Does anyone know if this would work on the WNR3500v2?
Installing Tomato Early Firmware Beta to NETGEAR WNR3500L
Categories: WNR3500L Setup / Configuration
teddy_bear the LinksysInfo Guru over at Linksysinfo.org has created a beta firmware that will run on the WNR3500L. You can read more about it here.
I thought I would give it a test run even though it is still in early beta.
He has created four different builds available for routers based on MIPSR2 (MIPS32 Release 2) CPU - USB/Ext, USB/VPN, no-USB, no-USB/VPN. He says all of them should work on the Netgear WNR3500L.
But he does warn that "more testing is needed for WNR3500L - as you can see from a few posts above there could be some problems with USB on this router. At the same time I got reports from other testers that it works fine."
But since I have my trusty serial cable setup which makes it easy to unbrick my router I thought I would give it a shot.
You can find the latest beta firmware files here under the K26-MIPSR2 folder.
I was running DD-WRT before so it was easy to upgrade to Tomato. I decided to grab the Ext USB firmware file for my test. You can get it here. http://sourceforge.net/projects/tomatousb/files/Experimental%20%28beta%29
Before doing so I backed up my router and reset it to factory defaults.
Once downloaded you will need to extract the firmware file "tomato-NDUSB-9044MIPSR2-beta05u-Ext.trx" Save it to your computer and then renamed it to a BIN file that DD-WRT would recognize.
IE; "tomato-NDUSB-9044MIPSR2-beta05u-Ext.bin"
Then all I had to do was upgrade to the new Tomato firmware using the DD-WRT browser interface. Once done and rebooted I again did a factory reset, using the reset button on the router.
It immediately came up at 192.168.1.1 and I all I had to do was customize the settings.
So if you are interested in testing it out give it a try and let us know how it works for you. Also keep your eye out here or on the Beta download site for updates as they come out.
Updated: 03/04/10
Based on some issues you will see below regarding the update and latest information from teddy_bear.
Beta files have been updated and older beta's have now been removed from the original site. You will find latest beta files here.
And to do a thorough NVRAM reset after loading the firmware at http://192.168.1.1/admin-config.asp
He also says to update from DD-WRT "To load it on Netgear WNR3500L, you'll have to flash DD-WRT first, and then upgrade to Tomato." You can get the CHK version of DD-WRT here.
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March 1, 2010 8:35 AM
Why is that? What are the advantages if you compare Tomato and dd-wrt?
DD-wrt is running fine with my setup, therefore I had no reason to also try Tomato. I just saw tomatos demo web ui, which gave the impression, that it concentrates on basic features for a home router. I'd prefer not to have stuff like hotspot apps etc. as dd-wrt includes it.
Basically I choose dd-wrt , since Tomato seemed to not support all the features I needed:
http://www.myopenrouter.com/downloads/file/109/WNR3500L_ThirdPartyFWFeatures.pdf
I would be cool if this matrix could be updated and placed somewhere easier to find
This firmware has pretty much dragged me away from DD-WRT and over to Tomato
Why is that? What are the advantages if you compare Tomato and dd-wrt?
DD-wrt is running fine with my setup, therefore I had no reason to also try Tomato. I just saw tomatos demo web ui, which gave the impression, that it concentrates on basic features for a home router. I'd prefer not to have stuff like hotspot apps etc. as dd-wrt includes it.
Basically I choose dd-wrt , since Tomato seemed to not support all the features I needed:
http://www.myopenrouter.com/downloads/file/109/WNR3500L_ThirdPartyFWFeatures.pdf
I would be cool if this matrix could be updated and placed somewhere easier to find
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March 1, 2010 7:54 PM
@ Kong,
That's the cool thing with all the different firmwares available out there.
What I like about Tomato may be completely different than what someone else likes about the firmware they are running.
Why do I like Tomato now is because I have basic needs, IE a home router, but love the Samba 3 stuff they have added that I wanted.
If someone else needs something that DD-WRT has that Tomato doesn't then that's what they should go with.
March 2, 2010 1:25 PM
updated: March 2, 2010 1:31 PM
Hi there,
I am pretty unhappy with the stock firmware - it's lacking a lot of features that a "nice" router should support.
I thought I would give a go to the Tomato firmware (it got "nicer" comments than DD-WRT), so I downloaded this firmware:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/tomatousb/files/Experimental%20%28beta%29/TES... but it seems that I cannot flash it.
Netgear requires the firmware to have the .chk extension.
I tried changing the extension from .trx to .chk, but the firmware upgrade will fail anyway (wrong format).
Could someone tell me how to upgrade from Netgear firmware to Tomato?
