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You don't need Apple to achieve wireless freedom, all you need is a few devices which can run OpenWRT. Use one of of them as router, the others as APs and you'r

You don't need Apple to achieve wireless freedom, all you need is a few devices which can run OpenWRT. Use one of of them as router, the others as APs and you're set. The router can also be a virtual one, running in a container or VM on the server-under-the-stairs. The APs can be anything which you have laying around or managed to scrounge somewhere. This is what I do home on the range - farm really - where I have several APs spread around the area, connected together using Cat5 using a number of VLANs for different wireless networks: one for the private network, a guest network, an IoT network, an OPS network, a surveillance cam network and a low-speed open network called 'snigelnät' (Swedish for 'slug net'). The APs don't do routing, the virtual router of course does not do WiFi. Some of the APs are also connected to local POE switches for cameras. The whole setup has been mostly maintenance free since I got it up and running some 4 years ago, it offers way more functionality and flexibility than anything offered by commercial entities like Apple and it was cheap to build.

rcarmo 2y ago
I contributed patches to OpenWRT since the WRT54g days and have a couple of travel routers that I upgraded myself. But the quality of decent, home grade compatible equipment is pretty dismal, so if you can tell me what boxes you used I'd be curious. However, I do not want to have to support, flash or manually patch my home Wi-Fi, which currently consists of no less than 5 Airport Extreme base stations connected via Cat 5. But I also don't want it to send data to the cloud or rely on proprietary apps for management (I tolerate Apple's Airport Utlity because it has worked flawlessly for decades).
- hagbard_c 2y ago
  In the current setup I'm using 3 * 'Xiaomi Mi Router 4A Gigabit Edition' (xiaomi,mi-router-4a-gigabit, ramips/mt7621) as 'main access points' which have thus far worked well. I bought these new specifically for this purpose and never allowed them access to the 'net before flashing OpenWRT. I disable routing/firewall/dhcp on these devices, they are pure access points. I'm also using a number of repurposed devices from different manufacturers - Belkin, Technicolor, Netgear, Asus, D-Link and probably some others I forgot about - for local access points and as local switches, again with routing (etc.) disabled. There are 6 different wireless networks (LAN, guest, ipcam, IoT, OPS and the open but slow 'snigelnät') which are trunked to the APs over VLANs. I'm running a dual-stack network (IPv4/v6) using DHCPv6 for deterministic IPv6 addresses on hosts, all that is handled by the virtual router running in a container on Proxmox on the server-under-the-stairs. This is also where I run Wireguard (VPN) and adblock. Maximum wireless speed varies depending on which AP you're connected to, in practice up to about 550 Mbps when using the Xiaomi 4A APs (advertised as AC1200). Range is sufficient for me to have a WiFi connection when I'm in the middle of a 3.5 hectare field on the opposite side of the road, about 150 m and a number of walls plus some trees separated from the nearest AP.
  - rcarmo 2y ago
    Thanks! I actually like most of the Xiaomi hardware I’ve come across, just never used that model. Have added it to my list of prospective replacements (will be a year or so before I actually worry about doing the upgrade)
    - hagbard_c 2y ago
      Make sure the model they ship is supported before you buy, there seem to be several versions of this device - or devices with very similar names sold as '4A Gigabit Router' - which are not necessarily supported by OpenWRT. I was actually surprised to see this device still being sold on Aliexpress, by now it is a bit dated but it certainly works well as an AP. It is quite cheap, around €30.

rcarmo 2y ago

I contributed patches to OpenWRT since the WRT54g days and have a couple of travel routers that I upgraded myself. But the quality of decent, home grade compatible equipment is pretty dismal, so if you can tell me what boxes you used I'd be curious. However, I do not want to have to support, flash or manually patch my home Wi-Fi, which currently consists of no less than 5 Airport Extreme base stations connected via Cat 5. But I also don't want it to send data to the cloud or rely on proprietary apps for management (I tolerate Apple's Airport Utlity because it has worked flawlessly for decades).

hagbard_c 2y ago
In the current setup I'm using 3 * 'Xiaomi Mi Router 4A Gigabit Edition' (xiaomi,mi-router-4a-gigabit, ramips/mt7621) as 'main access points' which have thus far worked well. I bought these new specifically for this purpose and never allowed them access to the 'net before flashing OpenWRT. I disable routing/firewall/dhcp on these devices, they are pure access points. I'm also using a number of repurposed devices from different manufacturers - Belkin, Technicolor, Netgear, Asus, D-Link and probably some others I forgot about - for local access points and as local switches, again with routing (etc.) disabled. There are 6 different wireless networks (LAN, guest, ipcam, IoT, OPS and the open but slow 'snigelnät') which are trunked to the APs over VLANs. I'm running a dual-stack network (IPv4/v6) using DHCPv6 for deterministic IPv6 addresses on hosts, all that is handled by the virtual router running in a container on Proxmox on the server-under-the-stairs. This is also where I run Wireguard (VPN) and adblock. Maximum wireless speed varies depending on which AP you're connected to, in practice up to about 550 Mbps when using the Xiaomi 4A APs (advertised as AC1200). Range is sufficient for me to have a WiFi connection when I'm in the middle of a 3.5 hectare field on the opposite side of the road, about 150 m and a number of walls plus some trees separated from the nearest AP.
- rcarmo 2y ago
  Thanks! I actually like most of the Xiaomi hardware I’ve come across, just never used that model. Have added it to my list of prospective replacements (will be a year or so before I actually worry about doing the upgrade)
  - hagbard_c 2y ago
    Make sure the model they ship is supported before you buy, there seem to be several versions of this device - or devices with very similar names sold as '4A Gigabit Router' - which are not necessarily supported by OpenWRT. I was actually surprised to see this device still being sold on Aliexpress, by now it is a bit dated but it certainly works well as an AP. It is quite cheap, around €30.