RT-N66U

[Nexus]

My reliable 10 yr. old Belkin G Plus MIMO router bit the dust the other night due to lightning damage along with my Motorola cable modem.

My neighbor is selling me his N66U to tide me over while I wait for my insurance claim refund. He bought it brand new in Dec. 2011 but it's in pristine cosmetic condition. He's one of those obsessive-compulsive types that keeps a very clean home. Not a single fingerprint or dust streak can be found on this router. I'm not exaggerating. It's quite impressive considering it's almost 3 years old.

My question though is regarding Merlin's various firmwares. I've done some research on this forum and see where he has the older SDK5 available which supposedly has greater wireless range than the SDK6? Is this still the case?

My neighbor uses Tomato, but I'd like to stay as close to ASUS stock firmware, hence my interest in Merlin's.

 

[sinshiva]

eitherway, the range will probably be significantly greater than what you are used to and imo should just go with the latest, .43

 

[Nexus]

Thanks for your suggestion, sinshiva.

 

[CooCooCaChoo]

Greater range comes with a cost and the latest firmware isn't always the best.

For reliability and stability, I use the 35-4 SDK5 firmware. Been running 138 days 10 hours no problems whatsoever.

 

[Nexus]

Thanks CooCooCachoo. I'll take this under advisement. I might just try both and see for myself. It's nice having options.

 

[DrTeeth]

No probs with the SDK6 version of the firmware at all here. Has similar/same range to the SDK5 driver in my experience. The Merlin SDK6 wireless driver has better range than the stock Asus firmwares - he is using a modified driver that Asus is not allowed to use AIUI.

Never used the stock firmware. It's Merlin's all the way here.

You will have to do a complete reset to default values with manual input of your settings when changing between the SDK5 and SDK6 drivers. If I were you, I would jump in with the SDK6.

 

[Nexus]

Appreciate your input, Dr. Teeth.

Seeing that I have no experience with using alternative firmware, is it considered a good rule of thumb to always reset the router to default after updating to new or reverting to old firmware? Additionally, if I were to save a backup config file of router setting before upgrading or downgrading, is it okay to apply backup config file afterwards, or should I manually do it from scratch instead?

 

[Daybreak]

Appreciate your input, Dr. Teeth.

Seeing that I have no experience with using alternative firmware, is it considered a good rule of thumb to always reset the router to default after updating to new or reverting to old firmware? Additionally, if I were to save a backup config file of router setting before upgrading or downgrading, is it okay to apply backup config file afterwards, or should I manually do it from scratch instead?

Howdy,
I would advise to go and download the latest Merlin's firmware. (RT-N66U is at 3.0.0.4_374.43.0)

After applying said firmware, yes, reset to factory defaults, now configure the router from scratch. After you have it all configured the way you want it, save a copy of your settings and continue.

The Asus RT-N66U has great range from the getgo.... It might be coming up on its 3rd birthday, but is good as ever.

 

[Nexus]

Howdy,
I would advise to go and download the latest Merlin's firmware. (RT-N66U is at 3.0.0.4_374.43.0)

After applying said firmware, yes, reset to factory defaults, now configure the router from scratch. After you have it all configured the way you want it, save a copy of your settings and continue.

The Asus RT-N66U has great range from the getgo.... It might be coming up on its 3rd birthday, but is good as ever.

Thanks for confirming my initial understanding.

 

[wouterv]

My suggestion is, specially with a RT-N66U of the same age as mine, to first try the latest stock firmware, which at the moment of writing is 3.0.0.4.374.5517.
My router went trough all stock firmware version as they came by, some where proven bad and made me revert to the previous version.
Since a few versions the stock firmware was execellent and stable for me again.
The Merlin versions are based on the stock versions and they add a few nice enhancements for those who like them.

I strongly suggest to either use the latest stock version or the latest Merlin version because these do solve a few critical security issues. Older firmware leaves the router open for malicious use of the router or your home network.
These days router vulnerabilities are actively exploited!

And yes, it is anyway advised to revert to factory defaults after a firmware upgrade and manual configure the router from scratch (do NOT load an old firmware backup file). It is handy to write down YOUR changes from the default settings for future reference.

 

[Nexus]

My suggestion is, specially with a RT-N66U of the same age as mine, to first try the latest stock firmware, which at the moment of writing is 3.0.0.4.374.5517.
My router went trough all stock firmware version as they came by, some where proven bad and made me revert to the previous version.
Since a few versions the stock firmware was execellent and stable for me again.
The Merlin versions are based on the stock versions and they add a few nice enhancements for those who like them.

