OpenWRT Boot Times Affected by WiFi

...wondering about long boot times for OpenWRT 25.x.y on a WRT32X or similar?

Could it be WiFi related? Believe it or not: YES!

/lib/firmware/regulatory.db

country US: DFS-FCC
	# S1G Channel 1-3
	(902 - 904 @ 2), (30)
	# S1G Channel 5-35
	(904 - 920 @ 16), (30)
	# S1G Channel 37-51
	(920 - 928 @ 8), (30)
	(2400 - 2472 @ 40), (30)
	# 5.15 ~ 5.25 GHz: 30 dBm for master mode, 23 dBm for clients
	(5150 - 5250 @ 80), (23), AUTO-BW
	(5250 - 5350 @ 80), (24), DFS, AUTO-BW
	# This range ends at 5725 MHz, but channel 144 extends to 5730 MHz.
	# Since 5725 ~ 5730 MHz belongs to the next range which has looser
	# requirements, we can extend the range by 5 MHz to make the kernel
	# happy and be able to use channel 144.
	(5470 - 5730 @ 160), (24), DFS
	(5730 - 5850 @ 80), (31), AUTO-BW
	# https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/05/03/2021-08802/use-of-the-5850-5925-ghz-band
	# max. 33 dBm AP @ 20MHz, 36 dBm AP @ 40Mhz+, 6 dB less for clients
	(5850 - 5895 @ 40), (27), NO-OUTDOOR, AUTO-BW, NO-IR
	# 6g band
	# https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/05/26/2020-11236/unlicensed-use-of-the-6ghz-band
	(5925 - 7125 @ 320), (12), NO-OUTDOOR, NO-IR
	# 60g band
	# reference: section IV-D https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-16-89A1.pdf
	# channels 1-6 EIRP=40dBm(43dBm peak)
	(57240 - 71000 @ 2160), (40)

DFS means Dynamic Frequency Selection. The radio must check for radar before using that channel as an access point. This can delay wireless startup.

AUTO-BW means automatic bandwidth handling inside the regulatory code. It helps determine whether wider channels are allowed across compatible frequency ranges. It does not mean automatic channel selection.

NO-OUTDOOR means outdoor use is not allowed for that frequency range.

NO-IR means No Initiating Radiation. The device is not allowed to initiate transmissions on that range. In practice, this can prevent access point mode or active scanning.

NO-OFDM means Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing is not allowed. This is mostly relevant to special legacy restrictions.

wmmrule=ETSI applies ETSI Wireless Multimedia parameters. This affects Quality of Service / contention behavior, not DFS startup delay.

Try This (For Boot Speed Testing ONLY! Transmit Power ONLY changed to verify if OpenWRT does indeed read new config)

country US: DFS-FCC
	# S1G Channel 1-3
	(902 - 904 @ 2), (33)
	# S1G Channel 5-35
	(904 - 920 @ 16), (33)
	# S1G Channel 37-51
	(920 - 928 @ 8), (33)
	(2400 - 2472 @ 40), (33)
	# 5.15 ~ 5.25 GHz: 30 dBm for master mode, 23 dBm for clients
	(5150 - 5250 @ 80), (33), AUTO-BW
	(5250 - 5350 @ 80), (33), AUTO-BW
	# This range ends at 5725 MHz, but channel 144 extends to 5730 MHz.
	# Since 5725 ~ 5730 MHz belongs to the next range which has looser
	# requirements, we can extend the range by 5 MHz to make the kernel
	# happy and be able to use channel 144.
	(5470 - 5730 @ 160), (33), AUTO-BW
	(5730 - 5850 @ 80), (33), AUTO-BW
	# https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/05/03/2021-08802/use-of-the-5850-5925-ghz-band
	# max. 33 dBm AP @ 20MHz, 36 dBm AP @ 40Mhz+, 6 dB less for clients
	(5850 - 5895 @ 40), (33), AUTO-BW
	# 6g band
	# https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/05/26/2020-11236/unlicensed-use-of-the-6ghz-band
	(5925 - 7125 @ 320), (12), AUTO-BW
	# 60g band
	# reference: section IV-D https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-16-89A1.pdf
	# channels 1-6 EIRP=40dBm(43dBm peak)
	(57240 - 71000 @ 2160), (40)

See? Now change it back to be legal.