OpenWrt Community and Banana Pi Launch OpenWrt One WiFi 6 Router

[Nomad76]

The OpenWrt One WiFi 6 router by Banana Pi has recently completed its journey from the first announcement in January 2024, through sampling in April, and is now available for retail to end-users. The OpenWrt One is the first board designed by Banana Pi in collaboration with the OpenWrt open-source community, with assistance from MediaTek. Banana Pi is also handling the manufacturing and distribution of the router board, with part of the generated income being used by OpenWrt to cover the costs of hosting and conferences, as well as donations to the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) organization.

The router uses MediaTek's MT7981B (Filogic 820) SoC and MediaTek MT7976C dual-band WiFi 6 chipset, offering 2x2 2.4 GHz and 3x3 5 GHz connectivity. It features a dual-core Cortex-A53 processor running at 1.3 GHz, 1 GB of DDR4 RAM, and 256 MB of SPI NAND flash storage. It also includes 16 MB of additional protected storage for system backup, and integrated M.2 2230/2242 NVMe PCIe 2x1 ports that can be used for adding external storage. The router comes with the board, including a heatsink, assembled in a metal case, three antennas, and an external power supply. In terms of connectivity, the OpenWrt One offers (aside from wireless connections) 1x Gigabit RJ45 and 1x 2.5GbE RJ45 ports, 1x USB 2.0 Type-A host port, and 1x USB Type-C port.





Technical specifications and features

SoC

• MediaTek MT7981B (Filogic 820) dual-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.3 GHz

System Memory

• 1 GB DDR4

Storage

• 256 MB SPI NAND flash for U-boot and Linux
• 16 MB SPI NOR flash for write-protected (by default) recovery bootloader (reflashing can be enabled with a jumper)
• Two types of flash devices are used to make the board almost unbrickable
• M.2 2242/2230 socket for NVMe SSD (PCIe gen 2 x1)

Networking

• 1x 2.5GbE RJ45 port
• 1x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port
• Dual-band WiFI 6 via MediaTek MT7976C (2×2 2.4 GHz + 3×3/2×2 + zero-wait DFS 5Ghz)
• 3x MMCX antenna connectors

USB

• 1x USB 2.0 Type-A host port
• USB Type-C (device, console) port using Holtek HT42B534-2 UART to USB chip

Expansion

• MikroBUS socket for expansion modules

Debugging

• Console via USB-C port or 3-pin header, 10-pin JTAG/SWD header for main SoC

RTC

• Support RTC onboard
• Reset and User buttons

Misc

• Boot select switch: NAND (regular) or NOR (recovery)
• 2x PWM LEDs, 2x Ethernet LED (GPIO driven)
• EM6324 External hardware watchdog
• NXP PCF8563TS (I2C) RTC with battery backup holder for CR1220 coin-cell

Power Supply

• 15 V USB-PD on USB-C port
• Optional 802.3at/af PoE via RT5040 module

Dimensions

• 148 x 100.5 mm compatible with Banana Pi BPI-R4 case design

Banana Pi OpenWrt One WiFi 6 router is priced at about $132 (without discounts) on AliExpress.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[hsew]

Seems a bit underpowered for the price.

 

[phints]

Seems a bit underpowered for the price.

Not really it's MediaTek so the Linux kernel and thus OpenWrt supports software flow offloading + hardware flow offloading. Sure it won't do 2.5Gbit for SQM (not much will besides x86-64), but it'll definitely route 2.5Gbit with those enabled. If you're looking for a higher spec well supported router by official OpenWrt get the GL-MT6000 (faster Filogic 830), it's fantastic, running a snapshot with kernel 6.6 on mine.

 

[Konomi]

Would be more interested if it was yellow.

 

[bug]

Power delivery via USB-C is a nice touch. But that's the only nice thing I can say about this router.

