Banana Pi BPI-R4 WiFi 7 Wireless Dual-Band WiFi Router Board OpenWRT, with MediaTek MT7988A (Filogic 880) SoC, Support 2X 10GbE SFP and 4X GbE Gigabit Ethernet for NAS Smart Home Gateway (Bundle3)

The media could not be loaded. This board has completely exceeded my expectations in terms of both performance and versatility. As a networking enthusiast, it offers everything I need and more.First and foremost, the WiFi 7 support is a game changer. The wireless performance is outstanding, providing ultra-fast speeds across both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Whether I’m streaming 4K content or working remotely, the BPI-R4 delivers a seamless and lag-free experience. It’s fantastic to see such cutting-edge technology in a product like this.The MediaTek MT7988A SoC is a powerhouse. Running demanding applications like a NAS server and handling multiple connected devices is no issue for this router. It’s clear that a lot of thought went into the hardware, and it definitely shows in the smooth, reliable performance. The 2 x 10GbE SFP ports and 4 x Gigabit Ethernet ports are a perfect touch for anyone needing high-speed, wired connectivity. This setup is future-proof and perfect for high-throughput tasks, from large file transfers to setting up a robust home server.What I absolutely love about the BPI-R4 is the OpenWRT support. This gives me full control over my network and allows me to tailor the router to my exact needs. It’s incredibly customizable, whether it’s setting up VLANs, managing traffic, or securing my smart home devices. The flexibility is unmatched.The BPI-R4 is also the perfect solution for my Smart Home Gateway. It has no problem managing multiple devices simultaneously, offering stability and fast response times. Plus, with its security features powered by OpenWRT, I feel confident in my network’s protection.Overall, this is a highly capable, feature-rich, and customizable router that offers incredible value. If you’re looking for a powerful networking solution for home automation, NAS, or even small business needs, the Banana Pi BPI-R4 is definitely worth considering. I more than happier with my purchase !!

The good: Works well as a mobile hotspot with OpenWRT when a Quectel RM520N-GL is added. Fan is nearly silent. The case gets warm, but not hot. The bad: Wifi is low power and has short range. It is also not easy to get the configuration correct. I don't think the drivers are ready for prime time yet. Still a work in progress. I would recommend skipping the wifi 7 board and adding access points. Also, the SFP ports are picky about what network interface modules are used.

Good router board designed for OpenWrt (vanilla snapshot works great for me). It’s quiet, performs well, and feels stable even under load. Setting it up was a breeze - everything came together quickly, and it was ready to go with minimal effort. Out-of-the-box compatibility with the Quectel 5G modem module (get a heatsink for the modem module). Overall, this board offers solid performance and ease of use for anyone looking to run vanilla snapshot OpenWrt.

Great product and great quality! Would purchase again.

While the vendor does supply their own forked version of OpenWRT - if you want to get actual OpenWRT which is kept up to date and open you're gonna find yourself in a bad spot with this setup. The reason why is that the eeprom has bad transmission power values programmed into it for some reason nobody can understand. There is a thread on github (openwrt issue 17489) that explains this. I did a hexdump on mine, and sure enough it had the same bad values. This is for a card purchased in June of 2029 but the issues go back very early. There are SOME that have the eeprom values set correctly, but do you want to risk getting one that doesn't? Until the banana pi folks come out with a solution to flash the wifi card eeprom with proper values, or openwrt implements a work around, I'd avoid this card.

I purchased this router to use as a travel router and this worked out perfectly. The bpi-r4 shipped with OpenWRT burned to the NAND flash from factory. I then purchased a Quectel RM520N-GL to use as a 5G Cellular modem it was automatically detected by OpenWRT and after adding the SIM I was up and running.I was able to run the router with a battery pack that supports USB-C Power Delivery.I do wish this had more RAM so I can try running Debian and containers so I can consolidate my growing collection of single board computer’sI liked it so much I purchased a second bundle with the WiFi 7 card. I have not tested this yet - but it looks very promising. Can’t wait to see what this thing is capable of!

I'm using this mainly as a pretty vanilla AP. Flashed 24.10 OpenWRT release when I got this a week or two ago, and everything worked well for the most part.However, there is one issue (as of 2025/02/23) that might be a showstopper for some. The max transmit power is 6 dBm (or sometimes 7 dBm for some reason). Seems to be due to a firmware bug from my investigation (check GitHub and the Banana Pi forums). When connecting from a distance < 10 feet from the AP, and with one wall in between, the signal is fine practically speaking--at least for me. From 10-15 feet away and 2 walls, it becomes close to unusable. This is in a NYC apartment so your experience will probably vary.From my research, the Banana Pi closed source firmware seems to not have this issue, but I personally have not tried it. There is supposedly a patch that presumably will make it into an OpenWRT build for this device at some point.

If you follow the video, this is easy to put together. One thing to note is that the wireless card heat sinks do not fit with the case that comes with the device. You will want to use a different heatsink.