Release [Fork] Asuswrt-Merlin 374 LTS release 52E7

[Tech9]

Tomato will be more up to date

Up to date for what? @devinrhode2 will be using it as a wireless client basically. This is what Media Bridge is - Wireless-to-Wired bridge. This router has no new Broadcom drivers for many many years. No matter what the firmware is - it uses all the same old wireless drivers.

 

[devinrhode2]

I could use it as a repeater, or just some general hacker quackery

You know I love that hacker quackery @Tech9

 

[Tech9]

Oh, if you want to play with it - I highly recommend FrestTomato. It's excellent. For Media Bridge though no need to waste your time. You may find some firmware versions with unstable Media Bridge - just roll back one and test again. This is an Asus router - you have to experiment what works.

 

[joe a]

Up to date for what? @devinrhode2 will be using it as a wireless client basically. This is what Media Bridge is - Wireless-to-Wired bridge. This router has no new Broadcom drivers for many many years. No matter what the firmware is - it uses all the same old wireless drivers.

Tomato has more up to date openssl, openvpn, and other linux apps that run on a router.
See for yourself:

Bitbucket

bitbucket.org

 

[Tech9]

None of this is used in Wireless Bridge.

 

[joe a]

None of this is used in Wireless Bridge.

Check the link and let me know:

Bitbucket

bitbucket.org

 

[Tech9]

There is nothing to check. There is no routing in Wireless Bridge or as Asus calls it Media Bridge. It's a wireless client.

 

[joe a]

There is nothing to check. There is no routing in Wireless Bridge or as Asus calls it Media Bridge. It's a wireless client.

Okay, so it doesn't use busybox or any other part of the firmware? Okay.

 

[Tech9]

None of it is important in this case. Just extra work for firmware replacement. What is important is all the same. FrestTomato is good for added features in Router mode. For Wi-Fi performance as client device Asuswrt is better. I guesss no one around is still using RT-N66U as Router in 2023.

 

[L&LD]

Please use proper names. There is no such thing as 'FrestTomato'.

It's FreshTomato.

 

[dave14305]

Food fight!

 

[Jaime Alvarez]

Food fight!

Grab the popcorn and remember to rate the movie in "RottenTomato"

 

[agbommarito]

I have used an N66 in media bridge mode for a long time. It's running the latest John's Fork development release (3.0.0.4.374.43_53D7j9527). One thing to keep in mind is that this version, and several earlier ones including stock Asuswrt, have some issues with the wireless connection to the router dropping every day or two. I've set the auto-reboot to reboot the N66 daily in the middle of the night and have not had the issue crop up anymore. See this post for further details:

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac86u-w-merlin-disconnects-rt-n66r-in-media-bridge-mode.75805/

 

[Tech9]

Have you tried the old Asuswrt-Merlin 380.66 on it? I remember it was working well.

 

[devinrhode2]

Yesterday, when doing a speed test with the n66u in media bridge mode... I noticed the device hissing during the upload portion of the test ...

I did notice a brief drop a few seconds ago.. but overall seems _slightly_ more stable... speed is 100-140mbps down.. and of course upload is capped by isp/coax at about 42mbps.. but I've seen upload even dip...

Two GT-AX6000's might be in order.. but I want to try and forget about the problem and see how it goes..

Time to go get some frest tomato's for my salad

 

[devinrhode2]

Anyway, I did have a question:

Can I leapfrog to John's latest public release? Or should I flash some release in-between?

 

[Tech9]

Just follow John's Fork installation instructions:

[Fork] Asuswrt-Merlin 374 LTS Overview

ASUSWRT-MERLIN 374 LTS This is an LTS (Long Term Service) fork of Asuswrt-Merlin based on 374.43_2. This older code base has a history of being very stable, and some of the older code components may perform better in some environments. It may be a good choice for those who desire a 'set it and...

www.snbforums.com

You can't just flash it on top of Asuswrt 382 firmware and you can't restore 382 just by flashing it on top of 374.

 

[aganda]

None of it is important in this case. Just extra work for firmware replacement. What is important is all the same. FrestTomato is good for added features in Router mode. For Wi-Fi performance as client device Asuswrt is better. I guesss no one around is still using RT-N66U as Router in 2023.

hello, yes there's still people using rt-n66u with RT-N66U_380.70_0 firmware and looking for update if any.

 

[Dent]

None of it is important in this case. Just extra work for firmware replacement. What is important is all the same. FrestTomato is good for added features in Router mode. For Wi-Fi performance as client device Asuswrt is better. I guesss no one around is still using RT-N66U as Router in 2023.

If Asuswrt and FreshTomato use the same old wireless drivers then what makes the Wi-Fi performance better with Asuswrt vs FreshTomato for an RT-N66U?

 

[Tech9]

then what makes the Wi-Fi performance better

I'm not a developer, but John's Fork and Asuswrt(-Merlin) on N(AC)66U and AC68U variants have better Wi-Fi than DD-WRT and FreshTomato. Not night and day difference, but better. At least up to 2021 releases when was the last time I have played with older routers and alternative firmware. Broadcom has nothing new released for BCM4331 and BCM4360 for years and obviously something else around is different.

looking for update if any

For you FreshTomato is an option, but if you use any NAT acceleration incompatible features your router can't process >150Mbps WAN-LAN traffic.