Installing DD-WRT on Netgear WNDR3400 v1 N600

Posted by on November 27, 2011 Leave a comment (60) Go to comments

UPDATE 05/17/2012: There are some reports of newer builds totally bricking this router. Build 17990 is the last one confirmed to work with this router and is referenced in this post.

UPDATE 01/09/2012: This post has been updated to include links to DD-WRt SVN version 17990 and includes instructions for loading DD-WRT “mega” onto the router.

Recently I got the urge to get IPv6 going on my local LAN (will be covered in another post). First thing I checked was if my router had any native support for it. Unfortunately, it did not. This led me to checking out DD-WRT. It’s something I’ve used for years with various other routers and it opens up all kinds of cool features and options not usually available with the factory firmware.

Disclaimer and topics NOT covered:

    • This method uses a test build to initially load DD-WRT on your router.
      This could brick your router so proceed at your own risk!!
  • A WNDR3400v1 router was used for this installation, this will not work for a WNDR3400v2.
  • Will NOT provide information for securing your Wifi network.
  • Will NOT provide information for configuring DD-WRT.
  • Will NOT provide support for recovering a bricked router.
  • Will NOT provide information for configuring your computer’s network settings to access the 192.168.0.0/24 subnet.

A quick search via the router database on the main site turned up negative results for Netgear WNDR3400.

After checking their wiki page for support devices, I was able to locate my router model in the list and saw that there are 2 versions. The newer version 2 is not supported.

Using the data in the 3rd column (FCC ID) I was able to determine the router I have is supported.

FCC ID: PY309300116

Step 1: Backup your current router configuration

  1. Login to your router… probably at  http://192.168.1.1
  2. Find the maintenance group in the left menu and click on ‘Backup Settings‘
  3. Click the button labeled ‘Back Up’   You’ll be prompted to download a file, save it and stick it on your desktop or someplace safe in case you need it later.

Step 2: Download factory firmware (just in case!!)

As a precaution, I chose to download the factory firmware ahead of time so I could have it on hand if this
entire process fails and I need to revert everything.

Download: Recovery Instructions from Netgear
Download: WNDR3400v1 Firmware

Note: These recovery instructions have not been tested by me, use at your own risk.

Step 3: Download the DD-WRT firmware

Downloading via the normal DD-WRT process didn’t work out because it stated the router wasn’t compatible and therefore wouldn’t provide a link. After some searching, I was able to find a forum post with a test build for Netgear WNDR3400 from a DD-WRT developer named Eko.

Download and unzip: dd-wrt.v24-17567_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR3400.zip   [Mirror Link]

There is now a WNDR3400 chk file included in the official SVN stream, you can browse the 12/08/2011 release files here.

Download dd-wrt.v24-17990_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR3400.chk

Step 4: Flash DD-WRT on to the router

Before flashing the firmware on your router, it’s highly highly suggested to do a 30-30-30 reset. You can find instructions for this here: http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=51486

Quoting from the “peacock” thread in the DD-WRT forums:

“Failing to do a hard reset and failing to wait after flashing are the two most common NOOB errors that lead them to a world of unnecessary dd-wrt pain! This is not a minor optional step. The firmware writes information to the Nvram. This step clears that information. If you don’t clear it properly, parts of the old information be present with the new firmware, which can make it not operate properly. Don’t cut corners. Doing it before you upgrade can be very important; a hard reset is not just for after upgrades.”

After performing the 30-30-30 reset, log back in to the router and flash it via the web gui.

  1. Do NOT use a wireless connection to upload firmware. Use a wired (LAN) connection.
  2. Login to your router… probably at http://192.168.1.1
  3. Find the maintenance group in the left menu and click on “Router Upgrade”
  4. Click the browse button and find dd-wrt.v24-17990_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR3400.chk
  5. Click the “Upload” button and wait for the process to complete.
  6. After the process is done and the router reboots, you can connect to http://192.168.1.1 and should see DD-WRT loaded successfully.
  7. Perform another 30-30-30 reset.
  8. After the reset procedue is done, login to the router and set a username & password.

