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The OpenWrt One/AP-24.XY is a WiFi 6 and Ethernet router powered by a 1.3 GHz MediaTek MT7981B (Filogic 820) processor dual-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor. It features support for WiFi 6 and has a Gigabit LAN port and 2.5 GbE WAN port.

But what really makes this router stand out is that it was designed by the folks behind the open source, Linux-based OpenWrt operating system in partnership with Banana Pi. It ships with OpenWrt already installed. We first heard about the project earlier this year, and now Banana Pi is now selling samples of the router for $89, and earmarking $10 from every sale for a donation to the OpenWrt Project.

According to a recent post in the OpenWrt mailing list, there should also be "raw PCB" versions available for around $65 eventually, for folks that just want the mainboard and don't need the fully assembled system that includes a metal chassis.

Key features include

  • 1GB DDR4 memory (onboard)
  • 256MiB SPI NAND Flash and 16 MiB SPI NOR flash storage
  • M.2 2242/2230 socket for PCIe Gen  2 x1 SSD (bring your own storage)
  • MediaTek MT7976C dual-band WiFi 6 support (2×2 2.4 GHz and 3×3 5 GHz)
  • 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A host port
  • 1 x USB Type-C (device, console)
  • RTC backup battery support
  • PoE support
  • MikroBUS socket for expansion modules

    • Another nifty feature is a boot selection switch that lets you toggle between booting from the recovery image written to storage or from the main storage, which the OpenWrt team says helps make the device "almost unbrickable."

    The mainboard measures 148 x 100.5mm (5.83″ x 3.96″) and Banana Pi notes that it should fit inside any case that's designed for the similarly-sized Banana Pi BPI-R4, although the ports won't necessarily match up perfectly since the BPI-R4 has more wired network (four Gigabit Ethernet and two 10 Gbe SFP).

    via Banana Pi, OpenWrt, and Linuxiac

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