Matt Meiser
12-08-2007, 12:16 PM
I'm not sure if anyone else is using Sprint Wireless Broadband with a Linksys WRT54G3G-ST router--I know several people have PM'd me about how it is working out for me--but I recently found out there is a bug in the router, along with a fix. I figured I'd share it here so that anyone else following what I've been doing will know.
The bug limits your max upload speed to about 1/2 of what it should be, assuming a good connection. I've always used my card in the router, so I didn't know that I was missing anything, but close to 200K extra upload speed will come in handy, especially when transfering multi-megabyte files for work.
First, your router needs to have the latest firmware. Sprint and Linksys both apparently know about the bug, and Linksys has a real fix but Sprint hasn't yet authorized its release. You can download the firmware from Linksys (http://www.linksys.com). The firmware version is displayed by the Linsys logo when you log into your router.
Next, you need to log into your router and change a couple settings. Go to the Applications and Gaming menu, then the QOS submenu. There you need to enable Wired QOS, set the Upstream Bandwidth to manual, and changing the setting to 3100. I then rebooted my router and saw an immediate jump in my upload speed as measured at www.speedtest.net (http://www.speedtest.net). See the attached screen shot for more information.
There is also an open source firmware for this router but I haven't had the time or energy to play around with it yet. If you want more information, I found out about all of this at a site called EVDOForums.com. That's also where I bought my outdoor antenna.
Overall the wireless broadband is continuing to working out great for me. Occasionally I'll have a few days where I need to reset the connection one to a few times a day, then I'll go several days or more without a single problem. The speed test results below are pretty typical. I know they are laughable to those with wired broadband, but that's not an option here.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/210103041.png (http://www.speedtest.net)
The bug limits your max upload speed to about 1/2 of what it should be, assuming a good connection. I've always used my card in the router, so I didn't know that I was missing anything, but close to 200K extra upload speed will come in handy, especially when transfering multi-megabyte files for work.
First, your router needs to have the latest firmware. Sprint and Linksys both apparently know about the bug, and Linksys has a real fix but Sprint hasn't yet authorized its release. You can download the firmware from Linksys (http://www.linksys.com). The firmware version is displayed by the Linsys logo when you log into your router.
Next, you need to log into your router and change a couple settings. Go to the Applications and Gaming menu, then the QOS submenu. There you need to enable Wired QOS, set the Upstream Bandwidth to manual, and changing the setting to 3100. I then rebooted my router and saw an immediate jump in my upload speed as measured at www.speedtest.net (http://www.speedtest.net). See the attached screen shot for more information.
There is also an open source firmware for this router but I haven't had the time or energy to play around with it yet. If you want more information, I found out about all of this at a site called EVDOForums.com. That's also where I bought my outdoor antenna.
Overall the wireless broadband is continuing to working out great for me. Occasionally I'll have a few days where I need to reset the connection one to a few times a day, then I'll go several days or more without a single problem. The speed test results below are pretty typical. I know they are laughable to those with wired broadband, but that's not an option here.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/210103041.png (http://www.speedtest.net)