I just bought a new router and have this old Linksys WRT54GS just lying around now.
But rather than ditch it, I'm going to give it some new life with new third-party firmware.
It's pretty easy actually. I'm Tom Merritt from CNET.com, and I'll show you how to do
it on today's Insider Secret
Every router like this one has software that runs on it. And what we're talking about is
changing that software from the factory default to an open source version.
Whether you're replacing your old router or just frustrated with your new one, there are a
few reasons you might want to do this.
My Linksys here can only act as an access point for turning my Internet into wireless.
The Tomato firmware I'm going to put on here will allow it to act as a bridge allowing
machines in my hosue that don't have WiFi, access to the network, wirelessly.
It can also act as a site-survey tool, giving me the strengths of nearby networks, and let
me know which frequencies they occupy. In a crowded neighborhood, this can help your
educe interference on your network tremendously.
Tomato also has a bandwidth usage monitor. If your ISP has a cap on bandwidth this is
indispensible in telling if you're close to the cap.
There are also other features like Wake on LAN, Static DHCP and more.
So how do you do it?
Well there are many third party firmwares out there, some work better with specific
routers. Look around at DD-WRT, FreeWRT, Tarifa and others to find one that works
with your router.
I'm using Tomato which says it works with Linksys WRT54GS v1 through V4.
Look underneath your router for a serial number or more specific model number to match
it up.
Then download the firmware.
Extract it to a folder. Read the 'readme file' to determine which file goes with your router.
Then connect your router to your computer
Open the router's Admin screen as described in your manual. Or just look it up on a
search engine.
Click Administration. Click Firmware Upgrade.
Select and upload the correct firmware for your router.
Wait for about 2 minutes while the firmware is uploaded & flashed.
Then it should reload to the Tomato screen.
Tomato advises you may want to reset settings to default to avoid any minor
incompatibilities between the Linksys firmware and the Tomato firmware.
Browse around the FAQ at polarcloud.com for more info on how to use the new
firmware.
That's it for this Insider Secret. I'm Tom Merritt, CNET.com.
