diff --git a/buildroot-manage.sh b/buildroot-manage.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..22cd67a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/buildroot-manage.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,461 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Buildroot/Luckfox management entrypoint for pyMC Repeater
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR=$(CDPATH= cd -- "$(dirname -- "$0")" && pwd)
+INSTALL_DIR="/opt/pymc_repeater"
+VENV_DIR="$INSTALL_DIR/venv"
+VENV_PIP="$VENV_DIR/bin/pip"
+VENV_PYTHON="$VENV_DIR/bin/python"
+CONFIG_DIR="/etc/pymc_repeater"
+LOG_DIR="/var/log/pymc_repeater"
+DATA_DIR="/var/lib/pymc_repeater"
+SERVICE_USER="repeater"
+INIT_SCRIPT="/etc/init.d/S80pymc-repeater"
+PIDFILE="/var/run/pymc-repeater.pid"
+LOGFILE="$LOG_DIR/repeater.log"
+SERVICE_NAME="pymc-repeater"
+SILENT_MODE="${PYMC_SILENT:-${SILENT:-}}"
+
+R2_BASE_URL="https://wheel.pymc.dev/pymc_build_deps"
+R2_ENABLED=1
+
+stage() {
+    printf '\n==> %s\n' "$1"
+}
+
+info() {
+    printf '  - %s\n' "$1"
+}
+
+warn() {
+    printf '  - %s\n' "$1" >&2
+}
+
+fail() {
+    printf '%s\n' "$1" >&2
+    exit 1
+}
+
+need_cmd() {
+    command -v "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "Missing required command: $1"
+}
+
+is_buildroot() {
+    [ -f /etc/pymc-image-build-id ] && return 0
+    [ -f /etc/os-release ] && grep -q '^ID=buildroot$' /etc/os-release 2>/dev/null && return 0
+    return 1
+}
+
+ensure_root() {
+    [ "${EUID}" -eq 0 ] || fail "This command must be run as root."
+}
+
+group_exists() {
+    grep -q "^$1:" /etc/group 2>/dev/null
+}
+
+ensure_group_line() {
+    local group_name="$1"
+    local gid="$2"
+    group_exists "$group_name" && return 0
+    printf '%s:x:%s:\n' "$group_name" "$gid" >> /etc/group
+}
+
+ensure_service_user() {
+    if id "$SERVICE_USER" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    if command -v useradd >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        useradd --system --home "$DATA_DIR" --shell /sbin/nologin "$SERVICE_USER"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    ensure_group_line "$SERVICE_USER" 990
+    printf '%s:x:990:990::%s:/sbin/nologin\n' "$SERVICE_USER" "$DATA_DIR" >> /etc/passwd
+    if [ -f /etc/shadow ]; then
+        printf '%s:!:19000:0:99999:7:::\n' "$SERVICE_USER" >> /etc/shadow
+    fi
+}
+
+add_user_to_group() {
+    local user_name="$1"
+    local group_name="$2"
+    local current_line current_members gid escaped_line new_members
+
+    group_exists "$group_name" || return 0
+    current_line=$(grep "^${group_name}:" /etc/group 2>/dev/null || true)
+    [ -n "$current_line" ] || return 0
+    current_members=$(printf '%s' "$current_line" | cut -d: -f4)
+    case ",${current_members}," in
+        *,"${user_name}",*) return 0 ;;
+    esac
+
+    if [ -n "$current_members" ]; then
+        new_members="${current_members},${user_name}"
+    else
+        new_members="${user_name}"
+    fi
+    gid=$(printf '%s' "$current_line" | cut -d: -f3)
+    escaped_line=$(printf '%s\n' "$current_line" | sed 's/[].[^$\\*]/\\&/g')
+    sed -i "s/^${escaped_line}\$/${group_name}:x:${gid}:${new_members}/" /etc/group
+}
+
+install_system_packages() {
+    if is_buildroot; then
+        info "Buildroot image detected; using preinstalled packages."
