Got one of these?
The Linksys WRT54GS or similar?
I have upgraded this wireless router (comes with 4 port 10/100mbps ports) to the latest firmware from Linksys.
Yet, my TC1100’s wifi connection (the B standard thought @ 11mbps max) keeps dropping out, especially when downloading files.
Today, while trying to update SpyBot, I tried different mirrors and each time it tries to update a 2mb file. The connection just dies 1/3 the download… the furthest I have seen is 1/2 way.
So I decided to give it the best firmware there is now – DD-WRT.
Q: What’s DD-WRT?
A: It’s just an open source firmware (software for the machine that doesn’t evaporate/disappear when you turn off the power), that you can use to give you $50 router many many features available in those $500 ones. Like VPN and others!
I have done this to all my home routers [Linksys WRT54G v2 and WRT-610N] and they work like a charm!
Wifi signal strength jumps from intermittent to solid stable and you get lots of features if you want to mess with it..
Otherwise, the SOLID stable wifi connection is worth the trouble already!
So here’s how to update the Linksys WRT54GS. The one I flashed has the firmware 7.50.5 while the label has WRT54GS v7.
WARNING: You can brick your router doing this, so check you get the right firmware/instructions before doing this.
Quick jump: Find out if your router is supported by DD-WRT
METHOD FOR EOC, INTEL, AND POSSIBLY OTHER FLASH CHIPS
1. Configure my laptop’s local LAN ethernet address to
IP Address : 192.168.1.100
Subset : 255.255.255.0
Gateway : 192.168.1.1(so instead of auto detect, type in the IP address in the properties page) and connect your local ethernet to your WRT54GSv7 on one of the four switch ports. Do not use a wlan connection!
2. Disconnect the power cord from the WRT54GSv7.
3. Push the reset button while reconnecting the power cord and hold the button for about 20 seconds.
4. I used Firefox [v3.5] browser and opened http://192.168.1.1
5. Use the firmware upgrade dialogue to flash vxworkskillerGSv7-v3.bin.
6. After the dialogue about disconnecting the power cord is shown, disconnect the power cord and reconnect it.
7. Wait for about two minutes. (Yes, really! Be patient!)
8. Again disconnect the power cord and reconnect it.
9. Goto RUN/ Cmd and Enter : “tft p -i 192.168.1.1 put dd-wrt.v24_11793_NEWD_micro.bin”
10. The file will now be transferred to your router and be flashed. After this is done, your router will boot automatically and you can reach your it at http://192.168.1.1. Wait for it to reboot automatically!
Enjoy the new wifi router and seriously… my wifi signal is now SOLID! 
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