How to get 3 times faster internet download speed...otherwise known as upgrading your router.

This will be quick.  I have Charter cable, and they have been advertising 60Mbps download speeds.  I really didn't pay attention to what I was getting vs what they advertised until a few days ago.

The only reason I did a speed test is to see if I had the minimum for 4K streaming (25Mbps down according to Netflix).

Well I only got 22Mbps down...and sometimes my standard Netflix buffered a bit.

So I spent some time on the phone with Charter, they did some tests and reprovisioning etc.   Still I got no higher than 22Mbps down.

I scheduled a tech to come to the house and check things out...

...then on a whim I googled 'router for 60mps'  and quickly found out that my old router was the bottle neck...

I had a WRT-54G running DD-WRT on it.  Apparently the 54G cannot handle anything higher than what I was getting.

And with a bit of further reading I found the Asus RT-N16 router  (about $70 at Amazon) could handle the speeds AND fully compatible with DD-WRT.

I followed the flashing directions and put on the VPN version (first you put on the basic version, then upgrade...just follow the directions)  There was a note that some people had to use IE to do the flashing.   I used FF for the initial DD-WRT install, but I had to use IE for all the settings and when I upgraded to the VPN version.

That definately solved my problem...I get more than 60Mbps down now.

Linksys WRT54G V2 w/ DD-WRT used as a Client Bridge

I have a few projects in progress, but I thought I would add my thoughts on this.

I spent all last evening, and most of today on and off trying to do this.


I received a defunct WRT54G Version 2.0, it wouldn't do it's router job properly with the linksys software, and was flakey anyway.

So it sat for a few months when it was replaced and then instead of going into the trash it was given to me.  If you read the reports, you know there were a lot of issues with some of these models...so I figured I would attempt loading DD-WRT on it, and maybe use it somewhere (actually looking at a HMSS-MESH setup...maybe later)

I won't retype all the well documented steps at DD-WRT I used to accomplish this...just point out some important (maybe hidden) items.

(1) First, flash the 54G with the DD-WRT firmware as annotated here.

- they mention a 30/30/30 reset...it is well explained here.

--1. DO A HARD RESET *BEFORE AND AFTER* YOU CHANGE DD-WRT FIRMWARE VERSIONS. This does not mean hitting the reset button and saying you are done. This means doing the 30-30-30 reset. To do a 30-30-30 reset you must push the reset button with your router powered on. Hold it for 30 seconds with the router powered on. STILL holding it, pull the power cord for 30 seconds. Still holding it, plug the power back into your router and continue to hold the reset button for 30 more seconds. You will have held the button for a full 90 seconds without releasing it.

 (2) Next install the preferred firmware as noted lower down the page on that last link...

--12548 is a good build for older G only routers.
ftp://dd-wrt.com/others/eko/V24_TNG/svn12548/

 --note that in the first (1) step, you installed a firmware named  dd-wrt.v24_mini_wrt54g.bin
---so download the firmware from the list in (2) that has "mini" in the name.

(3) Again, follow this link for updating the firmware...BTW it is called the 'Peacock Thread'.

(4) assuming everything is working properly, follow these directions.


I did all that, but want to add some info.

-I set up my network under 192.168.11.x  so I had to modify the instruction to use that...obvious, but people may miss that.
-At some point in the past, I set up my wireless network a WPA2-Mixed...apparently that is a bad idea...and caused my many hours of hair pulling...
--I changed it after I read this link...

-Avoid WPA2 Personal MIXED, as it will likely kill communication between the routers (see Security section below for more on this). WPA2 Personal is fine.

 ---it immediately started working after I changed to WPA2-Personal...not mixed...and use AES vs TKIP+AES.



The DD-WRT forums are full of info, but it is a bit hard to sift through, and the forums are very nice to the clueless (like me in this case)...but luckily the answers were all there.

Some FONera links

I will put all the useful links here...there is a lot of info out there. Hopefully this can be a bit organized.

For equipment, I used my WinXP laptop with a wifi card AND plugged a standard ethernet cable into the FONera.

Darren Kitchen's how-to (good example for gaining SSH access)...(stop after that if you aren't installing jasager...I am installing DD-WRT)

jauzsi.hu has this basic info to enable SSH...with the exact VI commands required.

My Fon Blog (not MINE but that is the name of it) (this is what I followed to flash mine)

Of course a ton of stuff on DD-WRT...but specifically...this tutorial. (basically same as previous one)

I am attempting to install DD-WRT from here. (v24-sp1/Consumer/Fon/Fonera/...I can't direct link to the folder). To get older ones....sometimes the Fonera folder is under the chipset name.

BTW I actually just got it running. DD-WRT that is...I was stuck and realized that I hadn't put in "exec" in the scripts to run...so it wouldn't complete the boot...so read the directions.

...BTW I recommend connecting via ethernet...and realize that you will have to change the IP of your computer (the laptop in my case) at various times through the process...why? Because each bit sets a different default IP address.

Sure...after I finish I find a video walkthrough...(realize they are using an older version of DD-WRT...so a slightly different procedure)

Next step is setting it up as a wireless bridge? Maybe this will help.

...time passes...

This DD-WRT wiki entry is how I set up the wireless bridge...but it missed a couple of important steps...one was my WPA setpu was listed as WPA Personal (not WPA2 Personal or etc) second was in the SETUP>ADVANDED ROUTING tab I needed to set mine to "Router" (default is Gateway).

Right now I have my laptop conneted to the world through the ethernet tether to the FON wifi bridge.

La FONera hacked

I happened into this little project because of a show on Hak5.org and his notes.

My brother would ask me..."ok, so why are you going to do this"?

I decided that actually I wanted to use the FONera as a WIFI link for some IP cameras.

I have a couple of Panasonic BL-C10A IP cameras...they are pretty nice (about $40 on ebay)...but they are ethernet only. I looked at the BL-C30 wifi cam (about $100 or so on ebay) but it does not have WPA encryption capabilites...so I would have to run my wifi naked with it...Panasonic does have the BL-C131 which HAS WPA...but I can't find one under $180 on ebay...$300 retail. So to me $20 for FON (or cheaper if you are lucky) plus $40 for camera...and a couple of hours of waiting around (can't call it work) is a much better deal than $180.

I was stuck because the FON company automatically upgrades their routers whenever they are connected to the internet...and mine was used and had version 0.7.2 r2. (the hackable ones are 0.7.1 r2 and earlier).

Well I fell upon this little blurb on how to hack into the Fonera 2200 (mine is a 2100) but the STEP 1 worked perfect...the reset part. I won't quote it here for the sake of room, but I had to do the hard reset (push the button and hold) about 4 times. When I was done my Fonera showed it was now 0.7.0 r4, a hackable version.

...note...after using that, I found this thread...and a much shorter reset procedure...I will try that on the next one.

Now that it is hackable...I can follow any set of instructions for unlocking SSH, telneting in...installing software etc (it runs linux of course).

To be continued...