I've purchased a TP-Link Archer C6 v3 after looking for a decent router and below 50 EUR. Good 5GHz download speed around 90Mbytes/sec so it's all good. Installed v.22.03 stable and except an issue with opkg update it's now stable.
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it is not working, because the factory firmware patched the security flaw used by OpenWRTInvasion, and the developer of the patch is not updating it further at this time, in short Xiaomi 4A Gigabit is not an option for openwrt
Repeat, do not buy Xiaomi 4A Gigabit, because changes at the factory make openWRT install impossible for now
I have openWRT on Archer A7, works okay, for wndr3700v3 i use freshtomato on that instead of openWRT because of immense performance difference.
Hmmm... likr what kind of performance difference?
Freshtomato...LOL! Very secure: using a build system from 2012 with a linux kernel 2.4.x.
Wndr3700v3 is Broadcom, so not supported by OpenWrt anyways. A wndr3700v5 is supported (MT7621ST), but I wouldn't recommend since its the "ST" version (single core).
Firmware patched from Xiaomi seems unlikely, but probably you should still be able to downgrade the firmware via TFTP and use the exploit. I got a 4a Gb a few months ago without any problems upgraded to OpenWrt. Downside of the 4a Gb version: only 2 lan ports which depending on use case can be a dealbreaker.
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From my fresh experience it works. Please, specify version of device, where invasion does not work.
ASUS RT-AX53U is new model.
3.0 is faster, how much is different?
it seems this thread is no longer a sticky.
Could
- this cheap device thread
- the enthusiast thread What's your favorite enthusiast LEDE/OpenWrt device?
- the x86 thread Tips for getting cheap used x86-based firewall with full Gbit NAT (a PC Engines APU) if you are in the US
- the ax router thread 802.11ax Routers
get cross-linked from the sticky introduction post? About the Hardware Questions and Recommendations category
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Please use this topic for recommendations only.
For "which router should I buy" questions please open a new topic.
I bought Xiaomi Mi 4A Gigabit edition 2.5+ years ago but it was mostly used as a WiFi client attached to a linux machine and all of that started 3 months ago (it was practically in a box until then, I have tried it for a month on original firmware in 2020.). I have started using it as a main router at home 10(ish) days ago, to try sqm and see will it be better than QCA9563 based router for my home. While that QCA9563 based router, Xiaomi Mi AC2350, provided quite good WiFi in terms of number of clients and streams, cpu was kinda slow for 6-8 clients which are receiving/sending data and QoS is a challenge on it. My OpenWrt setup is using no fancy packages except for sqm right now and I have statistics installed to measure performance and behavior (will remove that package eventually, in 2-3 months). My internet is 200/80 using optics, connected to ISP router, and I have placed this router in DMZ list on my ISP one since I have no bridge mode available.
The price for Mi 4A Gigabit is about 33e for new unit however I have found it frequently discounted to 20-21e with 24 months guarantee. For that money you get really really good OpenWrt support (MT7621AT; MT7603EN (N); MT7612EN (AC)), ~150/40 sqm (fq_codel with simplest_tbf), hw accel for nat if needed and 2x gigabit lan ports and 1x wan port. It has 2x 5GHz and 2x 2.4GHz antennas however I dont use 2.4GHz and I have disabled that kernel module so i have no clue how it works. WiFi is good, i use 6-8 clients and they do work okay, no issues whatsoever. I have opened case and verified i have no WiFi shielding but i see no issues. Device has 128MB of ram and I can see in the stats that 70MB is free almost always so that is a huge plus since i can use /tmp to play a bit : )
"Downside" is 16MB of ROM memory however it is fine since I tend not to use packages (exception is sqm, which i started using 10ish days ago). I got this device for 20e originally so in reality I have zero complains. I would recommend this router with stock firmware for its price/performance ratio but now with OpenWrt i will recommend it even more since it is widely available in Europe and it is quite affordable.
as it may be interesting to others for puchase decision, I‘ll violate this thread rules and throw some more device buying decision input on top according to this question. If you need further dicussion, better open a separate thread, otherwise tmombas will materialize and teach us both some forum rules 
Xiaomi Mi 4A Gigabit is not really beginner friendly:
- unfortunately there are different variants sold under the same product name, some so far not flashable with OpenWRT
- installation is a multi step exploit process. only buy it, if you are comfortable with the more complex flash process. It has a recovery emergency tool, though nevertheless, you cannot be sure, which variant you will get.
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Xiaomi 4A Gigabit Edition is very nice router. There is archive with python scripts to perform invasion, backup, and flashing.
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thank you @ulmwind for your feedback.
Unfortunately, I am not really familiar with python scripts ... perhaps I will have to consider a different choice
Archive has been already packed. You just need to unpack it, and run bat file from Windows.
Please use this topic for recommendations only.
For "which router should I buy" questions please open a new topic.
For extensive discussions about OpenWrt installation please open a new opic.
Thanks!
I have 5 of them and they are great little suckers, I think its the cheapest ac option, but also best buy
Sorry, you mean, WiFi is not good?
As I mentioned previously, I prefer the TP-Link Archer A6/C6 v3.x. Same hardware as the Xiaomi 4A Gigabit, but with one additional Ethernet port and much easier OpenWrt installation (no hacking needed and also easier to revert to factory firmware).
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Just the opposite, it IS good
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