The Linksys WRT54G3G router is the most common 3G router on the South African market. Unfortunately as it come out of the box it is unable to connect to any network other than Vodacoms. It also supports a limited number of PCMCIA cards. At least the units we had in stock did. Most people are stuck using Vodacom sims with 3G instead of HSDPA with this router. We got enough requestes from customers looking for a 3G router solution that could work with MTN, CellC or Virgin and with HSDPA cards that we needed to find a solution.

How to flash your WRT54G3G router with the Linksys firmware update

After a bit of googiling we found out that a firmware update from Linksys was supposed to solve this problem. Searching the Linksys site for this model proved to be a challenge due to the existence of various "version" for different countries. The driver to get is the one for the Euro mode. If you get the wrong version your upgrade will fail. I can't remember the exact words but it was something like "upgrade are failed" or some other poor English.  To upgrade simply use the upgrade firmware page on the web administration application for your router.

We are happy to report that tests proved that the router now worked with MTN sims in addition we were able to use the Globe Trotter HSDPA PCMCIA modem with the router giving greater bandwidth. The Globe Trotter worked with Vodacom and MTN sims. Now when Eskom takes down your internet connect you can still ensure that your office is connect to the net. At least as long as the UPS or laptop batteries last. 

How to flash your WRT54G3G router with openWRT

Once we had achieved this we decided to give openwrt a go on the router. We downloaded the correct version for the router and flashed it again. Once again it worked flawlessly. Now you can have the power of open source on your router and turn a R2000.00 router into a R6000 one!