Hi 
And welcome to the PiFi project - a new take on networking on Raspberry Pi 
This project was born out of a love for both Raspberry Pi and the OpenWRT project but also a frustration with the complexity of things like network-wide VPN or adblocking, and poor wireless performance.
Today I’m launching beta of PiFi - it’s available for Raspberry Pi 4 and 5
The PiFi project has a few different things on offer:
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PiFi Firmware - Free to download OpenWRT-Based firmware that’s highly optimised for Raspberry Pi including preinstalled packages and hardware optimisations including WireGuard, OpenVPN, AdGuard Home, SD card and USB network storage support with auto-mounting, USB-to-ethernet adapter support, fan cooling support, LED (shows amber/red for VPN off) and more.
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PiFi App - Free to download app for iPad, iOS and Android that makes network settings, VPN, network storage, AdGuard and more super simple
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And, PiFi Kit
A kit with preloaded SD card, gigabit ethernet cable + the AC1300Mbps USB 3.0 PiFi Wireless Adapter with up to 8x faster WiFi performance vs internal Raspberry Pi wireless.
Why PiFi Kit?
A frustration with Raspberry Pi was it had awesome hardware for networking, including a snappy CPU that would deliver VPN speeds way way faster than even a $150 travel router but it was really lacking as a WiFi access point (with slow wireless speeds when an access point and no ability to wirelessly pair to a router and broadcast a network (AP+STA) at the same time).
After being frustrated by the paltry linux-supported options (most often sloooow USB 2.0 150Mbps adapters) I entered driver hell and tested and tweaked literally dozens of network adapters. The end result was the PiFI AC1300Mbps Wireless Adapter, a small USB 3.0 adapter (with 10x transmission vs USB 2.0) and AC 1300Mbps Dual-Band wireless - it performs with up to 8x faster wireless performance vs internal wireless on Pi 4 and introduces support for two wireless radios (so you can pair wirelessly + broadcast at the same time).
The PiFi kit also brings other improvements - with removing the USB acting as a reset button for easy recovery if you misconfigure anything and early access/exclusive features in the app that will evolve over time.
The firmware is still powered by OpenWRT so if you prefer a different wireless accessory the freedom to install drivers and configure that - the PiFi kit is an 100% optional upgrade to your PiFi experience and all the core features that don’t need another wireless radio are available for free.
Free and Open-Source
PiFi is built by a single developer at the moment, the software is in beta, and community involvement is available from day one and will expand over time. The software and core-features are totally free.
To get involved at the moment you can share feedback/bugs/suggestions, check out the source code or build from source if you wish (see docs), or contribute to PiFi community discussions. The plan for the app is to also extend functionality and launch extensions/plug-ins and there are many more updates and opportunities for community involvement to come.
How to Get Started:
If you want to try the app/firmware it’s pretty easy to get started with our Download & Setup Guide — or if you’re already running OpenWRT on your Raspberry Pi you can upgrade to PiFi using a single SSH command (see here).
Alternatively, if you want to check PiFi Kit and what it has to offer - you can learn more here.
Look forward to hearing feedback and seeing participation in the PiFi community!
Thanks,
Paul McGinley (Creator at PiFi)