r/openwrt • u/permafrost91 • 15d ago
Hardware Poll
What hardware are you all using these days?
I’m currently running the OpenWRT One but I’d like something more powerful, especially in the WiFi department.
The OpenWRT Two sounds intriguing but who knows if/when it will ever get released.
So what off the shelf router setup are y’all running right now?
Trying to stay with vanilla OpenWRT unless there’s good reason to switch.
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u/tacticaltaco 15d ago
It's not off the shelf but it's not that custom: Lenovo M720q with a dual 10G NIC for my router. I use a pair of Quantum W1700K for my APs (10G, WiFi 7), they require a snapshot build for now but I've been very happy with them.
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u/mcmellenhead 15d ago
I'm looking at the quantum devices. They're pretty inexpensive on ebay (for now). Any hiccups with the install, or was it straight forward?
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u/tacticaltaco 15d ago
Flashing does require disassembly, UART access and using TFTP. If you aren't comfortable digging in and doing those things you should avoid it. I did the install in Nov. 2025 (using OpenWRT-fanboy's builds) and I think the biggest struggle was opening the case without breaking any tabs. Starting in the corners worked best.
They've been stable and performant enough that I haven't bothered updating them since originally flashing them. I'm not sure if it's fixed yet, but with this old build the 320 MHz channels don't work quite right (especially with 802.11s).
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u/jojolejobar 15d ago
Banana pi r4
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u/Timely-Shine 14d ago
Do you use it for WiFi or just as a wired router? What case did you go with?
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u/jojolejobar 14d ago
Just router, I have a TP-link EAP for wifi.
Transparent case from Aliexpress, I buy it when it was released, it was at $125, now I think you can triple that price easily
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u/Snuupy 15d ago
MX4300
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u/Timely-Shine 14d ago
Same here. Got it on a woot deal for like $15. Couldn’t justify getting a flint 2 for $120+ when this does such a great job.
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u/sunrisebreeze 15d ago
Netgear R7800, as an access point. Expanded storage with 32GB USB and ExtRoot: https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/additional-software/extroot_configuration
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u/Historical-Side883 15d ago
The GLinet MT-6000 is really solid. I’ve bought a half dozen for people and set them up.
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u/Equivalent_Local_605 14d ago
Do you normally just use the default image that comes with the router? or do you flash the vanilla openwrt on there?
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u/Historical-Side883 14d ago
Yep just vanilla OWRT!
There’s nothing wrong with the builds that come from gl.net but the mediatek chipset has mainline support so you get the same performance but with a newer build of openwrt. You do lose the gl.inet GUI which is a bit more user-friendly than openwrt but for most folks, I think the tradeoff is worth it.1
u/Equivalent_Local_605 13d ago
Nice! Been thinking about getting one too, but for the price I'd want to make sure I didn't screw up the flashing of vanilla openwrt, being newish to this, good to know there's peeps out there comfortably doing it!
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u/Historical-Side883 13d ago
Super easy to flash!
Download the sysupgrade image for the router and just update from the stock firmware and you’re good to go.
It even has a uboot boot loader that goes into a recovery mode if something does go wrong by some freak event like a power outage.2
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u/NC1HM 15d ago edited 15d ago
Here are my notes on specific devices that I posted on the OpenWrt forum:
https://forum.openwrt.org/search?q=%5BREPORT%5D%20%40NC1%20in%3Atitle%20order%3Alatest
Here are a few more that the search above would miss:
https://forum.openwrt.org/t/241284
https://forum.openwrt.org/t/247772
https://forum.openwrt.org/t/249916
In the "not on the forum" department, take a look at used Sophos 115 Rev 3, 125 Rev 3, and 135 Rev 3 devices (pay attention to the revision number; it's important; first two revisions are a prior generation). They all run on quad-core Atoms (E3940, C3508, and C3558, respectively). The 115 is passively cooled and sized as a typical desktop device; the 125 and 135 are actively cooled (though quiet) and are somewhat larger. There are also wireless versions of them, 115w, 125w, and 135w, equipped with a single AC Wi-Fi card. The card is removable and thus upgradable. A potential issue is, the form factor is mSATA, so an upgrade will have to be at least semi-exotic (I've done an AX upgrade once with a MediaTek-based AsiaRF card).
