r/openwrt

When I look through lists of compatible routers and what people recommend there seems to be no wifi 7. This post from a year ago has someone saying 'next year'.

https://old.reddit.com/r/openwrt/comments/1d8l1x1/any_good_wifi_7_openwrt_routers_out_there/

Does anyone know where this stands?

As the title says. Currently using a TP-Link AC1750 and thought that moving flats and the need to reposition my router would be a good opportunity to upgrade a bit and since my workstation also supports 2.5Gbit/s ethernet that would probably be a reasonable target (10Gbit/s is also still a bit expensive?)

Router should have probably two 2.5Gbit/s ports, since Gigabit internet connection may actually arrive in the future and the 1x 2.5Gbit/s models seem to have that port as WAN anyway and I at least want one 2.5Gb connection on LAN.

I am not really sure about WiFi, is 6GHz already a thing? I think ax is probably enough for the time being? But wouldn't say no to a good option, although I value stability and strong signal/good reception more, especially reception always being a bit of an Achilles heel on my current model.

As far as I checked the device table that leaves me with the Flint2 or the Asus ZenWiFi BT8, right? Cool options like the Zyxel T-56 are sadly not available anymore. I would choose the Flint2, but the reports about signal strength going down when flashing OpenWrt worry me. (Flashing OpenWrt is a must for me, even if the Flint2 has already an OpenWrt-based firmware, but I don't want to use that.)

Or should I probably defer the upgrade and wait for new options with WiFi7?

I see that it is possible to run Docker on OpenWRT (https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/virtualization/docker\_host). I have a use case for it, but I want to know if my reasoning is valid. Yes, I know I'd need the RAM and CPU to make it run. Likely X86.

I have a growing Thread network, and it needs to be routed to Ethernet and then to a server. The usual way is to buy a Border Router ("BR") device. Apple and others build these BRs into consumer products like the Apple HomePod. The HomePod costs $100 and connects to the 2.4 GHz WiFi band only, with no Ethernet or 5 GHz. But it is reliable, and that is what I started with.

So I look at the route the data takes from a Thread device:

Device --> Thread Border Router --> WiFi --> OpenWRT --> Ethernet --> server

With the border router inside OpenWRT/Docker, I get:

Device --> Thread Border Router --> OpenWRT --> Ethernet --> server

The packet never goes over WiFi. This should help with latency and, with many devices, keep the traffic from many devices off my WiFi. Although, on the other hand, Thread is a low-data-rate network.

The plan would be to flash an "Open Thread Radio CoProcess (aka "RCP")" onto an ESP32 device, connect that via USB to OpenWRT, and then pass the USB device to Docker, where the Border Router runs. The border router routes the IPv6 Thread traffic from the RCP to a virtual network interface.

As it turns out, I think OpenWRT sees the exact same number of packets, but now they come in via a virtual network rather than one of the access points.

My question: Am I working hard to shave microseconds of latency, or will I save tens of milliseconds?

All that said, (1) there is a branch on GitHub that attempts to merge Thread with OpenWRT. There is quite a lot there, and it is active. Maybe I just wait and it goes mainline, and (2) I did a scan for Thread devices near me this morning and found that the neighbors have Eero routers, and these routers appear to already support Thread. I found five of these things.

This post was going to be crossposted but I can't. See it here

hi, i am buying a new router soon after my ax59u got water damage

i have used openwrt on older routers for some specific use cases but the interface was hard to use and i used AI to guid on doing thing on it but i like how everything could be done.

i used asus for 4 years and i liked all the features on it and i am planning to buy it

but was also looking at other brands like Cudy wich is good priced

i like to be able to create iot netweork for smart devices and limit the bandwith and things like that. some general adblocking on smart tvs if possible

should i buy an openwrt router or stick to asus for my use case

I had an issue with my router that was on 23.? Where my wifi devices wouldn’t get dns addresses from the router. My Ethernet attached devices worked fine going to the same sites. I could ping via ip address via wifi, but if I used a .com name it said it couldn’t get an address. I rebooted a few times and that didn’t seem to work.

