Tenda wireless bridge firmware
I’m at the thrift store, looking at an old Tenda wireless N broadband router model W316R Do you know if this supports wireless bridging as a client? If not, do you know which software could be installed on this router to replace the factory software?
ChatGPT-4o said:
The Tenda W316R is a very basic and budget-friendly Wireless N 150Mbps router, and it has limited functionality in its stock firmware.
🔍 1. Does it support wireless bridging as a client?
In its stock Tenda firmware, the W316R typically does not support client bridge mode (i.e., making it act like a wireless client that connects to another Wi-Fi router and shares the connection via Ethernet).
It may support WISP mode, which is kind of a repeater/client hybrid, but this depends on the firmware version. Even then, it’s usually not true wireless bridging—more like NAT routing from one Wi-Fi to a different LAN.
🧰 2. Can you install custom firmware like DD-WRT/OpenWRT?
This is the tricky part.
📦 Hardware Summary:
- CPU: Ralink RT3050 (MIPS 24K)
- RAM: 16MB
- Flash: 2MB (sometimes 4MB in very early revisions)
🧨 Big Limitation: Flash Size
- 2MB of flash memory is not enough for most modern OpenWRT or DD-WRT builds.
- Even stripped-down "tiny" builds of OpenWRT rarely support this model anymore.
✅ There was limited community support:
- An ancient OpenWRT build (Backfire or Barrier Breaker) may have worked on some revisions, but they are:
- Extremely outdated and insecure
- Require serial console flashing or TFTP recovery
- Not beginner-friendly
⚠️ Conclusion:
- Bridging/Client Mode: Not supported in Tenda W316R's stock firmware (except possibly unstable WISP mode).
- Custom Firmware: Not recommended—due to tiny flash and RAM, no current OpenWRT/DD-WRT builds are supported.
🧭 Recommendation:
Unless you’re buying it for educational experimentation, skip it. Better to look for:
- TP-Link TL-WR841N (v9–v11) – many support DD-WRT or OpenWRT
- GL.iNet Mango (GL-MT300N-V2) – low-cost, OpenWRT preinstalled
- Old Asus RT-N12 or Netgear WNR2000v3 – limited but often DD-WRT compatible
Let me know what else is on the shelf. I can help you spot a gem!