Setting up new wifi nodes for the mesh network

Last Tuesday we were setting up new routers to add more nodes to the mesh networks we currently have. In order to make the most work in advance possible before travelling to Senegal, we successfully installed OpenWRT in the routers. We chose OpenWRT because it’s an open-source firmware that gives us complete control over the routers and includes built-in mesh networking capabilities, which are essential for our community network project.

We are using the Xiaomi Mi Router 4C, which is the best value for money we have found so far. Right now we could buy them for 12,99€!

We will soon document a guide on how to flash OpenWRT in these routers in our technical documentation section. If you’re familiar with this kind of thing, by now, you can check this old post. The only problem they have is that they only work at 2.4GHz, but since our goal is to cover a large area and bandwidth is never more than 8 Mbps, it is good for us.

Stay tuned for more updates!