[feliciano]

We've seen a lot of buildings during the last couple of years. Some might have worked good for your needs and your router(s), while others may not. So, in order to help the community I wonder whether we could compose a table like the following, i.e. with the most popular builds for different hardware and scenarios.

Notes:
1)If your device is rather old and/or have limited resources (basically corerev of your SOC and ammount of flash and RAM), and you are not so-concerned about security and patches, IMHO it probably will have a better performance/stability with a not-so-recent build. On the contrary, if you have a recent and powerful device, and looking for feeling safer, I would recommend to upgrade to a good recent build or try the newest ones being developed, and share your findings for keeping this going.
2)Maybe different people would recommend different builds for the same device. No problem, add it next to the other, and let the people test and decide, or you can add a "[+]" or something, like counts, like votes.

So I will start recommending what's on the Notes 3 and 4 of the Peacock thread (14929, 15962, 17990, 27560, 27858, etc.)

Now, the table I'm thinking about:
For general usage:

[jwh7]

You left out Broadcom ARM that runs k4.4, and btw, as of today's 43012 build (which has broken BCM ARM wifi), BCM MIPS is also on k4.4 (at least until BS gets 4.9 working for it "soon" ). r43007 alpha is working great on my WNDR4500v2 (MIPS NAND).

All I can say is not to use any build older than 41664, to have SFE NAT (for k3.2+ builds), KRACK (k24+), PBR+SFE, CAKE / FQ_CODEL_FAST, and GTK Rekey wireless timer fixes. For Wireguard, one should use at least 42872.

The latest builds are generally recommended, after one researches the build threads to avoid bad ones.

[feliciano]

Notes taken.

So I think it would be good to have separate lists for MIPSr1, MIPSr2, and ARM, for the major branches of kernels we have worked on, or are working with.

[WouldRatherBeFOSS]

I do think there needs to be something like this. So well done for having the idea of doing it or - for you want to start collecting data already, yes? - for actually doing about.


Router: Asus RT-AC66U
Build I find best: DD-WRT v3.0-r42278 giga (02/05/20)
Running VPN software (e.g. OpenVPN, Wireguard) directly on the router? No
Operating systems on devices that use the router: Linux, Android and Windows)

[booradlly]

[kernel-panic69]

This thread is not to ask these questions. This thread is to give recommendations based on experiences, etc.

But since I'm feeling nice, I will say that you need 43192 or later for your WRT54* series device (look in the build threads like you're s'posed to do).

[coletrain]

https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=325487&highlight=r7000

R7000
06-02-2020-r43324

This is a great thread. I am not sure why more people are not using it.

[redhawk0]

I use a 6300V2 as a repeater when I travel. The MOST stable build is old but it works great. 36154...(06/16/18 )

All my other devices are running latest or close to latest as CB/RB/AP. The newer builds just don't handle Repeater mode very well.

redhawk

[kernel-panic69]

All K2.6 builds after 43136 are broken. I received another E4200v1 recently that had been flashed with 43192 and was bricked, so I back-tracked from that build to 43136, checked all the way through 44086 and all have the same problem and will not boot.

EDIT: Should be fixed in releases after 44092, along with pptpd.

https://svn.dd-wrt.com/changeset/44092
https://svn.dd-wrt.com/changeset/44091
https://svn.dd-wrt.com/changeset/44090
https://svn.dd-wrt.com/changeset/44086

[nmordasov]

DD-WRT v3.0-r45229 std (01/01/21)

I'm running this build on D-Link DIR 890 (similar to R8000) and it don't let me down. No reboots, no staggering for weeks. In later builds there are visible changes in UI and some functions may not start by itself. This build has everything, maybe a little outdated versions. The only thing - processor throttling doesn't seem to work, can't set lower than 1Ghz. It has ARM 1Ghz processor and 3 bands (2x5G, 1x2G).

[kernel-panic69]

For K2.4 (WRT54* series and clones): 45955+ due to kernel and webUI patches.
For K2.6 45955+ due to kernel and webUI patches.
For K3.x/K4.x 45955+ due to webUI patches.

Keep in mind that the current Samba implementation is still a WIP and that may affect recommendation.

[ThaCrip]

Linksys WRT54GS v1.1 = r46640 (May 13th 2021) (i.e. dd-wrt.v24_mini_generic.bin ) ; it works fine for a general use router so far (12 days 5 hrs uptime currently (as of May 30th 2021)). I upgraded from my previous build from about a month ago due to Fragattack fixes included in this May 13th 2021 build.

I upgrade like usual from... 'Administration > Firmware Upgrade'.

here is some general advice when flashing firmware. if someone wants to play it extra safe when upgrading firmware on these WRT54* variations here is a pretty good guideline to follow (which should minimize risk)...

1)Reset router to defaults (i.e. hold reset button for 30 seconds) and once router is responding again...
2)Unplug router for 1 minute and plug it back in.
3)Go to routers configuration page (i.e. 192.168.1.1) and proceed to flash firmware under the 'Administration > Firmware Upgrade' section in DD-WRT. IMPORTANT NOTE: as soon as you start firmware flashing process make sure to wait a FULL 5 minutes as this should keep the risk of bricking ones router at a bare minimum.
4)Reset router to defaults (another 30 second reset using reset button) and reconfigure to your liking.

NOTE: avoid overclocking the WRT54GS v1.1 router (and probably the general WRT54* series and clones to) as, in short, while r45735 (Feb 11th 2021) was fine running at 240Mhz on my WRT54GS v1.1, r46239 (Apr 1st 2021) does not like it as you will have problems (routers configuration page is not accessible/no internet etc) if you try it! ; but what I particularly did to bring mine back to life when I was having problems due to the overclock was... unplug router, wait a little, hold reset button, and while still holding reset button plug the routers power back in and count 30 seconds, release reset button. you should now have a working WRT54GS v1.1 router once again (at least in my case this worked).

p.s. with all of that said, while the steps I provided above are optimal (i.e. safer) for going about the firmware upgrade process, I just typically use my router like usual and when I need to upgrade with new firmware I go to "Administration > Firmware Upgrade" and then upgrade (leaving the "After flashing, reset to: Don't reset" section as is), wait 5 minutes (although the router seems to become responsive in another browser tab around 3 minutes), then just hold reset button on back of router for 30 seconds (or as a potential/quicker alternative to that last reset button option, which may not be as thorough but is probably good enough... through telnet issue, 'nvram erase && reboot' (without the ')) and then reconfigure the router to my liking.

[egc]

To add my two cents:
Do not (=never) choose "Reset to defaults settings" while upgrading, reset afterwards.

[JayM62]

General use:
Broadcom devices with K3.x: DD-WRT v3.0-r41321 mega (10/14/19) [Linksys E1200v2]

I've tried several newer builds up to 44538 and every one of them causes the router to bog down and need a reboot after a few weeks of uptime. It acts as though the memory gets full or something. With 41321 it just keeps running and I can just forget about it. I plan to try 45955 or newer as recommended by kernel-panic69 though, when I have a few spare hours.

[atifak]

I've attempted a few newer builds up to 44538, and they all cause the router to slow down and need a reboot after a few weeks of use. It's as if the memory is getting full or something.