Disclosure: Some links on this page are monetized through the Skimlinks, Amazon, Rakuten Ads, and eBay affiliate programs, and Liliputing may earn a commission if you purchase something after clicking on one of these links. there is. All prices are subject to change and this article reflects only the prices available at the time of publication.
of Banana Pi BPI-WiFi 6 Router is an inexpensive router with a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, four antennas, and three Gigabit Ethernet ports (in addition to an RJ45 input).
Available from Banana Pi’s AliExpress store for $31 (plus shipping and an additional $13 for customers in the US at the time of publication), this inexpensive router uses a fork of the free open source OpenWrt operating system. It’s also a very versatile little device to run. .
As CNX Software points out, the Chinese company that makes this router actually started selling the BPI-WiFi motherboard + antenna kit nearly a year ago, but at the time it was not possible to complete the system. If I wanted it to be a router, I had to add my own case. This is a full-fledged router that can be used comfortably at home or at work.
Now that complete routers (with cases) are available, this system appears to be fairly competitively priced compared to budget WiFi 6 and Ethernet routers; There are also additional benefits (for those who like to carry their firmware with them). Replacing embedded software with OpenWrt requires overcoming all sorts of hurdles. Because OpenWrt is already designed to run a highly customizable version of the operating system.
That being said, BPI-WiFi is Banana Pi’s fork This means it can take longer to get the latest features and bug fixes.
Another thing to note is that the BPI-WiFi board sold separately has four Gigabit Ethernet ports, while the model with the case only has three.
The BPI-WiFI router features a 1.2 GHz Triductor TR6560 dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, a TR5220 WiFi 6 chip, 512 MB of DDR4 memory, 128 MB of SPI NAND flash storage, two 5 GHz antennas, and two 2.4 GHz antennas. We are prepared.
It has a 12V DC power input and supports the optional RT5400 Power over Ethernet module.
Via CNX software (1)(2)
