WRT1900ACS V2 Upgrading from DD-WRT Questions

Installing and Using OpenWrt
#1

Hi,
I'm new to the forum and I'm currently using a Linksys 1900ACS V2 with DD-WRT v3.0-r37405 std (10/16/18) firmware. I'm not sure of the advantages or disadvantages of OpenWrt over DD-WRT.
The reason I'm here is that I would like to use an Huawei E3372 (3G/4G USB dongle) with this router. I don't think this is supported by DD-WRT so hence I'm asking here.

I think I've found the correct firmware for my router being
openwrt-19.07.2-mvebu-cortexa9-linksys_wrt1900acs-squashfs-factory.img
but I'm not sure of the process in changing from DD-WRT to OpenWrt. Perhaps someone can explain or point me in the right direction and also confirm if OpenWrt would support my 3G/4G dongle.

Many thanks

#2

The process would be to revert from dd-wrt to the OEM firmware first, you should find documentation about how to accomplish this from dd-wrt.

Once you have the OEM firmware booted again, you can install OpenWrt as described.

#3

Thanks for the information. I can revert to stock firmware, that wouldn't be an issue. Can anyone confirm my 3G/4G dongle will function with OpenWrt?

Thanks

#4

Using OpenWrt, IMO, is mostly advantageous over DD-WRT.

  • OpenWrt is in active development, so the linux underpinnings (including the Kernel) are generally up-to-date and updated versions get folded into the development branches (which eventually become a stable release). DD-WRT, on the other hand, is rather old and hasn't seen significant changes in many years

  • OpenWrt is very modular and extensible. There are tons of packages available in the repository, allowing you to run a large variety of services and tools, including modern VPN options like WireGuard and such.

  • DD-WRT has a few different build 'versions' (small, big, mega, etc.) that have functionality baked-in. You can't add to or remove those core features to customize your installation. OpenWrt starts as a base image and you install what you want/need (in your case, 3G/4G dongle drivers and such, etc.). You can also build your own custom images, if you want.

  • I can't really speak to DD-WRT's current security status, but I will say that OpenWrt rolls the latest security patches into the maintenance releases regularly, so it is up-to-date with security.

  • The interface for OpenWrt (LuCI) is much more modern, more user friendly, and extensible, whereas DD-WRT is rather old. It is also pretty straightforward to configure the router via ssh sessions where you can issue UCI commands and/or directly edit the config files.

And there are plenty of additional things I prefer about OpenWrt. It is not to say that DD-WRT isn't a good system -- it has some great features and actually works better for certain wireless chipsets (due to the closed-source nature of the wifi drivers for those chips), but for everything else, OpenWrt is great. YMMV, of course. But since I started using OpenWrt ~5 years ago, I haven't looked back.

#5

Perhaps a forum search for E3372 yields something usefull?

https://forum.openwrt.org/search?q=E3372

#6

Hi,

I use both, DD and openwrt. Also I have the linksys wrt1900acs and I really like dd wrt. But unlike the other user, I find dd wrt interface more modern and easier to use but its up To you. No problem to try both, easy job.

Let us know.

#7

Well as I have never used OpenWrt before and obviously it would be a learning curve.
I was hoping for a ready-made solution that would provide everything I have now (simple routing and external hard drive) plus the facility to plug a 4G dongle in the other USB port. However, it looks like a fair amount of programming / compiling might be required and as a hardware man, it does not excite me :slight_smile:
Is there a quick and simple way to obtain such a solution ?

#8

little on same topic because huawei E3372h i have+wdr3500 with stock fw,question simple does last stable openwrt version for this router support 3/4G modems or i need flash with rooter firmware based on openwrt and do some tricks?

#9

No tricks there just identify the necessary drivers and install them. Certain third-party builds may come with many modem drivers already installed. The official builds at downloads.openwrt.org include none in the base ROM, but they are all in the package manager.