Click here [dd-wrt.com] for a guide on installing DD-WRT
Download the latest DD-WRT builds from here [dd-wrt.com]
If you are not interested in using custom firmware yet, these routers support mesh with the stock firmware, but the USB port is disabled.
The stock firmware is relatively new, but is speculated to not receive many, if any, updates, so it may be best to wait until custom firmware support is merged and more mature before messing with installing custom firmware.
How to enable mesh:
- Setup your Main router completely.
- Plug your child node using the wan port to the main router lan port, wait for a solid purple light on the child node before proceeding.
- Log into your main router web admin.
- Click on CA at the bottom right.
- Click on Connectivity and CA Router setup.
- Click on both Add Wired and Add Wireless nodes buttons. Wait for the Add wireless button to re-enable.
- Click Done adding Child Nodes and then Apply.
- Now the child node light should start flashing purple and turn into a mesh mode when it turns blue.
- Disconnect Ethernet and wait for blue light again.
- Move node to desired location.
How to set up as access point:
- Disable DHCP (optional).
- Set the device to Bridge Mode under Connectivity tab.
- Connect cable from your router to a LAN port.
- Get some nail polish and a round sticker to cover the annoying flashing right light.
- Click the 'CA' at the bottom of the page to see the detailed configurations of wifi.
to unbrick and flash new firmware
run flashimg
run flashimg2
rename stock firmware to tortuga.img
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Mind you that I only have 100Mbps Spectrum internet but I do stream/direct play 4k videos from a Plex media server to several Amazon Firestick 4k devices without issue. Overall IMO you would be hard pressed to find such relatively decent hardware for so cheap; especially a Mesh network.
It wasn't all smooth at first mind you. I kept getting disconnects; especially with the streaming IP cameras. But I discovered by disabling Express Forwarding all my streaming issues went away. (CA>Connectivity>Administration>Express Forwarding)
I'm guessing that Cisco's/Linksys' proprietary Express Forwarding routing protocol was causing havoc with the IP cams streaming capabilities. Also, disabling Node Steering seemed to make things more stable as well; mesh nodes no longer disconnect from the router when Node Steering is disabled. (CA>Wi-Fi Settings>Advanced>Node Steering)
Of course, user experience can vary so feel free to experiment. if the routers are giving you problems, try turning these features off and see if it works
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Bridge mode worked fine without me having to tinker with Express Forwarding and Node Steering. The only issue I had with Bridge mode was discovering that you needed to set a static IP for the LN1301 before connecting it to another router as once Bridge Mode is activated the IP address cannot be changed. (CA>Connectivity>Internet Settings>Type of Internet Connection>Static IP Once that's done THEN switch to Bridge Mode)
But using the LN1301s as a true router mesh setup caused me a bunch of headaches initially; I was getting constant disconnects and freezes for my IP cameras and the mesh nodes would frequently disconnect from the master router. Only when I disabled Express Forwarding did my network become stable and my IP cams were able to live stream smoothly. (CA>Connectivity>Administration>Express Forwarding)
I still would have the occasional mesh node disconnect from the master router though hence my tinkering with Node Steering. (CA>Wi-Fi Settings>Advanced>Node Steering)
Once I disabled that my mesh nodes don't disconnect now and everything has been working great for nearly a week. I believe having 64 devices connected and the sixteen 24/7 1080p streaming IP cams (Included with the 64 devices) are a pretty good test and validation to my claims; at least I'm impressed how stable things have been since I disabled Express Forwarding and Node Steering.
I have 4 LN1301s (1 router+3 mesh) covering 8000 sqft (1500 sqft living space/home + detached garage and yard/lawn). I would like to test the setup for a month or so before giving my final/definitive review and analysis but as it stands the LN1301s have made a good impression and are quite a bargain. I'm using stock firmware as OpenWRT seems to be in beta and I prefer to wait until it has been extensively tested on the LN1301. Besides all this talk of Wizards and Tomatoes scare me
Another odd ball tip I would like to share is to make sure that you have no IP conflicts on your network. Assigning static IPs to devices that use DHCP really helps IMO. (CA>Connectivity>Local Network>DHCP Reservations>Manually Add Device Reservation)
I'm somewhat shocked that the Mesh Nodes don't have Static IPs by default and use random DHCP addresses. IMO the first thing you should do is assign Static IPs for them to increase stability and prevent IP conflicts.
IMO you should assign Static IPs for all your high priority streaming devices; IP cams in particular. Preferably via the device's network settings; but if that's not an option then Manually Add Device Reservation in the LN1301's settings is the next best thing.
You can check for IP conflicts by going to Ca>Troubleshooting>Status. I find it helpful to choose the Open In Browser Option and copy the entire page into Word/LibreOffice, select the entire IP column and paste that list to an online Number Duplicate Detection tool. [somacon.com] There's probably an easier more efficient way to check for IP duplicates of course but that's the half ars method I use
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1) the LED is constantly blinking red
2) I have to connect my old router to this device's LAN. If I connect to WAN, the wifi crashes immediately and I can't connect to internet even via ethernet
Does anyone see the same issue?
I know it's probably tough to know if there are speed gains to be had for me but I would think possibly and I would probably see a stronger signal in that upstairs bedroom if the wireless child node was placed in that bedroom. I do see that these Linksys LN 1301's don't have external antennae whereas my Netgear Nighthawk in the basement has (3) large antennae. But at $20 a pop maybe it's worth it to enter the world of wifi 6?
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