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
Top Comments
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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Thanks to rbtcordell for the great instructions, and to the various OPs on this great deal. Cheers
Thanks to rbtcordell for the great instructions, and to the various OPs on this great deal. Cheers
1. Setup as a repeater for the existing SSID to then use to create an Ethernet connection to my survellience system (no Ethernet cable in that room)
2. Connect to LAN via Ethernet cable in upstairs hallway and broadcast this master SSID
is this doable? Appreciate any guidance as networking makes my brain feel smol
1-Setup your Main router completely.
2-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
3-Log into your main router web admin.
4-Click on CA at the bottom right.
5-Click on Connectivity and CA Router setup.
6-Click on both Add Wired and Add Wireless nodes buttons. Wait for the Add wireless button to re-enable.
7-Click Done adding Child Nodes and then Apply.
8-Now the child node light should start flashing purple and turn into a mesh mode when it turns blue.
9-Disconnect Ethernet and wait for blue light again.
10-Move node to desired location.
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Obviously, a 6e or 7 router will likely be better but they will also be much more expensive. Even two or three of these for a mesh setup will still be noticeably cheaper than a single 6e or 7 router. For the price it's hard to beat the price of one of these or a couple of these routers to setup a mesh.
As a bonus I suspect that long term these will end up well supported by DD-WRT and OpenWRT. They've already generated a lot of interest there and quickly moved to functional beta support and I'm sure official support is coming soon. That will open up things like using the USB port on these, VLANs and other things like AdBlockHome running on the router. With 2gb of ram and 1gb of flash there's a fair bit of room to support these sorts of extra things.
Obviously, that's probably not an option at this point, but does anyone have any thoughts about if that might be a possibility at some point down the road with something like OpenWrt? Or is it likely not even a possibility with a unit like this?
As a brief reference to what I'm talking about, here's a link where someone in the comments (reply #3 and #4) mentions pairing an Inseego m2000 hotspot to an Asus router via USB tethering (it's not much of a discussion, but maybe gives an idea of what I had in mind anyway) …
https://www.reddit.com/r/Calyx/co...therpower/
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