Step 5: Upgrade to latest version of DD-WRT:

Now we have DD-WRT running on our WNDR3400v1, we can upgrade to the latest release using the normal flash method via the web gui.

After some research, I located the 17598 release and decided to try the ‘big’ release.

Download: dd-wrt.v24-17598_NEWD-2_K2.6_big-nv64k.bin [Mirror Link]
MD5: a368936f7efb014c8f3a749364b1ddde

With the latest release, I attmpted to load the “mega” file and it was a success…

Download: dd-wrt.v24-17990_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega-nv64k.bin

The upgrade process is pretty simple at this point. Some suggest doing a hard reset before and after upgrading. Since I just did a hard reset after installing DD-WRT, it’s not really needed again unless you make some configuration changes before you upgrade.

  1. Do a 30-30-30 reset if you need to.
  2. Do NOT use a wireless connection to upload firmware. Use a wired (LAN) connection.
  3. Login to your router… probably at http://192.168.1.1
  4. Click on the Administration tab and then click on Firmware Upgrade:
  5. Choose the option to Reset to Defaults after flashing.
  6. Click browse and find dd-wrt.v24-17990_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega-nv64k.bin
  7. Click the “Upgrade” button at the bottom of the page and wait….
    • The router will take a few minutes to upload the file and flash the firmware. During this time, the power light will flash.
    • A new page will open confirming that the upload was successful.
    • It’s advised to wait at least 5 minutes before clicking continue.
  8. Do a 30-30-30 reset.
  9. After the reset procedue is done, login to the router and set a username & password.

You should now see something like the screen below that shows the 17990 firmware loaded on your WNDR3400v1:

I’ve been running this on my router for a couple of days and all the features I need are active and working. Your mileage may vary….

Hardware, , ,
  • http://twitter.com/domi994 Alberto D.

    ITS THERE ANY UPDATE FOR THIS ONE ? ITS ALREADY THE LATEST?

    • logicmastermind

      As of today (02/10/12), this post reflects the latest available firmware from the DD-WRT FTP site.

  • 774321

    Thanks for this tutorial.

    This procedure also works on the wndr3300v2 (which is supposed to be the same as the 3400). The only thing I did was installed the old version of the 3300v2 firmware first. I’m not sure if this would make a difference or not. I’ve been searching for a while on how to get dd-wrt on the 3300v2, and at last, it is possible!

  • No

    thank you so much!

  • Jarett Millard

    Thanks, worked great!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=578611588 Angel Perez

    I will try it later with plenty of time…

  • Sam

    ## Bad Performance ##

    I followed the steps and upgraded my new 3400 to the WRT
    I am a new DD-WRT user

    Before doing so , the router was working perfect connecting at 5Ghz well

    After upgrade
    1) On 5Ghz , it only works with N only , if i remove all security
    With security it only works in 5Ghz mixed mode at 9Mbps

    I set WPA 2 Personal

    2) on 2.4Ghz it works with security on mixed mode maxing out at 54Mbps

    So far my 1TB USB Western Digi is also not working. DD-WRT cant recognize it

    Frankly speaking , i dont see any thing special in DD-WRT. ANd the performance has gone really down

    Please advise if i can FLASH back to the NETGEAR BUILD ??????????

    • logicmastermind

      Based on your last sentence you probably didn’t read the complete post, info to restore factory firmware is included…

      Which hardware version of the router did you install dd-wrt on?

