Openwrt Router Firmware

xiaofan

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Stilll looking out for 4x4 wifi 6 routers with openwrt for the cheap =p

Actually there are snapshot for some Xiaomi Routers, they should be officially supported in the next release version. Redmi AX6000 is of pretty low cost and the MediaTek Filogic 830 CPU (MT7986A) is pretty powerful as well. Xiaomi AX9000 has very high end CPU and the price is reasonable as well (either local version on promotion, or China version).
https://openwrt.org/toh/views/toh_available_16128_ax-wifi

Asus TUF-AX4200 is 3x3 and it is also reasonable priced (local version at S$249). It has OpenWRT snapshot release as well.

Maybe it is better to wait for next year and I belive there will be more cheaper WiFi 6 routers with good OpenWRT support.
 
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BradenHeat

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Actually there are snapshot for some Xiaomi Routers, they should be supported in the next release version. Redmi AX6000 is of pretty low cost and the MediaTek Filogic 830 CPU (MT7986A) is pretty powerful as well. Xiaomi AX9000 has very high end CPU and the price is reasonable as well (either local version on promotion, or China version).
https://openwrt.org/toh/views/toh_available_16128_ax-wifi

Asus TUF-AX4200 is 3x3 and it is also reasonable priced (local version at S$249). It has OpenWRT snapshot release as well.

Maybe it is better to wait for next year and I belive there will be more cheaper WiFi 6 routers with good OpenWRT support.


no xiaomi that looks like a mini tv console ,
Was looking at tuf, but as you know I’ve already on the m1 rog get ax6k

will be testing the gl inet later to see if it can cover firewalla =p
 

xiaofan

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no xiaomi that looks like a mini tv console ,
Was looking at tuf, but as you know I’ve already on the m1 rog get ax6k

will be testing the gl inet later to see if it can cover firewalla =p

Hmm, I do not think XIaomi AX9000 and Redmi AX6000 look like mini TV console at all. Are you mixing them up with Linksys E8450/E7350, which look like a small game console.
https://openwrt.org/toh/views/toh_available_16128_ax-wifi

OpenWRT does not really support Broadcomm chipset well so no support for most of the Asus AX routers including your GT-AX6000 and my RT-AX86U/RT-AX82U.

Anyway, it may not make much sense to switch from Asus stock FW or Merlin FW to OpenWRT, even if GT-AX6000 would be supported by OpenWRT in the future.
 
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BradenHeat

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Hmm, I do not think XIaomi AX9000 and Redmi AX6000 look like mini TV console at all. Are you mixing them with Linksys E8450/E7350, which look like a small game console.
https://openwrt.org/toh/views/toh_available_16128_ax-wifi

OpenWRT does not really support Broadcomm chipset well so no support for most of the Asus AX routers including your GT-AX6000 and my RT-AX86U/RT-AX82U.

Anyway, it may not make much sense to switch from Asus stock FW or Merlin FW to OpenWRT, even if GT-AX6000 would be supported by OpenWRT in the future.


nah, the redmi and xiaomi, is HUGE, i rather take the "smaller" rog in that sense , its less [ fugly ]


im doing some Qos Settings, what kind of config have you tried >?



 

xiaofan

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nah, the redmi and xiaomi, is HUGE, i rather take the "smaller" rog in that sense , its less [ fugly ]

im doing some Qos Settings, what kind of config have you tried >?


I think Redmi AX6000 is smaller than your ROG GT-AX6000 (which is quite a bit larget than my RT-AX86U or RT-AX82U). But I agree that Xiaomi AX9000 is huge, but seems to look nicer than the ugly GT-AX6000.

I do not use SQM or QoS at all, It is kind of useless for 1Gbps plans.

But I tried them before with the simple guide here. It seems to work fine with my Intel J4105 mini PC. I am not so sure if your mini router can handle higher speed or not.
https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/traffic-shaping/sqm#configuring_sqm
 

xiaofan

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GL.iNet is nice to use as a travel router.

