… Some devices have excellent support and clean installation paths, and others only have partial support, awkward flashing procedures, or hardware that is simply too old to be worth the effort. A router that technically boots alternative firmware is not automatically a good modern router. …
… It's the one component where firmware updates are a routine part of ownership, and motherboard manufacturers push new versions regularly to support new CPUs, patch security holes, and improve memory compatibility. …
… SSD firmware matters more than people may assume. For example, the Samsung 990 Pro shipped with firmware that caused health indicators to degrade unusually fast, and this was remedied through a firmware update. …
… OpenWrt: Which open-source router firmware should you pick? Installing a custom firmware on your router gives you more control and longer support than the stock firmware. …
… If your consumer router supports custom firmware such as DD-WRT, OpenWrt , AsusWRT-Merlin, or others, flashing a compatible firmware unlocks advanced features like VLAN support, mDNS bridging, and firewall control. …
… So, if you want to block your ISP from monitoring your network activity, the router's firmware doesn't allow that. Often, the router itself supports these features, but the ISP limits which ones you can use by installing custom firmware. …
… Related How to install Windows 11 on almost any unsupported PC Want Windows 11 but have an unsupported computer? …
… The console's firmware also needs to be between 3.xx and 4.xx. Support for older and newer firmware could come later, but it's still unclear Linux would likely need to run inside a virtual machine for it to work. …
… While you're in that section of the admin panel, flip on automatic updates if your router supports them. Some firmware lets you split this into security-only updates versus all updates; if you've ever been burned by a feature update breaking something, security-only is the safer pick. …
… The SSD firmware is an oft-ignored aspect on most PCs , but it's critical for your drive's performance, stability, and security. Related Your GPU, RAM, and SSD all have firmware you've never updated, and it can actually matter Your system might have firmware updates that you never knew about. …