Raspberry Pi 3 Onboard Wi-Fi and Ad-hoc Mode for OLSR + USB Wi-Fi Recommendations

Installing and Using OpenWrt Network and Wireless Configuration
1

Hello OpenWrt Community,

I'm currently trying to set up an OLSR mesh network using Raspberry Pi devices running OpenWrt. I've come across some information suggesting that the onboard Wi-Fi of the Raspberry Pi 3 does not fully support IBSS (Independent Basic Service Set) for Ad-hoc mode, which is crucial for OLSR to function correctly.

I was hoping to get some clarification from the community on this. Is it indeed the case that the built-in Wi-Fi on the Raspberry Pi 3 has limitations with Ad-hoc mode that would prevent a stable OLSR mesh network?

If so, I'm looking for recommendations for USB Wi-Fi dongles that are known to work well with Raspberry Pi (specifically models 3 and potentially 4) and OpenWrt, and importantly, have reliable support for Ad-hoc (IBSS) mode.

Could anyone share their experiences with specific USB Wi-Fi dongles that they have successfully used for Ad-hoc networks with Raspberry Pi and OpenWrt? Any suggestions for chipsets or specific models that are known to be compatible and perform well in this scenario would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your help!

2

There is lots of information about USB wireless on the forum, just use the forum search.

Just be aware that the gist of it remains, the RPi >=4 can be a fast wired router (<<4 cannot be), but its wireless side is weak and bad - and USB wireless not much better. More purpose-built 'traditional' concurrent dual-band plastic wireless routers/ AP will do a much better work than a RPi, while also being cheaper; the RPi3 is both slow on the wired side, as well as on the wireless side.