Asus RT-N16 - firmware recommendations

[Sparky]

My snazzy new RT-N16 works pretty well but the stock firmware is dorky and leaves a lot to be desired. Before I go screwing around with a bunch of firmwares, what's the XS recommendation? DD-WRT, OpenWRT, TomatoUSB, or something else? I'm not looking to do anything too crazy but I want something reliable and quick (stock firmware seems to occasionally have DNS hiccups for example).

*edit* well maybe I should just try upgrading the stock firmware to the latest. Mine shipped with a really ancient version.

[hazardous]

I'm using Tomato. Played with DDWRT builds for quite a while, but I like the interface of tomato better and have had better success with tweaking individual settings to increase speed/range. I remember there being something really specific that irked me about ddwrt, but i can't remember what it was for the life of me as it was over 6 months ago. It's really up to you, but I'll vouch for amazing stability and uptime on Tomato - even with my fileserver connected that runs 24/7. Hell, since it's on a battery backup, I'm not sure the thing has ever been offline or crashed since I installed...

I've also replaced the antennas, lapped the heatsink and added a few extras, and strapped an 80mm fan to the top after taking a holesaw to the case

[BeepBeep2]

The new builds of DD-WRT have selectable themes too, one is very similar to Tomato.

It's a matter of preference vs options.

[Apokalipse]

I'm running TomatoUSB on two RT-N16's. There's almost nothing I'd want more from them (only things I can think of being wireless AC speeds and OSPF support. Though I'm pretty sure OSPF is just a matter of figuring out how)

I've even got ad blocking on them using DNS poisoning + pixelserv (minature web server that does nothing more than serve a single transparent pixel), and I can download and run a whole bunch of programs on them.

[Sparky]

Well so far the updated firmware is actually half decent it seems. If it acts weird at all I'll give TomatoUSB a go.

[hazardous]

I remember what I didn't like about DDWRT now...it was the port forwarding. I was having all kinds of issues and had to try tons of different versions and try to execute a bunch of commands via telnet etc, and still no dice. Ended up using TomatoUSB and hte port forwarding worked flawlessly. Later switched from the old generic Teddy Bear Tomato versions to a Toastman branch.

[Apokalipse]

I just have UPnP and NAT-PMP on, and it seems to work perfectly. No manual port forwarding required.

[FatBoyNotSoSlim]

Whilst I prefer the additional features in the DDWRT builds, the ease of use of the Tomato firmware has won me over. Although, I use TomatoUSB (IIRC) for a few extra features.

[EniGmA1987]

I just recently tried out DD-WRT on my E4200 router. OpenWRT doesnt have any support for this router and Tomato doesnt have working 5GHz band which I require. So my only option is DD-WRT and I have to say I dont like it at all. Lots more options over stock, but I dont really use most of the new things. Maybe if I did my opinion would be better, but I tried it because I was hoping to get past a bug with the stock firmware. Come to find out, it isnt really a bug but is just the router conforming to proper wireless standards which most other routers seem to not follow. Configuring the wireless has been a nightmare and half the options I choose dont allow my tablets to acquire and IP. I also cant select a range of channels I use to use on the stock firmware any longer, and to top it all off I cant use the 100mb/s internet anymore. Where I use to get 96mb/s down even with firewall and QoS turned on, the best I have ever been able get with this DD-WRT firmware is 48mb/s down.