Sharing Internet from Computer to Router

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

Hi,
The Setup I wanna build is as follows:
EM7455 LTE Module --> m.2 to USB adapter --> Router with Openwrt flashed --> Devices conneted via Ethernet

My problem is that Openwrt doesnt come with USB drivers preinstalled, i tried following this guide https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wan/wwan/ltedongle but of course you need internet to download the internet connection

Right now my Internet connection works by USB-tethering from my phone to my computer, of course i could use the em7455 as well, but usb tethering is easier to set up for sharing with other computers, its just a click in the nm-connection-editor ipv4 settings

for some reason updating the openwrt firmware version actually worked in the openwrt browser gui with just that connection sharing enabled, but the router itself does not seem to have internet (cant ping internet from ssh session) and package updates fail as well, does the firmware update use the computer internet instead of the router internet?

i also tried to manually download and install packages from https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.4/packages/mips_24kc/ but this fails:

wgetFailed to send request: Operation not permitted
ERROR: wget: exited with error 4
WARNING: updating and opening https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.4/targets/lantiq/xrx200/packages/packages.adb: unexpected end of file
wgetFailed to send request: Operation not permitted
ERROR: wget: exited with error 4
WARNING: updating and opening https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.4/packages/mips_24kc/base/packages.adb: unexpected end of file
wgetFailed to send request: Operation not permitted
ERROR: wget: exited with error 4
WARNING: updating and opening repolink../packages.adb: unexpected end of file
wgetFailed to send request: Operation not permitted
ERROR: wget: exited with error 4
WARNING: updating and opening repolink../packages.adb: unexpected end of file
wgetFailed to send request: Operation not permitted
ERROR: wget: exited with error 4
WARNING: updating and opening repolink../packages.adb: unexpected end of file
wgetFailed to send request: Operation not permitted
ERROR: wget: exited with error 4
WARNING: updating and opening repolink../packages.adb: unexpected end of file
wgetFailed to send request: Operation not permitted
ERROR: wget: exited with error 4
WARNING: updating and opening repolink../packages.adb: unexpected end of file
wgetFailed to send request: Operation not permitted
ERROR: wget: exited with error 4
WARNING: updating and opening repolink../packages.adb: unexpected end of file
ERROR: /tmp/upload.apk: UNTRUSTED signature

*i replaced the actual links to the repo because new users cant posts more than a handful of links :frowning:

How do I set up the router to accept Internet that is shared from my computer via ethernet?

2

Your future Openwrt device doesn't have wifi ?

You can also tether the phone via USB - https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wan/smartphone.usb.tethering.

Use https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org/, click tiny arrow and add the packages you need, then "request build", the new image will have the packages you added included.

3

my router has wifi, but i dont plan on using it in my setup
i tried direct phone tethering as well, but it has the same problem with missing usb drivers
https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wan/smartphone.usb.tethering?s[]=update&s[]=router needs kmod-usb-net-rndis

Use https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org/, click tiny arrow and add the packages you need, then "request build", the new image will have the packages you added included.

so i need to reflash the router? ;_;

4

But that's the easy part.
After you made another image with the firmware selector, as @frollic suggested, you just copy the new file to your router and do a sysupgrade.

5

Then share internet from your phone instead, using wifi, no extra drivers are needed for it.

On router go to wireless > scan > join (the phones hotspot).
Put the connection in the wan firewall zone.
Done.

Were you planning on staying on the same release forever? You need to do an upgrade (from to versions being the same isn't an issue).

6

Reflashing worked without hassles, i thought i had to go through the entire process again, with restarting the router 20 times to connect during that 2sec timeframe etc...

the lte module shows up as cdc-wdm0 now so i guess it worked, now i need to configure the carrier but that shouldnt be much of a problem

thanks <3