Installing DD-WRT on the Linksys EA2700
So I had this router for quite a while. I bought the EA2700 when I moved to the US, without doing much research. That was a mistake. I had a bunch of the famous WRT54GL routers before and was super happy with them, mainly due to the flexibility of installing an alternative OS on it, which unleashes a lot more power and functionality.
However, the WRT54GL was just too dated in 2012, so I decided to get a newer model and got the Linksys Cisco EA2700. I don't want to go into too many details, but this was a pretty bad decision. The software is just really bad. Almost no functionality and on top they tried to put some 'cloud-connection' stuff that is not only unnecessary, but counter productive. They tried to market it as a "Smart Router". A bit later I bought myself a TP-Link TL-WR1043ND and have been using it ever since.
However, today I found the (now old) EA2700 in a moving box. This inspired me to check the interwebs for the current status of DD-WRT support... and voilà, it appears like DD-WRT is now supported (though the model doesn't show up in their official database).
This thread has the details. I copied the steps here and modified them a bit to reflect changes that happened in the meantime. This worked for me without any issues:
However, the WRT54GL was just too dated in 2012, so I decided to get a newer model and got the Linksys Cisco EA2700. I don't want to go into too many details, but this was a pretty bad decision. The software is just really bad. Almost no functionality and on top they tried to put some 'cloud-connection' stuff that is not only unnecessary, but counter productive. They tried to market it as a "Smart Router". A bit later I bought myself a TP-Link TL-WR1043ND and have been using it ever since.
However, today I found the (now old) EA2700 in a moving box. This inspired me to check the interwebs for the current status of DD-WRT support... and voilà, it appears like DD-WRT is now supported (though the model doesn't show up in their official database).
This thread has the details. I copied the steps here and modified them a bit to reflect changes that happened in the meantime. This worked for me without any issues:
- Download and unzip Linksys classic firmware. If the download doesn't work, try the support page to get the archive.
- Get the latest DD-WRT build for the router. At the time of this writing it's r25309. But I encourage you to navigate the FTP and see if a newer version is available. Also check the thread I linked above for potential issues with specific revisions.
(**Update 2: I recently upgraded the device to r30471 and it's working fine so far! **) - Reset the router by pressing the RESET button for ~10 seconds. The green power LED will start blinking.
- Log into the router with the default password admin.
- Go to Connectivity -> Basic and click on Choose File under the manual firmware update section. Select the SSA file you unzipped earlier. Hit Start and Yes.
- After the router restarts use admin as the username and password to log in. Even this step is quite satisfying already since this classic firmware removes all the "Smart" junk that they tried to add to the device to make it more appealing. Now the interface is back to what I am used to from the stock WRT54GL. But we are not done yet!
- Now is a good idea to do a good old 30-30-30 hard reset to clear the memory.
- Afterwards log back into the router, which now asks you whether you don't want to install the more shiny rubbish you just uninstalled... refuse and continue to the classic interface. Under Administration go to Firmware Upgrade. Choose Manual Upgrade. Select the TRX file you downloaded from DD-WRT earlier and hit Start Upgrade.
- After the devices rebooted, DD-WRT should greet you. Enter a username and password and be happy :)
Here is what my status page tells me after I have DD-WRT running. Not a lot of free memory, but so far it's been running stable for me:
Next I will probably try to do the same for my TL-WR1043ND V1, which is still running the stock firmware.
Comments
Your tuto is really good !
Juste one thing, I tested the last dd-wrt for the ea2700 (dd-wrt-26138-ea2700.trx) and this firmware doesn't work.
"dd-wrt-25628-ea2700.trx" is ok for me
@Fun Guy Production: Make sure you do the 30-30-30 hard reset. If there are old values stored it can lead to the new OS not booting up right.
Luckily this router is keeping the original firmware so it can always fall back if it needs to.
I got the latest firmware from ddwrt which is 27332 build and it does the find job.
thanks!
Just upgraded to the latest available version (build 27378). The only thing I had to do is to limit my computer eth to 100Mb, it does not work reliaby on 1000. Except that works like a charm. A lot of usefull options available.
I am Henk and I am a stupid Linksys EA2700 buyer, too.
I bought mine 12/2013. After a week of frustrations I tossed it in a drawer, where it remained until I found it again 2/2015. I turned it into a wireless hub for a while, running it in bridge-mode. But, like you, I really needed something to replace my old router. Thanks for putting your experience online, so we could find it and use it to get some use out of this hardware.
Like some others, I had to do an install of the classic firmware over top the install of the classic firmware, but that was it. The DD-WRT installed without a hitch and the capabilities are nice. Cheers.
I need 1000 mbit.
Excellent Post!. I followed all the steps but after step 8, when the router restarts (few times - 3 I guess), the old firmware (the one that I uploaded in step 6)still there.
I tried the same procedures with other version of dd-wrt but same results. Any clue that can help me?.
regards
Cristian
I successfully flashed my firmware using the instructions provided. Now running DD-WRT on my Linksys EA2700.
ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2016/03-22-2016-r29316/linksys-ea2700/ firmware
Linksys Router Support
How to open ports on linksys smart wifi
ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2016/09-09-2016-r30605/linksys-ea2700/
I might end up looking deeper into it, but perhaps someone else has any insights?
Hope this helps other users.
Thanks.
Regards!
Here is what I've done based on mxzhang instructions (you can Google the original source):
1. As the router was already on classic firmware, I upgraded it to the "smart" one, reset factory settings and downgraded to the classic FW once again.
2. Did a 30/30/30
3. Flashed the classic FW yet another time, even if was already present (mxzhang stresses that this is crucial)
4. Did another 30/30/30
5. Flashed a DD-WRT build 30805, which works post flash with no long term guarantees as of now.
6. Ran this script on boot (via DD-WRT administration panel > commands), it's quite self explanatory, otherwise upon restarting the router there might be a problem:
nvram set partialboots=0
nvram commit
7. Did yet another 30/30/30, which cleared boot commands. Those needed to be added once again as in step 6.
I have found these instructions to work very reliably. While earlier I had flashed DD-WRT onto an EA2700 through trial and error, this is much more consistent.
2017 Update... Hope it helps:
ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2017/02-07-2017-r31277/linksys-ea2700/
Sascha Häberling blogs about software, hardware, photography and music.
Installing DD-WRT on the Linksys EA2700
Sascha, do you know or anyone else know any long-range router (3000 meters+) that support DD-WRT upgrade and which is affordable (US $90--) ?
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Michel
Michel, I haven't done much research on this recently. However, I actually went ahead and bought a hi-end model from Asus (ASUS RT-AC3200) which comes with a modified DD-WRT version they all ASUS-WRT right out of the box, which I am pretty happy with.
Since you're asking for something cheaper, it seems like their ASUS RT-ACRH13 model comes with ASUS-WRT as well, but I have not done a ton of research on the model. Amazon reviews look promising though, so maybe it's worth checking out.
// Sascha
It was practical. Keep on posting!