DISCLAIMER: This is by no means a criticism of OpenWRT, I greatly appreciate the community driven effort to develop and maintain an open source software.
I want to buy a new router that I currently plan to use as a dumb bridge but will use it in the near future as my main router. WiFi 5/6 both are fine. I am tired of buggy closed source firmwares so I wanted to use OpenWRT compatible router. The price range is already mentioned in the title, and I don't have any gaming/corporate needs so I was only looking for home use routers. I will be using Amazon/flipkart online marketplaces to quote prices. I am not comfortable with using other marketplaces as I don't know how reliable they are, but if someone has any suggestion please let me know. I didn't find any suitable options but I hope someone can help me find one or this post may help people with similar needs save some time. Here are my findings:
TP-Link:
1. TP-Link Archer C6 (Rs 2199) Relevant OpenWRT page: The OpenWRT page for v3 of this router says, the v4 will never be supported. Unfortunately the one sold on amazon is v4, which I found out after buying it. From the page:
2. TP-Link Archer AX10 (Rs 2599) Relevant OpenWRT forum post: This hints that the AX10 features a broadcom chipset which is(and the devs say will never be) not supported by OpenWRT. This hints that OpenWRT used to work on the v1, however this TP-LINK page says that v3.6 is the current one, I really don't think amazon would be selling v1.
3. TP-Link Archer AX23 (Rs 3499) Relevant OpenWRT page: Another situation where v1 was supported by OpenWRT but v2 isn't. I can't figure out if the version being sold on amazon is v1 or v2. From the page:
4. TP-Link Archer AX53 (Rs 3899) Relevant OpenWRT forum post: Another case where hardware cut in v2 makes it impossible to support it. From the post:
D-Link:
1. D-Link DIR-825 (Rs 1899) Relevant OpenWRT page: Revisions A1, D1, E1, G1, J1 are not supported, B1, B2, C1, C2 are. The OpenWRT page links forum posts showing the reasons for the unsupported versions. But the main reason i got is that D-Link shifted to an unsupported realtek chip.
2. D-Link R15 (Rs 2700) Relevant OpenWRT forum post: OpenWRT doesn't provide images for this router as mentioned in the post, however I couldn't find any documentation/post explaining why not. There is no info available on what chip it uses, its RAM or flash size in its "datasheet" so I can't even make a guess.
Netgear:
No routers were available on amazon, flipkart and and jiomart.
I went to their website. However all the routers on this page other than the Orbi(the Nighthawk series, the R6850, R6350, R6260) eventually led me to broken links/404 pages like this one.
Asus:
I am not interested in the Gaming series so i looked at the WiFi-Routers category, and the cheapest one is at 6k so out of my budget.
Xiaomi:
1. Mi Router 4A Gigabit Edition (Rs 1799) Relevant OpenWRT page: Again pointed out by the page:
Tenda:
Tenda AC9 is the only router currently supported in the latest OpenWRT release but it seems to be unavailable.
CONCLUSION
That was all the routers I tried before giving up. What I found the most frustrating was when a manufacturer cuts the hardware specs down, making OpenWRT unflashable in the process, but still sells it under the same model. I would be very grateful if someone has any recommendations to help me here!
I want to buy a new router that I currently plan to use as a dumb bridge but will use it in the near future as my main router. WiFi 5/6 both are fine. I am tired of buggy closed source firmwares so I wanted to use OpenWRT compatible router. The price range is already mentioned in the title, and I don't have any gaming/corporate needs so I was only looking for home use routers. I will be using Amazon/flipkart online marketplaces to quote prices. I am not comfortable with using other marketplaces as I don't know how reliable they are, but if someone has any suggestion please let me know. I didn't find any suitable options but I hope someone can help me find one or this post may help people with similar needs save some time. Here are my findings:
TP-Link:
1. TP-Link Archer C6 (Rs 2199) Relevant OpenWRT page: The OpenWRT page for v3 of this router says, the v4 will never be supported. Unfortunately the one sold on amazon is v4, which I found out after buying it. From the page:
2. TP-Link Archer AX10 (Rs 2599) Relevant OpenWRT forum post: This hints that the AX10 features a broadcom chipset which is(and the devs say will never be) not supported by OpenWRT. This hints that OpenWRT used to work on the v1, however this TP-LINK page says that v3.6 is the current one, I really don't think amazon would be selling v1.
3. TP-Link Archer AX23 (Rs 3499) Relevant OpenWRT page: Another situation where v1 was supported by OpenWRT but v2 isn't. I can't figure out if the version being sold on amazon is v1 or v2. From the page:
4. TP-Link Archer AX53 (Rs 3899) Relevant OpenWRT forum post: Another case where hardware cut in v2 makes it impossible to support it. From the post:
Amazon doesn't tell if v1 or v2 is being sold, but I think its safe to assume it would be v2.
D-Link:
1. D-Link DIR-825 (Rs 1899) Relevant OpenWRT page: Revisions A1, D1, E1, G1, J1 are not supported, B1, B2, C1, C2 are. The OpenWRT page links forum posts showing the reasons for the unsupported versions. But the main reason i got is that D-Link shifted to an unsupported realtek chip.
2. D-Link R15 (Rs 2700) Relevant OpenWRT forum post: OpenWRT doesn't provide images for this router as mentioned in the post, however I couldn't find any documentation/post explaining why not. There is no info available on what chip it uses, its RAM or flash size in its "datasheet" so I can't even make a guess.
Netgear:
No routers were available on amazon, flipkart and and jiomart.
I went to their website. However all the routers on this page other than the Orbi(the Nighthawk series, the R6850, R6350, R6260) eventually led me to broken links/404 pages like this one.
Asus:
I am not interested in the Gaming series so i looked at the WiFi-Routers category, and the cheapest one is at 6k so out of my budget.
Xiaomi:
1. Mi Router 4A Gigabit Edition (Rs 1799) Relevant OpenWRT page: Again pointed out by the page:
Tenda:
Tenda AC9 is the only router currently supported in the latest OpenWRT release but it seems to be unavailable.
CONCLUSION
That was all the routers I tried before giving up. What I found the most frustrating was when a manufacturer cuts the hardware specs down, making OpenWRT unflashable in the process, but still sells it under the same model. I would be very grateful if someone has any recommendations to help me here!
