Updated: January 1, 2019 / » » What is wrong with your default router’s firmware? Some people have the view that everyone should have the freedom to control the software that runs on devices they own, if required, to make necessary changes for the better. These third party firmware comes with additional functions such as bandwidth allocation, bandwidth quotas, parental control, boost wireless wifi signals, enable password internet access, and more.
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Turn a regular old router into an enterprise-class device. Related Article 2019 ➤ Warning – There is also a chance you might brick your router when flashing. Make sure you have a copy of the original firmware, also avoid performing this on a brand new router as this would void the warranty. ↓ 01 – DD-WRT is the most popular a Linux based alternative OpenSource firmware, it is suitable for a great variety of WLAN routers and embedded systems. The main emphasis lies on providing the easiest possible handling while at the same time supporting a great number of functionalities within the framework of the respective hardware platform used. Supports more than 200 different devices.
Supports all current WLAN standards (802.11a/b/g/n.). VPN integration. Supports various Hotspot systems. Bandwidth management ↓ 02 – OpenWrt is a highly extensible GNU/Linux distribution for embedded devices (typically wireless routers). Unlike many other distributions for these routers, OpenWrt is built from the ground up to be a full-featured, easily modifiable operating system for your router.
In practice, this means that you can have all the features you need with none of the bloat, powered by a Linux kernel that’s more recent than most other distributions. For developer, OpenWrt is the framework to build an application without having to build a complete firmware around it; for users this means the ability for full customization, to use the device in ways never envisioned. ↓ 03 – Gargoyle is a free firmware upgrade for your wireless router, based on OpenWRT but with an enhanced interface (not LUCI) focused on ease of use. Reliable, easy to use and configure, and you’ll know exactly where your bandwidth is allocated thanks to the convenient graphs available in the administration interface. Monitor Bandwidth – usage for every computer.
Set Quotas and Throttles – ensuring that network resources are allocated fairly. Block Forbidden Websites – or block everything except a white-list of allowed addresses. Configuration A Wireless Bridge – connecting two networks without any ugly wires ↓ 04 – Tomato is a system based on Linux, dedicated for routers with Broadcom chipset and distributed on the GPL license. Its development was started by Jonathan Zarate.
This advanced system consists of especially user-friendly interface, thanks to which even inexperienced users can work with it easily. The most important functions are:. Bandwidth monitoring. Advanced QoS. Password Access control. Enabled SSH/Telnet protocols. Configurable buttons and LED’s.
Support for many wireless modes ↓ 05 – Merged With OpenWRT The LEDE project is founded as a spin-off of the OpenWrt project and shares many of the same goals. We are building an embedded Linux distribution that makes it easy for developers, system administrators or other Linux enthusiasts to build and customize software for embedded devices, especially wireless routers.
The name LEDE stands for Linux Embedded Development Environment. LEDE software is a complete replacement for the firmware for many home and small-office routers and embedded devices. If you are happy with your current system, you should probably stick with what’s working. LEDE provides stable, robust, secure, and high performance firmware for home routers and embedded devices.
With LEDE, you have fewer concerns about needing to reboot your router frequently, security flaws, or poor performance. Ad-blocking to avoid the worst of popups and annoying web images. VPN services, to allow secure access to your home network while you’re away. Secure access to remote services to avoid snooping on your traffic while you’re browsing from home. Guest Wi-Fi networks with password, that are firewalled from private/business/family networks. Time limits & parental controls for selected devices and many other capabilities. ↓ 06 – Now merged with LibreWRT, libreCMC is the libre Embedded GNU/Linux Distro.
LibreCMC is a set of fully free embedded Operating Systems for general purpose computers. It aims to give its users freedom and control over the software that runs on their hardware. Most of the hardware that libreCMC supports includes a wide range of routers and some small single board computers. A set of fully free embedded Operating Systems that work on routers and a wide range of general purpose computers.
Is something most people don’t even think of when it comes to troubleshooting their device but in many cases updated firmware is released in order to resolve known issues, and sometimes to add new features to a device. Keeping your D-Link devices up-to-date is the best way to ensure you are using your device to its maximum capacity. Do you know what version firmware is running on your device?
If you just got it, you can look at the label on the bottom of the box, near the Serial Number barcode. It should say something like F/W Ver.: 1.00. Another way to check your current firmware version is to log into your device and in the top right hand of the screen, you should see ‘Firmware Version 1.00’ (or whatever version). So how do you find out if there’s a new firmware version available? The easiest way to check is to go to support.dlink.com, type in the model number of your device (ie. DIR-860L, DCS-942L, DNS-320L, etc), select your device and a menu should appear with Downloads, FAQs and Videos. From the ‘Downloads’ menu, usually the first thing listed is Firmware (which will show the most recent).
You can click on the drop down menu to see how many versions have been released since the version you currently have. You can also click on Release Notes to see what the firmware was released for (fixing issue or adding new feature or both). So let’s say you’ve discovered that your device does have a new version firmware available, how do you upgrade your device?. Make sure you are hardwired to the same network as the device you are looking to upgrade is. Download the firmware from the support.dlink.com and save to your local hard drive.Note: some older devices may require you to upgrade multiple firmware versions sequentially (if you are behind in more than 2 versions).
Check the firmware release notes to see if your device is one of them. Open a web browser and log into your device by typing the default IP address in your address bar (you may have already done this to check the current firmware on your device). You can find the default IP address of your device in the user manual (also available for download on support.dlink.com). Log in using the account information you set when you first configured the device, or the admin login. On the top main menu select ‘TOOLS’ or ‘MAINTENANCE’ (depending on the model of your device) and then select ‘FIRMWARE’ or ‘FIRMWARE UPGRADE’ from the left-hand menu. Scroll down to the ‘FIRMWARE UPGRADE’ section and click Browse or Choose File to select the file you downloaded from the support site. Click on the Upload button.
Once you confirm that yes, you want to upgrade the firmware, the uploading process will begin.Note: the process can sometimes take up to 5 minutes, do not turn off or restart your device during this time. Once complete, you will be taken back to the login page and if the upgrade was successful, you should see the new firmware version listed on the top right side of the screen.
You have successfully upgraded the firmware on your device and can now enjoy it to its fullest potential! Be sure to check out the for more tips and tricks for your home network.