Just purchased a Linksys WRT54GS router

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 26, 2006 Posts: 3

1. Your location: St. Peters, MO
2. Your ISP name and type: Charter, Cable
3. Upload and download speeds: mentioned in a previous post
4. Modem make and model: Netgear MR814
5. Type of Vonage adapter used: VT1005
6. Setup of Network ie Modem---->Vonage Adapter-->router--->PC
7. Issue you are experiencing: dropped calls, choppy audio etc, you name it.

After reading this forum, I went out a purchased the Linksys WRT54GS (although I personally hate Linksys routers) to replace my old Netgear MR814 wireless router.

My question is do I need to update the firmware on the WRT54GS? If so, how do I go about doing it?

Thanks

Posts: 497 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: Apr 29, 2005 Posts: 497

You may want to use the Thibor firmware. Check NateHoy's guides: http://vonage.nmhoy.net/

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:17 pm Post subject:

HyperWRT Thibor (the aftermarket firmware that really makes those routers something special) can only be loaded on older models of the WRT54GS. Linksys, in their infinite cheapness, eliminated Linux from their WRT54G router last year, and the WRT54GS earlier this year, and replaced it with VxWorks.

I think the newer model GS has a serial number starting in CGN6 or higher. It would also be stamped "Hardware Version 5" near the serial number, if I recally correctly.

If that's the case, and you have the opportunity, RUN, don't walk, to where you bought it and return it. Replace it with the WRT54GL, which is a Linux based unit and can run Thibor.

If you have Version 4 or below of the routers, then please feel free to peruse my setup guides (arcking posted a link above, and it is also in my signature below).

If you have a WRT54GS V5 and you cannot return it, all is not lost. There is another package called DD-WRT, and the author of that package has managed to scrunch his firmware down to fit the V5 hardware. It's a somewhat stripped-down firmware, but it still beats the stock firmware.

Regardless, the WRT54GS is a good router, even with stock firmware. Read my guides on QoS setup. Some of the features will be a little different in the stock firmware, but it will be pretty close. If you stick to Stock firmware, make sure you are running the latest version, which can be found at www.linksys.com.