Strongest Wifi Support and easy OpenWRT Install and strongest specs for under $80?

Hardware Questions and Recommendations
1

I need a travel router preferably, but very open to a regular home router as well if no travel router fits this criteria.

-Under $80. If none exist, then I can up it a bit more.

-Extremely well Wi-Fi performance. My linux computer drops wifi regularly as it switches access points. I'm hoping connecting it to a OpenWrt router via ethernet and the OpenWrt router itself does not have the same issue when it connects to the same access points.

-Easy official build of OpenWRT install. GUI based, plug in a usb stick and flash, etc and similar. Nothing that can't be learned within a few minuets for someone who knows absolutely nothing about coding and has average computer skills. Unfortunately some of the methods under each of the hardware pages make me want to give up on OpenWRT altogether.

-At minimum allows 2 computers to connect via Ethernet ports to the travel router but preferably 3 computers.

-Highest amount of ram and flash memory possible as I need this lasting for 5+ years at minimum. 64mb flash and 128mb at minimum.

If such a device exists, I will give you my first like on your reply from my 1 day of being on these forums. Best reward.

2
3

SAX1V1K off eBay, $45, PITA to flash, but well worth it.

2GB RAM, 500MB flash + 4.5GB free on the eMMC.

If you need something pocket sized, TR3000 or GL-MT3000, both very easy to flash.

4

+1 on the MT3000, I am using this since quite some time as a travel router and I am very happy with it

5

There's also the Huasifei WH3000, but I think it's quite impossible to find outside china export sites.

6

Thank you for all the suggestions. Love how active this forum is! The only one that has 3 Ethernet ports is the GL-AXT1800 from these suggestions and if there's nothing wrong with that one, that may be just the one for me as it's checking all my boxes.

However, I noticed it's using a Qualcomm CPU. All the other suggestions here are using a MediaTek CPU which I've briefly been seeing good things about. Are the MediaTek CPU's better than the Qualcomm ones for Wi-Fi stability for remaining connected to a access point via Wi-FI and in general better?

7

the SAX got 3 + WAN.

for the last 3 years or so, I've been using WRX36s as APs, with zero issues, uptime should be close to a year.
they're also Qualcomm, but a diffrent SoC (and radio ?), same as the SAX.
MT is still great, no question about it.

8

For Qualcomm CPU, to take advantage of full hardware acceleration you need to search for NSS build. It has proprietary components from Qualcomm SDK. And you need to do your own research on how it works on IPQ60xx CPU inside GL-AXT1800.

For Mediatek CPU, you have none of that hassle as it's using fully open mt76 WLAN driver in official OpenWrt image with hardware acceleration support.

10

Using a very outdated version of Openwrt.

11

I noticed the GL.iNet GL-MT1300 (Beryl) v1 is a travel router, has 3 Ethernet ports, MediaTek hardware, looks to be easy GUI based flashing/installation, however it states it has "32, microSD" for Flash MB, and around my $80 price tag.

Does this mean if I insert a microsd card, I can get far larger storage? And if I do add a micro SD card, does the process need any configuring to utilize that extra storage space that can't easily be done via the OpenWrt GUI?

12

But this is old Mediatek hardware (2x 880 MHz ramips instead of the much younger 2x 1300MHz ARM).
If small size is more important than power, than this might be fine.
But if you want something stronger, i'd suggest to choose either the GL-AXT1800 (which is even without full hw acceleration faster than the MT-1300) or a GL-MT3000, Cudy TR3000 or Comfast CF-WR632AX in combination with a really small 5 port switch (Like Zyxel GS-100, Tenda SG100 or similar).