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    apt-get update -qq
+    DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y \
+        libffi-dev libusb-1.0-0 sudo jq pip python3-venv python3-rrdtool wget swig build-essential python3-dev
+}
+
+ensure_yq() {
+    local yq_version="v4.40.5"
+    local yq_binary="yq_linux_arm64"
+
+    if command -v yq >/dev/null 2>&1 && yq --version 2>&1 | grep -q 'mikefarah/yq'; then
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    case "$(uname -m)" in
+        x86_64) yq_binary="yq_linux_amd64" ;;
+        armv7*|armv6*|armhf) yq_binary="yq_linux_arm" ;;
+        aarch64|arm64) yq_binary="yq_linux_arm64" ;;
+    esac
+
+    wget -qO /usr/local/bin/yq "https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/releases/download/${yq_version}/${yq_binary}"
+    chmod +x /usr/local/bin/yq
+}
+
+ensure_venv() {
+    if [ ! -x "$VENV_PYTHON" ]; then
+        stage "Creating virtual environment"
+        python3 -m venv --system-site-packages "$VENV_DIR"
+        "$VENV_PIP" install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+    fi
+}
+
+preinstall_r2_wheels() {
+    local machine_arch arch_tag platform_tag py_tag wheel_base
+
+    [ "$R2_ENABLED" -eq 1 ] || return 0
+
+    machine_arch=$(uname -m)
+    case "$machine_arch" in
+        aarch64) arch_tag="arm64"; platform_tag="aarch64" ;;
+        armv7l|armv7) arch_tag="armv7"; platform_tag="armv7l" ;;
+        x86_64) arch_tag="x86_64"; platform_tag="x86_64" ;;
+        *) return 0 ;;
+    esac
+
+    py_tag=$("$VENV_PYTHON" -c 'import sys; v=f"cp{sys.version_info.major}{sys.version_info.minor}"; print(f"{v}-{v}")' 2>/dev/null || echo "cp311-cp311")
+    wheel_base="${R2_BASE_URL}/${arch_tag}/${platform_tag}/${py_tag}"
+    "$VENV_PIP" install --find-links "${wheel_base}/index.html" --no-cache-dir \
+        "pycryptodome>=3.23.0" "PyNaCl>=1.5.0" cffi "pyyaml>=6.0.0" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+}
+
+create_init_script() {
+    cat > "$INIT_SCRIPT" <<EOF
+#!/bin/sh
+DAEMON="${VENV_PYTHON}"
+PIDFILE="${PIDFILE}"
+LOGFILE="${LOGFILE}"
+WORKDIR="${DATA_DIR}"
+CONFIG_FILE="${CONFIG_DIR}/config.yaml"
+RUN_AS="${SERVICE_USER}"
+
+start() {
+    mkdir -p "$(dirname "\$PIDFILE")" "$(dirname "\$LOGFILE")" "\$WORKDIR"
+    if [ -f "\$PIDFILE" ] && kill -0 "$(cat "\$PIDFILE")" 2>/dev/null; then
+        echo "${SERVICE_NAME} is already running."
+        return 0
+    fi
+    start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --background --make-pidfile --pidfile "\$PIDFILE" \\
+        --chuid "\$RUN_AS" --exec /bin/sh -- -c "cd \"\$WORKDIR\" && exec \"\$DAEMON\" -m repeater.main --config \"\$CONFIG_FILE\" >>\"\$LOGFILE\" 2>&1"
+}
+
+stop() {
+    if [ ! -f "\$PIDFILE" ]; then
+        echo "${SERVICE_NAME} is not running."
+        return 0
+    fi
+    start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet --retry 5 --pidfile "\$PIDFILE" || true
+    rm -f "\$PIDFILE"
+}
+
+status() {
+    if [ -f "\$PIDFILE" ] && kill -0 "$(cat "\$PIDFILE")" 2>/dev/null; then
+        echo "${SERVICE_NAME} is running."
+        return 0
+    fi
+    echo "${SERVICE_NAME} is stopped."
