very nice- it looks cool, i like it. my thoughts:
actually many manufactures are more and more interested in poe routers (or “AIO” device). TP_Link ER7212PC, Unifi UDM SE, Mikrotik RB5009Upr… If we can have an openwrt poe AIO device it would be a killer. it would be great for the small-medium business market.
OK，R4Pro will add testpoint to I2C BUS/TX_Disable/MOD_ABS/SFP_LOS/Power，
and of course leaving the power permanently on too.
HI Frank, Sorry for the late reply.
Vias, sockets, and socket instability, etc., each additional item will increase the overall risk. In general, there is no big problem with using sockets. The cost increase caused by adding sockets is not the key, but the defect rate will be slightly higher than that of direct onboard, which is not something that enterprise users who deploy in large quantities would like to see.
Generally, one 5G Module is enough for an individual, but some companies may use two. In China, many people/companies may use three.
These are just some of my personal thoughts. I will suggest MTK later, but it depends on whether they will accept it. 
The latest schematic diagram adds two 10g phys, which are combo with SFP+.
Both internal phys(2.5G WAN) and 10G SFP will be layout at the same time, and switching can be achieved by simply changing DTS in software, without changing hardware
Hi Thank you very much for your suggestion!
My current idea for R4Pro is to design two cases:
no wifi and 5G power consumption is not very high, so the goal is to make it as light and thin as possible, within 200x140mm;
The second one uses wifi/5G, which consumes a lot of power, so the size will be increased, and there may also be a place on the top of the case to install a 12CM standard computer fan.The noise is not too loud and easy to find a replacement.
As for the 5G module part, each module corresponds to a SIM card (it has been replaced with the R3mini’s SIM slot without card tray), which are independent of each other and can do Link Aggregation, But this is not a common scenario for individuals
We have already started to deal with the BE14 issue.
BE19000+ePA has always been a product I wanted to make, but there are too many things to do, so I can’t take care of it for the time being.
We will discussed with MxL to see if can manage Mxl86282 through SFP’s I2C.
If possible, we can make a POE switch for BPI R4Pro, connect it through DAC cable, and use MT7988 to manage it.
I think the r4Pro could be slightly larger to directly expose all Ethernet ports without relying on FPC cables for extension. By integrating all ports, the board would lengthen enough to accommodate the BE19 component securely, avoiding a floating/unstable design. For users preferring a compact size, the r3mini remains a sufficiently small option. The r4Pro’s positioning should focus on addressing the shortcomings of the r4 while enhancing expandability. As for PoE support, this should be handled by dedicated PoE switches—the RT5400PoE’s power output cannot reliably support 48W, making its inclusion here less practical.
I hope if there is better way to access tom EMMC directly And 1 sim card And debian11 image for emmc with all necessary patch to make sim data connection work
@sinovoip @sinovoip1, I can see you are planning to release the new version with 2.5G RJ45 ports. Does it mean you have solved the issue with non-working 2.5G on the original BPI-R4 ? If so, are you planning to publish what was wrong, what and how it got fixed ?
There are still people out there with half-bricked (well, technically speaking partially unusable) R4s and it would be really shame if you released a successor with the same flaw
Cheers and all the best !
Hi，
The R4 2.5G version（BPI-R4-4E） requires software modification. We have verified that the following image is fine. If this image still does not work, you can contact our sales staff and we will test it after returning
Hi, What kind of software modification is needed? Are you aware thread on that forum where many people are complaining about that issue? Why don’t you suggest/tell what’s wrong and help others? I think people will handle building own image if your patch will work.
The R4 2.5G version（BPI-R4-4E） requires software modification. We have verified that the following image is fine
Sorry for being direct here but I think this is just sugar-coating instead of saying “we messed up, do X, or Y, or Z and it will work again”; sure think I can send you back the board, receive a new one and because of how statistic works, the new one will work.
But the whole point of open source is that you come and say “this is the patch you need, it does X and Y”.
It’s nice to consult and get community feedback before producing something, many companies could and should learn from this approach. But if the support approach with the same community is “run this mystical binary blob without knowing what went in there and if it does not work send the black box back to receive another one”, then community should rather think twice.
R4 phy and poe board have same hardware,but poe-version had a hw issue which is reported to be fixed now.
For software part the lan-sfp is replaced by a phy which requires device tree changes and support of mt7988 internal 2.5g phy in kernel.
PPS (pulse per second) input (at least exposed as a testpad for chips that have such an input) would be nice for timekeeping. Standard 4-pin fan header (for rpm and tacho). Because it is primarily a WiFi board, it should also try and minimize interference from USB buses.