      • Supu

        Logic,
        I installed on 3400 v1.
        Can you please confirm if the performance is as good on your router as with the Netgear firmware ?
        After i posted , i found links on how to restore to the stock firmware. I plan to do so as the DD-WRT performance is not good on this particular model or perhaps my individual piece.
        Even my 1TB NTFS HDD does not get mounted by DD-WRT , which worked with Netgear
        Thanks

        • logicmastermind

          I’ve got an external drive plugged into mine that is working no problem. It’s formatted with an ext3 file system…

          As for performance I have not noticed any issues… I’m using mixed mode from devices of all types without any problems.

          • Ryan Feist

            I seem to have issues too with my v1 setup of ww-drt. This is my first foray into ww-drt and got this router to test it out. Maybe I’m missing the “once it’s installed, here’s what we recommend” thread because I’m having what I beleive are QoS problems. Not much other traffic on this home network at 25mb both down and up, but it can’t seem to stream Netflix now (with this new router) like it could before. Are there any other changes I need to make or what would they be? I tried some QoS changes but it doesn’t seem to produce better results. Any help’s appreciated. Thanks all!

            Not sure if it matters if I should mention, but I followed the instructions above and am using the mega build.

  • Ngeraldo2

    I get firmware upgrade failed. please check your file. can someone please help me.

    • finersignth

      Did you ever git this fixed? I’m running into it now. Can’t upload the firmware from the stock code:

      Hardware Version WNDR3400
      Firmware VersionV1.0.0.50_20.0.59
      GUI Language Version V1.0.0.50_2.1.17.1

  • http://www.facebook.com/DagaenGolomb Dagaen Golomb

    How well does the DD-WRT firmware handle the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz capability of this router? Does it show them as separate hardware or will I have to make one a virtual interface. If so, will being forced to make it virtual decrease performance?

  • Lorenzo Luca

    it’s possible to install minidlna on this router? great tutorial. tnx a lot!

  • Anon

    Just installed via instructions here. Worked great. Now running mega build 17990. Thanks for the step by step guide!

  • Bob1000

    I just ordered a refurb wndr3400 to use as a wireless bridge for $37. I want to set it to stream to wired media devices after receiving a 5gz wireless signal from my main router (Asus rt-n56u). The wndr3400 will also serve as a backup emergency main router if needed (after a reset and a reconfiguration).

    What will DD-WRT do for me that the stock firmware won’t do? I’m willing to try out a refit since $37 isn’t a lot to risk.

    Also, off topic a little, when setting up the bridge, the 3400 documentation says to use no security or WPA. Is this a problem or will the main router cover the security? The asus has a bridge configuration mode and allows me to select any router transmitting and use it as a bridge. Does this mean the asus will allow me to connect to the 3400 just via drop down box without regard to the 3400 warning about security? This is new to me. The concept is simple, the connection seems a little difficult. DD-WRT makes it look a lot easier to do than the 3400 method looks.

  • Iamwec

    Does anyone know if 18946 will work?

    • Iamwec

      Just tried, it bricked me. Just a heads up all

    • http://carlosedp.com Carlos Eduardo de Paula

      Yea, it bricked for me too. 17990 worked fine.

      • Iamwec

        I couldn’t unbrick it, it wouldn’t ping at ALL and I didn’t have anything serial, so thank God for the lifetime warranty! Had it back in 5 days :P

  • Bob1000

    I received my refurb wndr3400 v1, followed the instructions, and it worked well. I found some tutorial info to turn the wndr3400 into a 5gz wireless bridge and it worked. The bridge will be used for media at 5gz so laptops can operate at 2.4 and voip can be either wired or wireless, depending on where I put the base unit. PS: for voip … ooma rules.

    I could have used a powerline access point and a switch, but what’s the fun in that. A switch would have cost about $15-$20. The router was $37.

  • Aasdas

    Tried to use dd-wrt.v24-18024_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega-nv60k.bin and it bricked, FYI to all.

    • logicmastermind

      Thanks for the info, sorry you got bricked. Post has been updated with a warning.

