OpenWrt Community and Banana Pi Launch OpenWrt One WiFi 6 Router

Controller Master



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 2×2 2.4 GHz and 3×3 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 2×1 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 MemoryStorage

  • 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.