I also don’t want to be negative, but I think trying to make it fit every use-case makes it not optimal for many. Be it just in terms of general size, the layout of the ports or the type of ports available, or wasted power and needed cooling. Being able to plug in a ribbon riser cable (like the RPi5 has) to access the port needed tends to allow the type of flexibility that is actually required in the end.
Pro version is gonna be fire🔥
But i cant imagine the use cases for 3x slots m.2 5g?
Is the 7988A powerful enough for the above innovations?
Usually its not me my way copie and paste something from Gemini AI, but in this case I will do it! For me the Miroprocessor itself is more than worthy. The questions are about software and good board design … .
Can you tell me how powerfull the Mediatek MT7988A is?
The Mediatek MT7988A, also known as Filogic 880, is a powerful System-on-a-Chip (SoC) designed primarily for high-performance networking applications, especially Wi-Fi 7 routers and access points. Here’s a breakdown of its capabilities:
Key Features and Performance Aspects:
CPU: It features a quad-core ARM Cortex-A73 processor with a clock speed of up to 1.8 GHz. This provides substantial processing power for routing, network management, and other tasks.
Networking Capabilities: The MT7988A is a leading platform for both wired and wireless networking.
Ethernet: It includes multiple Gigabit Ethernet ports (typically 4) and often incorporates 2x USXGMII interfaces that can support 10 GbE SFP+ cages, or a combination of 10 GbE SFP+ and a 2.5 GbE PHY. This allows for high-speed wired connections and network backbones.
Wi-Fi 7: It is designed to work with a companion Wi-Fi 7 chip to enable tri-band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz) connectivity. It supports the full suite of Wi-Fi 7 features, including 320 MHz bandwidth, 4096-QAM, MLO (Multi-Link Operation), MRU (Multi-Resource Units), and AFC (Automatic Frequency Coordination). This can theoretically deliver up to 36 Gbps PHY performance (BE36000).
Unique Wi-Fi Features: MediaTek highlights features like 4T5R (4 Transmit, 5 Receive antennas) for improved 6 GHz performance and range, as well as single-chip MAC MLO for lower latency and better power efficiency in Wi-Fi 7 networks.
Memory: Devices using the MT7988A often come with 4GB or 8GB of DDR4 RAM, providing ample memory for demanding networking tasks and running various software.
Storage: It supports various storage options, including eMMC flash (typically 8GB) and SPI-NAND flash (e.g., 128MB) for firmware and operating system storage. It also includes microSD card slots and M.2 slots for expanding storage with NVMe SSDs.
Connectivity and Expansion:
USB: Features USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports for connecting external devices.
PCIe: Includes multiple PCIe interfaces, often PCIe 3.0, which are used for connecting Wi-Fi 7 Network Interface Cards (NICs) via miniPCIe or M.2 slots, as well as for NVMe SSDs in M.2 slots.
GPIO: A 26-pin GPIO header allows for expanding the board’s functionality with various peripherals and sensors.
Hardware Acceleration: The MT7988A often includes a MediaTek Tunnel Offload Processor System (TOPS) to enhance the performance of various tunneling protocols and optimize overall networking performance.
Performance in Applications:
The MT7988A is designed for devices that require high throughput, low latency, and the latest wireless standards. This makes it suitable for:
High-end Wi-Fi 7 Routers: Its powerful CPU and Wi-Fi 7 capabilities allow for handling numerous connected devices and demanding applications like 4K/8K streaming, online gaming, and large file transfers.
NAS (Network Attached Storage) Devices: The Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports, along with the CPU power, make it suitable for high-speed file sharing and media serving.
Smart Home Gateways: Its processing power and connectivity options can handle the demands of a modern smart home with many interconnected devices. Open Source Router Platforms: It is used in development boards like the Banana Pi BPI-R4, which supports open-source firmware like OpenWrt, allowing for highly customizable and powerful router solutions.
Overall:
The Mediatek MT7988A (Filogic 880) is a very powerful SoC that offers a significant step up in performance for networking devices. Its quad-core CPU, high-speed Ethernet capabilities, and support for the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard make it an excellent choice for demanding applications. As software support continues to mature, devices based on this chip are expected to deliver exceptional wired and wireless networking experiences.
While specific benchmark figures for the MT7988A itself are not widely available in public databases, its specifications and the positive experiences reported by users of devices like the Banana Pi BPI-R4 indicate its high level of performance compared to previous generation router SoCs and even some entry-level desktop CPUs in networking-related tasks.
R4 pro looks interesting, will BE19 be modified for this router? Or has this idea been shelved?