Linksys Says it Won't Block Third Party Open Source Firmware Linksys says the company won't be banning third-party firmware on its products despite new FCC rules that have provided lazy hardware vendors an excuse to do so. Last year we noted the FCC was revamping its rules governing RF devices for safety reasons. The FCC acted to begin a new rule-making process after the FAA complained that some illegally modified router radios operating in the unlicensed bands were interfering with terminal doppler weather radar (TDWR) at airports. Put simply, the FCC wanted new rules that would prevent modifying devices so they'd operate outside of safe RF parameters, while still allowing hobbyists and enthusiasts to tinker.

The problem is that many routers have systems-on-a-chip (SOC) where the radio isn't fully distinguishable from other hardware. As such, many engineers worried that the rules could prompt vendors to simply lock down hardware completely to take the path of least resistance. That means that while the FCC's intentions might have been good, its updated rules would lead to vendors blocking all implementation of third-party firmware like DD-WRT, OpenWRT, or Tomato. And, at least with some vendors, that's exactly what happened. TP-Link went right ahead and used the FCC's rule change to justify giving up on supporting third-party firmware on its routers manufactured after June of this year. "As a result of these necessary changes, users are not able to flash the current generation of open-source, third-party firmware," claimed TP-Link -- despite again the FCC's actual guidance technically not preventing anything of the sort. But Belkin's Linksys division is taking a notably different tack, telling Ars Technica that it will continue to support third-party open source custom firmware -- at least on the company's WRT line of routers, which have been a hobbyist favorite for more than a decade. Belkin/Linksys pretty clearly realizes that annoying this small but vocal customer segment wouldn't be a particularly bright marketing move, so the company spends some time praising the tinkering community. “The real benefit of open source is not breaking the rules and doing something with malicious intent, the value of open source is being able to customize your router, to be able to do privacy browsing through Tor, being able to build an OpenVPN client, being able to strip down the firmware to do super lean, low-latency gaming,” Linksys router product manager Vince La Duca tells Ars. “It's not about ‘I'm going to go get OpenWrt to go and piss off the FCC.' It's about what you can do in expanding the capabilities of what we ship with.” Again though, a number of Linksys routers, such as the Max-Stream line, will remain closed. Linksys didn't appear to find much of a challenge in working around the FCC's guidance, something companies like TP-Link have tried to imply was impossible. "The hardware design of the WRT platform allows us to isolate the RF parameter data and secure it outside of the host firmware separately," the company says of the routers that will support third-party firmware. That's good news for Linksys and Linksys fans, but it's not clear if other hardware vendors will embrace their tinkering communities, or follow TP-Link in taking the lazy route moving forward. Your mileage may vary; there's some indication that Asus intends to That's good news for Linksys and Linksys fans, but it's not clear if other hardware vendors will embrace their tinkering communities, or follow TP-Link in taking the lazy route moving forward. Your mileage may vary; there's some indication that Asus intends to remain dedicated to third-party tinkering , and with Linksys lending its support it appears we won't see the total custom firmware apocalypse some predicted. That said, you may want to drop your favorite vendor a line and remind them that the router hobbyist community may be small, but angering them could carry much larger public relation repercussions.







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Most recommended from 21 comments



buzz_4_20

join:2003-09-20

Biddeford, ME (Software) Sophos UTM Home Edition

Ruckus R310

8 recommendations buzz_4_20 Member Why don't they just Instead of letting the software dictate the channels used. Have a couple solderpoints on the boards depending on what market they go to.

Problem Solved, FCC is happy and users are happy.

Production cost increases by a penny a unit. So... no big whoop.

cralt

join:2011-01-07

CT 6 recommendations cralt Member Hardware. They could put notch filters that take out the band the FCC is worried about. Then no amount of software hacking could cause a problem then.



Or the FCC could just do its job and go after illegal stations. They have many times more funding now compared to the 1980s but they don't even do a fraction of the enforcement they used to do.



Why does the FCC even exist now?

Apparently it's just to serve the cellphone industry. TRUEgribnick

Premium Member

join:2003-09-29

Canton, OH 6 recommendations TRUEgribnick Premium Member I just have to throw the BS flag on this one Hi, I would give anything to see the SITREP on the interference event. For a 34mW router to interfere with a Spread Spectrum Radar that is at least 80ft off the ground just doesn't seem possible.

Unless the person is using an external power booster in the "many watts" range the bandpass filters of the receiving unit would filter them out.

This just sounds too fishy to me.

BTW, I'm a crotchety old retired radar tech for what it's worth.

Chris 313

Because It's Geekier

Premium Member

join:2004-07-18

Houma, LA ·Comcast XFINITY

6 recommendations Chris 313 Premium Member Asus is changing, but still open to 3rd party FW



DD-WRT, Merlin, Tomato are ones I've seen mentioned working with the Asus approach. Asus is changing their firmware, but is still working to make sure you can use 3rd party fw: » www.snbforums.com/thread ··· d.32357/ DD-WRT, Merlin, Tomato are ones I've seen mentioned working with the Asus approach.