Build a Portable Raspberry Pi 5 Router with OpenWRT, LTE, WireGuard & Jellyfin

Photo by Pi Supply on Unsplash

Want a portable router that can use public Wi-Fi, LTE/3G fallback, run WireGuard, and even stream your media with Jellyfin? With a Raspberry Pi 5, OpenWRT, and a few add-ons, you can create a travel-ready powerhouse. Here’s the full guide!

🧰 What You’ll Need

• Raspberry Pi 5 with active cooling
• NVMe SSD (with a compatible USB 3.0 adapter or HAT)
• USB LTE/3G modem (like Quectel EC25 or SIM7600)
• External battery pack or 12V power supply
• microSD card (for OpenWRT boot)
• Optional: USB Wi-Fi adapter
• Ethernet cable(s)

🧱 Step 1: Flash and Install OpenWRT

1. Download Raspberry Pi 5 image (use snapshot until official stable is out):
   OpenWRT Snapshots

2. Flash it to your microSD card using Balena Etcher:

   balenaEtcher --flash openwrt-*-rpi5.img.gz
   

3. Insert the microSD, connect Ethernet or serial, and power on.

4. SSH in:

   ssh [email protected]
   

💾 Step 2: Mount NVMe Storage via LuCI

1. Install required packages for disk management in LuCI:

   opkg update
   opkg install luci-app-fstab block-mount kmod-usb-storage kmod-fs-ext4 e2fsprogs
   

2. Plug in your NVMe drive via USB or HAT. Check it’s detected:

   lsblk
   

   You should see something like /dev/sda1.

3. Format the drive (if needed):

   mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1
   

4. Go to LuCI: Navigate to System > Mount Points

5. Click “Add”, then:
   • Set device to /dev/sda1
   • Choose mount point as /mnt/nvme
   • Check Enable this mount
   • Click Save & Apply

6. If you want it mounted now without rebooting:

   block mount
   

7. Verify it’s mounted:

   df -h
   

   You should see /mnt/nvme listed.

🌐 Step 3: Connect to Public Wi-Fi

1. Install packages:

   opkg update
   opkg install wpad-basic-wolfssl luci-proto-wifi
   

2. Plug in USB Wi-Fi adapter and reboot if necessary.

3. Go to Network > Wireless in LuCI:

   • Click Scan on the second adapter (e.g., wlan1)
   • Join a public Wi-Fi network
   • Create a new interface (e.g., wwan), set protocol to DHCP
   • Assign it to a new firewall zone wwan

📡 Step 4: Add 3G/LTE Connectivity

1. Install packages:

   opkg install chat comgt kmod-usb-serial-option kmod-usb-serial-wwan \
       kmod-usb-net-qmi-wwan uqmi luci-proto-qmi
   

2. Configure LTE interface:

   uci set network.lte=interface
   uci set network.lte.proto='qmi'
   uci set network.lte.device='/dev/cdc-wdm0'
   uci set network.lte.apn='your.apn.here'
   uci commit network
   /etc/init.d/network restart
   

🔁 Step 5: Setup Multi-WAN Failover

1. Install mwan3:

   opkg install mwan3 luci-app-mwan3
   

2. Configure interfaces and metrics:

   uci set mwan3.wan.metric='10'
   uci set mwan3.wwan.metric='20'
   uci set mwan3.lte.metric='30'
   uci commit mwan3
   /etc/init.d/mwan3 restart
   

3. Fine-tune rules and health checks in LuCI under Network > Load Balancing.

🔐 Step 6: Install WireGuard VPN

1. Install packages:

   opkg install wireguard-tools luci-proto-wireguard luci-app-wireguard
   

2. Generate keys:

   wg genkey | tee privatekey | wg pubkey > publickey
   

3. Add a WireGuard interface in LuCI or configure manually in /etc/config/network.

4. Set firewall zone and routing rules to allow VPN traffic.

🎥 Step 7: Run Jellyfin on Local Network

1. Install Docker:

   opkg update
   opkg install docker docker-compose luci-app-dockerman
   /etc/init.d/dockerd start
   

2. Create a docker-compose.yml file:

   version: '3.8'
   services:
     jellyfin:
       image: jellyfin/jellyfin
       container_name: jellyfin
       network_mode: host
       volumes:
         - /mnt/nvme/jellyfin/config:/config
         - /mnt/nvme/media:/media
       restart: unless-stopped
   

3. Start the container:

   docker compose up -d
   

4. Access Jellyfin from a LAN client: http://192.168.1.1:8096

🧠 Optional Tweaks

• Use adblock or dnscrypt-proxy for privacy
• Install Zerotier or Tailscale for remote access
• Share storage via Samba or NFS
• Setup a captive portal for guest access

🎉 You’re Done!

You now have a fully mobile, multi-WAN failover router with local streaming, VPN security, and massive storage—all powered by a Pi 5. Perfect for road trips, hotel Wi-Fi, or remote work!