I strongly suggest to either use the latest stock version or the latest Merlin version because these do solve a few critical security issues. Older firmware leaves the router open for malicious use of the router or your home network.
These days router vulnerabilities are actively exploited!

And yes, it is anyway advised to revert to factory defaults after a firmware upgrade and manual configure the router from scratch (do NOT load an old firmware backup file). It is handy to write down YOUR changes from the default settings for future reference.

You bring up a good point. I remember reading this recently and thinking I need to figure out how to lock this thing down properly.

http://arstechnica.com/security/201...e-been-pwned-thanks-to-easily-exploited-flaw/

I'll be picking the router up tonight, so I'll have to make up my mind sooner than later. I asked my neighbor if he could reset the router back to factory settings since he has Tomato loaded up on it.

 

[DrTeeth]

A firmware reset is not necessary for upgrades that involve minor versions at all.

I prefer screen shots rather than notes for recording my configuration.

 

[wouterv]

A firmware reset is not necessary for upgrades that involve minor versions at all.

I prefer screen shots rather than notes for recording my configuration.

Absolutely right for the need to revert to Factory defaults, the problem is that there is no single rule to tell you when to do it or not.
Asus has indicated the need when they changed the wireless driver, an other firm yes to revert to factory defaults is when you cange firmware sources (e.g. from stock firmware to Tomato).
If the previous firmware version is unknown, the general advise is: reset to factory defaults after a firmware upgrade.

Writing down YOUR changes has the advantage over making screenshots that you exactly know what YOU have changed. It may also help when you need support.
And it supports you e.g. when you made IP address changes or DHCP reservations: if you keep your changes in a simple text file, you can copy and paste your IP (specially IPv6) and MAC address settings in the new configuration.

Here is an example of such a txt file:

RT-N66U

Default: http://192.168.1.1
Start Quick Internet Setup Wizzrd: Next
Enter New Password: xxxxxx
Retype New Password: xxxxxx
Click: Next
2.4 GHz Network Name: xxxxxx
Network Key: xxxxxx
5 GHz Network Name: xxxxxx
Network Key: xxxxxx
Click: Apply
Click: Next

Advanced Settings - Wireless - General - 2.4 GHz
b/g Protection: unchecked
Control Channel: 11
Channel bandwidth: 20 MHz

Advanced Settings - Wireless - WPS
Enable WPS: OFF

Advanced Settings - Wireless - Professional
2.4GHz: Enable Wireless scheduler: No
5GHz: Enable Wireless scheduler: No

Advanced Settings - LAN - DHCP Server
IP Pool Starting Address: 192.168.1.50
IP Pool Ending Address: 192.168.1.149
Enable ManualAssignment: Yes
Add: xxxxxx 192.168.1.150
+ Add

Advanced Settings - WAN - Internet Connection
Enable UPnP: No

Advanced Settings - WAN - Virtual Server / Port Forwarding
Enable Port Fording: Yes
Add: xxx 3000:3010 192.168.1.150
+ Add

Advanced Settings - Administration - System
New Password: xxxxxx
Retype New Password: xxxxxx
Time Zone: (GMT+1:00) Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern

USB application - Servers center - Media Server
Enable DLNA Media Server: OFF

USB application -Servers center - Network Place
Disable Share
Device Name: router1
Work Group: group1

USB application - 3G/4G
Enable USB Modem: No

 

[jim769]

You bring up a good point. I remember reading this recently and thinking I need to figure out how to lock this thing down properly.

http://arstechnica.com/security/201...e-been-pwned-thanks-to-easily-exploited-flaw/

I'll be picking the router up tonight, so I'll have to make up my mind sooner than later. I asked my neighbor if he could reset the router back to factory settings since he has Tomato loaded up on it.

Resetting the router back to factory will not erase the tomato firmware all it will do is put all the settings back to default. You will need to flash new firmware to delete the previous version that is installed on the router.

 

[DrTeeth]

Absolutely right for the need to revert to Factory defaults, the problem is that there is no single rule to tell you when to do it or not.

It is easy to ask her or Merlin. The general rule is big jumps in version number or wireless driver SDK change is 'yes' to change.

I did try your idea of a text file, but there are so many tabs that I wasted so much time looking for the right tab. Personally, the screenshots tell me where the setting is (I only snap changes) and I just have to make the router match the photo. I find this saves me oodles of time. each to their own natch.

 

[KevTech]

I use putty and text file.

nvram get "some setting I want to backup"

copy to text file/save file

To load back into router....

copy from saved text file

nvram set "setting=value I want back in"

nvram commit