Router Recommendation: Low performance, highly OpenWRT compatible

Thanks for reading this.

I'm looking for a basic wireless router that is OpenWRT friendly.

Non-negotiables:
4 LAN ports (100 mbps is fine)
2ghz wireless radio
One physical button (at least)

Important, but somewhat negotiable:
Under $100
Easy to install OpenWRT
Easy recovery of original firmware in case of failed upgrade

I'm new to OpenWRT. I bricked a Netgear AC2400 router on my first attempt. I don't need that much router anyway. I just want something that I can have a good OpenWRT experience with. Used eBay routers are fine with me.

There are only two of us in a small apartment. Sometimes we use 2Ghz wifi, but mostly we like to use ethernet cable. We get 100mbps from our ISP.

Thanks for any input you have.

If you restored this, would it fit your requirements?

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What country are you in? In the US, the Archer A7 can be easily had for $25-35 in used/refurb condition.

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It would. Here is the thread discussing my bricked Netgear AC2400.

I'm in the US and the Archer A7 looks great. 3 buttons, yay! There seems to be an endless supply on eBay, starting at $18.

Yeah, the A7 is a very nice little box for the money. I got one in 2015 or thereabouts, and considering it's a 16/128 device, it should be good for several more years of OpenWrt releases (see https://openwrt.org/supported_devices/864_warning for considerations if you decide to get something else).

My A7 is just a test device, so has not much in the way of "extras", but I do make a point of putting adblock on it with all the default block lists including oisd_small (~75k domains total). That doesn't strain memory space at all, it sits at about 58% free RAM most of the time.

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Your router seems to be absolutely fine, just flash it back to openwrt now. Using tftp

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