I used to use an old Linksys WRT54GL v1.1 router for the purpose of testing homelab setups, but I have recently found that, as of 2022, it is unsupported by OpenWRT. So, I am now looking for a router to replace my old one. I don’t need anything fancy – I just need a router with WiFi connectivity (2.4GHz is fine, but 5GHz is, of course, appreciated, if possible), and a few LAN ports (gigabit would be nice, but it is not a necessity). By no means does it have to be a new model of router. So long as it supports a current version of OpenWRT, and satisfies my hardware requirements, it will be an acceptable recommendation
Glinet devices have great support for openwrt.
Search your local listings for them, they can be quite cheap too
Do you recommend any specific model(s), by chance?
I have the Slate AX travel router, and it’s really good.
It has a simplified web interface + app for the gl-inet specific functions (WAN failover, adblock, VPN server + client, file share, etc), but you can also access the OpenWRT interface underneath.
I have a bunch of different models from them, no complaints. Obviously the newer models with USBC and higher throughput are better. But it depends on your use case. I would just buy the cheapest one you can find locally and play with it. Make sure you’re happy with open WRT on it.
I have a few shadows and a beryl, my primary use case is a travel router. But now that Calyxos and lineage os allow sharing of VPN over tethering I just use a old cell phone as my travel router.
since your priority seems to be software support for openwrt and considering that you have ancient hardware doing the job just fine, you should go for an archer c7, it has 80211n wifi and 5ghz to boot and decent headroom for shenanigans.
you can get one brand new pretty cheap, even cheaper used.
great openwrt support too, cause its cheap and popular.
It’s ancient, but it still beats a lot of new routers out there regarding signal strength. That thing will go through 3 reinforced concrete walls, no problem.
“Cheap” being relative, I think GL.iNet products are reasonably priced, and their software is OpenWRT with a customized web interface. $40 for their small, portable WiFi 5 Opal; $95 for their WiFi 6 “home” router; $130 for the WiFi 6 Opal. The Opals work fine for covering a 1br apartment, but have 2 eth ports. The bigger one (Flint?) has 4.
Having just researched this, I purchased the Dynalink AX3600 (DL-WRX36). While it’s not as simple as a drop in firmware reflash, it offered the best speed and performance for not significantly more effort; Wifi 6, USB 3.0 ports, and full MIMO antenna support.
I also considered the following:
- Buffalo WXR-5950AX12
- Linksys E8450 (5GHz ax only)
- Netgear WAX202
- Xiami AX9000
how is wifi6 performing with openwrt on this box? i hear it cant do hw accel yet?
I use a Belkin RT3200 (same hardware as Linksys E8450). They go for pretty cheap on ebay and I have no complaints.
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I bought a Linksys router from Walmart that has WiFi 6 and is well supported
What model?
