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There was a time when I had the free time to install dd-wrt on a brand "new" Linksys WRT54G and fiddle with tons of features but today I'm completely satisfied

There was a time when I had the free time to install dd-wrt on a brand "new" Linksys WRT54G and fiddle with tons of features but today I'm completely satisfied by my FRITZ!Box(1) that requires near zero active maintenance. I don't get thousand of features, but all the ones I need at home. I'm honestly curious: why do you guys use OpenWRT, dd-wrt, tomato etc.? Re-using old hardware? Flashing bugged cheap routers that work bad with official firmware (that's never going to be fixed probably)? Need a specific feature not normally available on home net devices? Just enthusiast about the project or simply enjoying the hacking? (1) I spent a few euros more on it than the typical home network appliances but I gained them back in quality, reliability, active support and development: no crappy hardware, no bugged software and zero issue with my 15+ WiFi devices in my house in a year.

nickysielicki 7y ago
I updated my router to this release today. Then I setup: 1. DNS over HTTPS to cloudflare so that my DNS doesn't leak. 2. Hurricane Electric's tunnelbroker, so that I can access the IPv6 web. 3. Dynamic DNS so that I can address my home connection anywhere, even if my IP changes. 4. Wiregaurd so that I can access everything on my home network. I tend to agree that most people should just buy Ubiquiti SOHO gear and be done with it, but at least for me, this is cheaper and a bit more fun.
- Trias11 7y ago
  For #3 I use ZeroTier (but this of course won't let me access fridge of coffee machine remotely because i can't install ZT on them :) ) but anything else goes, especially #4 WireGuard.
mindslight 7y ago
I similarly wanted lower hassle, but went in a different direction of just moving routing back to a full amd64 box running Debian. Now all tinkering is standard configuration, will cleanly carry across upgrades, and lives in git. I still use OpenWRT/DD-WRT on a few standalone access points, because I'd rather have a standard webui than dealing with manufacturer idiosyncrasies. Although when it's upgrade time I'll be tempted to move further in the amd64/hostapd direction.
LargoLasskhyfv 7y ago
Though i have to concur they usually do their job, the Fritten annoy me to no end. First i don't like their UI, then i don't like the company AVM for taking a hostile stance against the opensource/modder community. I don't need their features for integrating their smarthome stuff. Yet i can't disable their broadcasts in my LAN when they try to find other AVM stuff. AVMs comment to other users who complained about the same: 'Block it in your firewall.' In older versions their IPv6 support was shitty. They disabled Telnet/SSH. They are a monoculture for users in blissful ignorance. Their design is ugly. If they come from the ISP they gather which devices are connected internally in regular intervals and get that wrong. For instance the ethernet of some docking station is recognized as a Playstation from Sony. They clash with my opinion of how my internal network has to look and operate. That they are considered as one of the better options just shows how crappy the market in general is. And therefore alternatives like OpenWrt are needed!
boring_twenties 7y ago
1) The default firmware on the consumer routers I've had failed to support even the most basic features, like VLANs and virtual wifi interfaces. Forget about custom routes, firewall rules, dnsmasq options, dynamic DNS or anything else. 2) It doesn't come with the source, so it fundamentally cannot be trusted. A router that can't be trusted isn't very useful, and so proprietary router firmwares are simply unacceptable on their face.

nickysielicki 7y ago

I updated my router to this release today. Then I setup: 1. DNS over HTTPS to cloudflare so that my DNS doesn't leak. 2. Hurricane Electric's tunnelbroker, so that I can access the IPv6 web. 3. Dynamic DNS so that I can address my home connection anywhere, even if my IP changes. 4. Wiregaurd so that I can access everything on my home network. I tend to agree that most people should just buy Ubiquiti SOHO gear and be done with it, but at least for me, this is cheaper and a bit more fun.

Trias11 7y ago
For #3 I use ZeroTier (but this of course won't let me access fridge of coffee machine remotely because i can't install ZT on them :) ) but anything else goes, especially #4 WireGuard.

mindslight 7y ago

I similarly wanted lower hassle, but went in a different direction of just moving routing back to a full amd64 box running Debian. Now all tinkering is standard configuration, will cleanly carry across upgrades, and lives in git. I still use OpenWRT/DD-WRT on a few standalone access points, because I'd rather have a standard webui than dealing with manufacturer idiosyncrasies. Although when it's upgrade time I'll be tempted to move further in the amd64/hostapd direction.

LargoLasskhyfv 7y ago

Though i have to concur they usually do their job, the Fritten annoy me to no end. First i don't like their UI, then i don't like the company AVM for taking a hostile stance against the opensource/modder community. I don't need their features for integrating their smarthome stuff. Yet i can't disable their broadcasts in my LAN when they try to find other AVM stuff. AVMs comment to other users who complained about the same: 'Block it in your firewall.' In older versions their IPv6 support was shitty. They disabled Telnet/SSH. They are a monoculture for users in blissful ignorance. Their design is ugly. If they come from the ISP they gather which devices are connected internally in regular intervals and get that wrong. For instance the ethernet of some docking station is recognized as a Playstation from Sony. They clash with my opinion of how my internal network has to look and operate. That they are considered as one of the better options just shows how crappy the market in general is. And therefore alternatives like OpenWrt are needed!

boring_twenties 7y ago

1) The default firmware on the consumer routers I've had failed to support even the most basic features, like VLANs and virtual wifi interfaces. Forget about custom routes, firewall rules, dnsmasq options, dynamic DNS or anything else. 2) It doesn't come with the source, so it fundamentally cannot be trusted. A router that can't be trusted isn't very useful, and so proprietary router firmwares are simply unacceptable on their face.