Thank you.
PS.
I found this article here:
http://www.myopenrouter.com/article/14430/How-To-Install-Tomato-Firmware-on-N... but it's totally useless: it's a poor copy of the DD-WRT upgrade procedure (there are even mistakes in it), so it's obvious that the author did not perform the upgrade.
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March 2, 2010 4:52 PM
Csimbi, I went from DD-WRT to Tomato but you should be able to grab the CHK firmware from this file http://www.myopenrouter.com/download/13857/Tomato-Firmware-for-NETGEAR-WNR350...
Install it and then upgrade to the beta Tomato firmware
March 2, 2010 5:24 PM
Hi Brandon,
I downloaded the file you linked.
It contains only one .chk file, that's "tomato_wnr3500l_1.25.chk".
I flashed this without any problem.
Under "About" I see "Tomato Firmware v1.25.0000".
Then I go to Administration->Upgrade ( http://192.168.1.1/admin-upgrade.asp ).
I select "tomato-NDUSB-9044MIPSR2-beta06u.04-Ext.trx".
I get an error message about expecting a .chk file.
I rename the file to .chk, and this time it appears that it accepted it.
However, after reboot I still have "Tomato Firmware v1.25.0000" under About ( http://192.168.1.1/about.asp ) - so apparently the upgrade did not happen.
Any tips to move forward?
Thank you.
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March 2, 2010 6:36 PM
Do a hard reset first then double check the firmware shown. If still shows 1.25 try updating again, hard reset using the 30/30/30 deal.
If that doesn't work then you will need to grab this DD-WRT file http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/others/eko/V24-K26/svn13575/dd-wrt.v... update to it and then rename the Tomato Beta to BIN and upgrade.
March 3, 2010 6:41 AM
updated: March 3, 2010 8:58 AM
To be sure that there's not going to be problems, I erased all NVRAM data ( http://192.168.1.1/admin-config.asp ).
Then, I power off the router, connect the infrastructure again (switches, LAN, WAN) and power it back on.
I walk back to my PC, and for now, everything seems to be ok.
Lessons learnt:
- the 30/30/30 hard reset appears to be a myth - at least for the WNR3500L. Just power off, turn back on holding the reset button for 30 secs, power off and turn back on.
- if things don't work, unplug everything, power off for a longer time, power on without anything for a while, and then connect only one single PC directly, power cycle the router and wait a while (much longer than usual).
- do not flash the Tomato 1.25 firmware in any case.
- if you want the Tomato firmware, first flash a DD-WRT mini, then flash a Tomato firmware >= 1.27 (you need to rename the .trx file to .bin).
That's it, thanks.
Hi Brandon,
I did a hard reset. After that, I could not access the router using the usual passwords. At this point, there was still internet access.
I knew that the settings were not reset because by default, the WLAN is enabled - and I had it turned off. So, I tried the 30/30/30 reset next.
Now the router is a brick: no internet, no ping, not telnet, no signs of life at all.
Any advise Brandon?
PS. Why are there two different stock firmwares: North America/other?
*UPDATE*
I managed to fix it.
I unplugged everything from the router: power, WAN, LAN.
I let it sit on the desk for 10 minutes.
I plug the power back on, and I let it sit on the desk for 10 minutes again.
I plug in only one PC, connected directly (not via a switch or any other network element!) using cable (not wireless!) and wait. Nothing. I try to refresh the IP from command line: again, nothing.
I pull out the power and plug it back on, then wait. The LED of the LAN port comes back on, so I check the IP from command line. Nothing. Then I just wait longer - a minute or so. At some point I tried to refresh the IP address from command line again - and this time it worked.
I connected to the router (using the default username/password: root/admin) and flashed the DD-WRT firmware (that Brandon linked above) right away. I wait until the timer disappears and the continue button appears. Nothing.
I close the browser and connect to the router again. DD-WRT comes up. Then, I try to flash tomato-NDUSB-9044MIPSR2-beta06u.04-Ext.trx. I get an error message about expecting a different format. I rename tomato-NDUSB-9044MIPSR2-beta06u.04-Ext.trx to tomato-NDUSB-9044MIPSR2-beta06u.04-Ext.trx.bin and I try again. This time it works. The flashing takes longer than usual, and at the end I have to close the browser and open it again.
Now I have the Tomato firmware:
Tomato Firmware v1.27.9044 MIPSR2-beta06u.04 ND USB Ext
Copyright (C) 2006-2009 Jonathan Zarate
http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato/
Built on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:58:58 -0500
To be sure that there's not going to be problems, I erased all NVRAM data ( http://192.168.1.1/admin-config.asp ).
