Lessons Learned After Finally Configuring a Raspberry Pi CM4 Mini Router (Bought in 2022) Product Mini Router built with Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 Dual Gigabit Ethernet NICs 4GB RAM / 32GB eMMC Pre-installed OpenWrt Compact form factor, fanless, low power Background: A Device That Waited Its Turn I bought this device back in 2022 . At the time, it looked like the perfect small router: Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 Dual Ethernet ports OpenWrt already installed No SD card required thanks to eMMC But like many homelab projects, it ended up sitting on a shelf . Fast forward to today — with more networking experience, a clearer home network plan, and a real need for a flexible router — I finally decided to configure it properly. That’s when the real journey started. What I Expected (Even in 2025) Even knowing this wasn’t a consumer router, I still expected: Plug WAN into my upstream router Plug LAN into my laptop Access 192.168.1.1 Hav...
Lessons Learned After Finally Configuring a Raspberry Pi CM4 Mini Router (Bought in 2022) Product Mini Router built with Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 Dual Gigabit Ethernet NICs 4GB RAM / 32GB eMMC Pre-installed OpenWrt Compact form factor, fanless, low power Background: A Device That Waited Its Turn I bought this device back in 2022 . At the time, it looked like the perfect small router: Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 Dual Ethernet ports OpenWrt already installed No SD card required thanks to eMMC But like many homelab projects, it ended up sitting on a shelf . Fast forward to today — with more networking experience, a clearer home network plan, and a real need for a flexible router — I finally decided to configure it properly. That’s when the real journey started. What I Expected (Even in 2025) Even knowing this wasn’t a consumer router, I still expected: Plug WAN into my upstream router Plug LAN into my laptop Access 192.168.1.1 Hav...