But if you want to DIY a travel router with a Raspberry Pi 4B, here is a guide (including VPN client), for sure not as elegant as the GL.iNet, just for those who are interested.
Warning -- not for average users, you need to be a bit familiar with Linux here.
 

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Wondering if anyone got try using 2x EA8100, flash OpenWRT and setup roaming with ethernet backhaul before? I see on carousell so cheap now, itchy hand but I dont need them haha
 

xiaofan

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Wondering if anyone got try using 2x EA8100, flash OpenWRT and setup roaming with ethernet backhaul before? I see on carousell so cheap now, itchy hand but I dont need them haha

Haha, try it and let us know. :)

I tend to think it will work.

I have two OpenWRT capable wireless router, but only one power supply, so I can not try this experiment.

My Linksys WRT1900AC was my main router for 6.5 years (April 2014 to Sept 2020). Then I picked up a Linksys EA7500v2 (without power supply) as someone threw it away and put in the mail box area. I have both flashed with OpenWRT 22.03 but I can only run them one at a time (the power supply of Linksys WRT1900AC works well with Linksys EA7500 v2).
 

xiaofan

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Today Raspberry Pi 5 is announced. It may be a good option for OpenWRT.

Price: US$60 for the 4GB version and $80 for 8GB

Specifications:
  • Broadcom BCM2712 2.4GHz quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU, with cryptography extensions, 512KB per-core L2 caches and a 2MB shared L3 cache
  • VideoCore VII GPU, supporting OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.2
  • Dual 4Kp60 HDMI® display output with HDR support
  • 4Kp60 HEVC decoder
  • LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM (4GB and 8GB SKUs available at launch)
  • Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi®
  • Bluetooth 5.0 / Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
  • microSD card slot, with support for high-speed SDR104 mode
  • 2 × USB 3.0 ports, supporting simultaneous 5Gbps operation
  • 2 × USB 2.0 ports
  • Gigabit Ethernet, with PoE+ support (requires separate PoE+ HAT)
  • 2 × 4-lane MIPI camera/display transceivers
  • PCIe 2.0 x1 interface for fast peripherals (requires separate M.2 HAT or other adapter)
  • 5V/5A DC power via USB-C, with Power Delivery support
  • Raspberry Pi standard 40-pin header
  • Real-time clock (RTC), powered from external battery
  • Power button
 

xiaofan

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Testing of Raspberry Pi 5 -- 10Gpbs PCIE adapter kind of works. But it should be good enough for 2.5Gbps or maybe even 5Gbps. WiFi 6E USB 3 adapter also works.

 

xiaofan

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There are some interesting progress in terms of Broadcom target support. But I am not so sure how the wireless performance will be using OpenWRT.

Not so sure if anyone has tried the following two targets.

1) BCM4906/BCM4908 target: Asus GT-AC5300 (BCM4908) and Netgear R8000P (BCM4906)
https://openwrt.org/docs/techref/targets/bcm4908

2) BCM4708/BCM4709 target: many routers are using this target, including Asus RT-AC56U, RT-AC68U, RT-AC87U, RT-AC88U, Netgear R7000 and Netgear R8000. It also supports DIR-890L from Starhub.
https://openwrt.org/docs/techref/targets/bcm53xx

OpenWRT project is basically saying only 2.4G WiFi will work but not 5GHz WiFi. So I guess in general people may not want to try.
https://openwrt.org/meta/infobox/broadcom_wifi
 
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xiaofan

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The other interesting thing is that there is snapshot release for D-Link DIR-865L (AC1750) which was the free router given by Starhub in around 2014. Unfortunately there is no support of DIR-868L yet.

https://openwrt.org/toh/hwdata/d-link/d-link_dir-865l_a1

Again, take note of the warning about wireless support of wireless routers using Broadcom chipset. OpenWRT project is basically saying only 2.4G WiFi will work but not 5GHz WiFi. So I guess in general people may not want to try.
https://openwrt.org/meta/infobox/broadcom_wifi
 
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xiaofan

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For ISP issued fee routers, Starhub issued Linksye EA7500 v2 and Linksys EA8100 v1 have good support of OpenWRT now. Unfortunately there are no support of the popular Starhub issued D-Link DIR-868L (even if there is support WiFI will suck due to the use of Broadcom chipset). There are snapshot release for Starhub issued DIR-865L and DIR-890L but wireless will suck because of no good 5GHz band support.