+    return 1
+}
+
+case "\${1:-}" in
+    start) start ;;
+    stop) stop ;;
+    restart) stop; start ;;
+    status) status ;;
+    *)
+        echo "Usage: \$0 {start|stop|restart|status}"
+        exit 1
+        ;;
+esac
+EOF
+    chmod 0755 "$INIT_SCRIPT"
+}
+
+service_exists() {
+    [ -x "$INIT_SCRIPT" ]
+}
+
+is_installed() {
+    [ -d "$INSTALL_DIR" ] && service_exists
+}
+
+is_running() {
+    [ -f "$PIDFILE" ] && kill -0 "$(cat "$PIDFILE")" 2>/dev/null
+}
+
+get_version() {
+    if [ -x "$VENV_PYTHON" ]; then
+        "$VENV_PYTHON" -c "from importlib.metadata import version; print(version('pymc_repeater'))" 2>/dev/null || echo "not installed"
+    else
+        echo "not installed"
+    fi
+}
+
+doctor() {
+    stage "Checking Buildroot image baseline"
+
+    for cmd in bash git python3 dialog jq wget sudo sqlite3 start-stop-daemon; do
+        if command -v "$cmd" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            info "found $cmd"
+        else
+            warn "missing $cmd"
+        fi
+    done
+
+    if python3 -m venv --help >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        info "python venv support available"
+    else
+        warn "python venv support missing"
+    fi
+
+    if python3 - <<'PY'
+modules = [
+    "sqlite3",
+    "yaml",
+    "cherrypy",
+    "cherrypy_cors",
+    "autocommand",
+    "jaraco.collections",
+    "jaraco.text",
+    "paho.mqtt.client",
+    "psutil",
+    "jwt",
+    "ws4py",
+    "nacl",
+    "periphery",
+    "spidev",
+    "serial",
+    "usb",
+    "Crypto",
+]
+for module in modules:
+    __import__(module)
+PY
+    then
+        info "python runtime packages are present"
+    else
+        warn "python runtime packages are missing"
+    fi
+
+    for path in /dev/spidev* /dev/gpiochip*; do
+        [ -e "$path" ] && info "detected $path"
+    done
+}
+
+install_repeater() {
+    local git_version machine_arch arch_tag platform_tag py_tag wheel_base ip_address
+
+    ensure_root
+    stage "Preparing Buildroot installation"
+    install_system_packages
+    ensure_service_user
+
+    for grp in plugdev dialout gpio i2c spi; do
+        add_user_to_group "$SERVICE_USER" "$grp"
+    done
+
+    mkdir -p "$INSTALL_DIR" "$CONFIG_DIR" "$LOG_DIR" "$DATA_DIR" "$DATA_DIR/.config/pymc_repeater"
+    chown -R "$SERVICE_USER:$SERVICE_USER" "$CONFIG_DIR" "$LOG_DIR" "$DATA_DIR"
+    chmod 755 "$INSTALL_DIR" "$DATA_DIR"
+    chmod 750 "$CONFIG_DIR" "$LOG_DIR"
+
+    cp "$SCRIPT_DIR/config.yaml.example" "$CONFIG_DIR/config.yaml.example"
+    [ -f "$CONFIG_DIR/config.yaml" ] || cp "$SCRIPT_DIR/config.yaml.example" "$CONFIG_DIR/config.yaml"
+    cp "$SCRIPT_DIR/radio-settings.json" "$DATA_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
+    cp "$SCRIPT_DIR/radio-presets.json" "$DATA_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
+
+    ensure_yq
+    ensure_venv
+
+    if [ -d "$SCRIPT_DIR/.git" ]; then
+        git -C "$SCRIPT_DIR" fetch --tags 2>/dev/null || true
+        git_version=$(python3 -m setuptools_scm 2>/dev/null || echo "1.0.5")
+        export SETUPTOOLS_SCM_PRETEND_VERSION="$git_version"
+    else
+        export SETUPTOOLS_SCM_PRETEND_VERSION="1.0.5"
+    fi
+
+    if ! grep -q "Luckfox Pico" /proc/device-tree/model 2>/dev/null; then
+        export PIP_ONLY_BINARY=pycryptodome,cffi,PyNaCl,psutil
+    fi
+
+    preinstall_r2_wheels
+
+    stage "Installing pyMC Repeater into venv"
+    (cd "$SCRIPT_DIR" && "$VENV_PIP" install --upgrade --no-cache-dir .[hardware])
+
+    create_init_script
+
+    stage "Starting service"
+    "$INIT_SCRIPT" restart
+
+    ip_address=$(hostname -I | awk '{print $1}')
+    if is_running; then
+        printf '\nService is running on: http://%s:8000\n' "${ip_address}"
+    else
+        fail "Installation completed but the service failed to start. Check: sh $0 logs"
+    fi
+}
+
+upgrade_repeater() {
+    ensure_root
+    is_installed || fail "Service is not installed."
