I live in a rented flat and the router/modem is with my landlord. I only have repeater sockets in the hallway. Internet connection cables probably can't be laid easily either.
The WLAN connection on my first Banana Pi drops out from time to time, which is unfavourable for a mini server. But: it's stable on my other devices. Nevertheless, I want my own router with its own internet connection for security reasons and for tinkering.
As far as I understand it correct, I could get a LTE or G4 modem and a router (for example the OpenWRT One) plus a data contract with a telephone company plus a SIM card and could put those together?
I'd like to have my setup flexible, meaning lasting for 5 years and more. With the potential that I move to a different flat in the meantime and being able to adapt to a new environment where I have proper access to for example proper network cables and sockets.
Any hardware recommendations are very welcome. My budget is about £130—£170 which is 150–200 € or roughly $175–$235 USD.
How fast is your internet connection? Speed wanted can't be faster than what I currently have: old picture of measurement taken at via https://fast.com/
Do you need Wi-Fi? Yes. Do you need Gigabit Ethernet? I'd say no. But if there is a nice offer shipping with one, why not? Then the WiFi problem would definitively be solved. Do you need USB ports No. How many family members/devices must the router support? Between one and potentially occationally 3 people. What other services do you want? I will setup my own media server but not ON the OpenWRT but my Banana Pi mentioned above. If that should be relevant, I'll give further information. please define your price range. upper limit: £130—£170 (150–200 € or $175–$235 USD); lower is of course welcome too.
Look for asus/tplink (cudy or gl.inet if available near you) 4g routers. They are well in your budget, plus drop extra 10-20 bucks into indoor antenna pair.
Do you need gigabit - absolutely, 4g promises 200-300-400Mbps for basic 2 antenna terminal.
Do you need 2 gigabit ports - absolutely, if your landlord gives you cable end and you run over your mobile FUP
Try this test instead - no location or IP encoded in shareable link. https://www.waveform.com/tools/bufferbloat
Anyway it looks like your landlord shares his DSL connection, neat but wysiwyg. If it relieves you - they have the same level of suckiness.
A thing I didn't mention is, that I'm looking for a router with overall low power consumption, especially in idle (if that term exists here and means something similar as for the expression a CPU being idle).
The router is not meant to be a direct replacement, as I will keep access to the shared one for most of my tasks. The OpenWRT one is for experimenting/educating myself with Networking and low network load. Later perhaps, once I'll be more familiar with all of this it might become my main one.
I had a look into TP-Link, Cudy and gl.iNet. I'm still not sure what to look out for exactly except for a SIM card slot and OpenWRT support. What about those ones?
GL.iNet GL-XE300 Puli: It has a built in battery but I'm sceptical since batteries can blow up and aren't really lasting very long. But if it's a decent one I'd gladly use it. Besides: Even if the battery breaks, I'll probably be still be able to charge it via normal power supply slot.
I'm unsure how to think about the fact that it ships already with OpenWRT, OpenVPN and
WireGuard. Sounds like they are handholding? On the other hand, the configuration of them is up to me, so in the end it's not much taken off me, right?
Big plus for me is the power consumption. 4 W and less sounds great!
Cudy TR3000 + Huawei E3372h: Sounds like a budget solution, but not a bad one. Although, it is. After skimming through this video about how to set it up, it looks like I still need to connect it to a modem via WAN cable.
TP-Link Archer VR200v: Second hand for about 20 bucks.
Uhm not an aweful lot. Okay, let's have a look to ASUS too…
ASUS 4G-AX56, AX1800: Okay, seems to combine both (SIM and wired) connection. Looks like it has battery too. Ouch, the Puli had WPA3 but ASUS does too? I'm almost surprised.
Alright, okay… Your opinions so far? Any better options I didn't yet discover?
What do you think about my initial idea to get the OpenWRT One plus something that'd work as a modem? Not a good idea? Do you know if modem capabilities are ever planned for future models/products?
