With the GL you know for sure that it is compatible with alt firmwares like OpenWRT and DDWRT.

With the other models you have to look very closely at the model number printed on the bottom of the router (or sometimes on the box), then look up on the net to see if it's compatible.

I have the GL running OpenWRT and I'm very happy with it. Great performance, good wireless range (can easily reach it from my friend's condo which is across the road and 9 levels down), and it's never locked up or misbehaved, even when I leave it running for months at a time. I never use aircon, and just touched it to test the temperature - it's not even particularly warm.

Only problem is that the GL is kind of hard to find in Malaysia.

As far as I know, all GL models are the same, so you don't have to pay much attention as long as it is the GL one.


I couldn't find one for a decent price here, so I waited until I was traveling, picked it up for about RM180. Whenever my boss asks for someone to go to USA, I always volunteer, and come back with a bag full of electronic goodies!

Is it a DNS lookup issue? Use Firefox instead of IE so you get useful status messages, then see what stage of the connection it is hanging up on (in the status bar at the bottom of the window).

I've been using OpenWRT since February, 100% stable since then. No crash, no slowdown, no freeze, no problems at all. Never been rebooted except when the mains power stops. The two of us who live here are heavy users, also often I have friends visiting using it too.

For basic OpenWRT configuration you can use the web interface. Some advanced things require command line.

I think you have to do it at the command line. At least that's the only way I've ever bothered to try. Command line is so much more efficient than web interface once you get used to it.

I can vouch for this one. My WRT5GL has been running over a year on a high shelf in a non-aircon room with almost no ventilation and it is perfectly happy. It feels warm to my hand, but even after being on for months it doesn't feel as hot as those ZTE and Billion after 15 only minutes running.