The first time I tried to do the sysupgrade from an Ethernet attached PC I got failure messages. A few more reboots and I was able to get the upgrade to work and present me an image for 24.x download. I told it to upload the image from the browser rather than downloading to the hard disk and then uploading it.

It’s been an hour and a half saying it’s updating and don’t pull the power. While it’s says it’s doing the update my Ethernet attached devices can still get to the internet.

How long do I need to wait and will I brick the router if I do power off and on?

Hi, i heard about USA banning foreign made routers. What is the plan then for OpenWrt Two?

Second post, but it's also about support. It's also a different topic, which is why I made another. Thank you for reading in advance (and pardon my extremely confusing wording!)

OpenWrt has the ability to either define a VLAN as a device or to tag VLAN on a bridge device. Now, I'm fairly certain I have no clue how VLAN tagging works, because when I tried to use the latter method, it always results in no communication. But when I use the former, it works completely fine and VLAN tagging works cromulently.

For context:

Linksys MR8300 with OpenWrt 25.12.0 in a RoaS with an Aruba Instant On 1830 connected to it via 3 LAN ports in a software bridge.

All 3 LAN ports on the Aruba side are trunk ports with the VLAN tags 1, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90.

I want to define VLANs 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 to 5 separate interfaces. Using software VLANs with the bridge as a base device works; using the bridge itself for VLAN tagging, then defining the resulting software VLANs as network devices does not work.

The configuration for all 3 ports on the bridge VLAN are the same with the VLAN tags and configuration as: 50, u* / 60, u / 70, u / 80, u / 90, u.

No communication is established when the bridge VLAN method was used. Ping does not work, either.

What am I missing?

I'm trying to use a freshly installed OpenWRT on a Netgear r6900v2 on 25.12.2. It works when I use a pfsense box, but if I connect my WAN to the Netgear it doesn't give me internet access.

Working configuration: WAN -> PFsense WAN port -> PFsense LAN port -> Netgear WAN and LAN port

Non-working configuration: WAN -> Netgear WAN port

I have not made any changes not even updated the root password to the device. I definitely missed something reading through the wiki, but I'm trying to see what I missed here trying to get this to work. If I missed anything let me know and I'll look into it more.

Edit: Changing the MAC address to match the PFsense box fixed the issue. To edit the MAC address for OpenWrt I went to Network -> Interfaces -> Devices tab and from there I edited the MAC address. I got the MAC address for PFsense on the interfaces page.

Hello,

i just wanted to know if someone manged to get OpenWRT on the FRITZ!Box 7490 WITH WIFI support.

Hey guys,

so I have this "problem", I have multiple Extreme Networks AP3805i Access Point. And those have LEDs for 2.4GHz and 5GHz radios, and I don't want those LEDs to show if the radio is up or down, instead of blinking on traffic.

In the LED-config section in the userguide I could not find a suitable solution

Maybe someone here as already done that.

Thanks in advance

Hi all. I am trying to set up a travel router so that when I use my cell phone as the wan I can access my home lan via wireguard. Current I have it set up so that all traffic goes over the wireguard tunnel. When I attempt to set up the allowed IP to 192.168.8.0/24 (my lan) I can't access the Internet. Is there another setting or command I need to run in order to get the openwrt router to send only lan traffic over the wireguard tunnel?

EDIT: Added /etc/config/network.

Setup:

• My principal router which connects the WAN to my lan is a GL.iNet GL-MT6000 running OpenWRT 25.12.1. Its LAN interface is assigned the IP 10.0.0.1 and its WAN interface has an IP address assigned to me by my ISP (Google Fiber).
• In addition I have half a dozen or so APs also running the same version of OpenWRT and assigned IP addresses of 10.0.0.2 and following. They are assigned these IP addresses by the main router as part of their DHCP leases.
• A bunch of servers and other infrastructure are similarly assigned fixed IP addresses by the main router, starting at 10.1.0.1.
• A bunch of user devices are at 10.3.0.1 and following.
• Devices with network access but for which their MAC address has not been matched to a fixed IP address are given dynamic IP addresses in the 10.2.* range.
• The LAN is assigned a domain name of 'local' and hosts should be reachable locally under both the unqualified name NAME assigned in the DHCP configuration on the main router and as NAME.local.

