I’ve had quite a few asus devices - some still running today. They’re great for non tinkering people. What you can do is scavenge components like connectors and maybe reuse the plastic shell adding your own hw inside.
Signed: a windows user

I've been using Linux for decades, and absolutely know better. I bought an ASUS about a year ago when my old router crapped out. I just wanted something fast, and cheap, from Amazon; my main priority was getting access to the internet in the house. Don't feel bad. Dicking around with OpenWRT isn't a priority for a lot of people.

That said, I don't think GL-iNET was around, or I didn't know they ran OpenWRT at the time.

If you have ethernet between the two points, you could do what I did and use it as a WiFi signal extender. I'm not using the COAX (cable) in the house, so I got one of these and ran ethernet upstairs without having to get into the walls. I put the (year) old ASUS upstairs and routed it (via that ethernet adapter) through the OpenWRT router, which VPNs all traffic. I considered putting the ASUS in repeater mode, but I read that it cuts the WiFi speed in half; so instead I did the ethernet thing, gave it the same SSID and password, and devices just connect to whichever signal is strongest.

Hey, that’s totally fair and I am definitely of a similar mindset when it comes to reducing e-waste.

Do you have any significant coding or hardware skills?

Oh, you're right. In this case: https://freshtomato.org/