What is ASUSWRT-Merlin (firmware)

[UK Sentinel]

Being an ASUSWRT-Merlin firmware user (and enthusiast) , I could not resist adding this dedicated Firmware thread, ;-)

Asuswrt is the name of the firmware developed by Asus for use on all their recent routers. It was originally based on Tomato, and got extensively modified by Asus over the years as they added their own features to it.

Asuswrt-Merlin is an alternative, customized version of that firmware. Developed by Eric Sauvageau, its primary goals are to enhance  the existing firmware without bringing any radical changes, and to fix some of the known issues and limitations, while maintaining the same level of performance as the original firmware. This means Asuswrt-Merlin retains full support for NAT acceleration (sometimes referred to as “hardware acceleration”), enhanced NTFS performance (through the proprietary drivers used by Asus from either Paragon or Tuxera), and the Asus exclusive features such as AiCloud or the Trend Micro-powered AiProtection.  New feature addition is very low on the list of priorities for this project.

ASUSWRT-Merlin officially supports the following (RT) models:

RT-AC66U_B1 (same firmware as the RT-AC68U)
RT-AC68U  (including revisions C1 and E1)
RT-AC68P (same firmware as RT-AC68U)
RT-AC68UF (same firmware as RT-AC68U)
RT-AC87
RT-AC3200
RT-AC88U
RT-AC3100
RT-AC5300
RT-AC1900 (same firmware as RT-AC68U)
RT-AC1900P (same firmware as RT-AC68U)
RT-AC86U (starting with version 382.1)
RT-AC2900 (same firmware as RT-AC86U)
RT-AX88U

(Note: the U, R and W variants are all supported, as they are the exact same hardware and firmware, only different marketing SKUs or different case color)

Note 1: ASUSWRT-Merlin is only supported by the ASUS RT (Router) range of wifi products and is not intended for use with ASUS DSL (Modem) based router products.

 

https://asuswrt.lostrealm.ca/about

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[UK Sentinel]

ASUSWRT-Merlin End-of-life models and Latest Firmware for Reference

• RT-N66U   –  RT-N66U_380.70_0.trx
• RT-AC66U   –  RT-AC66U_380.70_0.trx
• RT-AC56U  –  RT-AC56U_384.6_0.trx
• RT-AC87U  –  RT-AC87U_384.13_10.trx
• RT-AC3200  –  RT-AC3200_384.13_10.trx

https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/download

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[UK Sentinel]

As an update as of the 10th April 2025, Asuswrt-Merlin supports a variety of ASUS routers, including both current and older models. Here are some of the supported devices:

Currently Supported Models

• RT-AX58U
• RT-AX86U / RT-AX86U PRO
• RT-AX88U / RT-AX88U PRO
• GT-AX11000 / GT-AX11000 PRO
• GT-AXE11000
• ZenWiFi Pro XT12
• GT-AX6000
• GT-AXE16000
• RT-BE92U
• RT-BE96U
• GT-BE98 PRO
• RT-BE86U
• RT-BE88U

No Longer Supported Models

• RT-N66U
• RT-AC66U
• RT-AC56U
• RT-AC87U
• RT-AC3200
• RT-AC68U
• RT-AC88U
• RT-AC3100
• RT-AC5300
• RT-AC86U
• GT-AC2900
• RT-AX56U

https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/

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