+
+    ensure_venv
+    preinstall_r2_wheels
+
+    stage "Upgrading pyMC Repeater"
+    (cd "$SCRIPT_DIR" && "$VENV_PIP" install --upgrade --no-cache-dir .[hardware])
+    "$INIT_SCRIPT" restart
+}
+
+uninstall_repeater() {
+    ensure_root
+
+    stage "Removing service"
+    service_exists && "$INIT_SCRIPT" stop || true
+    rm -f "$INIT_SCRIPT"
+    rm -rf "$INSTALL_DIR" "$CONFIG_DIR" "$LOG_DIR" "$DATA_DIR"
+}
+
+manage_service() {
+    local action="$1"
+    ensure_root
+    service_exists || fail "Service is not installed."
+    "$INIT_SCRIPT" "$action"
+}
+
+show_status() {
+    local ip_address version
+    version=$(get_version)
+    ip_address=$(hostname -I | awk '{print $1}')
+
+    if ! is_installed; then
+        printf 'Installation Status: Not Installed\n'
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    printf 'Installation Status: Installed\n'
+    printf 'Version: %s\n' "$version"
+    printf 'Install Directory: %s\n' "$INSTALL_DIR"
+    printf 'Config Directory: %s\n' "$CONFIG_DIR"
+    printf 'Log File: %s\n' "$LOGFILE"
+    printf 'Dashboard: http://%s:8000\n' "$ip_address"
+    if is_running; then
+        printf 'Service Status: Running\n'
+    else
+        printf 'Service Status: Stopped\n'
+    fi
+}
+
+show_logs() {
+    mkdir -p "$LOG_DIR"
+    touch "$LOGFILE"
+    tail -f "$LOGFILE"
+}
+
+run_debug() {
+    ensure_root
+    mkdir -p "$LOG_DIR" "$DATA_DIR"
+    exec "$VENV_PYTHON" -m repeater.main --config "$CONFIG_DIR/config.yaml"
+}
+
+delegate_to_stock_manage() {
+    exec bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/manage.sh" "$@"
+}
+
+usage() {
+    cat <<'EOF'
+Usage: bash buildroot-manage.sh <command>
+
+Commands:
+  doctor      Check Buildroot/Luckfox prerequisites
+  install     Install pyMC Repeater on the Buildroot image
+  upgrade     Upgrade the Buildroot installation from the checked-out repo
+  config      Run the stock interactive config flow
+  start       Start the init.d service
+  stop        Stop the init.d service
+  restart     Restart the init.d service
+  status      Show Buildroot service status
+  logs        Tail the Buildroot log file
+  uninstall   Remove the Buildroot installation
+  debug       Run repeater.main in the foreground
+EOF
+}
+
+case "${1:-}" in
+    doctor)
+        doctor
+        ;;
+    install)
+        install_repeater
+        ;;
+    upgrade)
+        upgrade_repeater
+        ;;
+    config)
+        shift
+        delegate_to_stock_manage config "$@"
+        ;;
+    start|stop|restart)
+        manage_service "$1"
+        ;;
+    status)
+        show_status
+        ;;
+    logs)
+        show_logs
+        ;;
+    uninstall)
+        uninstall_repeater
+        ;;
+    debug)
+        run_debug
+        ;;
+    ""|help|-h|--help)
+        usage
+        ;;
+    *)
+        fail "Unknown command: ${1}"
+        ;;
+esac
diff --git a/manage.sh b/manage.sh
index 50694f4..6659397 100755
--- a/manage.sh
+++ b/manage.sh
@@ -17,134 +17,6 @@ SILENT_MODE="${PYMC_SILENT:-${SILENT:-}}"
 R2_BASE_URL="https://wheel.pymc.dev/pymc_build_deps"
 R2_ENABLED=1  # Set to 0 to disable R2 wheels and always build from source
 
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Platform detection / compatibility helpers
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-is_buildroot() {
-    [ -f /etc/pymc-image-build-id ] && return 0
-    [ -f /etc/os-release ] && grep -q '^ID=buildroot$' /etc/os-release 2>/dev/null && return 0
-    return 1
-}
-
-group_exists() {
-    local group_name="$1"
-    if command -v getent >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        getent group "$group_name" >/dev/null 2>&1
-    else
-        grep -q "^${group_name}:" /etc/group 2>/dev/null
-    fi
-}
-
-ensure_group_line() {
-    local group_name="$1"
-    local gid="$2"
-    group_exists "$group_name" && return 0
-    printf '%s:x:%s:\n' "$group_name" "$gid" >> /etc/group
-}
-
-ensure_service_user() {
-    if id "$SERVICE_USER" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        return 0
-    fi
-
-    if command -v useradd >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        useradd --system --home /var/lib/pymc_repeater --shell /sbin/nologin "$SERVICE_USER"
