I read on the techdata: netgear R7000 page:
LEDE Unsupported: WiFi 5GHz, WiFi 2.4GHz partly
Further down on the page it does in fact state:
Unsupported 5GHz wifi, ADSL, FXS
Disclaimer, I've never touched a Netgear r7000, but.
Both radios on that router are Broadcom BCM4360, a softmac card for which no driver exist (that's a lie, but details come in the next sentence). b43 has some very, very basic support for this device, however 'support' is limited to non-HT speeds (so <= 54 MBit/s) and 2.4 GHz only. That means only the 2.4 GHz radio can be made working at all (with the caveat of 54 MBit/s max.) and the 5 GHz radio won't work at all (as b43 simply has no 5 GHz support).
Given those caveats, it would be a more precise description to call wifi unsupported for both wireless interfaces, rather than instilling unjustified hope to unsuspecting users.
Thank you for the quick reply. Sounds like LEDE on this hardware is a non-starter. Can any R7000 owners comment? Best to avoid?
Mind where this is stated: In the explanatory sections for the meaning of the single datafields, and in the column "Example".
There's no support for BCM4360 (AC-PHY) in b43.
b43 supports 5 GHz for N-PHY cards
Thanks for the replies, all. I ended-up getting an R7800 for use with LEDE. I can sell my R7000 on Craigslist or something to help offset the cost.
Alternatively have a look at DD-WRT for the R7000. I was using this router with the latest Kong Builds. As far as I remember he added the Fast Path patches to his builds so you should have great performance. Adding additional functionality on top of the DD-WRT firmware can be done with Opt or Ent ware.
Not sure how much this relative old device will still get you, so it might be worth to have a look into this first.