Hardware Specifications

	BPI-R3	BPI-R4	BPI-R4 var
Vendor	Banana Pi	Banana Pi
Model	BPI-R3	BPI-R4
SoC	MT7986 (filogic 830)	MT7988 (filogic 880)	MT7988 (filogic 880)
SFP	2x SFP 2.5 GbE	2x SFP 10 GbE	1x SFP 10 GbE
Ethernet	5x GbE	4x GbE	4x GbE + 1 2.5 GbE
USXGMII	No	✅	✅
2500Base-X	✅	✅	✅
SGMII	✅	✅	✅
Type	Router	Router	Router

Notes

SFP power behavior on the Banana Pi R4

Unlike some devices, the Banana Pi R4 does not apply 3.3 V to the SFP cage immediately when a module is inserted.
Instead, the board uses a load-switch MOSFET which only enables power once the module asserts the MOD_DEF0 pin (the presence/ID signal defined in the SFP specification).
This design can cause problems with “smart” GPON sticks such as the Zyxel PMG3000-D20B.
The stick’s internal SoC requires a long time to boot before, and only then it pulls MOD_DEF0 low.
Because the R4 waits for MOD_DEF0 before supplying power, the stick never receives power at all, resulting in a deadlock where the module stays unpowered.

Some users in the BPI-R4 forums discussed a workaround which bypasses the load-switch and feeds 3.3 V directly to the cage.
This allows modules like the PMG3000-D20B to start, but at the cost of losing proper hot-plug behavior.

FS.com also offers GPON ONU sticks advertised as “with MAC,” which reportedly assert MOD_DEF0 early and may therefore avoid the issue without hardware modification.
However, evaluation of these modules on the R4 is still outstanding.