage. BS had to say the same so I don't know what else to say to that. Otherwise best bet is return it if it's unopened since the v1 is equally as good as so many have stated. You will run fine too and you can enjoy the nicer temperatures. Laughing

Testing pings right now on wifi:
Cool

Now you have a vote of confidence for the V2 from jsebean. And jsebean please keep the comments less personal more about the products and details.

I really think you will be fine with either version of the router. The nice thing about DD-WRT is its not standing still on development like the stock firmware. If I was in your shoes and I would be at the store buying a V2. I bought my V1 with the intentions of waiting for DD-WRT support so I don't see why I would not jump in with a V2. As long as your not using the wireless bridging across routers I am pretty sure your going to have a positive experience with the V2.

I agree the temp discussions are unnecessary. At the CPU temps the router hits with DD-WRT running the chips are going to experience very little electromigration on the silicon, and the performance throttling will be little to none.

_________________
Linksys WRT1900AC-V1 (BS 29048) Motorola SB6141 Netgear Gigabit Switches 16 Wired/12 Wireless
jsebean
DD-WRT User


Joined: 01 Dec 2015
Posts: 183
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 17:32    Post subject: Reply with quote
marksanctuary wrote:

Now you have a vote of confidence for the V2 from jsebean. And jsebean please keep the comments less personal more about the products and details.

I really think you will be fine with either version of the router. The nice thing about DD-WRT is its not standing still on development like the stock firmware. If I was in your shoes and I would be at the store buying a V2. I bought my V1 with the intentions of waiting for DD-WRT support so I don't see why I would not jump in with a V2. As long as your not using the wireless bridging across routers I am pretty sure your going to have a positive experience with the V2.

I agree the temp discussions are unnecessary. At the CPU temps the router hits with DD-WRT running the chips are going to experience very little electromigration on the silicon, and the performance throttling will be little to none.

Personal lol. Perhaps you misunderstand me... I just respectfully disagree for the reasons I stated. That is all. I'd take a v1 myself in this case unless they really need to do NTFS NAS, in which case that is the only benefit I can think of really for the v2 if you have to make a choice given the box is unopened.

_________________
Want to get ahold of me? Contact me via one of the links here: http://jse.io/ or via discord at https://discord.gg/NmYX6enh
---
Current Router Setup:
OEM Satellite internet -- I'll likely get back to DD-WRT again when I get better internet
marksanctuary
DD-WRT User


Joined: 10 Jan 2016
Posts: 62
Location: California, USA

PostPosted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 17:44    Post subject: Reply with quote
No worries, its all good in Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. Cool
_________________
Linksys WRT1900AC-V1 (BS 29048) Motorola SB6141 Netgear Gigabit Switches 16 Wired/12 Wireless
r.schroeder
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 28 Feb 2016
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Sun Feb 28, 2016 20:19    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi all! New here, but I've used DD-WRT on my past Linksys and Asus routers with great success.

I just picked up a WRT1900AC v2 and thought I'd install DD-WRT again as usual. This time I wanted to use the NAS function, so I formatted the drive with ext4 and connected it. All worked well - over a gigabit connection i was getting 60-70MB/s. However, on wifi, it was only about 3-4MB/s. I was connected over wireless AC to my 2014 macbook, so that seemed odd. Are these normal settings, or am I missing something?

I tried to revert to stock to test speeds there, but in my installation it looks like I overwrote the second partition as well. I tried to install Kong's firmware, and then use the WRT1900AC-ddwrt-to-factory.img.bin file to revert back to factory, but whenever I do that I get a flashing power light after the reboot. Doing the x3 reboot gets me back to DD-WRT every time.

So, I suppose two questions. I'd be happy staying with DD-WRT if that's the max speed I can expect from wifi, or if there's a way to improve it. If I could do better on stock, then how do I get back? Is it perhaps because the WRT1900AC-ddwrt-to-factory.img.bin file is for v1 of the router and I have a v2?

Thanks all!
r.schroeder
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 28 Feb 2016
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Thu Mar 03, 2016 14:20    Post subject: Reply with quote
Update - managed to flash back to stock firmware on my 1900AC v2 by using Kong's 1900ACS image. Thanks to Kong for the tip!
flop_shot
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 03 Mar 2016
Posts: 22
Location: Austin, TX

PostPosted: Sat Mar 12, 2016 15:15    Post subject: Boot part Reply with quote
I'm having trouble getting FW upgrades to work like everyone is describing here. I'd like to have stock on one partition and DD-WRT on the other. When I flash a .img file from stock it works as advertised. But then when I try upgrading that DD-WRT partition with a .bin file, it overwrites my stock partition. What am I doing wrong? I'm doing the upgrade from the DD-WRT firmware upgrade tab.

