Open source router firmware project OpenWrt ships its own entirely repairable hardware

Open source Wi-Fi router project OpenWrt and the Software Freedom Conservancy have delivered their first jointly developed hardware platform – the OpenWrt One – and are trumpeting it as a triumph of the right to repair movement.

OpenWrt is widely used by commercial router-makers, who take advantage of its GNU General Public License Version 2 to accelerate development of mostly consumer- and SOHO-grade hardware.

In January 2024, contributors revealed they had contemplated celebrating the project's 20th anniversary by creating its own hardware. Existing informal efforts to build a device using Banana Pi hardware were felt to demonstrate the task was not immense, and the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) – of which OpenWrt is a member project – was willing to help.

Fast-forward to November 29 and the device debuted – just in time for Black Friday sales (and probable delivery before Christmas, at least at the time of publication).

Known as the OpenWrt One, the box boasts a dual-core MediaTek MT7981B processor, and a MT7697 Wi-Fi 6 chip from the same vendor.

The OpenWrt One router - Click to enlarge

There's also a pair of Ethernet ports – one each at 1Gbit and 2.5Gbit, the latter allowing power-over-Ethernet. A USB-C port is the alternative power source, and a single USB-A 2.0 port is also present.

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The device ships with stock firmware installed, but is of course upgradable. The SFC claims it is "unbrickable" thanks to a switch enabling it to separately flash the NOR and NAND portions of the flash memory.

The device has passed full compliance tests conducted by the US Federal Communications Commission – both for hardware and for OpenWrt itself.

The SFC's announcement post calls that a win because "Industry 'conventional wisdom' often argues that FCC requirements somehow conflict with the software right to repair." The Conservancy "has long argued that's pure FUD. We at SFC and OpenWrt have now proved copyleft compliance, the software right to repair, and FCC requirements are all attainable in one product!"

The machine costs $89.99 with a case, antennae, and power brick, from Banana Pi's AliExpress store and from other Chinese e-commerce sites. It's also possible to buy just the board – although it's harder to find.

Ten dollars from each purchase goes to the SFC.

The debut of the device is a happy moment for OpenWrt, which has clearly well and truly moved on from the 2016 split that was resolved amicably in 2018. ®