All of this used to work once upon a time, but now I am encountering a number of issues, some of longer standing and some of which appeared only after my upgrade to 25.12.1.

• The names assigned to the fixed IP address DHCP clients are sometimes not recognized in DNS lookups. Some are, some aren't. Some sometimes are and aren't at other times. Some are from some devices but not other devices on the same network.
• Since 25.12.1 some devices seem to randomly lose their IP addresses and can no longer connect to the net either for a few minutes or permanently (until they are power cycled). These dropouts happen at very similar times every day, leading me to suspect that they are on a 24-hour timer of some sort (even though the devices assigned fixed IP addresses are given infinite leases).
• Aliases assigned for some host name (like the 'mail' CNAME below) are sometimes not recognized on DNS lookup and sometimes they are.

Please find below a copy of my /etc/config/dhcp file. The potentially relevant installed software are up to date versions of:

dnsmasq-full 2.91-r2
luci-proto-ipv6 26.078.75052~c5deeda
odhcp6c 2026.01.25~ee2949e3-r1
odhcpd-ipv6only 2026.03.16~edf2e523-r1
resolveip 2
drill 1.8.3-r1
libldns 1.8.3-r1
acme-acmesh-dnsapi 3.1.2-r1

Can any of the gurus here point to my error?

config dnsmasq
option domainneeded '1'
option localise_queries '1'
option rebind_protection '1'
option rebind_localhost '1'
option local '/local/'
option domain 'local'
option expandhosts '1'
option cachesize '1000'
option authoritative '1'
option readethers '1'
option leasefile '/tmp/dhcp.leases'
option localservice '1'
option ednspacket_max '1232'
list server '/mask.icloud.com/'
list server '/mask-h2.icloud.com/'
list server '/use-application-dns.net/'
list server '127.0.0.1#5053'
list server '127.0.0.1#5054'
option logfacility 'LOCAL0'
list interface 'lan'
option nonegcache '1'
option dhcpleasemax '1000'
option logdhcp '1'
list listen_address '10.0.0.1'
option dnsseccheckunsigned '0'

config dhcp 'lan'
option interface 'lan'
option start '131073'
option limit '65530'
option leasetime '2h'
list dhcp_option '6,10.0.0.1'
list dhcp_option '42,10.0.0.1'
list dhcp_option '100,EST5EDT,M3.2.0/2:00:00,M11.1.0/2:00:00'
list dhcp_option '101,America/New_York'
list dhcp_option '3,10.0.0.1'
list dhcp_option '15,local'
option ra_default '2'
option dhcpv4 'server'
option dhcpv6 'server'
option ra 'server'
list ra_flags 'managed-config'
list ra_flags 'other-config'
option ra_preference 'medium'
list ntp '10.0.0.1'

config dhcp 'wan'
option interface 'wan'
option ignore '1'

config host
option name 'alpha'
option dns '1'
list mac '94:83:C4:A6:19:AB'
list mac '94:83:C4:A6:19:AC'
list mac '94:83:C4:A6:19:AD'
option ip '10.0.0.1'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list tag 'GL-MT6000'
list tag 'AP'
list tag 'Router'

config host
option name 'beta'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.0.0.2'
list mac '34:98:B5:23:B8:C6'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option duid '000300013498b523b8c6'
list tag 'AP'
list tag 'WAX206'

config host
option name 'gamma'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.0.0.3'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list mac '34:98:B5:23:9E:86'
list tag 'AP'
list tag 'WAX206'
option duid '000300013498b5239e86'

config host
option name 'delta'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.0.0.4'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list mac '94:18:65:41:0D:15'
list tag 'AP'
list tag 'WAX220'
option duid '00030001941865410d15'

config host
option name 'epsilon'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.0.0.5'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list mac '94:18:65:42:0D:A0'
list tag 'AP'
list tag 'WAX220'
option duid '0003000116e635293bd0'

config host
option name 'zeta'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.0.0.6'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list mac '34:98:B5:18:58:2F'
list tag 'AP'
list tag 'WAX206'
option duid '000300013498b518582f'

