The world moves on, and the recommendations in Best "newcomer router" - 2024 have evolved, too. The next post lists the current winners. I'll keep it updated as I get new recommendations.
My criteria remain the same: inexpensive, easy to flash, full ability to fight bufferbloat, etc. These are the critical characteristics:
- Supports official STABLE OpenWrt 23.05.x. No snapshot builds. I will update this when 24.10 ships.
- Clear one-step installation instructions, without warnings, in the Table of Hardware. Provide link to Device Page
- Mass market device with case, power supply, and "standard" network connections: a WAN port, one or more LAN ports, Wi-Fi. No assembly required
- List Price below US$125 or equivalent in your currency. It must be available today (Amazon, eBay, etc.) not promised at some indeterminate date. Provide link to source
- Able to handle 300mbps with SQM enabled. Provide link to citation or personal experience
A perfect entry would say something like this:
I have installed OpenWrt on a FooBar 123 router. It works fine after I installed the OpenWrt 23.05.x "factory firmware". I use it to connect to my 350/50mbps ISP connection, and the SQM is set to 325/45 with good results. I got it for $45 from Amazon/eBay. You can see the Table of Hardware entry at: https://openwrt.org/toh/start
I am looking for personal recommendations, not a debate about the criteria. Posts that get off-topic or that are significantly different from the criteria above will be removed.
Many thanks!