  • mbze430

    I am running DD-WRT v24-sp2 (04/07/12) big – build 18946M NEWD-2 K2.6 Eko.. everything seems to run fine … EXCEPT… my 2.4ghz is realllllly slow. 5ghz band seems to be fine

  • mbze430

    I am running DD-WRT v24-sp2 (04/07/12) big – build 18946M NEWD-2 K2.6 Eko.. everything seems to run fine … EXCEPT… my 2.4ghz is realllllly slow. 5ghz band seems to be fine

    • Grisham

      Which version did you install?
      dd-wrt.v24-18946_NEWD-2_K2.6_big-nv60k.bin
      dd-wrt.v24-18946_NEWD-2_K2.6_big-nv64k.bin

      • mbze430

        nv64

        • Grisham

          did you upgrade from
          dd-wrt.v24-18946_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR3400.chk or
          dd-wrt.v24-17990_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR3400.chk

  • Caubecari

    I can update to mini 17790 but unable to upgrade to mega 17790 it takes 10 minutes and it failed. What should I do now? The mini firmware frequently disconnect

  • http://twitter.com/JimLindForPope Jim Lind

    Thanks.
    Your guide saved me a lot of time over the last time I needed to flash a router for DD-WRT and spent half a day deciding on which firmware to use.

    The DD-WRT posting on the 30-30-30 states “HARD RESETS USUALLY DON’T WORK WITH STOCK FIRMWARE!” and continues to say that sometimes it even bricks routers. So you probably shouldn’t encourage people to do it before DD-WRT is installed.

  • FooBar

    Does the top light and button still work after DD-WRT is installed?

    • Bob1000

      No.

  • Bob1000

    I am thinking about buying another refurbished wndr3400 and loading dd-wrt on it, then saving it for backup router emergency use. I am using my existing refurbished wndr3400 with dd-wrt as a 5gz wireless bridge and it works great. With a few adjustments to the setup, I could easily turn it into a repeater and maybe a guest network if needed.

    I am using my current main router (Asus RT-N56U) for basic 2.4gz wireless, wired ooma voipm wiredd powerline internet access, some media serving via the 5gz wireless bridge.

    Except for the dlna media serving, I think it would make an excellent backup. (I couldn’t get my dvd player to see a usb drive in the current WNDR3400.)

    Any opinions?

  • Lightdrake

    18964M NEWD-2 NV64K Big Eko working fine for me here.

    • Grisham

      can you tell me what was your upgrade path?
      did you upgrade from
      dd-wrt.v24-18946_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR3400.chk or
      dd-wrt.v24-17990_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR3400.chk
      can you please post your experience here?

      • Tiankou

        Maybe the man is using eko >V24-K26>svn18946>dd-wrt.v24-18946_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR3400.chk

    • logicmastermind

      Can you post a screenshot of this running?

  • Smartkenny

    For all of you who bricked your router, read this post: http://smartkenny.blogspot.com/

  • Raj29p

    can you update you post
    thx

  • Bob1000

    Thanks, again for posting this tutorial. I just configured my WNDR3400 for something slick.

    Previously I had used WNDR3400 / DD-WRT to talk to my main router at 5 GHz for a media oriented wireless bridge. The WNDR3400 2.4 GHz radio was turned off. The media equipment was wired into the WNDR3400.

    Today I turned on the WNDR3400 / DD-WRT radio and gave it a unique SSID that is not associated with the main household router. The objective was to talk to the WNDR3400 at 2.4 GHz while the WNDR3400 relayed the message at 5 GHz to the main router. There is still no communication at 2.4 GHz between the two routers.

    It worked on the first try! The purpose will be to create a virtual guest router for times when I need one, since my main router has no guest mode. I suppose it can also be used as a repeater should the need arise for one.

  • Evan Mathiasen

    I used your guide today to get dd-wrt on the my 3400 v1 and everything went perfectly. I missed that there isn’t ntfs support out of the box. I know your guide isn’t about getting network storage attached but do you have suggestions (short of formatting to ext) on support?

