Flash Linksys WRT54G V8.2 to DD-WRT, and get it along with Comcast.

I have a Linksys wrt54g(v8.2) which I bought 2 years ago, recently it seems not very comfortable with comcast internet service. Since the rumor is dd-wrt will give it second life, why bother a try?

If you have an older version of linksys wrt54g (before v6), you are lucky 'cause they have enough internal memory to hold standard dd-wrt v2.4, which is a full power horse. From v7, linksys may smell the flash stuff, so it downgraded the memory, which is only enough for a micro version of dd-wrt v2.4. But compared with orignal firmware, micro dd-wrt is still a way better choice (control broadcast power or work as a repeater).

Before you flash your router, keep in mind that any hack may cause damage to your router ( I did have encounterd one!), and may BRICK your router ( I bricked mine, and saved it later, wrt54g is a very stable router and usually can be saved once bricked).

First, go to http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database , input your router model, find the right maker and version, click and download all the files. You should have a VXWorks-killer, which will kill your old firmware; a VXWorks-revert, which reverts your router if bricked or some; for my case, I have Micro Generic firmware. You also need to go to the website of the manufacture of your router, and download the original firmware. You will need it when you brick your router or not satisfied with dd-wrt.

For my case (wrt54g, v8.2), just follow the instruction in http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Linksys_WRT54G_v8.0_%26_v8.2, you have to stictly follow them, especially the Hard Reset, if the old firmware is not erased throughly, you may have trouble.

And on the same page, it also tells you how to revert the flash.

Once it's done, you basically get a better router, with stronger and adjustable broadcasting power, repeater capable and so on.

Now if you are with comcast internet, you may find, as I did, the router is not working stably. The wireless signal drops from time to time, while cable connection works good. A lot of people have this issue if you google, and a rumor is that Comcast check the MAC of your router, if they find you are not using a Comcast-supplied router, they will make trouble (sucks!). So we have to clone MAC to fool Comcast that you are connecting your computer to the modem. This is what I did: connect my router to the modem, connect my desktop to router, when they are connected, type 192.168.1.1 in your IE(not a firefox or whatever browser). This will lead to the setup of your dd-wrt router. You may be asked to change id and password. Once you see the interface, click Setup -> Mac Address Clone -> Enable it -> Get Current Mac Address -> Save -> Apply Settings, don't need to clone wireless mac. After I have done this, the router works perfectly, no dropping at all.