The Linksys WRT1900ACS is a good wireless router, but one of its best features is that it is supported by different open source firmwares including dd-wrt. So, if you’re like me and want to use this router with the OpenSource router firmware to unlock all of its power instead of the limited factory firmware, read this guide to learn how to install it. It’s not a hard process but I had several issues when I installed the firmware on my router so I’ve written in this guide all the solutions I had to apply. I hope they will help you too.
Check your router version
It is essential that you confirm your Linksys WRT1900ACS router version (v1 or v2) before starting the process because firmwares are not compatible between hardware versions. The hardware version is located beside or beneath the model number and is labeled version, ver. or V. If there is no version number beside the model number on your Linksys product, the device is version 1. If you still have trouble finding your version number, see the complete article at Linksys Official Support site to learn more.
Download DD-WRT firmware
You must download the dd-wrt firmware to install over the factory firmware searching on the dd-wrt router database typing WRT1900ACS and clicking on the version of the router you have.
The ‘factory-to-ddwrt.bin‘ file is the one you will need to get the router onto dd-wrt from a factory firmware. The other file is to upgrade the router when it is already using a dd-wrt firmware.
If you get a broken download link page when you click on it you can also download the firmware from ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas or from www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/other-downloads.
WRT1900ACS v1: ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2018/01-19-2018-r34578/linksys-wrt1900acs/factory-to-ddwrt.bin
WRT1900ACS v2: ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2018/01-19-2018-r34578/linksys-wrt1900acsv2/factory-to-ddwrt.bin
Disconnect the Internet cable
Now that we have downloaded the dd-wrt firmware file we should disconnect the ethernet cable from the yellow Internet port on the back of your router. This will avoid errors when uploading the new firmware to the router such as the ‘ErrorUnauthorized’ that I had.
Do a factory reset
With your router connecter to power and turned on, press and hold the Reset button on the back of your router for 10 seconds until the power indicator flashes.
Login to the web admin interface
Connect your computer to the router using an ethernet cable and then open the IP address 192.168.1.1 on a web browser.
Click on ‘Manual configuration‘.
Yo will see this ‘Internet connection is down’ message as expected. We have disconnected previously the ethernet cable from the yellow Internet port. Click on the Login button.
Type the router password ‘admin‘ and click on the Sign In button.
Upload the firmware
Navigate to the Connectivity section and locate the Router Firmware Update section on the right hand side.
Click on the Choose File button in the Manual section, select the firmware image that you downloaded from dd-wrt earlier (‘factory-to-ddwrt.bin‘) and then hit Start.
Click on Yes to continue.
Click on Yes to continue.
Wait until the firmware installation is complete.
The firmware has been installed and the router will reboot.
DD-WRT first login
Wait for the router to restart and if everything has gone well, a new wireless network with name dd-wrt and no password will appear. Connect to this new network and open the IP address 192.168.1.1 on a web browser.
The first time you access the control panel you will need to set the Router Username and Password.
And that’s all. You already have DD-WRT installed on your Linksys WRT1900ACS. All you need to do is configure your networks to your liking. Enjoy it! ?
Some handy links
Amazon : Linksys WRT1900ACS Gigabit Wi-Fi Router
Linksys WRT1900ACS product page
Linksys WRT1900ACS User Guide
Linksys WRT1900ACS support page
Linksys WRT1900ACS factory firmware downloads
Linksys WRT1900ACS v1 firmware 1.0.3.182461 [Download] [Release Notes]
Linksys WRT1900ACS v2 firmware 2.0.1.182461 [Download] [Release Notes]