How to Get the Most Speed on a DD-WRT Router

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Replace router firmware with DD-WRT to get advanced features from low-cost hardware.

By default, DD-WRT routers don't discriminate when it comes to bandwidth. Streaming movies, file downloads, video games and Internet phone calls are each given as much bandwidth as they can take. If you are multitasking or have several people accessing the Internet on the same router, you can prioritize bandwidth for any important applications using the routers Quality of Service, or QoS feature. This way, your movies won't lag and phone calls won't drop just because someone is downloading an email attachment.

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Step 1

Type "http://192.168.1.1" in the address bar of your Web browser to open the router's admin panel. Enter your admin username and password. If you haven't set this yet, the default username is "root" and the default password is "admin."

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Step 2

Click the "Wireless" tab in the Web page that displays and click "Advanced Settings."

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Step 3

Type "100" into the "TX Power" text box and click "Save Settings."

Step 4

Click the "NAT/QoS" tab and click "QoS." Click the "Enable" radio button located next to "Start QoS."

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Step 5

Click the "Port" box and click "WAN." Type a number equal to 90 percent of the Internet connection upload speed in Kbps provided by the Internet Service Provider into the "Upload (kbps)" text box. Write a number equal to 90 percent of the Internet connection download speed in Kbps provided by the Internet Service Provider into the "Download (kbps)" field.

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Step 6

Click the "Add/Edit Service" button. Type the name of the application or service you want to dedicate bandwidth for in the "Service Name" field. Type the first port and last port used by the service or application into the "Port Range" left text box and right text box respectively. Click the "Add" button. Repeat for each service or application for which you want dedicated bandwidth and tap the "Save" button.

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Step 7

Click the "Service Name" box and click a service for which you want dedicated bandwidth. Click the "Priority" box and click the priority option you wish to assign to the service or application. Click the "Add" button. Repeat this step for each service or application for which you want dedicated bandwidth.

Step 8

Click the "Apply Settings" button at the bottom of the web page.

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