ASUS WL-550gE

bg (G54)
WIRELESS ROUTER

Homepage	Product page
Wikipedia	Asus routers
InfoDepot Wiki	Asus WL-550gE
WikiDevi.wi-cat.ru	ASUS WL-550gE
3rd Party Firmware
dd-wrt	Supported
OpenWrt	Was Supported
Tomato any flavor	Incompatible
Gargoyle	Status Unknown
Platform
Brand • Model • Rev	ASUS WL-550gE
FCC ID	MSQWL550GE
Type	wireless router
CPU1	Broadcom BCM5352E
CPU1 Type	BMIPS3300
CPU1 Speed	200 MHz
Flash1 Chip	Macronix MX29LV320CBTC-90G
Flash1 Size	4 MiB4,194,304 B <br />32,768 Kib <br />4,096 KiB <br />32 Mib <br />0.00391 GiB <br /> (Parallel)
RAM1 Size	16 MiB16,777,216 B <br />131,072 Kib <br />16,384 KiB <br />128 Mib <br />0.0156 GiB <br />
RAM1 Chip	Samsung K4S641632H-TC60 x 2
ETH chip1	Broadcom BCM5352E
Switch	Broadcom BCM5352E
Ethernet Port Count	1-100MbE-WAN 4-100MbE-LAN
Wired Standard	IEEE 802.3i/3u
802dot11 OUI: none specified
Stock bootloader	CFE
Expansion IF types	USB 1.1 (Requires soldering header)
Power	5 VDC, 2 A
Connector type	barrel
Other
Default IP address: 192.168.1.1 the IP 192.168.1.1 is used by 1324 additional devices of which 173 are ASUS devices Default login user: admin Default login password: admin admin:admin credentials used by 1342 additional devices of which 207 are ASUS devices
3rd Party Firmware Support	DD-WRT • (List) , OpenWrt (Was)
Retail
Availability	End of Life
FCC approval date	31 August 2005
UPC	610839721979 (UPC DB, On eBay)
ASIN	B006ISM9AM
Country of manuf	China
Radio 1
Chip1	Broadcom BCM5352E
Chip2	Broadcom BCM2050
Wireless interface OUI	none specified
Antenna Connector Type	RP-SMA
Wireless Standard	IEEE 802.11b/g
802.11g	up to 54 Mbps
802.11b	up to 11 Mbps
WiFi Operating Frequency	2.4 GHz
Radio cor_rev	9

For a list of all currently documented Broadcom chipsets with specifications, see Broadcom.

For a list of all currently documented ASUS device with specifications, see ASUS.

• 54 Mbps - 2.4GHz 802.11g = G54 class

Overview

Broad Range: Triple signal coverage range of 802.11g standard
125 High Speed Mode: Boost 802.11g data transfer speed by 35%
Radio Power Control: Adjust output power for larger coverage range
WMM: Enhance wireless transfers of audio/video content
Data Security: WPA2, WPA, WEP, ACL and SPI firewall
EZSetup: Setup wireless LAN in 2 easy steps

Links of Interest

Reviews

ASUS WL-550gE on iXBT

Flashing

NOTE: During configuration or flashing a device, the only things that should be hooked to the device is the computer and power.

Flashing dd-wrt

NOTE: It is recommended to use ASUS Firmware restoration tool for ASUS routers initial flash (use *.TRX file).

Support started version: v23 SP2
Current supported version: ?

It is extremely important to follow the guidelines for your specific router. Please see Installation for more information. Remember to read the Peacock Announcementfor important basic information on Broadcom Routers.

A major clean-up of the Asus Install section was needed (and done) in the fall of 2009 - see Asus WL500-- old descriptions for the old but working guides. Valuable information from the old guides should be generalised, summarised and added to the Install list below, in an manner that would keep the Initial Install page looking good.

All Asus WL-500xx series routers

For all Asus WL-500xx series routers there are a number of ways to do the initial flash.
The TFTP method using the two Asus specific clean-up files is the "works every time-almost" way.
Other methods like using the Asus Recovery tool (recommended). or even using the web-GUI (not recommended) have also been reported to work for some, for the initial dd-wrt flash. So your mileage may vary.
Pick the one that is easier and works for you - You have now been notified of the method that is guaranteed to work!

The firmware files for the Asus WL-500xx series initial flash and the main builds are found here: mini-asus.trx for the initial flashing. This is the 14929 build that is the Broadcom forum recommended build at this time. Read the peacock announcement http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=51486 to determine if this build is still the recommended build for broadcom devices, how to upgrade properly and how to test if you need to use VINT or can use NEWD builds for upgrading. (The router database links to VINT, but the router database is often wrong and should not be followed)
Here is a thread on recovery. See the linked thread in the second post as well: http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=48003

Clock Timing Bug

This affects many of these models. Check if you are affected before applying the fix.

The TFTP recommended Asus way for all WL-500xx routers

NOTE: This method should only be used when you're not a windows user or do not have Administrative privileges in Vista or Windows 7 . The better method is using the provided Asus Firmware recovery Utility that came with the router. You may also obtain it from Asus' website See below this entry for instructions.