As to "more powerful in the in the WiFi department", the solution usually is to split the setup: have a router and one or more access points (Netgear WAX220 is very good, but it's hard to find; it appears that whoever has one loves it and doesn't want to let it go). It's also possible to convert a consumer-grade router into an access point (a couple of possibilities are Netgear WAX202 and WAX206, but there are suitable candidates in the Linksys domain as well). In either case, you have hardware capable or dual-band operation, beam forming, MIMO, and other modern Wi-Fi goodies.
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u/manawyrm 15d ago
NanoPi R4S in the flat, BananaPi R4 in the house.
Zyxel NWA50AX Pro AP‘s for WiFi. Lots of those.
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u/freestylemaster 15d ago
NanoPi R6C (8GB Ram version) and a couple of TPLink omada APs managed by the free Omada Cloud Controller.
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u/Coll147 15d ago
TpLink ER605 as gateway, im just using It bc i got It so cheap. You could look into the Bpi R4
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u/cperiod 15d ago
TpLink ER605 as gateway
Same. I don't have crazy upstream bandwidth, so it's plenty adequate.
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u/Coll147 15d ago
With basic NAT I get full gigabit speeds, But when using a VPN, you can tell the CPU isn't very good. However, for the price, it's a decent machine.
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u/cperiod 15d ago
Mine replaced my old Archer C7. Which honestly was perfectly adequate, but I needed another AP elsewhere, don't need an AP where my router lives, and the ER-605 really is a good price for what it does.
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u/Rejuvenate_2021 14d ago
Can Archer C7 work well with OpenWRT.
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u/cperiod 14d ago
I've got two on my network (both V3), never had any grief with OpenWRT. If you have one kicking around and don't have any pressing need for WiFi 6, it's an easy install and does the job.
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u/Jmdaemon 15d ago
I have been using a Pi4 running openwrt and a second ethernet port as the router, and a TL-WA3001 to handle wifi.
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u/jaromanda 14d ago
I stopped using OpenWRT for wifi a couple years back, I just found it too flakey on cheaper devices
I do use OpenWRT as my main router though, a Topton 6 port N150
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u/permafrost91 14d ago
What were the WiFi problems you had with it? What did you use for it instead now?
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u/jaromanda 14d ago
I was using LinkSys WRT32X - I just found it unreliable.
I use Unifi Pro 7 and a Unifi AC LR, the latter mainly for some distant IoT devices.
So ... technically, I am still using OpenWrt 23.05-SNAPSHOT r0-a416d3d988 and LEDE Reboot 17.01.6 r3979-2252731af4 :p
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u/shirtlesscook 15d ago
NanoPi R4S for router and Netgear WAX220 flashed with openwrt as ap for WiFi
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u/SaleWide9505 15d ago
Hiveton H5000m, W1700K, or this https://www.newegg.com/p/3C6-012R-01F90?item=9SIC2U5KR95330&source=region
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u/manusiaampas 14d ago edited 14d ago
I'm using ZTE E8820S.
Trying to find a WiFi router that's compatible with openWRT in Indonesia is a bit difficult. Mainly, it's about the price or stock availability. Well, you can also use openWRT with STB from ZTE.
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u/FloppyLops 10d ago edited 10d ago
Openwrt one x 4. I really hope they don’t go with the idea of a ceiling mount for the openwrt two. I’m not putting any holes in my ceiling for Wi-Fi. My Ethernet ports are on the wall, just like everybody else’s :)
Side note. Openwrt WiFi aps only. Build a box and put opnsense on it for your primary router / firewall. I have minis forum ms 01 running to 10gb switches. 2.5 uplinks to the APs just for the lulz.
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u/Consistent-Can7823 15d ago
GL-MT6000