1st upgrade to Merlin FW - A few questions

[MacDingo]

Greetings

I recently purchased the RT-N66U and like it a lot.

I initially wanted to upgrade to the Shibby Tomato firmware but after reading post after post and getting a LOT of information, I wasn't sure anymore whether it was safe or not (64K nvram issue, etc). So I held back in my trials.

I even held back on the official updates, not being sure whether they would prevent future unofficial firmwares somehow. So, as of today, my router is still on the official v3.0.0.4.220 my unit was shipped with.

But I have decided using the Merlin FW now, so I thought I would check on a few things first.

1. Do I need to update to the latest official FW first (Beta 3.0.0.4.354)? Is it recommended or doesn't it matter at all?

2. I assume these installation instructions are all still valid?
https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin/wiki/Installation

3. Installing Merlin (or any other FW for that matter) do not prevent me from going back to an official FW right (should that need ever arise)?

4. The Merlin FW does have a VPN client, correct? Can that client be allocated to one of the wireless networks only? I'd like to setup a 'regular' wifi network as well as one where all traffic goes through a VPN client.

5. Finally, is there any major issue in the current Merlin FW I need to be aware of before upgrading? Or should I wait for the 3.0.0.4.354 Merlin version?

Many thanks in advance for your input.

 

[RMerlin]

1. Do I need to update to the latest official FW first (Beta 3.0.0.4.354)? Is it recommended or doesn't it matter at all?

No need to.

2. I assume these installation instructions are all still valid?
https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin/wiki/Installation

Yes. You flash it like any regular firmware. No special procedure required.

3. Installing Merlin (or any other FW for that matter) do not prevent me from going back to an official FW right (should that need ever arise)?

There is no downgrade block. You are free to flash any version you want. It might be advisable to reset to factory defaults when flashing to a much older version however (or if you are making a big jump in versions as well, for example from 220 to 354).

4. The Merlin FW does have a VPN client, correct? Can that client be allocated to one of the wireless networks only? I'd like to setup a 'regular' wifi network as well as one where all traffic goes through a VPN client.

Look at the Asuswrt-Merlin subforum here, there are many threads discussing this (this is usually referred to as selective routing)

5. Finally, is there any major issue in the current Merlin FW I need to be aware of before upgrading? Or should I wait for the 3.0.0.4.354 Merlin version?

On the RT-N66U it's best to stay with 270.26b. 354.28 Beta has a buggy wireless driver that will have trouble connecting with some wireless cards, especially Intel ones.

This is also true for the original Asus firmware - 270 is the last stable version, 354 is a beta release and has those known issues on the RT-N66U.

 

[MacDingo]

Many thanks Merlin, I appreciate your help!

I will give it a go!

 

[KevTech]

Greetings

I recently purchased the RT-N66U and like it a lot.

I initially wanted to upgrade to the Shibby Tomato firmware but after reading post after post and getting a LOT of information, I wasn't sure anymore whether it was safe or not (64K nvram issue, etc).

64K issue is only with DD-WRT not Tomato.

You can use the 64K versions of Tomato even if your CFE is not upgraded.

 

[RMerlin]

64K issue is only with DD-WRT not Tomato.

You can use the 64K versions of Tomato even if your CFE is not upgraded.

Doesn't he have to use a Tomato version that also has the same kernel patch as Asuswrt tho? I know Shibby and Toatsman do, I don't know if all other variants (such as Victek) also do.