  • Scott Marlow

    After installing dd-wrt.v24-17990_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR3400.chk (and proper 30-30-30 resets), I couldn’t apply any configuration changes. The above instructions do mention that a different browser may be needed to complete the installation. This was the case for me, I switched to Konqueror and was able to make configuration changes. Only after switching to Konqueror, was I then able to install dd-wrt.v24-17990_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega-nv64k.bin.

    I’m on Fedora 17 (not that it should matter) with Firefox version 13.0.1 and Konqueror version 4.8.4

    Thank you for the excellent guide!

    • http://twitter.com/ltfang Li Tai Fang

      That issues occasionally pops up when the browser loads the cached page, instead of loading it from the router.
      I get around that by using the Private Browser option in Firefox.

  • sayakbhattacharyya

    So huge noob here, n this is gonna b my first time flashing dd-wrt on my 3400. I hav had a brief encounter on Linksys 160NL, but thats it. Up till now, most of the flashing process i understand well enuf, after copious amounts of reading. But one thing i jus cant figure out:
    One of my primary uses is sharing an external NTFS HDD thru this router, how do i go about getting NTFS support on the 17990 build? I need very simple explanations, pls…… It would be extremely helpful.

  • bob1000

    I’ve been using this for several months now and am happy. I’ve noticed the DD-WRT guest virtual network provides internet access but does not appear to limit network access. Using my tablet and some TCP-IP apps I downloaded from the Google Play store, I can get anywhere on the network, including the main network the WNDR3400 is bridged to. Thus, the DD-WRT virtual network concept appears to be a fail.

    In summary, I’m still happy. I took a $37 refurb and turned it into the slickest wireless bridge ever at 5 GHz (for wired media access from the WNDR3400) but still allow access at 2.4 GHz using the 5GHz connection as the ‘tether’ to the main AP, thus giving me a range extender that uses a unique SSID at 2.4 GHZ and a still reasonably useful guest virtual network capability.providing I don’t care about security.

  • brucebot

    did you ever tried the jffs function on the mega firmware? I tried but failed on my router with 17990 mega version.

  • Tavus

    You can install the mini 18946 build and/or upgrade to the big 18946 build without issues (apparently MEGA build is the bricking one). Just follow instructions by deviouswun
    http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=155557&highlight=wndr3400

  • Larry

    Just confirming that following the instructions here and by deviouswun using svn18946 mini then upgrading to svn18946 big worked perfectly first shot.

  • rp

    this was perfect, thanks!

  • http://www.facebook.com/albert.chapmanlayland Albert Chapman-Layland

    Worked great for me tonight. Thanks for posting.

  • http://twitter.com/ltfang Li Tai Fang

    17990 Mega is a better build than 18946 Big for this router from my experience. 18946 Big registers an usually high load average, between 0.25 to 0.60, while the 17990 Mega registers a load average typically between 0.10 to 0.45, for my purposes (running a few things in Optware).

  • Grushenkaman

    After spending many (too many!) hours trying to comprehend the infamous peacock thread, I just followed your directions to the letter and installed DD-WRT 17990 Mega on my Version 1 WNDR 3400. It worked flawlessly on the first try. Thank you!

  • justin

    i flashed both these firmwares on my router and imessage and push notifications wont work. any help?

  • http://www.chorkley.co.uk/ Steven Chorkley

    Why are the first and second LAN lights Orange and third and fourth Green?

  • http://twitter.com/VitallV Vitaliy Vorobets

    Please update the post if there is something to update it’s been a while and would be good to know if WRT has batter builds for this router.

  • Lambo029

    Router Name
    DD-WRT

    Router Model
    Netgear WNDR3400

    Firmware Version
    DD-WRT v24-sp2 (04/15/13) mega – build 21286

    Kernel Version
    Linux 2.6.24.111 #14720 Mon Apr 15 03:24:42 CEST 2013 mips