As the flagship member of the Banana Pi family, the BPI-R4 Pro is a high-performance router development board built around the MediaTek Filogic 880 (MT7988A) SoC. Its headline feature is the inclusion of two 10 GbE SFP+ / RJ45 multiplexed ports, four 2.5 GbE RJ45 ports and two 1 GbE ports — and, via optional modules, WiFi 7 connectivity. It positions itself as a “Swiss-army knife” for network developers.
This product is presented as a professional upgrade over the 2023 BPI-R4 board, and key upgrades include system memory doubling from 4 GB to 8 GB DDR4, SPI-flash increased from 128 MB to 256 MB, and the addition of six M.2 expansion slots plus several high-speed network interfaces.
Core specifications of the BPI-R4 Pro
| Category | Specification | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Processor (SoC) | MediaTek MT7988A (Filogic 880), quad-core Arm Cortex-A73 @ 1.8 GHz | Includes a “TOPS” packet offload accelerator for networking. |
| System Memory | 8 GB DDR4 | Described as an upgrade over the previous 4 GB variant. |
| Storage Configuration | 8 GB eMMC onboard, 256 MB SPI-NAND flash, microSD slot, 2 × M.2 Key-M slots | M.2 Key-M slots support NVMe SSDs. |
| Network Interfaces | 2 × 10 GbE (SFP+ / RJ45 multiplex) + 4 × 2.5 GbE RJ45 + 1 × 1 GbE RJ45 + 1 × 1 GbE FPC connector | Some configurations describe ports as 1×10 GbE WAN + 1×10 GbE LAN. |
| USB Interfaces | 1 × USB 3.2, 1 × USB 2.0 | Matches the specification for the “Pro” version of the board. |
| Expansion Interfaces | 3 × M.2 Key-B (for 5G/4G LTE with SIM slot) + 2 × mini-PCIe (WiFi 7 NIC) + 26-pin GPIO header | M.2 Key-B and Key-M share board real estate; mini-PCIe supports PCIe 3.0 ×2. |
| Debug Interface | USB Type-C debug console | Replaces the traditional pin header for easier interaction. |
| Additional Features | Reset/WPS buttons, multiple status LEDs, boot-mode switch, RTC battery header, 12 V PWM fan header | Designed for advanced setups such as racks or test benches. |
| Power Supply | DC jack (12 V/24 V) + header/Type-C (20 V) + optional RT5400 PoE module + 5 V/12 V & 20 V output headers | Provides flexible power options for different applications. |
| Physical Dimensions | ~ 194 × 134 mm | Reported size for the Pro variant. |
On the software side, the board supports custom firmware builds (for example OpenWrt MTK branch) and standard Linux distributions such as Debian 12.
The company indicates future compatibility with upstream OpenWrt branches; however, at present, the official documentation mostly provides hardware specs, the MT7988A datasheet, and partial kernel/firmware commit logs — full system images may not yet be widely published by the vendor, which means extra effort for developers.
On the purchase front: according to recent market information, the base board is listed for about US$165 via the official BPI store (availability may vary). Some third-party sellers are offering kit options: for example, a bundle including the WiFi 7 module at US$311, and a board-only version at US$216.
Also, the predecessor BPI-R4 has appeared in complete kits (board + WiFi 7 module + chassis + fan + antennas + PSU) at roughly US$190. These prices are subject to shipping, stock and region.
Comparable product comparison
To help engineers evaluate alternatives, here’s a side-by-side comparison of three network-oriented boards/devices:
| Product Model | Core SoC | Network Interface Configuration | Wireless Support | Approx Price (RMB) | Data Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banana Pi BPI-R4 Pro | MediaTek MT7988A | 2 × 10 GbE (SFP+/RJ45) + 4 × 2.5 GbE + 2 × 1 GbE | Optional WiFi 7 | ≈ ¥1,180 (≈ US$165)† | BPI official store, 2024-extrapolated |
| OpenWrt One (Dev Board) | MediaTek MT7981B (Filogic 820) | 1 × 2.5 GbE + 1 × 1 GbE | WiFi 6 | ¥455 (single board)† | IT-home (Dec 2024) |
| Huawei BE7 Pro (Router) | Not publicly disclosed | 4 × 2.5 GbE | WiFi 7 (≈ 6.5 GHz class)† | ¥699† | Qilu Yidian (Sept 2024) |
For engineers building or prototyping networking appliances, routers, gateways or test-beds, the BPI-R4 Pro offers an impressive interface count and performance envelope — especially the dual 10 GbE and optional WiFi 7. That said, you should consider:
- Software/firmware image availability may require extra setup/configuration (especially for OpenWrt).
- The WiFi 7 capability depends on add-in modules, and driver/firmware maturity may vary.
Make sure you buy the variant you expect (RAM size, port wiring/multiplexing) as earlier versions of BPI-R4 differ.