Then, I power off the router, connect the infrastructure again (switches, LAN, WAN) and power it back on.
I walk back to my PC, and for now, everything seems to be ok.
Lessons learnt:
- the 30/30/30 hard reset appears to be a myth - at least for the WNR3500L. Just power off, turn back on holding the reset button for 30 secs, power off and turn back on.
- if things don't work, unplug everything, power off for a longer time, power on without anything for a while, and then connect only one single PC directly, power cycle the router and wait a while (much longer than usual).
- do not flash the Tomato 1.25 firmware in any case.
- if you want the Tomato firmware, first flash a DD-WRT mini, then flash a Tomato firmware >= 1.27 (you need to rename the .trx file to .bin).
That's it, thanks.
March 3, 2010 1:32 PM
I tried to flash this on the WNR3500v2 and the router indicated it was a successful flash but it was unable to boot. I tried the no usb/vpn version and changed the extension to from .trx to .bin. Flashing the firmware from dd-wrt v24sp2 mini web GUI gives me a upgrade successful screen.
However, when the router reboots (and I waited 5+ mins), it is unable to boot. I get about 2 secs where it will respond to a "ping -t -w 2 192.168.1.1" command with a TTL of 100 (so the firmware is not taking obviously), and then it's lost.
I was able to "unbrick" the router by shorting two connectors on circuit board as showed by Fabien on a post on this site. I can then successfully flash dd-wrt again... but I want tomato.
I thought the WNR3500L and WNR3500v2 differed only in flash size, usb support, and maybe cpu clock speed. Shouldn't this be able to work on the WNR3500v2 then?
Any help or replies would be very appreciated.
IcarianHeights said:
Does anyone know if this would work on the WNR3500v2?
I tried to flash this on the WNR3500v2 and the router indicated it was a successful flash but it was unable to boot. I tried the no usb/vpn version and changed the extension to from .trx to .bin. Flashing the firmware from dd-wrt v24sp2 mini web GUI gives me a upgrade successful screen.
However, when the router reboots (and I waited 5+ mins), it is unable to boot. I get about 2 secs where it will respond to a "ping -t -w 2 192.168.1.1" command with a TTL of 100 (so the firmware is not taking obviously), and then it's lost.
I was able to "unbrick" the router by shorting two connectors on circuit board as showed by Fabien on a post on this site. I can then successfully flash dd-wrt again... but I want tomato.
I thought the WNR3500L and WNR3500v2 differed only in flash size, usb support, and maybe cpu clock speed. Shouldn't this be able to work on the WNR3500v2 then?
Any help or replies would be very appreciated.
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March 3, 2010 3:49 PM
You might want to try this smaller test version No USB/No VPN tomato127-9044MIPSR2-beta06u.03-TEST.rar here under "Test"
http://sourceforge.net/projects/tomatousb/files/Experimental%20%28beta%29
It's just a guess but if you feel like giving it a shot and are ok with unbricking again, then go fer it. :)
March 3, 2010 10:36 PM
Worked like a charm. A thousand thanks.
Brandon C said:
You might want to try this smaller test version No USB/No VPN tomato127-9044MIPSR2-beta06u.03-TEST.rar here under "Test"
http://sourceforge.net/projects/tomatousb/files/Experimental%20%28beta%29
It's just a guess but if you feel like giving it a shot and are ok with unbricking again, then go fer it. :)
Worked like a charm. A thousand thanks.
March 4, 2010 5:08 AM
IcarianHeights said:
Brandon C said: You might want to try this smaller test version No USB/No VPN tomato127-9044MIPSR2-beta06u.03-TEST.rar here under "Test" http://sourceforge.net/projects/tomatousb/files/Experimental%20%28beta%29 It's just a guess but if you feel like giving it a shot and are ok with unbricking again, then go fer it. :)Worked like a charm. A thousand thanks.
Do you mean that WAN is OK 24h+?
Brandon,
I found a "Tomato 1.25 issues" thread. The same issue with the WAN has been described there.
Are you sure that it's been fixed in that build?
Thank you.
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March 4, 2010 9:29 AM
Csimbi said: Brandon, I found a "Tomato 1.25 issues" thread. The same issue with the WAN has been described there. Are you sure that it's been fixed in that build? Thank you.No, I don't know if that build will fix your particular problem. It seems to work fine for me.
March 4, 2010 10:26 AM
I was afraid you were going to say that.
It's a shame there's no changelog and one has to experiment.
I guess I'll pass on flashing builds until a see a changelog that states that it's been fixed.
Thanks.
