Netgear WNDR3700

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The Netgear WNDR3700 is a powerful consumer simultaneous dual band 802.11 a/b/g/n router, sporting a fast Qualcomm Atheros (v1, v2, v4), Broadcom (v3), or Mediatek CPU (v5), good routing performance and transmit power capability, and a USB 2.0 port. To date there are 5 hardware revisions of this router, v1, v2, v3, v4, and v5. v5 is not supported and there is no ETA, each of which requires its own firmware build, whether you use stock firmware or DD-WRT. Installation of DD-WRT is very simple and can be done in a few steps.


Note: factory.img is for worldwide units flashing from NETGEAR firmware to DD-WRT, or recovering from TFTP mode. factory_NA.img is the same except for North American units. Webflash is from upgrading an existing DD-WRT firmware to a newer build via update firmware option.


v1

v1 units are not labeled at all and are just called "WNDR3700".

Download DD-WRT for the WNDR3700 v1 from here depending on the region you purchased your outer from:

North America (NA): ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2015/11-25-2015-r28320/netgear-wndr3700/wndr3700-factory_NA.img

World Wide (WW): ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2015/11-25-2015-r28320/netgear-wndr3700/wndr3700-factory.img

Web Flash BIN (Both): ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2015/11-25-2015-r28320/netgear-wndr3700/wndr3700-webflash.bin

Note: If you try to install DD-WRT on v1 with initial factory firmware (1.0.4.31NA), the upload will fail with "Invalid file name!" Work-around for this problem is to first upgrade to a later version of factory firmware (e.g., 1.0.7.98NA) before installing DD-WRT.


v2

v2 units are labeled on the side of the box, in firmware, & under the router as "WNDR3700v2".

If you have a WNDR3700 v2, download from here following the same flashing steps:

North America (NA): ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2015/11-25-2015-r28320/netgear-wndr3700v2/wndr3700v2-factory_NA.img

World Wide (WW): ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2015/11-25-2015-r28320/netgear-wndr3700v2/wndr3700v2-factory.img

Web Flash BIN (Both): ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2015/11-25-2015-r28320/netgear-wndr3700v2/wndr3700v2-webflash.bin

Note: You must have no later than 1.0.0.12 of the netgear factory firmware in order to flash dd-wrt to this unit. Netgear has put a check in later firmware revisions to see if you are not using their firmware and will fail. http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=731615#731615


v3

v3 units are labeled on the side of the box, in firmware, & under the router as "WNDR3700v3".

If you have a WNDR3700 v3, download from here flashing the trailed build:

Trailed Build (World Wide (WW)): ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2015/01-20-2015-r25974/broadcom_K26/dd-wrt.v24-25974_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-WNDR3700v3.chk

Upgrade Builds: This unit is broadcom based and has 64k of nvram. Use nv64k.bin firmware versions. Stay with K2.6 unless you know what you're doing.


v4

v4 units are labeled on the side of the box, in firmware, & under the router as "WNDR3700v4". If you flash with a factory img file newer than r23503, stock firmware will give a cgi timeout error, use the r23503 factory file to get on DD-WRT first then use the webflash below to be updated to the latest build.

If you have a WNDR3700 v4, download from here following the same flashing steps:

World Wide (WW): ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2014/02-04-2014-r23503/netgear-wndr3700v4/wndr3700v4-factory.img

Web Flash BIN: ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2015/11-25-2015-r28320/netgear-wndr3700v4/wndr3700v4-webflash.bin


v5

v5 units are labeled on the side of the box, in firmware, & under the router as "WNDR3700v5". Further info is TODO.

If you have a WNDR3700 v5, download from here following the same flashing steps:

World Wide (WW): TODO

Web Flash BIN: TODO

DD-WRT Installation

  • Flashing: Make sure you are connected to the router with an Ethernet cable. (Do not flash over a wireless connection.) Then upgrade to DD-WRT firmware through the router's Web interface. The process will take a few minutes. Do not interrupt the upgrade process -- wait at least 1 minute after 100% is reached.
  • Checking: Wait while the router reboots. The lights should flash, and eventually the status light should go solid green. Then open http://192.168.1.1 in a Web browser, and if a DD-WRT screen appears, flashing is complete and successful.
  • 30/30/30 Reset:
    • Press and hold the Reset button for 30 seconds. Do not release it.
    • While still holding the reset button, unplug the router and leave it unplugged for 30 more seconds.
    • Still holding the reset button, plug the router back in and wait yet another 30 seconds.
    • Unplug the router again and release the reset button
    • Plug it back in and wait at least 1 minute. This is critical as the router is building NVRAM settings.


To restore from the brick TFTP the stock firmware or a known working build of DD-WRT back from it (-factory.img file). To upgrade to a newer build of DD-WRT, use the web interface and selecting the "wndr3700-webflash.bin" file instead. Also, if you do partially brick your router, use this page to unbrick it.


