Check Point V-80W is a Wi-Fi-enabled version of Check Point V-80. First and foremost: firmware for the wired-only V-80 works on the V-80W, you just need to install a few additional packages and configure the wireless networking after the firmware proper is up and running.
As of this writing, OpenWrt for the V-80 exists only in snapshots, so I’ll hold off a full HOWTO until a release is available. For the time being, I’ll just say that specifications look decent (quad-core ARM Cortex-A72 processor running at 1.4 GHz with 2 GB RAM, eMMC storage), wireless is AC (Qualcomm Atheros QCA986x/988x, aka ath10k), installation is described in a commit note (I followed the eMMC install route), and installation of additional packages necessary for wireless networking is exactly the same as it would be on x64:
I don’t know if the manufacturer has stopped support but these do start to show up on ebay a bit more regularly. It is quite a powerful router / firewall aimed at small businesses but in a home router form factor and fanless so completely silent. It is nice to see that Check Point does not lock down their devices and it can be re-used unlike Cisco Meraki and SonicWall who just generate more electronic waste.
I’ve only come across the wired version but some of the V80 boards do have the mini pcie and SD card slot included. The serial number of the fully featured board starts with WA while the serial number of the wired only board starts with BA but I don’t know if that is just a coincidence. Unfortunately the case would need to be drilled / modified to be able to use the SD card and add wifi antennas.
(Check Point has two model naming schemes for some reason, so the V-80 is listed there as either 1530 or 1550; see specification sheet, page 4). End of sale for both models was January 2025. End of engineering support is scheduled for January 2028, end of support, for January 2030. So these are still very much in support, and what we see in the secondary markets now are probably just early birds that got upgraded for replacement models, which have been available since 2023. I suspect we’ll see many more as end of support approaches…
Except sometimes, the underlying hardware is a bit on the exotic side… I still think about how cool it would be to have OpenWrt on L-71(W) and L-72(W), which ran on Annapurna processors…
Yes but that is not really Check Points fault. Annapurna labs got bought by Amazon to build custom chips for their cloud and AI stuff. And I guess Amazon has no interest in contributing anything related to these older Annapurna chips back to mainline linux.
