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pkaeding
Asked: 2009-05-01 06:10:02 +0800 CST

Is it possible/advisable to upgrade a DD-WRT router remotely?

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I have two DD-WRT routers in different locations. One of them is running the VPN version of the firmware, and the other is running the standard version. I am on location with the VPN one, and I want to upgrade the other one to run the VPN firmware so I can wire them together. Is this possible or advisable? Of course, I don't want to lose the settings on the remote one, since then I would lose my remote access (currently through SSH) and not be able to configure it.

router

3 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    I can't rule out the possibility of doing it but I can make some points against it.

    • The recommended process (strongly reiterated by DD-WRT) involves a series of 'hard' resets that involve power cycling while holding down the physical reset button on the router. Tricky to do remotely :)
    • Saved settings for one version of the firmware should NEVER be used with a different version.
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  2. It's never advisable to upgrade any router remotely, unless you have separate out-of-band access to it.

    I base that recommendation on a decade of running the core networks for an ISP (in a previous job)

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  3. I can say from personal experience that I have nearly bricked my router trying to upgrade DD-WRT over the web interface via remote connections. I would strongly recommend being physically connected to the router and having physical access.

    The hard reset procedure that is officially recommended also comes in handy if anything goes wrong.

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