Feel free to discuss modern low-cost routers that can be flashed with OpenWrt.
This is a discussion split from the parent topic (so some post might be out of context) which should be just a list of routers matching the criteria in the first post:
Cudy WR3000: $60.00 same chipset as GL-MT3000 in a desktop form factor with four Ethernet ports vs. two on the MT3000. Cudy sanctions the installation of OpenWrt by providing a signed OpenWrt image that can be installed from the official firmware GUI. Installation is thus two steps as you would then upgrade that to a regular unsigned official OpenWrt build.
Looks like a great little device, but it's only 16/256 according to specs, so I'm not sure how future proof that is.
Xiaomi AX3000T, kind of a successor of AX3200. Wifi AX, Gigabit ports, 128/256. The initial installation seems a bit tricky depending on which model you get, but there is quite a support around because of the easy availability in Asia/Europe for around 50$.
Doesn't look newcomer-friendly, considering it comes with a warning in the wiki to check the flash chip using terminal commands.
Best way to learn to swim is jump into the water, lol. As long as it doesn't require going UART, it is still within beginner's territory if the instructions are given step by step. At that price you don't have much to lose, go for it
My point was that it's against the criteria in the first post (emphasis mine):
Yes, if your goal is to learn more...
But I created this topic for people who just want the router to work, since I refer them to OpenWrt because their ISP-provided router has terrible bufferbloat, and they just want to make it better.
See more justification at: Best "newcomer routers" - 2024 - #5 by richb-hanover-priv
If you use aliexpress, there shouldn't be any lottery for delivering to the EU. As long as the price (including shipping costs) is below 150 EUR, the platform (aliexpress) can, does -and must- display all prices including VAT, you can't order without them handling customs/ taxes and you will always pay the VAT, no lottery involved (anymore, since 2021-07-01). (the above does apply to .de, at least).
Only for prices above 150 EUR the platform can't do it for you anymore, in those cases prices are still displayed including VAT, but you'll get a 'price adjustment' when you checkout and actually only pay the price without taxes. In this case your local carrier has to handle customs/ taxation for you (and add their own fee for this, e.g. for DHL it would be 6 EUR, I think Fedex wants 35 EUR (unless you have an account with active credit card with them)). But given the prices for the OOo, this shouldn't apply here.
The WR3000S bumped ROM up to 128 and has support. Slightly more expensive at $60.
I'll do the post below:
The Cudy WR3000S is a great newcomer router. It can currently be found with OpenWRT 24 support. Since it shares the same MediaTek chip as the WR3000, it's also capable of approx 370 Mbps with SQM. Can be found at Amazon USA for $60 here and £50 in the UK here.
Installation is 2 step where you have to first install Cudy's signature removal firmware which can be found from here. Click the Google Drive folder link and download WR3000S V1. Install this and then OpenWRT image.
I know this area isn't really for discussion but I was considering making recommendation for the Linksys MX4200 variants (LN1301) due to the crazy low price but after thinking more I don't think it can be really recommended due to limited availability and newcomers want fast speeds. Tinkering around with nss builds due to these being Qualcomm based is probably not within scope.
Cudy WR3000S and M3000 meet the hardware requirements but are missing a dedicated wiki page with installation instructions... - any volunteers?
Edit: wiki page for Cudy WR3000S just popped up - https://openwrt.org/toh/cudy/wr3000s_v1
I'd get an ASUS AX59U for that price, quad core 2GHz. It's literally 100$ in Türkiye.
This goes against the original criteria outlined in the first post (again, emphasis mine):
and has already been mentioned in the last year's thread for WR3000:
Otherwise, I agree, it does look like an interesting device.
If someone is planning to use OpenWRT it is assumed they will have to deal with the overhead of configuration of the router even after the initial flashing. For me with the Xiaomi AX3200 (check it also) the initial installation (3 min in total) was much more easy than the aftermath configurations.
Assuming you find a model that is SHIPPED with openwrt installed for you (I'm making it as easy as possible), you still would need to LEARN a lot about packages and how things works in a Linux like router systems. This learning curve will be harder and more time-consuming than most installation instructions itself.
If the issue is bufferbloat latency for gaming then it would be much more convenience to research routers without openwrt, focused on dealing just with that within their operating system
You won't, unless you find one 2nd hand.
that is the issue with OpenWrt.
Homeassistant solved that with Homeassistant Green.
there should be an under 50 USD device with OpenWrt pre-flashed.
That's a market segment for you to exploit 
If you ask AX, everything they sell comes with Openwrt preflashed...
I meant official/Mainline OpenWrt.
An OpenWrt One mini?
No need to use the latest and greatest hardware. make it more accessible to different markets.
How much sqm will it do?
Is it future proof?
I'm very happy with my TP-link ax-23. Bought it for about $ 55, and installing OpenWRT(23.05.5) was a breeze.
Speedtest gave me 322 / 332 Mbit, and that's with a switch and 30m ethernet cable between my laptop and the router. (Haven't looked at SQM, don't even know if it's set by default)