flashing origin isp routers to merlin firmware

[peter s]

What is the expected speed of this new ISP? The existing RT-N66U may be all you need.



RT-AC68U even has beta FW for AiMesh 2.0. It's still the most popular/reliable Asus router.

Hi k-2so I was going to for there 65meg download and 19 upload and I was thinking of using the rtn66u but like I said the merlin firmware is old and he doesn't do it for that model anymore and I was thinking of just getting a decent stand alone modem if possible and a decent router if these stock asus routers origin do are useless

 

[peter s]

All of it.

"The RT-AC86U or the RT-AX58U (if fastest VPN speeds are not important), and the RT-AX88U are the RMerlin routers you want to buy today for your usage." That is your opinion. There is no technical reason why a lower spec router would not meet his stated usage.

"Anything else is effectively obsolete." None of the devices being discussed have been announced as approaching end-of-life. So unless you have the ability to see into the future this is just speculation or opinion.

Hi Colin so if possible I think I might try and use a standalone modem and if you know any good ones for 2020 that would be great then save up for maybe the ax router to get the merlin firmware

 

[peter s]

The RT-AX58U is the newest, the RT-AX88U older and the RT-AC86U is the oldest.

You need to search for the prices near you.

Thanks for advice just saw on amazon ax56u is £109 and the ax58u is about £158 is there much difference in these two models

 

[K-2SO]

like I said the merlin firmware is old

using John's fork of Merlin's firmware which is still supported

[Fork] Asuswrt-Merlin 374.43 LTS releases (Archive)

Archive thread for releases up to 44EA and discussions through 30-October-2020. New releases are now posted under separate threads.

www.snbforums.com

Latest release 12-Jul-2020.

With under 100Mbps ISP and few devices I wouldn't bother to upgrade the router. RT-N66U can do 150Mbps even with NAT acceleration disabled. No problem to send 65Mbps over WiFi either. Why do you want to spend money for nothing? Upgrade only if you need to.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Hi Colin so if possible I think I might try and use a standalone modem and if you know any good ones for 2020 that would be great then save up for maybe the ax router to get the merlin firmware

Sorry I'm out of touch with the current DSL modems. But in the past there's wasn't really any significant difference between different devices "modems". If anything the ones supplied for free by the ISP were the best match. The differences were on the WiFi/router side.

If I were you I'd just use the modem that the ISP supplies in bridge mode (assuming it supports that) and then spend the money you save on a normal WiFi router if your N66U isn't up to the job.

 

[peter s]

I strongly disagree with this statement. The stated usage is a single person "gaming on a ps4 playing fps games and browsing or watching YouTube". The non-slim PS4 doesn't even support 5GHz! Of course nobody can predict when a product will go end-of-life but the RT-AC66U_B1 was released around the same time as the RT-AC86U. The RT-AC66U_B1/RT-AC68U is twice as popular (going by Merlin's download stats).

@L&LD for someone who is debating whether to spend £75 or £120 telling him to buy a £300 router that he doesn't need isn't helpful.

@peter s You could try using your old RT-N66U for a while using John's fork of Merlin's firmware which is still supported. It would be superior to the RT-N16 they supply.

Hi colin is this

@ColinTaylor, please correct me then. What part of the statement you quoted was opinion?

I strongly disagree with this statement. The stated usage is a single person "gaming on a ps4 playing fps games and browsing or watching YouTube". The non-slim PS4 doesn't even support 5GHz! Of course nobody can predict when a product will go end-of-life but the RT-AC66U_B1 was released around the same time as the RT-AC86U. The RT-AC66U_B1/RT-AC68U is twice as popular (going by Merlin's download stats).

@L&LD for someone who is debating whether to spend £75 or £120 telling him to buy a £300 router that he doesn't need isn't helpful.

@peter s You could try using your old RT-N66U for a while using John's fork of Merlin's firmware which is still supported. It would be superior to the RT-N16 they supply.

Hi colin is this johns fork firmware any good as if

I strongly disagree with this statement. The stated usage is a single person "gaming on a ps4 playing fps games and browsing or watching YouTube". The non-slim PS4 doesn't even support 5GHz! Of course nobody can predict when a product will go end-of-life but the RT-AC66U_B1 was released around the same time as the RT-AC86U. The RT-AC66U_B1/RT-AC68U is twice as popular (going by Merlin's download stats).

@L&LD for someone who is debating whether to spend £75 or £120 telling him to buy a £300 router that he doesn't need isn't helpful.

@peter s You could try using your old RT-N66U for a while using John's fork of Merlin's firmware which is still supported. It would be superior to the RT-N16 they supply.

