Anyone working on Netgear RBR850?

For Developers
1

Is there anyone working on OpenWRT for the Netgear Orbi RBR850? I also have an unused set of the prior edition (can't recall the moniker).

I read that these units actually run a heavily modified version of OpenWRT (is that correct?).

I've observed that Netgear seems to move quickly from model-to-model, as does their active development (it seems), so having a third-party replacement firmware would be better for advanced consumers I'd think.

Thanks.

2

https://fccid.io/PY319200453/Internal-Photos/Internal-Photos-rev-Part-1-4433134

Search for ipq8074a here at the forum.

3

Did you get OpenWRT running on the RBR850? I have one left over from adding more access points in a 3-pack, but the router can't be used as an mesh node so I'd love to use it as an OpenWRT router.

I did search for ipq8074a but I'm not sure how to see instructions / compatibility for a chipset? Obviously worried about bricking the device if I follow the instructions for something similar and it's not compatible.

4

Here are the currently supported IPQ807x devices.
The 850 should be supportable, but you're the person with the device.

5

Thanks, I'll have a play around but I'm no hardware hacker so I'm very out of my depth. Was hoping for a generic firmware for that chipset or some instructions for creating one, but looks like those firmware version all differ significantly despite being for the same chipset.

6

Yup, that's the correct conclusion.

If you obtain serial access, you can probably boot an (non destructive) initramfs, but that's only the beginning of the road to getting a device supported.

7

You can always donate/borrow this router to OpenWrt Devs . RBR850 have additional 2.5Gbit PHY that RBS850 miss

8

I'd be happy to do so - where could I find out how to do this?

9

It's on the website https://openwrt.org/donate . I assume that new thread in "For Developers" should be sufficient

10

Did this unit get donated? I'd love an OpenWRT image for RB*850 series, I won the RBK850 set from a contest and while the wireless coverage and performance is far superior from what I had previously the lack of options in the Netgear UI are disappointing, an OpenWRT image would turn this device into a beast!