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Why use WRT Merlin?

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Savell Martin

Regular Contributor
So I hear a lot of hype around WRT Merlin, and I'm just curious as to why people use it?

What are the main benefits of it?
Why would you use software that is kinda run by 1 guy (no offence) and can cause other issues?

If its any consolation I'm using an AC3200
 
Merlin responds and usually fixes issues much faster than ASUS does and there are enhancements too. These are the main reasons I use it
 
If you want to use any of the features such as user VLANs that are not supported by Asus you need Merlin firmware.

I am currently using Merlin 378.56_2 on my RT-AC66
 
Most, if not all, extra features in AsusWRT-merlin can be found here. If you do not need any of those features, I would probably stick with stock.

Personally, I use John's fork of AsusWRT-merlin, because I have better luck with it on my RT-N66U. Entware(-ng) is also very simple to setup on AsusWRT-merlin.
 
Asus routers, like many others, use open source firmware which gives others the opportunity to adapt the firmware, make changes, and release their version as open source firmware again. That is the background of Asuswrt-Merlin.
Using other than stock firmware is a matter of taste and requirements.
If stock firmware is satisfactory for you, there is no reason to use other branches.
Check the website of Asuswrt-Merlin to read about the features and fixes: http://asuswrt.lostrealm.ca/
The release note are here: http://asuswrt.lostrealm.ca/changelog
Determine if it adds value for you and decide to install it in your router or not.

Installation of Asuswrt-Merlin is straight forward and usually without any issues, reverting back to stock firmware is as easy.

Keep in mind that changing firmware branches is the safest with a hard reset and manual configuration of your router after installing the firmware.
 
So I hear a lot of hype around WRT Merlin, and I'm just curious as to why people use it?

What are the main benefits of it?
Why would you use software that is kinda run by 1 guy (no offence) and can cause other issues?

If its any consolation I'm using an AC3200
Cause it works , on my 3200 with fewer problems than stock FW
It's not hype , been using it since my N 66 and all Asus routers since .
 
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If you want to use any of the features such as user VLANs that are not supported by Asus you need Merlin firmware.

I am currently using Merlin 378.56_2 on my RT-AC66
VLANs in RMerlin ? Really ? Show me where.
Real vlans manager form gui have tomato fw eg. tomato by shibby.
 
Ta all for your speedy replies...

I may give it a bash tomorrow and see how it fares.
I'm happy with stock firmware, so maybe the fixes that Merlin includes would be the winner for me.
 
So I hear a lot of hype around WRT Merlin, and I'm just curious as to why people use it?

What are the main benefits of it?
Why would you use software that is kinda run by 1 guy (no offence) and can cause other issues?

If its any consolation I'm using an AC3200

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/31963-asuswrt-merlin-reviewed

It's 3 years old - almost to the day - but it should give you some answers. (And then you can decide if it is "a lot of hype".)

By the way, have you ever tried just to find the "correct" version of DDWRT for your router? I'll take custom firmware run by one guy any day. Well, so long as that guy's Merlin.
 
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So I hear a lot of hype around WRT Merlin, and I'm just curious as to why people use it?

What are the main benefits of it?

I think it comes down to RMerlin's knowledge of the code base, and some very careful/refined tweaks - and bug/security fixes...
 
I'm just curious as to why people use it?

For me, it's the custom configs i.e. user scripts, custom config files & post config files. This feature is unique to Merlin builds. User scripts are the one I can't live without. Collectively they open up otherwise a closed dull box into a pandora box that's easily accessible to people with some scripting skill.

Also the repository of source code that Merlin proactively maintains is a huge service to the community beyond imagination I would say.

The vibrant user community here is another huge bonus.
 
For me, it's the custom configs i.e. user scripts, custom config files & post config files. This feature is unique to Merlin builds. User scripts are the one I can't live without. Collectively they open up otherwise a closed dull box into a pandora box that's easily accessible to people with some scripting skill.

Also the repository of source code that Merlin proactively maintains is a huge service to the community beyond imagination I would say.

The vibrant user community here is another huge bonus.

I think referring to AsusWRT-merlin as a "Pandora's box" is very apt. It offers you even more tools to bury yourself with, if you are not careful.

As a wanna-be power-user, I often pretend to understand every toggle or parameter I can access. "Default" really means "change me", right? j/k :cool:

Defaults are very often chosen by people who know muuuch more than you about the particular setting.
 
Because it's got a better track record than stock ASUS, actually gets properly tested before being released.

