I used to use an old Linksys WRT54GL v1.1 router for the purpose of testing homelab setups, but I have recently found that, as of 2022, it is unsupported by OpenWRT. So, I am now looking for a router to replace my old one. I don’t need anything fancy – I just need a router with WiFi connectivity (2.4GHz is fine, but 5GHz is, of course, appreciated, if possible), and a few LAN ports (gigabit would be nice, but it is not a necessity). By no means does it have to be a new model of router. So long as it supports a current version of OpenWRT, and satisfies my hardware requirements, it will be an acceptable recommendation
Glinet devices have great support for openwrt.
https://www.gl-inet.com/
Search your local listings for them, they can be quite cheap too
Do you recommend any specific model(s), by chance?
I have the Slate AX travel router, and it’s really good.
It has a simplified web interface + app for the gl-inet specific functions (WAN failover, adblock, VPN server + client, file share, etc), but you can also access the OpenWRT interface underneath.
I have a bunch of different models from them, no complaints. Obviously the newer models with USBC and higher throughput are better. But it depends on your use case. I would just buy the cheapest one you can find locally and play with it. Make sure you’re happy with open WRT on it.
I have a few shadows and a beryl, my primary use case is a travel router. But now that Calyxos and lineage os allow sharing of VPN over tethering I just use a old cell phone as my travel router.