config host
option name 'yolink-hub-old'
option dns '1'
list mac 'D8:8B:4C:02:5A:7F'
list mac 'D8:8B:4C:FD:5A:7F'
option ip '10.0.1.1'
option leasetime 'infinite'

config host
option name 'pixoo-64-a'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.0.1.2'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list mac '1C:69:20:E3:75:CC'

config host
option name 'weather-rgb-1'
list mac 'F8:B3:B7:8B:C7:13'
option ip '10.0.1.3'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option dns '1'

config host
option name 'weather-rgb-2'
list mac 'F8:B3:B7:8B:CC:3A'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option ip '10.0.1.4'
option dns '1'

config host
option name 'weather-rgb-3'
option dns '1'
list mac 'F8:B3:B7:8B:C9:5A'
option ip '10.0.1.5'
option leasetime 'infinite'

config host
option name 'yolink-hub-pro'
option ip '10.0.1.6'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option dns '1'
list mac 'D8:8B:4C:05:08:F6'
list mac 'F0:A8:82:F1:80:94'

config host
option name 'yolink-hub-new'
option ip '10.0.1.7'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list mac 'D8:8B:4C:F8:88:85'
list mac 'D8:8B:4C:07:88:85'

config host
option name 'ring-doorbell-1'
option ip '10.0.1.8'
list mac '64:9A:63:9E:68:7E'
option dns '1'
option leasetime 'infinite'

config host
option name 'ring-doorbell-2'
option ip '10.0.1.9'
list mac '90:48:6C:72:A0:31'
option dns '1'
option leasetime 'infinite'

config host
option name 'camera-bulb-1'
list mac '38:54:F5:D8:B1:33'
option ip '10.0.1.11'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option dns '1'

config host
option name 'camera-bulb-2'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.0.1.12'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list mac '3C:3B:AD:A1:4E:19'

config host
option name 'camera-bulb-3'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.0.1.13'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list mac '3C:3B:AD:A1:6C:09'

config host
option name 'camera-bulb-4'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.0.1.14'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list mac '3C:3B:AD:A1:62:7B'

config host
option name 'camera-bulb-5'
list mac '3C:3B:AD:8C:AB:5C'
option ip '10.0.1.15'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option dns '1'

config host
option name 'qanas'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.1.0.1'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list tag 'NAS'
list mac '78:72:64:43:8C:07'
list mac '78:72:64:43:8C:08'
list mac '78:72:64:43:8C:09'
list mac '78:72:64:43:8C:0A'

config host
option name 'sonas'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.1.0.2'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option duid '000300016c1ff7165ed3'
list mac '6C:1F:F7:16:5E:D3'
list mac '00:11:32:B9:49:5A'
list mac '00:11:32:B9:49:5B'
list tag 'NAS'

config host
option name 'tunon'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.1.0.3'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option duid '00020000ab1189c84fd2f34ed272'
list mac 'E8:FF:1E:D3:CC:C8'
list mac 'f4:3b:d8:cc:b7:e4'
list tag 'SRV'

config host
option name 'grotion'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.1.0.7'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option duid '000100012aaa9609a8a159d8f73f'
list mac 'A8:A1:59:D8:F7:3F'
list mac '3C:55:76:1C:1D:E1'
list tag 'WKS'

config host
option name 'queenion'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.1.0.9'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option duid '000100012a7bac8a5081407a4c73'
list mac '50:81:40:7A:4C:73'
list mac '3C:E4:41:18:F0:3B'
list tag 'WKS'

config host
option name 'ranis'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.1.0.11'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list mac 'B0:25:AA:4C:FA:EE'
list mac '70:32:17:E3:EB:35'
option duid '00020000ab119e9db500789dc9c1'
list tag 'SRV'

config host
option name 'canon-pixma-g5020'
option dns '1'
option ip '10.1.0.12'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list mac '6C:3C:7C:AE:AF:7B'

config host
option name 'scanner-carl'
option dns '1'
list mac '84:25:3F:59:D1:CF'
option ip '10.1.0.13'
option leasetime 'infinite'

