Ask HN: Do you want a router that has DD-WRT pre-installed?

A person explores whether a small company could sell routers with DD-WRT preinstalled and describes their own approach of flashing used routers. They outline a home setup (Archer C9 cable-connected to an Archer C8 that wirelessly bridges to an R7000), buying older DD-WRT-friendly hardware on classifieds for under $30, and alternatives like running an SFF PC with dual NICs and OPNsense/OpenWrt while using wireless units as access points. They list market examples and prices: Ubiquiti and MikroTik units around $65, Protectli and Netgate pfSense boxes from $259, GL.iNet Flint 2 at $169, OpenWrt One at $89, and resale prices for DD-WRT-capable models generally under $160 (WRT3200ACM, Netgear AC1750, Linksys EA9300/R7350).

They asked an AI about judging interest, building product, fundraising and manufacturing and got a rough minimum cost estimate of about $125,000, including roughly $30,000 for regulatory approval and $10,000+ for engineering/prototyping to reach a demo “golden prototype.” Given those fixed costs and existing devices, the practical hacker routes are to flash existing routers, buy devices with open firmware preinstalled, or build on an SFF PC. They note the Dropbox analogy - consumer-facing marketing matters - and argue mainstream buyers prefer brand recognition, retail convenience, and abundant reviews, so widespread adoption of a preinstalled-DD-WRT router looks unlikely unless hackers also become the installers for average users.