OpenWRT: turning an old router into a powerhouse

Imagine: an old router for 2000 ₽ blocks ads, shares a VPN, works as a Mesh system and doesn’t slow down even with 50 devices.
This is not magic — this is OpenWRT.

🏠 Who needs OpenWRT

OpenWRT turns an ordinary router into a mini-server. If you have at least one item from the list — it’s definitely time to try it:

• Want AdBlock for the whole house
• Need a VPN without a subscription
• Have an old router lying around
• Like to tinker with settings

90% of users install OpenWRT — and forget about the router forever.

⚡ What OpenWRT can do

• AdBlock — ad filtering at the DNS level
• SQM (QoS) — get rid of lags in Zoom and games
• WireGuard / OpenVPN — fast and secure VPN
• Mesh Wi-Fi — combines multiple routers
• USB modems — works even with 4G dongles
• Torrents 24/7 — without a PC turned on

🛠 Installation in 60 seconds

# 1. Скачать прошивку
wget https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/23.05.5/targets/mediatek/mt7622/openwrt-23.05.5-mediatek-mt7622-xiaomi_redmi-router-ax6s-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin

# 2. Залить на роутер
scp openwrt-*.bin root@192.168.1.1:/tmp/

# 3. Прошить
ssh root@192.168.1.1
sysupgrade -n /tmp/openwrt-*.bin

In three minutes LuCI (web interface) will be available at 192.168.1.1.

🔥 Top-5 features

🧠 Best hardware

🎯 Conclusion

OpenWRT is Linux for your router.
If you want the most out of old hardware — install it and forget it.
Not sure if your router is supported? 👇 Write the model — I’ll advise in 5 minutes!