config host
option name 'color-brother'
option dns '1'
list mac '30:05:5C:31:29:B9'
option ip '10.1.0.14'
option leasetime 'infinite'

config host
option name 'ipad-carl'
option ip '10.3.0.1'
list mac '28:83:C9:69:BF:AE'
list mac '56:E1:B7:3E:B6:4F'
option duid '0003000156e1b73eb64f'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option dns '1'

config host
option name 'iphone-carl'
option ip '10.3.0.2'
option duid '000300018235b37a65a1'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option dns '1'
list mac '82:35:B3:7A:65:A1'
list mac '18:FA:B7:88:32:F1'

config host
option name 'macbook-lexis-carl'
option ip '10.3.0.3'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option duid '00030001e207913dc0e7'
option dns '1'
list mac 'E2:07:91:3D:C0:E7'
list mac 'C8:A3:62:DC:19:DF'

config host
option name 'watch-carl'
option ip '10.3.0.4'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option dns '1'
list mac '8A:42:69:58:80:A5'
list mac '4A:3A:C2:F8:6D:7B'

config host
option name 'clock-upstairs'
list mac '08:E9:F6:6B:B0:4E'
option ip '10.3.0.5'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option dns '1'

config host
option name 'tv-kitchen'
option dns '1'
list mac '8C:26:AA:ED:B5:13'
option ip '10.3.0.6'
option leasetime 'infinite'
option duid '000100012ee9639d8c26aaedb513'

config host
option name 'eva-kindle-color'
option dns '1'
list mac '54:2B:1C:EF:C4:94'
option ip '10.3.0.7'
option leasetime 'infinite'

config host
option name 'william-kindle-paperwhite'
option dns '1'
list mac '0C:EE:99:5A:99:DD'
option ip '10.3.0.8'
option leasetime 'infinite'

config host
option name 'onn-william'
option ip '10.3.0.9'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list mac 'E8:5C:5F:50:7D:C2'

config host
option name 'onn-gym'
option ip '10.3.0.10'
option leasetime '5m'
list mac 'E8:5C:5F:50:80:06'

config host
option name 'tv-carl-wired'
option ip '10.3.0.11'
option leasetime '5m'
list mac 'AC:41:6A:31:BC:5A'

config host
option name 'tv-carl-wifi'
option ip '10.3.0.12'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list mac 'AC:41:6A:31:93:51'

config cname
option cname 'mail'
option target 'alpha'

config cname
option cname 'smtp'
option target 'alpha'

config cname
option cname 'ns'
option target 'alpha'

config cname
option cname 'pop'
option target 'alpha'

config cname
option cname 'imap'
option target 'alpha'

config cname
option cname 'ldap'
option target 'alpha'

config odhcpd 'odhcpd'
option leasefile '/tmp/odhcpd.leases'
option leasetrigger '/usr/sbin/odhcpd-update'
option loglevel '4'
option piodir '/tmp/odhcpd-piodir'
option hostsdir '/tmp/hosts'

config host
option name 'tv-tracey'
option ip '10.3.0.13'
option leasetime 'infinite'
list mac 'CC:9E:A2:28:10:6D'

/etc/config/network:

config interface 'loopback'
option device 'lo'
option proto 'static'
option ipaddr '127.0.0.1'
option netmask '255.0.0.0'

config globals 'globals'
option ula_prefix 'fd42:bd5b:e24a::/48'
option packet_steering '1'
option steering_flows '128'
option dhcp_default_duid '00043cfe25fe4a614f57b31e13e3da0795e0'

config device
option name 'br-lan'
option type 'bridge'
list ports 'lan1'
list ports 'lan2'
list ports 'lan3'
list ports 'lan4'
list ports 'lan5'

config interface 'lan'
option device 'br-lan'
option proto 'static'
option ipaddr '10.0.0.1'
option netmask '255.0.0.0'
option ip6assign '60'
list dns_search 'local'
option multipath 'off'

config interface 'wan'
option device 'eth1'
option proto 'dhcp'
option peerdns '0'
list dns '1.1.1.1'
list dns '8.8.8.8'

config interface 'wan6'
option device 'eth1'
option proto 'dhcpv6'

Hey,

I use my modem/router for a shairplay server. Works great. Problem is that shairport-sync-mbedtls is built to airplay 2 (when the makefile specifies it should build to airplay classic (or airplay 1)

This is a big deal because airplay 2 transcodes at 256kbps AAC, airplay classic uses ALC (big difference in sound quality).