Links to the TFTP method of doing the initial flash of the WL-500xx series routers:
- Asus TFTP Flash. A very detailed step by step description of using the TFTP way with the extra Asus specific steps of doing the initial flash.
- From Linux using ATFTP This description may also work for OS X.
- How to Install DD-WRT onto Asus WL-500xx Using Ubuntu Linux. Includes a couple of hints to get TFTP working under Ubuntu 8.10 and 9.04.

Asus Recovery Utility

You can get the utilities here, or you can browse the Asus site to download the latest version. Asus only seem to provide these for Windows.

Under Vista and Win7 this utility must be run as administrator.

In case you have multiple network interfaces and are unable to find you router, disable all but the one that is connected to your router.

You should also turn off your firewall, in order to allow the Asus Recovery Utility to be able to connect and send data from your PC to the Router.

Steps:

Remove the power connector of the WL series router.
While holding the reset button, plug the power connector back in. (WL500gP - button labeled "restore")
When the power LED flashes, release the reset button. The router is now in recovery mode.
You need to manually set the address of your Pc Network LAN card to 192.168.1.10 and subnet mask 255.255.255.0
Use the Asus recovery utility to upload the DD-WRT mini-asus.trx file.
After the upgrade the Utility will ask for a router reboot. Give it about a minute to be on the safe side before removing the power. Once plugged back in, you should be able to access the web interface.
DO NOT use Firefox for upgrading builds! Use Internet Explorer!!!!
Type 192.168.1.1 into your browser and set your username as root and pick a password.
Navigate to Administration->Firmware Upgrade and upload either the recommended build provided on the main page of the site, or another of your choice.

IMPORTANT: If flashing with a WL500xx (not 520xx) Mega or Big build (Firmware image 5MB or larger) it will take ~ 3-5 minutes AFTER the timer has reached 0 for the firmware to complete. The best thing to do is hit Upgrade and walk away for 10 minutes so you don't inadvertently disturb the upgrade process.

Links

Asus WL-500g Premium v2 wiki
Oleg's WL-series comparison table

Flashing OpenWrt

This device is NOT RECOMMENDED for future use with OpenWrt due to low flash/ram. DO NOT BUY DEVICES WITH 4MB FLASH / 32MB RAM if you intend to flash an up-to-date and secure OpenWrt version onto it! See 4/32 warning for details.

This device does not have sufficient resources (flash and/or RAM) to provide secure and reliable operation. This means that even setting a password or changing simple network settings might not be possible any more, rendering the device effectively useless. See OpenWrt on 4/32 devices what you can do now.

OpenWrt support for this device has ended in 2022.
19.07.10 was the last official build for 4/32 devices.

Devices with Broadcom WiFi chipsets have limited OpenWrt supportability (due to limited FLOSS driver availability for Broadcom chips). Consider this when choosing a device to buy, or when deciding to flash OpenWrt on your device because it is listed as supported. See Broadcom WiFi for details.

On the OpenWrt ToH (techdata entry)
On the OpenWrt Wiki
OpenWrt Target: brcm47xx
OpenWrt Subtarget: legacy
OpenWrt Package architecture: mipsel_mips32
Support started version: 10.03
Current supported version: 22.03.7
Unsupported Functions:
WiFi 2.4GHz partly

Please insert instructions here

Upgrading

Updating DD-WRT

If dd-wrt is already on the router follow these instructions. If stock firmware is on the router follow the flashing instructions.

Check for recommended builds here first.
Set your computer to a static IP of 192.168.1.7. (or to whatever subnet the router is on) Disable all firewalls and security. Disable wireless on your computer and only have the router connected to the flashing computer by the ethernet cable between the two.
Hard reset or 30/30/30 (If the router supports it, if not, reset to defults in the GUI) prior to flashing. Wait. Check for password page on re-login and change password.
Flash firmware. You can use the webgui except if you have a belkin router. (For belkin use tftp.exe to flash)
Wait...at least three minutes. Lights should return to normal. See important2, below. Failing to wait is how most people brick their routers.
Do a power cycle of the router. (Unplug the cord, count to 30 and plug it back in.)
Wait for the lights to return to normal usually about 2 minutes.
Hard reset or 30/30/30 again (If the router supports it, if not, reset to defults in the GUI). Wait. Check for the password page and re-login to change the password. Then you can reconfigure your settings manually.
Once configured set your computer back to autoIP and autoDNS.

Important1: This Hard reset or 30/30/30 works fine for Asus router, but you do have to power cycle after the reset.

Important2: After you flash the firmware, and before you do the hard reset, the router will be building some nvram settings. YOU MUST WAIT FOR THIS TO FINISH PRIOR TO DOING ANYTHING WITH THE ROUTER INCLUDING A HARD RESET. Usually, you can tell when this process is completed by the WAN light coming on, but it does take several minutes. Go have a beer. There are starting to be more and more people who BRICK their routers by not waiting until the nvram is rebuilt, PRIOR to doing a hard reset. YOU NEED TO WAIT!