Linksys E2500

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Contents

Hardware Information

Image:e25002.jpg

CPU Broadcom BCM5358UB0 (BCM5358x)
CPU Speed 300 MHz (v3: 500 MHz)
Flash ROM 8 MB (v3: 16 MB)
RAM 64 MB
2.4 GHz Radio b/g/n (native)
5 GHz Radio* a/n (BCM43236, USB2.0 interface)
WLAN Max Speed 300 Mbps (each radio; "N600")
Antenna Location Internal
MIMO Config 2T x 2R
Switch 4x 10/100 LAN + 1 10/100 WAN

* See 'Known Limitations'

Flashing instructions for the E2500

After using the trailed build file for the initial flash (the firmware file that has the name that ends with "mini-e2500.bin") only use nv60k builds to upgrade with or you will brick your unit!

  1. Read the Peacock Announcement carefully.
  2. Disconnect all cables and wireless clients.
  3. Do a 30/30/30 reset on router using the small reset button on the bottom, not back, of the unit.
  4. Connect 1 Lan cable to pc doing the flash.
  5. Log into Linkysys Web Interface Firmware Upgrade page at 192.168.1.1, click on the "continue with an open and unsecured network", put "root" for your username and "admin" for your password, go to the administration/firmware Upgrade tab, and flash the firmware E2500 Trailed Initial Flash Build MAKE SURE THE FIRMWARE YOU ARE FLASHING HAS E2500 IN THE NAME!
  6. Wait 5 minutes to assure flash integrity.
  7. Power cycle by unplugging E2500 for 10 seconds.
  8. Plug E2500 back in and wait about 3 minutes until it finishes booting.
  9. Do a 30/30/30 reset using the small button on the bottom, not back, of the unit on the router.
  10. Wait 3 minutes and log into web interface.
  11. You are done.
  • After the initial flash - should you want to flash to a build with more features you can use a k2.6 nv60k BIG or mega build or any of the other build flavors that are of your liking for features.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/routerdb/de/download/Cisco%20Linksys/E2500/1.0/dd-wrt.v24-21061_NEWD-2_K2.6_big-nv60k.bin/3936

Flashing hardware version 2

The initial flash with the trailed build works the same with v2 hardware as it does with v1, despite the trailed build not indicating a version in the dd-wrt router database. There is no difference using dd-wrt on v2 versus v1.

Flashing hardware version 3

Fractal ported an unofficial 23569 E2500v3 build for initial flashing, which can be found in this thread. Otherwise follow the instructions above. Many have reported success with flashing K3X build 26947 mega after Fractal's initial flash. There is no official initial flash, but other builds can be modified (not supported):

  • Initial flash conversion involves hex editing a e2500.bin file to change the string E25X to 25V3
    • The first four bytes change from '45 32 35 58' to '32 35 56 33'

You cannot easily revert back to OEM firmware with this build. See this thread in the broadcom forum, but please be careful in following the steps. These are dangerous commands that can brick your router if you are not careful or do not wait long enough:

http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=283212

Build information

As noted in bold at the beginning of the flashing instructions, only use builds with nv60k in the name for upgrading - otherwise follow the initial flash instructions above if you are going from stock to dd-wrt, any other builds for upgrading an exsisting dd-wrt install without nv60k in the name will brick your router! This unit was supported with build 18946 or greater, for the v1 and v2 hardware, this means you cannot use a build with a number lesser than 18946, also avoid the test builds within the E2500 forum thread and the builds linked in the dd-wrt router database as they are known to cause a reboot loop. For the safest results, use builds that are linked within this wiki.

To find the latest builds, you can browse the DD-WRT file server and look for the broadcom_K26 folder, in there is the appropriate for your unit. Be aware that these are beta test builds and should be used with caution!

ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/others/eko/BrainSlayer-V24-preSP2

Known limitations

The 5 GHz radio does not function* on this device when running dd-wrt v24. This is because the 5 GHz radio functions off the USB bus (not the PCI bus). This is a problem because a driver has yet to be ported for the 5 GHz radio on the USB bus for any dd-wrt device. *Note: Shibby and Advanced Tomato do support the 5 GHz radio.

If you get an "upgrade failed" message and are sure you followed the instructions exactly, first verify you are not trying to flash v1/v2 firmware on a v3 router (or vice versa), and then try a different browser.

Overclocking

The BCM5358UB0 has many configurations that run up to 530 MHz, including the E2500v3 which runs at 500. Increased heat generation would likely require a heat sink and ventilation improvements. The 5358 shares the 20MHz PLL (NVRAM: xtalfreq=20000) table for the 5357 (pll20mhz_table), from which the first three settings are used for the NVRAM 'clkfreq' parameter. Note: the CFE may limit the allowed settings. It is recommended to stick with clkfreq=x,y,z where y=x/2 and z=y/2. For example, the default for v1 and v2 is: 'clkfreq=300,150,75'

Reverting to stock firmware

It has been asked about: "how do i revert back to stock firmware?" and the answer is download the stock firmware image from the manufacturer's website, reset the router back to defaults using a 30-30-30 hard reset, then flash the stock image from within the dd-wrt webgui. After 5 minutes it should finish, you will then need to do another 30-30-30 reset and then access the stock webgui @ 192.168.1.1

The v3 model might require that you use tftp. See note 11 of the peacock announcement for further guidance.