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March 4, 2010 11:56 AM
Csimbi,
Someone reported here http://www.linksysinfo.org/forums/showthread.php?t=63587&page=81 today that the new Beta 7, available today from here. http://sourceforge.net/projects/tomatousb/files/Experimental%20%28beta%29
Also another report that RIPV1 / V2 should be turned off at http://192.168.1.1/advanced-routing.asp
Feel like giving it another try? :)
March 4, 2010 12:34 PM
updated: March 4, 2010 3:58 PM
Hi Brandon,
thanks. I noticed the beta 7 earlier, I posted it in a thread in the Tomato section already. That's why I complained about the missing changelog.
I am a bit skeptic about flashing the new firmware now...
Do you know what's the difference between the -Std and -Ext variants?
*UPDATE*
The cable modem got disconnected again for some reason - but DD-WRT picked up WAN just fine.
March 6, 2010 12:56 PM
I wanted to wait until I had it running on my primary router for a period greater than 24h+ before I replied.
So far I have not been having any issues with losing WAN access at all with this firmware.Uptime now has been 2 days 15h+.
-cheers
Csimbi said:IcarianHeights said:Do you mean that WAN is OK 24h+?Brandon C said: You might want to try this smaller test version No USB/No VPN tomato127-9044MIPSR2-beta06u.03-TEST.rar here under "Test" http://sourceforge.net/projects/tomatousb/files/Experimental%20%28beta%29 It's just a guess but if you feel like giving it a shot and are ok with unbricking again, then go fer it. :)Worked like a charm. A thousand thanks.
Thank you.
I wanted to wait until I had it running on my primary router for a period greater than 24h+ before I replied.
So far I have not been having any issues with losing WAN access at all with this firmware.Uptime now has been 2 days 15h+.
-cheers
March 11, 2010 3:43 PM
Hi, do you know if tomato-1.27-NDUSB-9044MIPSR2-beta07-vpn3.6 comes with both PPTP and OpenVPN servers built-in (just like dd-wrt comes with pptp server by default and the VPN one includes openvpn as well)?
March 12, 2010 6:06 AM
Ok I found the answer to the above question:
VPN version of tomato comes only with OpenVPN server.
Have a look at:
http://www.linksysinfo.org/forums/showthread.php?t=60185
(General info about USB mod for Tomato + differences between versions in details (-EXT, -VPN, etc.))
And
Latest info about teddy_bear's tomato release:
http://www.linksysinfo.org/forums/showthread.php?t=63587&highlight=wnr3500l
Hope that will help.
April 26, 2010 1:35 PM
Hello,
I am planning on flashing my netgear WNR3500 v2 with DD-WRT and then switching to tomato. Here is the file that I downloaded this morning tomato-K26-1.27.9045MIPSR2-beta10.01-Std.trx (this is April 4, 2010 build)
My question: is this compatible with WNR3500 v2? If not, which build should I use to upgrade from DD-WRT to Tomato?
Thank You,
May 13, 2010 7:13 AM
updated: May 13, 2010 7:22 AM
Works fine in Netgear WNR3500L/U/v2:
1. 30/30/30 Reset
2. Install dd-wrt.v24-14311_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNR3500L.chk
3. 30/30/30 Reset
4. Install tomato-K26USB-1.27.9045MIPSR2-beta11-Ext.bin
5. 30/30/30 Reset
May 13, 2010 6:10 PM
updated: May 13, 2010 6:11 PM
adverick,
are you sure you tried it on WNR3500 V2? I beleive it works quite well on WNR3500L and the two routers although they look identical (except for the usb port on the L), they are different from the inside in terms of flashable memory
I read somewhere that The WNR3500 V2 only has 4MB of flashable RAM while the WNR3500L has 16MB of flashable RAM
Point is; I have WNR3500 V2, I flashed it first with dd-wrt.v24-14311_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNR3500L.chk and it was very successful. I could never get tomato installed (after changing the file extension to bin). I bricked my router while playing around with firmware but I sucessfuly managed to restore everything back and I finally ended with DD-WRT.
I will try again if you can confirm that the router you used is indeed "WNR3500 v2" (this should be clearly written on the back of the router)
May 17, 2010 3:19 PM
Hi,
I have the 3500L router with the latest DD-WRT and am interested in trying Tomato for its QoS.
Does this version support 802.11 G/N?
Does it support WPA-2/TKIP?
How much of a risk am I taking using this as far as bricking goes?
Thanks,
RSS
As an update to this I am testing Tomato Firmware v1.27.9044 MIPSR2-beta06u.03 ND USB Ext now and it also has been working fine for me.
This firmware has pretty much dragged me away from DD-WRT and over to Tomato.
http://placeshiftingenthusiasts.com/