I tend to belive that you can run OpenWRT on M1 issued RT-AC2600, by using RT-AC85P OpenWRT firmware (double amont of RAM of RT-AC85U/85P). Take note there is no support for the older RT-AC1200G+.
https://openwrt.org/toh/asus/rt-ac85p

Some of the other local ISP issued routers may also be supported by OpenWRT, like Linksys WRT32X (M1 gaming plan).

As for Singtel issued free routers like Aztech, Arcadyan, Airties or Askey, they will have basically no chances to get OpenWRT support.

Singtel issued free routers for Fibre Internet
2-wire 5012NV --> Pace A5520N --> Aztech DSL7003GRV(AC) --> Aztech DSL 7009GR(AC) --> Singtel AC Elite (AC1900) --> Singtel AC Plus (AC1200) --> SIngtel Mesh Router --> Airties Air 4960R -->Airties RT5703W (now)

Singtel ONR users may get mesh nodes like Singtel Mesh Extender and
Singtel AC Plus (AC1200) --> SIngtel Mesh Router --> Singtel Mesh Extender or Askey AP5100W WiFi Mesh (mesh node, not router) --> Singtel WI-FI 6 MESH AP5690W (not a router) or Airties RT5703W

Starhub issued free routers for Fibre Internet (D-Link models up to July 2017)
?? --> D-Link DIR-865L (2013-2014) --> D-Link DIR-850L --> D-Link DIR-868L and D-Link DIR-890L (for upgrade?) --> Linksys EA7500v2 --> Linksys EA8100 v1 --> Nokia Beacon 1 --> Nokia Beacon 2 (now)

M1 issued free routers for Fibre Internet (?)
RT-N15U --> RT-N56U --> RT-AC56S --> RT-AC68U (not free, for upgrade?) --> RT-AC1200G+ --> RT-AC2600 --> Asus RT-AX55 or TP-Link Archer AX73 (short duration) or TP-Link Archer AX72 --> RT-AX3000P or TP-Link Archer AX72
 
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xiaofan

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The other interesting thing is that there is snapshot release for D-Link DIR-865L (AC1750) which was the free router given by Starhub in around 2014. Unfortunately there is no support of DIR-868L yet.

https://openwrt.org/toh/hwdata/d-link/d-link_dir-865l_a1

Again, take note of the warning about wireless support of wireless routers using Broadcom chipset. OpenWRT project is basically saying only 2.4G WiFi will work but not 5GHz WiFi. So I guess in general people may not want to try.
https://openwrt.org/meta/infobox/broadcom_wifi

Hmm, I just tried it with my D-Link DIR-865L and it complains that the OpenWRT firmware image is not of the correct format.

Maybe the Starhub specific FW is the issue (1.07SHC).

BTW, I also do not see the wireless bridge mode or repeater mode. The stock FW is supposed to support this feature.

Edit to add:
BTW, wireless bridge mode does work with Starhub FW. I need to follow the user manual.
https://ftp.dlink.ca/ftp/PRODUCTS/DIR-865L/DIR-865L_MANUAL_1.00_EN.PDF
 
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loganrunning

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For ISP issued fee routers, Starhub issued Linksye EA7500 v2 and Linksys EA8100 v1 have good support of OpenWRT now. Unfortunately there are no support of the popular Starhub issued D-Link DIR-868L (even if there is support WiFI will suck due to the use of Broadcom chipset)

fresh tomato works quite well for the DIR-868L and DIR-865L. not as configurable as OpenWRT though.

CTF doesn't seem to work on my DIR-865L (option does not appear), but it is ok since i am using it as an AP.
Edit: "used" - gave it away during covid
 

loganrunning

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Hmm, I just tried it with my D-Link DIR-865L and it complains that the OpenWRT firmware image is not of the correct format.

