This tutorial will walk you every step of the way through flashing your Linksys WRT54G (version 8) router to use the DD-WRT firmware.
According to Wikipedia, the Linksys WRT54G v8.0 is “currently one of the most commonly available (routers) at US retail establishments, such as Best Buy and Target”. Due to hardware limitations, the 8.x versions (8.0, 8.1 and 8.2) are only able to run the “micro” version of the DD-WRT firmware (you can find a firmware version feature comparison chart here). Even so, the micro version of the DD-WRT firmware provides dozens of features, many of which are not available with the default Linksys firmware.
This walkthrough is based on the WRT54G v8.x tutorial on the DD-WRT wiki. The biggest difference between this one and the one on the DD-WRT wiki is that I’ve elaborated a bit, and provided screenshots for each step.
Please make sure you understand each step before you complete this tutorial. If you’re unsure of anything, please leave a comment and I’ll respond as soon as I can. It is possible to brick (render the router unusable) your device if done incorrectly.
- You’ll need to use a wired (not wireless) computer to flash your WRT54G with the DD-WRT firmware. Make sure that computer (doesn’t matter if it’s a Mac or PC running Windows or Linux) is plugged in to Port 1 of your router. Unplug all other devices from the router - you can leave the WAN port plugged in to your cable/DSL modem.
- Download the files vxworkskillerGv8-v3.bin and dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin to the computer you’re going to use to flash your WRT54G (the one plugged in to Port 1 of your router).
- You’ll need to set your computer to use the following static IP settings:
IP Address: 192.168.1.100
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1 - Unplug the power cord from the WRT54G. Push the Reset button (see image below) while plugging the power cord back in, and hold down the button for about 20 seconds. Use a pencil or ball-point pen to push and hold the Reset button - it’s a bit recessed and very difficult to push and hold with your finger or fingernail.
- Open your browser and enter the address http://192.168.1.1. Use a browser other than Firefox, as issues have been reported with Firefox not being able to flash the device properly. I’ve used Safari and Internet Explorer and both had no problems.
You’ll be presented with a Management Mode Firmware Upgrade page. Click the Choose File button.
- Navigate to the vxworkskillerGv8-v3.bin file, select it, and close Choose (or Open if you’re using IE).
- Make sure that vxworkskillerGv8-v3.bin is listed on the Management Mode Firmware Upgrade page, and click the Apply button.
- Wait for at least two minutes before you go any further. After the 2 minutes is up, if you notice a dialog asking you to reboot the router, do so by unplugging the power cord and plugging it back in again. If you don’t get a message telling you to reboot the router, wait another 3-4 minutes and then reboot the router.
- You should be able to ping 192.168.1.1 (in Linux or OS X open a Terminal and type ping 192.168.1.1. In Windows open a Command Prompt by clicking Start, selecting Run enter cmd and then type ping 192.168.1.1). If the router doesn’t reply you probably haven’t set your network settings correctly (step #3 above).
- Now it’s time to flash the WRT54G with the DD-WRT firmware. To do so, enter the appropriate command for your Operating System:
Windows: (note: Vista users will need to install tftp first) enter tftp -i 192.168.1.1 put dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin from the Command Prompt. Make sure that the dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin file is in the same folder that you’re using the Command Prompt from. For example, if you downloaded dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin to your Desktop, make sure the Command Prompt reads C:\Documents and Settings\your-user-name\Desktop> - where your-user-name is your Windows user name.
Linux: enter tftp -m octet 192.168.1.1 -c put dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin at your shell/terminal. Note: if you get the the message error code 3 while trying to flash it, try atftp. The aftp command is: atftp –option “mode octet” –verbose -p -l dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin 192.168.1.1
OS X: enter tftp -e 192.168.1.1 From the tftp> prompt enter put dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin
Make sure that the dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin file is in the same folder that you’re using the Terminal from. For example, if you downloaded dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin to your Downloads folder, make sure you’re using the Terminal prompt from /Users/your-user-name/Downloads - where your-user-name is your Mac user name.
- The file will be transferred and automatically installed. Once this is done, DD-WRT will automatically boot. After about a minute, you can browse DD-WRT on your router at http://192.168.1.1.
- If you browse away from the main page, you’ll be prompted for a user name and password. The default user name is: root and the default password is: admin. To change the user name and/or password (a very good idea!!) - select the Administration tab and then the Management tab. Enter your new user name and/or password in the spaces provided, and click the Save button at the bottom of the screen.
- When you navigate away from the Management tab, you’ll be prompted to enter your user name and password again. Enter your new user name and/or password to continue.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Excellent. Worked great. Thanks for the clear tutorial.
AWESOME tutorial. This worked flawlessly! I appreciate your work.
Welldone! Thank you very much. I appreciate that.
It took me about ten (10) minutes and I did not have one problem.
Thanks for your help
Hi,
Thanks for the tutorial. But while executing the step #10, I get the error “Error on server : Access violation”. Do you have any clue how to overcome this? Should give my username/password for the router anywhere ??
– Santhosh
Santhosh -
You have the exact router used in this tutorial? By the time you hit step #10 the router will be set back to factory defaults, and using tftp should not prompt you for any kind of user/pass. Which OS are you using TFTP from?
Hi Ross,
I have the Linksys WRT54G model as you have mentioned in this post. I was using Windows XP for the tftp. Any hopes ?
–Santhohs
you did a very good job, very apreciated
congratulations, thanks to you, and your guide, now i’m running DD-WRT v24 on mi Linksys WRT54G v8.2
Thanks master !!
Oye muchas gracias, estuvo perfecto, aunque… Creo que los comandos que tienes en Linux estan malos! Ahora voy a probar de nuevo y te envio la correccion.
Muchas gracias!
Hey thank you very much, it worked perfect. Although… i believe there’s a mistake on the Linux command lines on TFTP. I’ll make some proves later on and will send you the correction
Thanks a lot again
awesome…worked great! thanks! i was able to hook up my new samsung ln46a650 to the network!
Hi thnx for infos, but I got a problem when I started to flash my Linksys WRT54G v.8 with vxworkskillerGv8-v3.bin I had power fail after ca. 30 sek. flashing from linksys web interface , after I checked wen power come I get Online led blinking fast all time ,dmz and wlan of all time and lan 1,2,3,4 all time on.No lan connection,no ping ,no dhcp…. PC ip is set manual to 192.168.1.100 but in windows network shows A network cable is unplugged. I traed hard reset with different method which I reade in the internet but no luck. can you plz tel me is any metod to get ping/lan up or I need Jtag.???? Thnx (Sory in my english.)
hi when flashing it said it didnt work
now cisco system botten doesnt power up
i cant login to router
that was fantastic the best stuff in the world i will recomend your site for now on thanks
Everything is fine until Step 10. When I enter the tftp commmand at the Command Prompt, I get the following error message - “Error on Server : Access Violation”. Using Window XP-Home. Any help on this?
Thanks
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