Routers that run OpenWrt

Preinstalled is not the same as supported

WhichRouter tracks these as two separate features, and the list above includes both. They are very different propositions.

OpenWrt-based stock firmware means the vendor built their product on OpenWrt. You get the package manager, familiar config, and a warranty — plus a vendor UI over the top. GL.iNet is the main example. The catch is that it's a fork: the vendor's build lags upstream, and their kernel and drivers are what you get.

OpenWrt support means the project publishes an image for the model and you flash it yourself. You get current upstream OpenWrt and full control. You also take on the risk: flashing wrong bricks the device, you likely void the warranty, and hardware support varies by target — Wi-Fi drivers are the usual sore spot, since some chipsets only have proprietary drivers and run slower or not at all under OpenWrt.

Always check the specific hardware revision on the OpenWrt Table of Hardware before buying. Manufacturers reuse model names across silicon changes, and a v2 of a supported router is frequently a different SoC with no support at all. Our feature flag records that the model is supported; it cannot record which revision is in the box on the shelf.

What people actually flash it for

• A router that keeps getting updates long after the vendor stops shipping them — the strongest argument, and a security one.
• Real networking: VLANs, policy routing, multiple WAN, firewall rules you write yourself.
• Software the vendor won't ship: ad-blocking, Tailscale, custom DDNS, SQM queueing to kill bufferbloat.
• No cloud account. Local control, no telemetry, no app required.

Before you commit

Flash storage is the constraint people hit first. A 16 MB device runs OpenWrt but leaves little room for packages; 128 MB or more gives you space to work. Where a vendor publishes it, storage and memory are on each product page under Storage and Memory.

If a router you were considering is not on this list, that is not the same as it being unsupported. Every router in this catalog, checked shows the lookup for all of them, including the ones that came back with nothing and the ones the evidence was too ambiguous to call, each with the date it was checked and the model string that matched.

If you want most of this without flashing anything, look at the WireGuard and VPN router lists — several stock firmwares now cover the common cases.