# Recommendations for Silent and Secure Routers

**URL:** https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/recommendations-for-silent-and-secure-routers/32870
**Category:** Questions
**Created:** 2025-11-15T14:38:17Z
**Posts:** 27
**Showing post:** 15 of 27

## Post 15 by @kissu — 2025-11-16T14:37:44Z

Good well known recommendation companies from that article (that are also cross-referenced across the Internet in general):

- [GL.iNET’s MT-6000 Flint 2](https://www.gl-inet.com/products/gl-mt6000/)
  - or MT-3000 as [recommended on the official OpenWRT forums](https://forum.openwrt.org/t/best-newcomer-router-2025/222871)

- [Firewalla](https://firewalla.com/collections/firewalla-products)
- [BananaPi R4](https://docs.banana-pi.org/en/BPI-R4/BananaPi_BPI-R4) if you want something with more performance for a given price
  - [R4 Pro](https://docs.banana-pi.org/en/BPI-R4_Pro/BananaPi_BPI-R4_Pro) is also in the works in your wish to have 10Gbe but it is still quite a dev board, don’t expect everything to work flawlessly
  - [R3 Mini](https://docs.banana-pi.org/en/BPI-R3_Mini/BananaPi_BPI-R3_Mini) if you want the opposite, something smaller and _cute_ to carry around or use as an Access Point

- Turris is also a [known company apparently](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/do-you-have-any-router-recommendations/33583/14), they have their own firmware but the [Turris Omnia](https://openwrt.org/toh/turris/turris_omnia) is also compatible with OpenWRT

* * *

I’m definitely no security expert but I heard about this one from Naomi Brookwell (it can support some 4G):

- [https://protectli.com/](https://protectli.com/)

Looks decent in terms of features and privacy even tho it might be sourcing the hardware itself from China. Not sure about Qualcom, Mediatek etc…but maybe it’s not a good thing? Again no expert. :man_shrugging:t2:

* * *

[Tomaž Zaman](https://www.youtube.com/@tomazzaman) is building his own router + software last time I checked.

> **[Tomaž Zaman](https://www.youtube.com/@tomazzaman)**
>
> I hate routers. Most of them anyway. Which is why I decided to do something about it. You can follow my story here.

Looks quite knowledgeable on the topic and has a page for his upcoming product here: [mono.si](https://mono.si/). Might be worth giving it a look for something very much different?

Jeff Geerling reviewed an early version of it recently.

> **[$1m server vs $600 router](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D5q3NWEMZY)**
>
> HUGE thanks to Patrick from @ServeTheHomeVideo for helping with this test!Links to everything I mentioned: - Mono Gateway: https://mono.si - Tomaž Zaman on...

* * *

Finally yes, a BananiPi is probably the best way to go because it’s based on [OpenWRT One](https://openwrt.org/toh/openwrt/one) itself and looks very self-contained + amazing price/performance ratio. :heart_eyes:

Btw, they also plan to release [the Two](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43512495) soon with a spec bump and around 250$?  
Still too early to have more details tho.

* * *

Finally, you have Ubiquiti (which is not recommended by the post above btw).  
It’s a banger for the price/performance ratio and some people are very happy with their proprietary software but at the same time, I am not sure how private it is.  
It’s the old decision of, do you:

- harden an iPhone
- run GrapheneOS on an Android

You could probably also just wipe their software and install OpenWRT on it but then you pretty much lose the entire point of buying some good hardware for _cheap_.  
And the same could be told for any kind of crappy router that you nuke.

* * *

TLDR: probably go for the OpenWRT one (with any BananaPi :banana: + some accessories to tune it further) tbh. :+1:t2:

* * *

Update: I personally ended up going with the Flint 2 for the following reasons:

- easier to buy and with no fluff as of when/where I would receive it, stock on Aliexpress is not always the best
- I’m not sure about the overall quality of the R4/R4 Pro when it comes down to shielding and doing the thing right[[1]](#footnote-121413-1)
- R4 Pro’s firmware situation is still a hot mess and I don’t feel like it is nowhere as stable as the R4’s + I don’t want to receive a cool PCB but have no actual use for it waiting for a firmware bump :joy:
- follows my needs better: WiFi 7 is not ready at all[[2]](#footnote-121413-2), I don’t plan on using a 5G mobile card for a backup, I am not sure I want to straight upgrade to 10Gbe given the amount of work it requires, I’ll probably stick to 2.5G for now
  - since I realized that a basic WiFi 6 router would be more than enough for me right now, I then decided to pick the most stable and reliable recommendation over the Internet: the Flint 2
  - you can flash [its firmware](https://openwrt.org/toh/gl.inet/gl-mt6000) if you want a Zero Trust approach :victory_hand:
  - the OpenWRT forums themselves are leaning heavily towards Flint 2 or BPi R4, hence both are safe bets for something that works just well :1st_place_medal:

Now it’s time to flash that bad boi! :face_savoring_food:

* * *

1. I didn’t felt like getting into 3D printing a custom case + applying copper/aluminum foil + everything in between, was a bit too enthusiast for a first timer [↩︎](#footnote-ref-121413-1)

2. moreover, I have no WiFi 7 clients supporting it anyway [↩︎](#footnote-ref-121413-2)

---

_[View the full topic](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/recommendations-for-silent-and-secure-routers/32870)._