Now that DD-WRT is fully installed and NVRAM is cleared, ensure your PC does not have any internal static IP then point your browser to 192.168.1.1, this is the DD-WRT default IP and can be changed to any IP you like. You should be at the username and password screen, set them accordingly then proceed to setting up DD-WRT.

  • NOTE it has been suggested that if your netgear firmware is higher than 1.12 you might have to own grade the netgear firmware to 1.12 using tftp in order to flash ddwrt to the router.

Known Issues

Weak Radios (v1 only)

There has been some reports of very weak radios (both 2.4GHz and 5GHz) after flashing DD-WRT, but there is also reports of weak wireless with those that never flashed DD-WRT. The issue seems to be faulty hardware, a fairly large bad batch off the assembly line (see "fix" below). Owners with this problem report the wireless is so weak one can't move any further away from the router than 1 meter. A chart has been made by a WNDR3700 owner that is linked at the bottom of this page, you have over 85% chance to get a good working router. See this thread on netgear forums for some low S/N information: http://forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?t=54442

According to this thread TA numbers ending in 01R15 are likely to be bad. 01R17 are better, 07R18 is 50/50, and it appears 01R21+ are usually fine. Anything starting with 02R is from the "2nd generation" and no issues have been reported with the 2.4Ghz/5.0Ghz bands.

Fix: Exchanging the router for another one.


MAC Address

Some report MAC addresses changing to FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF, this is caused by a improper flash. Reflash following the steps above before attempting the fix. If reflashing did not fix the problem replacing caldata should, see fix link.

Fix: http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=468313#468313 (whole thread overall has lots of info)


Specifications

Feature v1 v2 v3 v4 v5
CPU Atheros AR7161 680 MHz Atheros AR7161 680 MHz Broadcom BCM4718A1 480 MHz Atheros AR9344 560 MHz Mediatek MT7621S 880 MHz
RAM 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 128 MB  ?? TODO
Flash 8 MB 16 MB 8 MB 128 MB  ?? TODO
Switch Realtek RTL8366SR Realtek RTL8366SR Broadcom BCM53115 Atheros AR9344 Mediatek MT7621ST
Radios (2.4/5 GHz) Atheros AR9223 / Atheros AR9220 Atheros AR9223 / Atheros AR9220 Broadcom BCM4718A1 SOC / Broadcom BCM4331 Atheros AR9344 SOC / Atheros AR9582  ??/?? TODO
Max TX Power (2.4/5 GHz) 17 dBm / 24 dBm 17 dBm / 24 dBm 251 mW / 251 mW 26 dBm / 22 dBm  ?? TODO

Max TX Power assumes 40 MHz channel width (HT40) and regulatory domain of Canada/USA. Under 20 MHz (HT20) operation 2.4 GHz may have higher TX power due to reduced channel width.


FAQ

Q: After flashing DD-WRT, the LAN LEDs are now green for 10/100M and orange 1000M? (v1/v2 only)

A: This is an intentional change by the DD-WRT developers, Netgear had the colors backwards as gigabit is usually orange (check any other NIC!).


Q: I heard some WNDR3700 radios were dying shortly after flashing DD-WRT? Does the firmware damage routers?

A: No DD-WRT does not damage routers, there is also reports as said above, of WNDR3700's having weak wireless even when DD-WRT was never put on it. It is a faulty hardware issue.


Q: Is there going to be a special version of DD-WRT for this router?

A: Maybe, maybe not. Probably not because Netgear already paid for special support *for us*, this is why WNDR3700 has extra features such as RP-PPPOE server and per user/subnet/MAC QoS speed control as these are special build features.


Q: My wireless performance dropped after installing DD-WRT?

A: Refer to the Qualcomm Atheros wireless settings wiki page, you are probably using default or incorrect settings such as WEP.


Q: What is the default username and password for DD-WRT?

A: Username is "root" and password is "admin".


Q: With stock firmware I was able to setup a guest AP or virtual AP, can I do this as well with DD-WRT?

A: Absolutely, and much more!


Q: How come I cannot get 802.11n 300 Mbps speeds with a 300 Mbps client?

A: You must use HT40 channel width & WPA2 AES when encrypting your wireless connection, otherwise the router will fallback to 802.11a/g speeds since WPA2 AES is a mandatory requirement of 802.11n specification as WPA2 AES is the only approved encryption method in the 802.11n standard.


Q: Is it possible to restore the factory or stock firmware that came with my router?

A: Yes. Refer to WNDR3700: Restore Factory Firmware in Five Easy Steps.


Useful Information

  • Refer to this thread containing various info regarding WNDR3700.
  • Refer to this thread about the possibility of different revisions of the WNDR3700, weak wireless problem could be tied to revision.
  • Refer to this thread for a guide to restoring the Netgear factory firmware.
  • Software Installation on USB enabled Atheros routers [1]


Unbricking

See Reinstall the firmware on a router without the setup CD recovery tool