I bought my first RT-AC68 almost two years ago, expecting to use whatever firmware it came with. I just needed a good wifi router for a home/office network with QOS to support a VOIP phone. The stock ASUS firmware at that time was so unstable that it was useless, crashing at least daily. Merlin never would have released such garbage. I talked to ASUS, and they actually had me exchange my first unit suggesting that it was a hardware problem. It wasn't, and they must have known it wasn't. It wasn't until I found the Merlin firmware that I had a usable setup. I was left with zero faith in ASUS stock firmware, though I gather it's better now. Merlin firmware has been great, never had any problems through a number of versions. And the forum is very active and helpful.

(I make a small donation to Merlin every year, to express appreciation for his efforts.)

RT-AC68R and RT-AC68U, currently running Merlin 378.56_2
 
I tryed ddwrt, shibby tomato and Merlin.
With ddwrt i had problems Evert time i changed configs.
Tomato is my favorit and works very fine.
But the s4 of my son had strange disconnects my s4 works fine and all other devices to.
So because my son i run Merlin.
And it is also working very good.
Wifi is beter then the other firmwares.
I use firewall script tot specify special rules.
Nog that easy as with tomato where u van define rules with webinterface.

Qos i tryed works fine but disabled it i nog use it.
 
All these previous posts have summed it all up nicely.

Let me just add my overall opinion of Merlin and why I truly believe that it is the best choice for your ASUS router. I should mention that I ran with Tomato for the Linksys WRT-54G router for nearly 5 years, and another 18 months with DD-WRT after that. When I replaced these old workhorses with a Netgear WNDR-4500, the Netgear firmware offered enough options that I didn't feel compelled to venture into these two alternate offerings for that router.

When I picked up my first 68U and flashed the latest ASUS firmware, which as bad luck would have it was the now infamous 3.0.0.4.380.1031, my brand new router's 2.4 GHz wi-fi radio stopped passing internet to any device connected to it. Unable to find a solution on the ASUS side and not suspecting my problems to be caused by this latest stock offering I returned this 68U to Amazon as a defective unit and requested another 68U. When the second brand new unit arrived, and after finding that it too was crippled by the installation of the latest ASUS firmware, I turned to Merlin's latest public release (378.56_2) as a Hail Mary attempt to fix my second broken 68U in a row! I really wanted to stay with the ASUS brand and specifically, the well regarded 68U if I could find a stable firmware offering for it.

Merlin 378.56_2 not only immediately resolved all the strange behavior coming from my 68U, I soon found out why this firmware variant is so popular with so many ASUS router owners. A popularity that spans nearly the entire product line, which considering the number of router models ASUS makes, is impressive in and of itself! :D

So here is my take on the OP's original question...

Merlin is unique among third party offerings in that it simply builds on the factory firmware which unlike most router brands out there, the stock ASUS firmware was created using Tomato as a foundation/starting point and grew up from there. But in my opinion has a much nicer looking, well thought out user interface than anything I have seen from Tomato, or DD-WRT for that matter. And rather than reinventing the wheel, our fearless leader, and firmware guru, RMerlin chose instead to use the existing ASUS code and design and simply add a nice collection of additional hardware features not currently being used/enabled by ASUS's stock offering.

That is Merlin in a nutshell.

When you move over to something truly third party like DD-WRT and Tomato, you loose that nice interface in exchange for getting access to pretty much every single hardware option your ASUS router model provides. A good chunk of these options and settings are stuff your average home network user doesn't really need, but because they are now given access to these things on the firmware's interface, many assume that they need to turn it on and try to figure out what it can do. That right there is where a lot of the problems start for many who attempt running with these more advanced firmwares. Some going so far into these advanced areas that they end up bricking a perfectly good piece of hardware and are then in a world of hurt for no good reason.

Merlin sits in the middle of these two worlds, and provides some additional hardware features most users can actually use and will improve their router's versatility. But not at the expense of the nice user friendly interface and most of the time, stability.

Most important of all, there is very little risk we will ever brick our ASUS router as long as Merlin is the firmware running on it. :)
 
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As a wanna-be power-user, I often pretend to understand every toggle or parameter I can access. "Default" really means "change me", right? j/k :cool:

Defaults are very often chosen by people who know muuuch more than you about the particular setting.

Well said. When there are knobs, curious and ambitious individuals want to touch every of those and see how things play out until they get burned.

Luckily I passed beyond that kind of curiosity (..mostly..) :D
 

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