What's your favourite cheap LEDE/OpenWrt device?

Xiaomi Mi Router 3G
or - technically the same -
Xiaomi Mi Router 4A Gigabit Edition
Both cost about 30-35$

I wish it was costing 30$ :neutral_face:I can't find 3G anywhere below 50$, excluding the shipping cost.

Search for the 4A Gigabit edition which is almost the same except for the missing USB3-port. It equals the 3Gv2 by the way. The 3G (v1) still comes with USB3 but seems low on stock and to be phased out.
Flashing 4A Gig.Ed. requires a ch341 flash programmer.

would be great to have topics like this as a pool to vote for the very best routers :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Define "best".

I had very bad experience with GL-iNet clone of OpenWRT. It is interesting, what looks like their clone of Ubuntu for MV1000 Brume?

I bought a Netgear R6260 and it was worth the money.

1 Like

This:

CPU Model: Rockchip RK3328
Number of Cores: Quad-Core Cortex-A53
Frequency: 4 x Cortex-A53 Up to 1.4GHz
Memory RAM: 1GB DDR4
Storage MicroSD Slot: MicroSD x1 for external storage up to 128GB
Connectivity Ethernet: Gbps Ethernet x1
USB 3.0 to Gbps Ethernet x1
USB USB 2.0 Host x1: USB Type A
MicroUSB x1: Power input(5V/2A) and Slave
Pin-header Serial Debug Port x1: 2.54mm pitch 3pin-header(3.3V TTL)
LED SYS LED(Red) x1
WAN LED(Green) x1
LAN LED(Green) x1
Key User Key x1
Working Temperature -20℃ to 70℃
Power DC 5V/2A

Wiki: http://wiki.friendlyarm.com/wiki/index.php/NanoPi_R2S

Price: 22USD

NanoPi R2S: https://www.friendlyarm.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=69&product_id=282

Interesting device -- in theory. In practice there's no official OpenWrt support, the "FriendlyWrt" sources seem to be hidden behind a few layers of obscurity and involve a weird build process, and ... it's out of stock anyway.

1 Like

This is more of a "Eh, it works" than a direct endorsement, but-

I broke down and bought an MT300N-V2 to replace my missing MT300A; it's getting too hard to keep the WNDR-3800s running, despite being more capable (in my opinion). I'm sad to see the SD card bit-bang and external antenna options go away, and it doesn't really seem all that different, otherwise, despite slightly updated hardware.

It's not bad for a simple system; the wrapper around OpenWRT has a simple "Advanced" button to click through for LuCI, and although all externally built/hosted, has the majority of all packages I've come to expect.

The in-house "v3" interface is a bit crazy to those of us used to LuCI, but it's simple to setup, and rarely gets in the way. It has native support for OpenVPN and WireGuard out of the box (untested, but the MT300A I owned worked swimmingly well despite a weak CPU).

I'm having a heck of a time with it having dual guest/lan bridging and running a 6-in-4 tunnel; it keeps patching it onto the disabled guest network, and I'm not sure why- this is the only build I've had it do this to.

I've tried contacting support@gl-inet.com, and haven't heard back for weeks, but being that we're in an international pandemic, I don't 'really expect to.

It's nowhere near as fast as thoroughput is/was on my WNDR-3800, but in a pinch, it's a heck of a lot better than snailmail. For a $20 5v USB powered router, it's well worth throwing into the emergency kit.

1 Like

Meanwhile the NanoPi R2S it's out of stock from FriendlyElec store, It can be also bought from AliExpress: (link removed due to was flagged as SPAM by the community).

1 Like

found:

3 Likes

A post was split to a new topic: Which device to buy

Compared to the Pi 4, this chip seems to support AES, which I believe its an issue for OpenWRT if is missing.

How can we get support for this chip and this device?

At that price, donating a couple is feasible.

Please use this topic only for recommendations.
For questions like "how do we get this device supported" please open a new topic.

Thanks!

3 Likes

Ive just setup a TP-link Archer A7 to my brother, seems like a cheap AP/router to me. I really liked that I could make a physical antenna port by myself so that he can use his old 2,4 GHz antenna :grinning: Just had to buy an RP-SMA to uFL 20 cm cable and attach it to the "motherboard" and attach it to the case after using a small saw for plastic :ok_hand:

Next time I need a cheap AP/router device I will probably buy a TP-link Archer C7 due to the fact that it is cheaper and it has 2 USB-ports :thinking:

A post was split to a new topic: Cheap router wanted with GigabitEthernet + AC wifi

please, provide link.

TL-WR740 works on 19.07. See this forum thread (OpenWrt 19.07.1 ath79 tiny LuCI) for an unofficial build for many 4/32 devices. I'm personally using WR841 using this build for a week now.

3 posts were split to a new topic: New router for 700Mbit / $25