Recommendation for OpenWRT AP

[ledeweb]

update everything worked fine in testing, but the multigig LAN port has flaked out on me twice and required a reboot. I’m now connected via one of the 1 Gbps LAN ports. I’d already ordered a bunch more of the devices, so I will test to see if it is just this one device, or if in fact multigig is unreliable.

Okay, in the end, the BT8 actually seems like it will work out for me, so I do recommend it. It has almost everything I want other than PoE and wall/ceiling mounting, and I would say is a worthy upgrade to the Netgear R7800 that has been my goto for many years. Specifically, the BT8 has 2 2.5 GHz ports (one LAN one WAN) and 3 radios, and supports 6 GHz if you are outside the US or Honduras and/or are willing to fiddle with things a little. Here are the things you need to do to get it working:

• Set the country explicitly for each of the 3 phys
• Use only 2.4 GHz on phy0, 5 GHz on phy1, and 6 GHz on phy2
• Update regulatory.db if you are in the USA. Here’s a web page describing the problem: https://www.michaelstinkerings.org/the-mt7922-6ghz-debacle-why-linux-users-cant-use-wifi-6e-and-how-i-fixed-it/. Note that to install the corrected regulatory.db, you will need to run apk update and apk add openssh-sftp-server on your router, then you will be able to run scp regulatory.db root@192.168.1.1:/lib/firmware/.

Note that after setting the countries or updating the regulatory.db file, you probably need to reboot the router. In particular, my router booted in the global regulatory domain, and despite setting the US in the LuCI menu and running iw reg set US, things didn’t work until after a reboot.

[frollic]

@ledeweb

Okay, in the end, the BT8 actually seems like it will work out for me, so I do recommend it.

you'll be mad at yourself for not getting the w1700k instead ,)
no PoE though, but you can always get a PoE splitter.

I can however imagine the BT8 being more stable/reliable than the W1700k.

[ledeweb]

@frollic

you'll be mad at yourself for not getting the w1700k instead ,

Is it possible to purchase a W1700K in the USA? I'll try it if I can get one.

[frollic]

Only in USA, Amazon, occasionally on eBay, unless you get the almost identical version from Taobao in CN.

[p.p]

The Amazon seller is out of stock right now, so you are not really getting it anywhere.

[cookiemonster]

(Support for Asus ZenWiFi BT8 Tri-band Wifi7 (Mediatek MT7988))
(US 6GHz: How to proceed)

6Ghz patch above. Apply to wireless-regdb and build an apk. I can confirm this apk is noarch and works across versions (24->25) so this is a one and done thing.

Edit: Check tx power. Mine ran at max if set to auto.

@ledeweb

Is it possible to purchase a W1700K in the USA? I'll try it if I can get one.

• Discontinued.
• Company was sold to ATT; ATT now charges $150 non-return fee
• Not stable yet and not supported by openwrt officially
• Has active fan / high power consumption

The only inventory left is from people too dumb to realize they are getting charged $150 or they were stolen.

[frollic]

@p.p

so you are not really getting it anywhere.

Nothing lasts forever, it was in stock just a couple of days ago.

@cookiemonster

not supported by openwrt officially

Wrong.

@cookiemonster

Has active fan / high power consumption

Based on tests in the w1700k thread, not more than comparable devices.

[wilsonyan]

if you live outside the US or Europe last I checked Acer Predator w6 seemed like the best base router to get for the money, they seemed to be going for decent price on ebay

they may be hard to get openwrt on to though compared to something else

[KSofen]

Consider: Onhub TP-LINK TGR1900 future support? - #911 by KSofen

[techistory]

I concur. I've been running two OpenWRT One boxes as AP-only for quite a while. It's a little tricky to set up that way, but I can dig up and supply references to instructions/guidelines if needed.