How Do I Get Dd-wrt Firmware on My Nighthawk R8000 Router

Why flash DD-WRT on your NetGear R7000?

DD-WRT, due to it’due south open source nature, comes with tons of functions y’all won’t find on commercial router firmware.

A few advantages I really liked:

– Fine tuning of your Wi-Fi (channels, signal forcefulness, etc),
– VPN support (the Router will setup the VPN connection!),
– DNSMasq support (advanced DNS and DHCP functions),
– Realtime graphs, monitoring traffic one ach network connection,
– Enhanced Quality of Service settings,
– Scheduling for ethernet and both Wi-Fi bands,
– Samba build in (sharing files),
– etc.

With the current, very stable, version created and maintained past Kong, I’ve but found ii weak points:

– Wi-Fi throughput is not as strong as Stock firmware (although you might not notice during daily use)
– Wi-Fi connections occasionally “freeze”, only this could exist my lack of experience …

For more details see as well the
DD-WRT Wiki and
this article at FlashRouters.

Annotation
: There is at this time no Tomato plant Firmware available for the R7000, only maybe in the most future a R7000 version can exist found at
TomatoUSB.org. I’d most certainly try that 1 right abroad when it becomes available!

Earlier we begin …

Some warnings and tips … and don’t blame me if you lot screw up your router …

Flashing DD-WRT on a NetGear R7000

Earlier nosotros start the flashing process, we outset want to download the firmwares nosotros would like to take available even when nosotros have no Internet. In both cases these should be
.chk
files (you might have downloaded a zipped file, which yous might desire to unzip commencement). It may not be a bad idea to print this guide either – but so you have it handy.

– Download: Latest

NetGear Stock R7000 Firmware




– Download: Latest



DD-WRT firmware for the R7000


– for all release check out


Kong’due south webpage

You can download the files I have used from Tweaking4All, only with fast evolution of firmwares these days, I
HIGHLY
recommend using the two links in the list above.

Wink the Initial version FIRST when you lot’re withal running NetGear firmware!

Step 1 – Articulate your Browser Cache

It might not be needed, but it’s recommended by the developer of the DD-WRT firmware.

For Google Chrome, you can detect it nether the “File” menu (Windows) and for MacOS Ten under the “Chrome” card.
Wiki How
has a page that covers most browsers.

Stride 2 – Go to your Router’due south admin page

Go to the admin page of your router and login. The default admin page for your router (a NetGear R7000) is:
http://192.168.ane.ane

Which should piece of work, unless you really inverse the default settings of your router’s LAN configuration.

 It’s recommended to really use the IP Address of your router and non the router proper noun!

If this doesn’t piece of work, look for the IP information of your network connexion and copy the IP address mentioned there for the “Default Gateway“.

Windows: blazon in a DOS box the control “ipconfig”.
MacOS Ten: Go to “System Preferences”
“Network” and choose your active network connection.
Linux: type “ifconfig” in a trounce.

Step 3 – Uploading the DD-WRT firmware

Get to “Advanced”
“Administration”
“Router Update” and click “Scan” to
select the downloaded DD-WRT firmware file
and click “Upload”.

Y’all’ll get a “loss of Net connexion” alert first, merely click “OK“, and after that a comparing of firmware versions appears.

In my instance information technology gave me the message that both version where the same, which of grade isn’t true, but it might also tell you that they are different (more correct) or fifty-fifty older. Either way, don’t worry, just make sure yous selected the right firmware file and if you’re certain click “Yes” to continue.

Once uploading is completed, your router will reboot:

Stride four – Offset DD-WRT login

Subsequently the reboot, the commencement DD-WRT login volition appear where you’re asked for a new username and password. Enter a new username and password to login.

After the login yous’ll be presented the initial System Data of your new DD-WRT Router.

Step v – Router Settings to Manufacturing plant Defaults

Now that nosotros have access to our DD-WRT configuration, time to flush potential left-overs from the NetGear stock firmware by doing a Manufacturing plant Reset.

From the chief tabs, choose “Administration”
“Factory Defaults”
“Yes”
“Apply Settings“.

The factory reset volition effect in a router reboot, and in some cases it might get stuck on a white page (http://192.168.ane.1/use.cgi). If the latter is the example, look a infinitesimal or so and attempt the default router address (http://192.168.1.ane) again. The sequence of new username and new password has to exist completed once more.

Footstep 6 – Basic Configurations Steps (WAN/LAN)

After the router rebooted and you lot logged back in over again (with new Username and Password), time to practice some basic settings so we go out LAN, Wi-Fi and Net going again.

Go to “Setup”
“Basic Setup” and look at the “WAN Setup” settings.

This is where we, if needed, setup our DSL (frequently PPPoE) or Cable connectedness.
Do the settings needed for your Internet connections.

Next we need to practice our “Network Setup” (LAN) settings, which almost probable are already done correct. Verifying these settings however is never a bad idea.

For your “Fourth dimension Settings“, those not used to using the “UTC” time: UTC tin be seen equally asynonym for GMT. If yous’re not sure most your timezone:
bank check this website.

Some for examples:
– USA, Central Time (GMT-6) is UTC-06:00.
– Amsterdam, Central European Standard Time (GMT+i) is UTC+01:00

A commonly used NTP time server (Server IP/Name) would be

pool.ntp.org.

