Linksys WRT54G
Hacker ApprovedRanked 8 of 15 routers by recommenders
People recommend it for its long-lasting hardware and open firmware that let owners install OpenWRT. The most common caveat is that its hardware is outdated and slow by modern Wi-Fi standards.
People recommend it for its long-lasting hardware and open firmware that let owners install OpenWRT. The most common caveat is that its hardware is outdated and slow by modern Wi-Fi standards.
17 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 14
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 82%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 18 years
Median of the 5 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 14 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Long-lasting, reliable hardware
“Lovely little piece of hardware that just refuses to die.”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “OpenWrt One – Open Hardware Router” “still works fine and I find this amusing”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Getting an old Computer online with Android Ethernet tethering” “they just work in all situations”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “OpenWrt One – Open Hardware Router” - Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “OpenWrt One – Open Hardware Router”
Hackable, flashable open firmware
“Linksys were certainly kind enough to permit people to flash their own firmware to that router”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Moss: a Rust Linux-compatible kernel in 26,000 lines of code” “That little hackable Linux box was a very fun introduction to the rabbit hole”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “A brief look at FreeBSD” “potentially cheaply by flashing Linksys WRT54G with OpenWRT”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “Tell HN: Bob Cringely has died” - Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “OSHW: Small tablet based on RK3568 and AMOLED screen”
Fond memories, favorite model
“The WRT54 is still one of my favorite pieces of industrial design.”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “OpenWrt One – Open Hardware Router” “I'd love to go back to my linksys wrt54 roots”
Comment from 28 May 2026 in “Indoor Wi-Fi Roaming with OpenWRT” “Loved that thing. Just toslow now tho.”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “OpenWrt One – Open Hardware Router” - Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “OpenWrt One – Open Hardware Router”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Hardware outdated and slow
“there's no software route around the hardware being outdated and slow”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “OpenWrt One – Open Hardware Router” “It's pretty little slow by modern wifi standards”
Comment from 24 Dec 2025 in “Unifi Travel Router” “Loved that thing. Just toslow now tho.”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “OpenWrt One – Open Hardware Router” Stock firmware buggy and poor
“Why every company feels the need to roll their own firmware that is buggy, slow, crashy, and doesn't implement half of the promised functionality properly”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “OpenWrt One – Open Hardware Router” “the default software was hot garbage”
Comment from 13 Oct 2026 in “Ask HN: Do you want a router that has DD-WRT pre-installed?”
Other routers people recommend
The four most recommended other routers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MikroTik router | 59 | 26 | 69% | 11 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| GL.iNet travel router | 54 | 5 | 92% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Travel Router | 35 | 16 | 69% | 2 | — | — |
| OpenWrt One | 34 | 10 | 77% | 7 | 3 mo3 owners | Approved |
| Linksys WRT54GThis page | 14 | 3 | 82% | 6 | 18 yrs5 owners | Approved |
What people said
19 of the 21 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the default software was hot garbage”
“potentially cheaply by flashing Linksys WRT54G with OpenWRT”
“Cisco were in violation of the GPL over the WRT54G”
“they just work in all situations”
“Lovely little piece of hardware that just refuses to die.”
“Why every company feels the need to roll their own firmware that is buggy, slow, crashy, and doesn't implement half of the promised functionality properly”
“Loved that thing. Just toslow now tho.”
“there's no software route around the hardware being outdated and slow”
“The WRT54 is still one of my favorite pieces of industrial design.”
“Great device for it’s time.”
“We took a pair of WRT54Gs, configured one as a WiFi client, the other as a bog-standard router/AP”
“The best model of the WRT54G line.”
“it allowed me to boost the signal above FCC-approved power requirements”
“I'd love to go back to my linksys wrt54 roots”
“still works fine and I find this amusing”
“It's pretty little slow by modern wifi standards”
“the WRT54g router spawned OpenWRT et al.”
“Linksys were certainly kind enough to permit people to flash their own firmware to that router”
“That little hackable Linux box was a very fun introduction to the rabbit hole”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.