Wifi enable or disable

Hello. I am new here. I like to community here ask the question. Is possible with openwrt shut down just the wireless connection, and just the lan is working. I have nvidia shield work with my router with lan coonection, and when I watch I don´t need the wifi connection many hours. Is possible with my phone remotely just shut down the wireless connection and then when I need it, just connect again?

Welcome. Of course it's possible to turn the WiFi on and off. In fact, when you install OpenWrt, WiFi is off by default and you need to login to turn it on.

But if you turn the WiFi off then you will have to access the router by LAN to turn the WiFi on again.

Yes, it's possible to

Thank you. I disable it, but then i need my PC with lan. Is possible to activate wifi on without LAN connection? Just with my phone without LAN and with mobile data connection. Or maybe any other solution? That will be great...

It's possible but you will be exposing your router to the outside world, which isn't very recommended if you don't have a good reason, particularity if you will want to do it from the GUI and not from the commandline.

Also it will require some setup. Basically you will need to setup DDNS so that you can have a URL to use to access your router, then adjust your firewall to allow access from the WAN side (whether SSH or Web).

To be honest, unless I don't understand your reason well, I don't think it's worth the headache or the risk. If your router has a button for turning WiFi on and off that world be best, otherwise maybe you when you don't want the WiFi just decrease the power to the least possible, so it's only accessible from very close distance, and then change it back to default when you want it.

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Thank you for your answer. In wireless setting I change maximum transmit power to the lowest point and save these setting, but there is the same maximum power (23 dbm) again...

Now I made it to the lowest transmit power possible -TX power O dbm(1mw)...maybe the wifi power is not as before, bit I can go the other room with wall and I have good connection...

So I guess your router doesn't have a hardware key for WiFi.

I imagine it's possible that for some devices the available driver doesn't provide control over the transmit power. If you mention your device model, maybe someone can answer that point.

If that doesn't work with you, then you have the following options:

  • Your idea of turning the WiFi off and then turning it back on form internet -- It's possible, but not a good reason to expose your router if you ask me.
  • Look if it's possible to install a terminal app on your Nvidia Shield. that way, when you are done watching you just invoke command form your Nvidia Shield to the router to turn WiFi on.
  • Set up your OpenWrt router to turn WiFi on upon restart. So if you want the WiFi on, you can just turn the router off and then back on (probably not a neat solution, but could tackle the (issue of lack of physical buttons).
  • If the purpose of turning the WiFi off is to prevent someone else form slowing down your connection, you can set up an additional WiFi on the router and make it hidden, and you use it to turn the other WiFi on and off.

I have xiaomi mini wifi router, last firmware 19.07.

Could Bluetooth be an acceptable solution of connecting to the router for you? If so, then you could buy a Linux compatible Bluetooth device then tether on your router using it.

That would theoretically allow you to enable/disable WiFi using Bluetooth. Unless leaving Bluetooth open all the time isn't an option for you either, but it should also be of shorter range to connect.

EDIT: You could also, using a script, activate WiFi only when your device is connected via Bluetooth. That way you would trigger WiFi on/off just by enabling/disabling Bluetooth.

Thank you for your help. I am grateful. Just one question...i like to buy new router, it must have wifi button on/off, power button on/off and of course support for openwrt... :slightly_smiling_face: and maybe price up to 120€...any suggest maybe?

This thread is a good start to explore your options. Keep in mind that even when there is a WiFi on/off switch, unless this is a physical switch, that this functionnality might not work under OpenWrt.

Does openwrt support Archer C7 Version 5 EU?

This model is the one I was talking about in regards of the weird working switch. I didn’t test if it has been resolved:

It's overpriced router, even if you get it used, unless you find a good deal.

I have seen that weird behaviour with C7 V2 running 18.06. The WiFi switch seemed to sometimes not work and sometimes work the other way. I didn't test that issue much to be honest so I can't be very sure, but it's safe to say it had an issue.

It seems to have been fixed in 19.07, but I didn't test it much since its now only my spare router.

The ToH suggests that C7 V5 is supported, but I don't know if the EU model is any different

The other question is how durable the switch is. I mean I don't think when they designed it they thought someone will be turning it on and off on daily basis.

I think the hidden WiFi is a good idea, and you can make it a 5 GHz one, which has short range, and set the power to the least.

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