After having washed all your settings click “Employ Settings“.

Pace 7 – Basic Configuration Steps (Wi-Fi)

Under “Wireless”
“Basic Settings” you can verify your Wi-Fi settings. The default settings will work just fine, just y’all tin do some tweaking here, and yous might want to gear up the “
Regulatory

 Domain” to you area/country to make sure your equipment is not breaking any laws … or maybe to do exactly that and boost your signals or channels used a little. I was unable to observe a clear list of limitations or advantages for 1 domain over another (seems that Australia and Europe provide a better signal than United States, merely that could also just be coincidence).

Note: Nether the 5Ghz section, I noticed a stronger signal when using “Extension Aqueduct” to one of the two “upper” channels.

Under the “Wireless Security” tab, security can be set for each of the Wi-Fi interfaces (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz).
In my case, I have no equipment that has bug with
WPA2/AES, and so I’ve set that for both.

Step 8 – Port forwarding (optional)

Since DD-WRT can be a little overwhelming when information technology comes to available settings, it took me a picayune to discover where the heck to ready the port forwarding. Once I knew, it was easy (of course).

Port Forwarding can be found nether “NAT QoS“, you’ll discover options like individual or range port forwarding, port triggers, uPNP, DMZ and Quality of Service settings.

More information tin can be found on the
DD-WRT Port Forwarding page.

Additional Tips

Flushing Previously detected Wi-Fi networks

Since I have my lazy moments, I use the aforementioned Wi-Fi SSID and password for either firmwares, which tin cause issue on your computer. For example, my Mac does non seem to appreciate the change and so the “remembered” Wi-Fi connections should be deleted and re-detected. On the other hand; cheap “Made in China” IP camera’s had non noticed the divergence.

 This could exist necessary for all your Wi-Fi continued devices, like phones, tablets, etc.

On your Mac for instance, go to “System Preferences”
“Network“, choose your “Wi-Fi” adapter and click “Advanced” (lower right corner). In the list of “Preferred Networks“, select your old connections and delete them.

 DD-WRT: DNSMasq to Map Virtual Hosts (Apache) to the same IP Address

I of the main reasons to endeavor DD-WRT was, for me anyway, the use of DNSMasq and information technology performed amend than I expected.

The situation I was looking at, is that I take a test spider web server, for in-business firm utilize only, running (actually on my QNAP) with multiple virtual hosts (come across  also:
Apache documentation). Using virtual hosts allows you to run multiple web “servers” on merely one single machine.

Note
: QNAP virtual hosts are defined in the “Command Panel”
“Applications”
“Spider web Server”
“Virtual Host“.

The problem still is that now multiple “servers” share the same IP-Address and most routers I take worked with practise non let you to assign multiple names to the same IP-Address. DNSMasq even sodoes
allow you to do just this, and the format is unproblematic.

As an case, my test web-server (QNAP actually) has the IP Address 192.168.1.100 and is named “cookiejar”. So typing http://cookiejar brings me to the default webserver page of my server, and the QNAP admin folio tin can be approached via http://cookiejar:8080.

On this server I have defined several virtual hosts, for instance “multisite” and “testserver”.

To define these in DSNMasq, go to “Services”
“Services” and wait nether “DNSMasq” where you discover a field called “Additional DNSMasq Options“. Here we enter a line for each virtual host, in the format


address=/<hostname>/<ipaddress>


In our hypothetical scenario:

        

          

            

              

                

                  
i
two

                  
                
                

                  
address=/testserver/192.168.1.100

                    accost=/multisite/192.168.i.100
                
              
            
          
        
      

After clicking “Apply Settings” all three “sites” translate to the same IP Address. Apache however volition handle these requests just fine and therefor http://testserver/, http://multisite/ and http://cookiejar/ will all result in unlike websites, as if they were dissimilar servers …

Going Dorsum to Stock NetGear R7000 Firmware

Going back to Stock Firmware is actually like shooting fish in a barrel … during my testing I did go back and forth a few times, and for that reason I made a backup of all my settings in the Stock firmware and in the DD-WRT firmware.

In DD-WRT become to “Administration”
“Backup” and click the “Backup” push at the bottom. A file dialog will ask you where to relieve it. This file, at a later on time tin can be retrieved with the “Choose file” and “Restore” part on this same page.

To restore Stock firmware, get to “Administration”
“Firmware Upgrade”
“Cull file” and select the latest NetGear R7000 firmware. Klik the “Upgrade” push button to flash the official NetGear firmware.

After the reboot, you’ll see a NetGear Genie welcome screen, which is not very helpful at this point (although strangely plenty the NetGear did connect to my DSL). Do a full manufacturing plant reset and to practise this we need to
press and hold the reset button on the back of the fouter for at to the lowest degree 7 seconds
(see:
NetGear R7000 Cognition base of operations).

After the hard reset,
username
(=
admin) and
countersign
(=
password) have changed to mill default, which you’ll need to login. Once logged in, go to “Advanced”
“Assistants”
“Backup Settings”
“Browse” and select the settings fill-in file you made
before
you lot flashed DD-WRT and click the “Restore” push.

Caution
:  These are the settings we backed up manner in the first under de original NetGear firmware – Non the DD-WRT settings backup we but made!

After reboot all your previous settings volition be back.