On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the project, the developers of the Openwrt District have announced their initiative to create a wireless router called Openwrt One (AP-24.x). The router will be based on the open-source firmware found in banana pi boards, specifically the BPI-R4. The Openwrt One will utilize similar hardware, with the exception of the wireless chip firmware. It will come equipped with U-boot and Linux support. The developers plan to release the device’s assembly schemes under an open license, with an expected cost of under $100.
The Openwrt One will run on the SOC MediaTek MT7981B and use the MediaTek MT7976C wireless chip, which supports 2×2 2.4 GHz and 3×3/2×2 + DFS 5 GHz connections. It will have 1 GB of DDR4 RAM, 128 MB SPI Nand Flash, and 4 MB SPI NOR Flash. The device will also feature an M.2 slot for NVMe SSD, providing the ability to connect additional drives. Included ports are 2 Ethernet (2.5 GBE + 1 GBE), USB 2.0 Host Type-a, USB-C for console and CDC-ACM support, JTAG 10-PIN, and a Mikrobus expansion slot. The housing will contain two buttons (reset and user), four LEDs, and a mechanical switch for selecting the loading mode.
One of the main goals of the Openwrt One is to ensure its durability and protection from oxidization. The router will have several recovery modes, easy console access, and support for an external hardware Watchdog monitor. To enhance reliability, the device will use two different types of Flash drives: NAND for the U-Boot bootloader and Linux image, and NOR Flash for an additional loader and recovery. There will be a hardware switch to choose between booting from NOR or NAND. The M.2 slot for NVMe will facilitate loading additional distributions, such as Debian and Alpine.
To maintain accurate timekeeping, the Openwrt One will utilize an RTC based on the NXP PCF8563TS with a backup battery. Non-profit organization Software Freedom Conservance will be involved in the sale and distribution of the device, accumulating sponsorship and providing legal protection for the OpenWrt project.