I've tried opening a bug report on OpenWrt repository github but it was relegated as a non issue by a bot. I've tried using pkgs from other repos but same problem.

Unfortunately I'm not competent to compile myself, anyone have any ideas how I might resolve this?

Thanks for your reading

Summary: Looking for budget 2.4G AP, don't need 5g. Mostly used as an educational tool.

Longer version...

I'm new to OpenWRT and want to play with it a bit before I deploy it "for real." I think I have a productive way to learn.

I do some development work using ESP32 and thought I would set up a dedicated 2.4GHz SSID on its own subnet just for testing ESP32 devices.

I installed OpenWRT in a Proxmox container on an old laptop. The laptop connects to my normal house network over WiFi, and the Ethernet port is unused. I want to connect an access point to the laptop's Ethernet. I assume this is all possible. Setting this up will let me learn about OpenWRT. I will eventually set up a couple of Thread Border Routers to route this with a small Thread network. The devices I'm working on talk Thread and/or Wi-Fi.

The test network will be 2.4GHz only and does not need to be very large, just one room.

Question: I want an access point, and I think it needs to run OpenWRT. My guess is that, because I need only 2.4GHz, I can make do with a pretty low-end, low-cost AP. But I want one that is like what I will eventually deploy.

My target system for early 2027 is Wi-Fi 7, likely three APs, a switch that can do 10GBE, and pretty strong WireGuard performance for remote access to a NAS and keeping the development LAN. My goal is to be well-educated in OpenWRT configuration before 2027. My technical background: A software engineer with not much networking experience, but old enough that I was a computer science student at UCLA when the 7-layer OSI model was a new idea, retired now.

So, looking for a representative AP that is cost-effective. Actually, I want two so I can learn how roaming works.

I bought my kid a PlayStation Portal to use at his other parent’s house, but the latency there is absolutely horrendous. I’d like to setup a second network with cake/SQM for the portal to use, but I don’t want to spend a lot. The house has gig up and down, but shaping to 100mbps would likely more than suffice for the portal.

Who has good recommendations?

EDIT: I appreciate all the advice. It’s true that I need to test via Ethernet to narrow down what the root cause is.

This is a fiber connection, which I’m only casually familiar with. The box that the fiber runs into has 2 Ethernet ports, both active and accessible. 1 has Ethernet going to what I believe is either some type of Quantum “router” or a wireless “pod”. If the bufferbloat doesn’t exist when I test via Ethernet, I can likely setup an AP with a new network name wired via Ethernet.

Ideally I could set the ONT in bridge mode and install a good router someplace more central, but it’s not my house. I’m just trying to fix a playability issue for my kids Portal.

So I’m interested in using my Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 4GB RAM as a home router.

My current network config is just my Xfinity gateway (which handles DNS, DHCP, and NAT. From what I understand Xfinity doesn’t allow you to customize these options with their rented gateways.)

I have an 8-port switch that is connected to the gateways LAN port and essentially thats my whole network.

My solution is running the Pi so that I can run things like pi-hole and other custom network settings. I want to run OpenWRT I just have a few reservations.

I don’t want a ton of bottlenecking from my current set and I’m a bit fuzzy on how I am supposed to configure this with my XFinity gateway.

Do I simply connect the pi to the switch and configure with OpenWRT?

Should I run it in bridge mode with the Xfinity Gateway?

How do I tell the gateway im using my own router?

I have a good knowledge of networking (configuring NAT, DHCP, IP subnetting, etc) I’m just trying to figure out the best way to go about to gain some privacy and control without overly sacrificing performance.

I’ve heard I may need a USB to ethenet to create a second port on the pi ? do i need to add any hardware to make wireless perform? or is there a way i can get “the best of both worlds” using the pi in conjunction with the modem?