I revived my old router with OpenWrt after the package manager rewrite, and it took ten minutes
The author revived an old router using OpenWrt after its package manager was updated from opkg to apk, a change that improves long-term maintenance and security. The transition to apk, inherited from Alpine Linux, simplifies system upgrades and enhances usability with minimal changes to package names. Despite some new Wi-Fi compatibility issues with WPA3, the process was straightforward and took about ten minutes.
- ▪OpenWrt switched from the unmaintained opkg package manager to apk from Alpine Linux in version 25.12.0 released in March 2026.
- ▪The new apk package manager improves security and longevity but should not be used for system upgrades to avoid bricking the device.
- ▪Attended sysupgrade tools like LuCI Attended Sysupgrade are now included by default for safer updates.
- ▪Support has expanded to include 10 GbE Realtek switch SoCs and additional Qualcomm chips.
- ▪WPA3-related Wi-Fi issues have emerged, particularly with Pixel 10 phones and 802.11r Fast Transition, prompting recommendations to use WPA2 until resolved.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at XDA.
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