 

[OneMoar]

at 90 bucks on ali its a good deal
at 139-180 bucks forget it buy the GL-MT6000 (es considering that GLi is routinely discounted 20-30 bucks)

its really stupid they didn't go with the 830 and more ram
no dual 2.5G ports no integrated switch only 3x antenna this thing frankly sucks ....

if openwrt is gonna go to the trouble of putting there name on it build a bad mofo and price it accordly at the volumes you do when you are as small as banana pi trying to hid the middle ground always results in a MISS go baller make the money make less units you won't sell ... THEN go for the cheaper market

 

[rekinianoga]

at 90 bucks on ali its a good deal
at 139-180 bucks forget it buy the GL-MT6000 (es considering that GLi is routinely discounted 20-30 bucks)

Does it work with usb GSM modems?

 

[Tahagomizer]

For a few dollars more you can get Banana Pi R3 with it's dual 2.5Gb/s SFP and dual 4x4 WiFi. Or a GL-MT6000 it you want a more civilized looking device. It has two 2.5Gb/s RJ45, also dual 4x4 Wi-Fi and is based on the same platform, so it's silly fast. Both use OpenWRT and use a slightly better SoC (MT7986AV, known as Filogic 830).

Does it work with usb GSM modems?

It can, also works with wired tethering from a phone. Or wireless tethering.
I can't speak for particular modem compatibility, but if it works with Linux, it will probably work with OpenWRT, which is what MT6000 uses.

 

[Eternit]

Does it work with usb GSM modems?

Works fine with ZTE MF833U1

 

[hsew]

at 90 bucks on ali its a good deal
at 139-180 bucks forget it buy the GL-MT6000 (es considering that GLi is routinely discounted 20-30 bucks)

its really stupid they didn't go with the 830 and more ram
no dual 2.5G ports no integrated switch only 3x antenna this thing frankly sucks ....

if openwrt is gonna go to the trouble of putting there name on it build a bad mofo and price it accordly at the volumes you do when you are as small as banana pi trying to hid the middle ground always results in a MISS go baller make the money make less units you won't sell ... THEN go for the cheaper market

I was thinking the same thing in terms of pricing. This product really can’t make up its mind about what it wants to be. This should have been a more modular platform which allowed wireless connectivity to be added (although how compatible would that be with WRT?) 2GB RAM (or even better, an empty SODIMM slot), and a more capable SoC (plus a pwm fan port!) with more multi-gig Ethernet ports or even an SFP+ Port. Instead this doesn’t really stand out in any particular way. I mean geez is it too much to ask for even two 2.5G ports instead of just one?

 

[trparky]

Only dual-core? Ehh… that’s underpowered when compared to commercially available routers that sport quad-core CPUs. There’s no way this thing would be able to handle multi-gigabit connections.

 

[chrcoluk]

Since no links provided.

Banana Pi OpenWrt One Router

Banana Pi OpenWrt One router official support by OpenWrt community

docs.banana-pi.org

£69 on the Ali store.

I thought the motivation to make a unit like this would be to supply what the open market is failing to supply, it does feel over priced considering its almost wireless only.

Also since there seems to be a revenue share based on what the page says, I do hope this doesnt lead to less 3rd party devices getting support, as there is now an incentive to draw users to this SKU.

 

[mechtech]

@TheLostSwede

Is this your crowd funder from SNB??

 

[TheLostSwede]

@TheLostSwede

Is this your crowd funder from SNB??

Hardly, this has nothing to do with me and this is not a product I would have made.
BPi are a meh company as well.
I was trying to see if there was interest to source some Qualcomm routers with a pair of 10 Gbps ports a few years ago, but apparently there was no such interest.

Keep in mind that I worked for a router manufacturer for 2½ years and they were doing things no-one else in the industry was doing or is even considering doing today. Shame the owner lost faith in what he was doing, despite business being good.

Also since there seems to be a revenue share based on what the page says, I do hope this doesnt lead to less 3rd party devices getting support, as there is now an incentive to draw users to this SKU.