Hi colin do you rate johns firmware as I might just use this on my n66u if its up to date

 

[peter s]

[Fork] Asuswrt-Merlin 374.43 LTS releases (Archive)

Archive thread for releases up to 44EA and discussions through 30-October-2020. New releases are now posted under separate threads.

www.snbforums.com

Latest release 12-Jul-2020.

With under 100Mbps ISP and few devices I wouldn't bother to upgrade the router. RT-N66U can do 150Mbps even with NAT acceleration disabled. No problem to send 65Mbps over WiFi either. Why do you want to spend money for nothing? Upgrade only if you need to.

Ok thanks will just upgrade the firmware on my dark Knight as its a really good router in my opinion never had any issues with it or has it let me down with the merlin firmware if johns fork firmware is decent I will just go with that and save ££££ like you stated thanks all i need now is a decent stand alone modem any ideas

 

[ColinTaylor]

Hi colin do you rate johns firmware as I might just use this on my n66u if its up to date

John's firmware is excellent. As you can see from my signature I use it on my RT-AC68U. I just installed the latest version on my spare RT-N66U the other day and was using it this afternoon for some testing I was doing.

 

[peter s]

Sorry I'm out of touch with the current DSL modems. But in the past there's wasn't really any significant difference between different devices "modems". If anything the ones supplied for free by the ISP were the best match. The differences were on the WiFi/router side.

If I were you I'd just use the modem that the ISP supplies in bridge mode (assuming it supports that) and then spend the money you save on a normal WiFi router if your N66U isn't up to the job.

All origin support are those routers on there website if i can put them in bridge mode I will just do that and try this johns fork firmware thank you for the help and advice im thankfully for places like this to get advice

 

[peter s]

John's firmware is excellent. As you can see from my signature I use it on my RT-AC68U. I just installed the latest version on my spare RT-N66U the other day and was using it this afternoon for some testing I was doing.

Brilliant then ill just use that then if my nt66u can get up to date fimware thanks

 

[peter s]

[Fork] Asuswrt-Merlin 374.43 LTS releases (Archive)

Archive thread for releases up to 44EA and discussions through 30-October-2020. New releases are now posted under separate threads.

www.snbforums.com

Latest release 12-Jul-2020.

With under 100Mbps ISP and few devices I wouldn't bother to upgrade the router. RT-N66U can do 150Mbps even with NAT acceleration disabled. No problem to send 65Mbps over WiFi either. Why do you want to spend money for nothing? Upgrade only if you need to.

thanks for the link appreciated

 

[K-2SO]

Ok thanks will just upgrade the firmware on my dark Knight

Why do you need Merlin on it? What extra features you use in Merlin? John's fork is based on Merlin. Asus has an official firmware update for your router from Jun 18, 2020 - https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RTN66U/HelpDesk_BIOS/

 

[peter s]

The

Why do you need Merlin on it? What extra features you use in Merlin? John's fork is based on Merlin. Asus has an official firmware update for your router from Jun 18, 2020 - https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RTN66U/HelpDesk_BIOS/

Reason I use merlins firmware is at the time of buying the dark Knight nt66u it was one of the best routers at that time and asus fimware wasn't the best and what I read up on at the time was that merlins was more stable and better based on asus firmware and I've had no problems with it so I was just comfortable using merlins firmware but if johns is any good I'll go with that as this was never an option it must be new or recent

 

[peter s]

Why do you need Merlin on it? What extra features you use in Merlin? John's fork is based on Merlin. Asus has an official firmware update for your router from Jun 18, 2020 - https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RTN66U/HelpDesk_BIOS/

Could I ask what you would prefer between asus firmware or johns fork

 

[ColinTaylor]

The Reason I use merlins firmware is at the time of buying the dark Knight nt66u it was one of the best routers at that time and asus fimware wasn't the best and what I read up on at the time was that merlins was more stable and better based on asus firmware and I've had no problems with it so I was just comfortable using merlins firmware but if johns is any good I'll go with that as this was never an option it must be new or recent

If you want help installing John's firmware send me a direct message and I can walk you through it. The "Installation Notes" and "@UpgradeMatrix.txt" document explain things. But sometimes it's helpful to talk to someone that's done it before.

 

[K-2SO]

Reason I use merlins firmware is at the time of buying the dark Knight nt66u it was one of the best routers at that time and asus fimware wasn't the best and what I read up on at the time was that merlins was more stable and better based on asus firmware and I've had no problems with it so I was just comfortable using merlins firmware but if johns is any good I'll go with that as this was never an option it must be new or recent

I see. You don't need custom firmware on your router. I would say try Asus latest release first. If any issues, come back here for further assistance.

 

[peter s]

I see. You don't need custom firmware on your router. I would say try Asus latest release first. If any issues, come back here for further assistance.

Yeah will do thanks very much for the help and advice