The reason I'm using the .bin file in the first place is because I'm trying to get to Kong's r29020 and a .bin is all I can find.

_________________
WRT1900ACS with DD-WRT v3.0-r29300M kongmv (03/25/16)
shaunm001
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 15 Mar 2016
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 20:13    Post subject: Help installing Marvell 88F6820 firmware to WRT1200AC Reply with quote
Tried installing the factory-to-wrt.img file dated 2016-01-14 on my WRT1200AC. After about 10 minutes of watching power light continually blink on/off and being unable to ping the router, I figured I needed to power cycle. So did that, but router light just flashes on/off and nothing else. Tried the 30/30/30 reset, tried turning the power off/on 3 times to restore to factory as instructed here http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=995338#995338, but still cant get it to come back. Any suggestions?
Sgtmaj27
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 04 Mar 2016
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2016 13:36    Post subject: Re: Boot part Reply with quote
flop_shot wrote:
I'm having trouble getting FW upgrades to work like everyone is describing here. I'd like to have stock on one partition and DD-WRT on the other. When I flash a .img file from stock it works as advertised. But then when I try upgrading that DD-WRT partition with a .bin file, it overwrites my stock partition. What am I doing wrong? I'm doing the upgrade from the DD-WRT firmware upgrade tab.

The reason I'm using the .bin file in the first place is because I'm trying to get to Kong's r29020 and a .bin is all I can find.


As I understand it, your experience mirrors how these routers handle updates. Both .img and .bin FW install on the other partition than you are updating from. This is why you are left with the ddwrt FW on both partitions and most posters recommend using a .img file from the OEM update page. If I were you, I would download the appropriate dd-wrt to factory.img for your router. Then from the dd-wrt install that you want to keep, update the FW using the dd-wrt to factory.img you obtained. This should then give you the OEM FW on one partition and the dd-wrt on the other partition. When your router reboots you should be in the OEM install. To get back to the dd-wrt FW without installing anything, go to the Troubleshooting section/Diagnostics of the OEM FW and select Restore previous Firmware.(which acts as a rollback and changes the boot partition) This will change the boot to the dd-wrt partition.

And "Bob's your Uncle"

_________________
WRT1900ACS w/Kong's r30700M 09/27/16
flop_shot
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 03 Mar 2016
Posts: 22
Location: Austin, TX

PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2016 15:48    Post subject: Re: Boot part Reply with quote
Sgtmaj27 wrote:
As I understand it, your experience mirrors how these routers handle updates. Both .img and .bin FW install on the other partition than you are updating from. This is why you are left with the ddwrt FW on both partitions and most posters recommend using a .img file from the OEM update page. If I were you, I would download the appropriate dd-wrt to factory.img for your router. Then from the dd-wrt install that you want to keep, update the FW using the dd-wrt to factory.img you obtained. This should then give you the OEM FW on one partition and the dd-wrt on the other partition. When your router reboots you should be in the OEM install. To get back to the dd-wrt FW without installing anything, go to the Troubleshooting section/Diagnostics of the OEM FW and select Restore previous Firmware.(which acts as a rollback and changes the boot partition) This will change the boot to the dd-wrt partition.

And "Bob's your Uncle"


Thanks Sgtmaj. It dawned on me that what I was seeing happen, was in fact the way it is supposed to be and had done what you described a few days ago. Smile But it's nice to have someone confirm it!

_________________
WRT1900ACS with DD-WRT v3.0-r29300M kongmv (03/25/16)
wrnoof
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 22 Feb 2016
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 12:57    Post subject: Booting Back to Stock from Other Partition Reply with quote
Once I have booted back to stock, is there any way to boot back to the dd-wrt partition without reinstallation and entering all the settings again?

Thanks,
Bob
vnvjeep
DD-WRT User


Joined: 06 Feb 2014
Posts: 125

PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 13:36    Post subject: Re: Booting Back to Stock from Other Partition Reply with quote
wrnoof wrote:
Once I have booted back to stock, is there any way to boot back to the dd-wrt partition without reinstallation and entering all the settings again?

Thanks,
Bob


You would need to follow this procedure (per the OP in this thread)... and it would revert to the other partition in doing so:

1. Assuming the router is on, turn it off.
2. Turn it back on... the power light will illuminate and then go out briefly as it prepares to boot. As soon as it goes out, turn it off again. Repeat this step three times, leaving the router on after the third time you turn it off.
3. Let it boot. It should return to your DD-WRT partition after you let it boot.

_________________
Device: Linksys WRT1900AC V1
Firmware: Kong Build 31100 1/8/2017
Kong Links: http://www.desipro.de/ddwrt/K3-AC-MVEBU/
BS Links: ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/
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