Imho, this seems like a device that was made for the OpenWRT developers to play around with, not sensible person would buy this.
Had they gone for the quad core chip found in the GL.inet GT-MT6000 or the Asus TUF Gaming AX6000, things would've been very different.

This Taiwanese company is selling dev boards based on the MT7986A, but they're $200 a pop...

Wi-Fi 6E AX6000 Mediatek MT7986A Router DP7986

Wi-Fi 6E AX6000 Router ,integrated wireless network router system-on-chip by Mediatek MT7986AV, for home entertainment and automation

asiarf.com

 

[gerard.bow]

2x2 ... 3x3 no thanks!

You've saved money in completely the wrong place!
It may be enough for a small children's room in the jungle, but I see 4x4 in the 2.4Ghz band as a must today.
I don't buy hardware garbage just because of an open firmware!

 

[bug]

2x2 ... 3x3 no thanks!

You've saved money in completely the wrong place!
It may be enough for a small children's room in the jungle, but I see 4x4 in the 2.4Ghz band as a must today.
I don't buy hardware garbage just because of an open firmware!

Like @TheLostSwede pointed out, this is more of a developer-oriented device, so that open source developers have a device to test their work.

 

[phints]

Like @TheLostSwede pointed out, this is more of a developer-oriented device, so that open source developers have a device to test their work.

It still makes for a great home router up to maybe 1Gbit connection, if you are running up to 2.5Gbit hardware flow offloading will be fine for this device (since MediaTek supports it in Linux kernel). The GL-MT6000 isn't much more expensive and quite a bit faster than this though, as is the BPi-R4 (roughly same hardware as MT6000) and they choose this case size to be compatible with BPi.

 

[trsttte]

For a few dollars more you can get Banana Pi R3 with it's dual 2.5Gb/s SFP

Or even better the BananaPi R4 that has either 2x10gbps SFP or 10gbps + 2.5gbps. Most BananaPi boards depending on popularity end up with mainline OpenWrt support, if they're doing a special thing officially branded and endorsed why not go for gold with the most modern one?

Imho, this seems like a device that was made for the OpenWRT developers to play around with, not sensible person would buy this.

Like @TheLostSwede pointed out, this is more of a developer-oriented device, so that open source developers have a device to test their work.

I disagree, that's what happens with other random boards BananaPi (and others) release, this one is an end product, with mainline support out of the box and a proper box and all that. Anyone looking at a custom router like this would be someone who likes to tinker with stuff, but this is as user friendly as a custom openwrt router can be and made to just work like any router you'd buy from Amazon.

It's weird they didn't go for something better, at this price you can order something better from GL-inet that has official support, replace the custom image with the official release and save a few bucks.

BPi-R4 (roughly same hardware as MT6000)

BPi-R3, the R4 uses a newer soc - MediaTek MT7988A/Filogic 880 - the R3 and MT6000 use the MediaTek MT7986/Filogic 830

 

[OneMoar]

the R4 is wifi 7 which is still heavily WiP last I read but its a fk ton more hardware then this thing which is whats so confusing they already had a well priced board in the works with a big honkin SOC why not just slap the openwrt name on that and put it in abox ...

 

[trsttte]

the R4 is wifi 7 which is still heavily WiP last I read but its a fk ton more hardware then this thing which is whats so confusing they already had a well priced board in the works with a big honkin SOC why not just slap the openwrt name on that and put it in abox ...

The wifi on the R4 is an optional daughter board, they could use a simpler 6E solution for example. Or use the R3, still much better than this

 

[remixedcat]

Seems a bit underpowered for the price.

And the dual core cpu will greatly limit the VPN throughput and stateful firewall throughput.

Also I think the chipset used on this was exposed as having a lot of vulnerability in like 4 different areas.

 

[OneMoar]

yep and because you don't have hardware acceleration when using sqm you can forget about anything over halfgig with sqm enabled