Maybe the Starhub specific FW is the issue (1.07SHC).

BTW, I also do not see the wireless bridge mode or repeater mode. The stock FW is supposed to support this feature.

will flashing it to stock D-Link (instead of SH) firmware work?

edit: i have not looked at the DIR-865L firmware for a while, but perhaps it's the (SH) version.

by analogy, for the DIR-868L, initially it didn't support AP mode - this was added sometime later. Can't remember the cutover version though, possibly 1.05 or 1.07
 
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xiaofan

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will flashing it to stock D-Link (instead of SH) firmware work?

edit: i have not looked at the DIR-865L firmware for a while, but perhaps it's the (SH) version.

by analogy, for the DIR-868L, initially it didn't support AP mode - this was added sometime later. Can't remember the cutover version though, possibly 1.05 or 1.07

The FW linked in OpenWRT site is the Starhub FW (SH version, 1.07SHC). It works fine. I actually upgraded from 1.06SHC to 1.07SHC.

I can only find one US firmware from the below link, but it does not work either.
https://supportannouncement.us.dlink.com/announcement/publication.aspx?name=SAP10174

There is supposedly a web recovery console but it does not seem to work for me. The instruction says to "Press and hold the reset button (behind) until the orange power indicator blinks constantly". That did not happen. Rather the router goes to factory reset.
https://openwrt.org/toh/hwdata/d-link/d-link_dir-865l_a1

Edit to add:
BTW, wireless bridge mode does work with Starhub FW. I need to follow the user manual.
https://ftp.dlink.ca/ftp/PRODUCTS/DIR-865L/DIR-865L_MANUAL_1.00_EN.PDF

Edit to add: I can upgrade to 1.08 non-Starhub FW below but still the same results.
https://support.dlink.ca/ProductInfo.aspx?m=DIR-865L
 
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loganrunning

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The FW linked in OpenWRT site is the Starhub FW (SH version, 1.07SHC). It works fine. I actually upgraded from 1.06SHC to 1.07SHC.

I can only find one US firmware from the below link, but it does not work either.
https://supportannouncement.us.dlink.com/announcement/publication.aspx?name=SAP10174

There is supposedly a web recovery console but it does not seem to work for me. The instruction says to "Press and hold the reset button (behind) until the orange power indicator blinks constantly". That did not happen. Rather the router goes to factory reset.
https://openwrt.org/toh/hwdata/d-link/d-link_dir-865l_a1

Edit to add:
BTW, wireless bridge mode does work with Starhub FW. I need to follow the user manual.
https://ftp.dlink.ca/ftp/PRODUCTS/DIR-865L/DIR-865L_MANUAL_1.00_EN.PDF

Edit to add: I can upgrade to 1.08 non-Starhub FW below but still the same results.
https://support.dlink.ca/ProductInfo.aspx?m=DIR-865L

great stuff. Unfortunately, I'm left with only 1 non-functional unit. 1 given away (as mentioned above), the other donated to dd-wrt project as they needed a test unit.

i was not keen on working on it as the memory is quite small, thus ended up playing with the DIR-868L (also cheaper on the resale market, a benefit i wouldn't turn down lol).
 

loganrunning

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There is supposedly a web recovery console but it does not seem to work for me. The instruction says to "Press and hold the reset button (behind) until the orange power indicator blinks constantly". That did not happen. Rather the router goes to factory reset.

it's been a long time since i last used the recovery procedure. vaguely, i remember the pc has to be set on 192.168.1.x where x <> [012], turn off and disconnect the wall wart, wait about 1min, then while pressing the reset button, plug in the wall wart and power it up (for me, i turned it off at the mains, did not disconnect the power cable, wait 5min to allow any capacitors to discharge, then while pressing the reset button, turn on the mains switch). once the lights are stable, point the browser to 192.168.1.1 (refresh the browser if needed). this brings you to the bootloader/CFE menu where you can reset the system, or upload a new firmware (OpenWRT --> stock or vice versa).

(to rule out unexpected behaviour, i do a direct connection between pc and router only. then set the ip address)

hope this helps
 
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