As it comes, Netgear's AC1450 router is quite lousy, with buggy firmware, lots of crashes and limited throughput. However the internet figured out that the actual hardware is identical to the more expensive, better performing R6300v2 (AC 1750) router. It is possible to simply convert the router and use the R6300v2 router's firmware.
But we'll do even better and install DD-WRT's firmware, giving this inexpensive router better functionality than one costing several times more. If you want a DD-WRT router, this is an excellent choice. It's a dual band, dual network, 802.11ac router supporting 450Mbps (2.4Ghz) + 1300 Mbps (5Ghz) speeds (both 3x3 receiver-transmitter antennas), with two USB ports, one of them USB 3.0, 4+1 gigabit ethernet ports, a fast dual-core 800Mhz (ARM v7) processor, 128MB flash and 256MB RAM. You can find it new or refurbished on Amazon*.
Although hard to find, the steps to open up the capabilities couldn't be easier. Here's the summary:
1) Download the two files from ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2017/*/netgear-ac1450/, where * is a release that seems to work well according to users of the dd-wrt forums (I used 09-28-2015-r27858 and did not see issues -- Update: I would now recommend a more recent build like 09-29-2016-r30709 for security improvements.)
2) If the router is not new, reset first by holding down the red button on the back for 10 seconds. From the stock firmware web GUI choose manual (advanced) setup, and login with the admin user/password printed on the bottom of the router. Then choose router update. Select the factory-to-dd-wrt.chk file and flash. (Continue anyway if it says it's installing the same version). Whenever flashing, be patient and be sure that the power remains connected. It should boot back up automatically after some delay.
3) The router will reboot and open the DD-WRT web GUI. Don't set this up (apart from the mandatory username/password). Just go to Administration -> Firmware Upgrade. Select the second file, netgear-ac1450-webflash.bin and flash with reset to default settings.
DONE! After rebooting, you now have a great, fast full-featured DD-WRT router. More information about DD-WRT and how to set it up for your needs is available on the DD-WRT Wiki page.
* Really appreciate if you purchase via these links as I'll get a small commission at no cost to you.
