Talk about it on Discord here: https://discord.gg/b8qJC3NKv
A modern web UI for cellular modems on OpenWRT. Does not work inside LuCI, so you don't need LuCI installed.
CTRL-Modem is a standalone web interface for managing cellular (4G/5G) modems on OpenWRT routers. It replaces LuCI's network screens for modem management with a fast, real-time dashboard — install once, browse to your router, and manage every modem from a single screen.
Full transparency up front.
Didney here. I want to be sure there is no confusion on this project, as I believe in transparency when it comes to capability and work. I completely designed the plan for this project, and worked for months (started in about Feb 2026 I believe) to get this project to it's current point (writing this on 06/25/2026). Every part of the application I iterated the ideas and layout, and useful functions, and tested on every thing I could. The stack for it all I chose based on how I believe(d) the specific parts would perform for the needs I wanted to fulfill. The CODE I wrote 0% of. NONE. All was done with LLMs. Mostly Claude, as it evolved over the last 4-5 months, but some other LLMs sprinkled in from time to time. I do not in any way want to represent the code as my own knowledge created work. I don't have the skills in that area, yet. I did on the other hand use my knowledge with cellular modems and connectivity and such to help guide the functionality. I hope you can use what "I've" made here, and I welcome any and all feedback.
- Real-time signal monitoring — live RSRP, RSRQ, and SINR, plus active bands and connection technology, updated continuously without a manual refresh.
- Connection & WAN management — bring connections up and down, with multi-WAN failover so traffic moves to a healthy link automatically.
- SIM information — SIM status and identifiers (ICCID, IMSI, IMEI) at a glance.
- GPS location — current position when the modem supports location services.
- Antenna metrics & carrier aggregation — a dedicated view of antenna metrics and the active carrier-aggregation layout, with on-demand live polling at selectable intervals.
- APN / PDP profile management — create and edit data profiles directly from the dashboard.
- Multi-modem support — manage several modems on one router, each with its own status and controls.
- Role-based access — three built-in roles (SuperAdmin, Admin, ReadOnly) so you can grant exactly the access each person needs.
- Single binary — the entire interface runs as one self-contained service directly on the router.
| Type | Device | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Router | BananaPi BPI-R4-PRO (aarch64) | Primary target |
| Router | MT7621-class routers (mipsel_24kc), e.g. Zbtlink ZBT-WG3526 |
Supported |
| Modem | Quectel RM551E-GL | |
| Modem | Quectel RM520N-GL | |
| Modem | Telit FN990 |
Other Quectel and Telit USB modems that expose a standard serial interface are likely to work as well.
Current stable version: 1.7.0
OpenWRT ships one of two package managers depending on its version: opkg
(OpenWRT 23.05 and earlier) and apk (apk-tools 3.x, OpenWRT 24.10 and
newer). Use the block that matches your router. In both cases, replace <arch>
with your router's architecture (e.g. aarch64_cortex-a53,
arm_cortex-a7_neon-vfpv4, mipsel_24kc).
# Add the CTRL-Modem stable feed
echo 'src/gz ctrl_modem https://packages.ctrl-modem.com/stable/feed/<arch>' >> /etc/opkg/customfeeds.conf
# Update package lists and install
opkg update
opkg install modem-interface
# Optional: add the menu entry to the LuCI menu
opkg install luci-app-ctrl-modem# Trust the feed signing key (apk verifies packages against keys in /etc/apk/keys/)
wget -O /etc/apk/keys/ctrl-modem-ec.pem https://packages.ctrl-modem.com/stable/apk/ctrl-modem-ec.pem
# Add the CTRL-Modem stable feed (apk auto-appends your router's <arch>)
echo 'https://packages.ctrl-modem.com/stable/apk' >> /etc/apk/repositories.d/customfeeds.list
# Update package lists and install
apk update
apk add modem-interface
# Optional: add the menu entry to the LuCI menu
apk add luci-app-ctrl-modemAfter installation, open the interface in your browser:
https://192.168.1.1:8443/ctrl-modem/home
The interface is served over HTTPS with a self-signed certificate — accept the certificate warning to continue. On first launch you'll land on the setup page, where you create the root SuperAdmin account. That's it — you're ready to manage your modems.
CTRL-Modem is fully functional on its own. Every local feature is free and works with no license and no account — just install it and use it.
For operators running fleets of devices, CTRL-Cloud is an optional paid managed service that adds remote management and centralized licensing across many routers from a single place. It's entirely optional: the local app never requires the cloud, a license, or an account to do its job.
Learn more at portal.ctrl-modem.com.
CTRL-Modem is source-available under the Business Source License 1.1 (see
LICENSE). On the Change Date specified in the license, it converts to
the Apache License 2.0.
Contributions are welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md to get started.
Every line of CTRL-Modem's source code was written by Claude, Anthropic's AI assistant, under the design and direction of Didney — see A Note From Didney above for the full story. Most of the work was done with Claude; other LLMs contributed from time to time.