: Sites like WRTRTL have hosted experimental repositories for these chips, though they often rely on older, less secure versions of OpenWrt.
: Experimental firmware images like openwrt-realtek-rtl8196e-AP-fw.bin have been hosted on SourceForge for AP-style devices. Known Compatible Devices (via Forks) rtl8196e openwrt
The OpenWrt operating system thrives on open-source drivers. For a router to be fully supported by OpenWrt, the drivers for the Wi-Fi card, the Ethernet switch, and the power management unit must ideally be open-sourced or reverse-engineered. : Sites like WRTRTL have hosted experimental repositories