-        return 0
-    fi
-
-    if is_buildroot; then
-        ensure_group_line "$SERVICE_USER" 990
-        printf '%s:x:990:990::/var/lib/pymc_repeater:/sbin/nologin\n' "$SERVICE_USER" >> /etc/passwd
-        if [ -f /etc/shadow ]; then
-            printf '%s:!:19000:0:99999:7:::\n' "$SERVICE_USER" >> /etc/shadow
-        fi
-        return 0
-    fi
-
-    echo "Error: useradd is not available on this system." >&2
-    exit 1
-}
-
-add_user_to_group() {
-    local user_name="$1"
-    local group_name="$2"
-
-    group_exists "$group_name" || return 0
-
-    if command -v usermod >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        usermod -a -G "$group_name" "$user_name" 2>/dev/null || true
-        return 0
-    fi
-
-    if is_buildroot; then
-        local current_line current_members gid new_members escaped_line
-        current_line=$(grep "^${group_name}:" /etc/group 2>/dev/null || true)
-        [ -n "$current_line" ] || return 0
-        current_members=$(printf '%s' "$current_line" | cut -d: -f4)
-        case ",${current_members}," in
-            *,"${user_name}",*) return 0 ;;
-        esac
-        if [ -n "$current_members" ]; then
-            new_members="${current_members},${user_name}"
-        else
-            new_members="${user_name}"
-        fi
-        gid=$(printf '%s' "$current_line" | cut -d: -f3)
-        escaped_line=$(printf '%s\n' "$current_line" | sed 's/[].[^$\\*]/\\&/g')
-        sed -i "s/^${escaped_line}\$/${group_name}:x:${gid}:${new_members}/" /etc/group
-    fi
-}
-
-install_system_packages() {
-    if is_buildroot; then
-        echo "    Buildroot image detected; using preinstalled system packages."
-        return 0
-    fi
-
-    apt-get update -qq
-    DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y \
-        libffi-dev libusb-1.0-0 sudo jq pip python3-venv python3-rrdtool wget swig build-essential python3-dev
-    DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y policykit-1 2>/dev/null \
-        || DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y polkitd pkexec 2>/dev/null \
-        || echo "    Warning: Could not install polkit (sudo fallback will be used)"
-}
-
-install_bootstrap_python_packages() {
-    if is_buildroot; then
-        return 0
-    fi
-
-    pip install --break-system-packages setuptools_scm >/dev/null 2>&1 \
-        || python3 -m pip install --break-system-packages setuptools_scm >/dev/null 2>&1 \
-        || true
-}
-
-ensure_yq() {
-    if command -v yq &>/dev/null && [[ "$(yq --version 2>&1)" == *"mikefarah/yq"* ]]; then
-        return 0
-    fi
-
-    echo ">>> Installing yq..."
-    local yq_version="v4.40.5"
-    local yq_binary="yq_linux_arm64"
-
-    case "$(uname -m)" in
-        x86_64)
-            yq_binary="yq_linux_amd64"
-            ;;
-        armv7*|armv6*|armhf)
-            yq_binary="yq_linux_arm"
-            ;;
-        aarch64|arm64)
-            yq_binary="yq_linux_arm64"
-            ;;
-    esac
-
-    wget -qO /usr/local/bin/yq "https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/releases/download/${yq_version}/${yq_binary}" 2>/dev/null \
-        && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/yq
-}
-
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Virtual-environment helpers
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -231,18 +103,13 @@ elif command -v dialog &> /dev/null; then
     DIALOG="dialog"
 else
     echo "TUI interface requires whiptail or dialog."
-    if [ "$EUID" -eq 0 ] && ! is_buildroot; then
+    if [ "$EUID" -eq 0 ]; then
         echo "Installing whiptail..."
         apt-get update -qq && apt-get install -y whiptail
         DIALOG="whiptail"
     else
         echo ""
-        if is_buildroot; then
-            echo "This Buildroot image is expected to ship with dialog preinstalled."
-            echo "Please rebuild the image with dialog enabled, or run from a system that has dialog."
-        else
-            echo "Please install whiptail: sudo apt-get install -y whiptail"
-        fi
+        echo "Please install whiptail: sudo apt-get install -y whiptail"
         echo "Then run this script again."
         exit 1
     fi
@@ -459,25 +326,44 @@ install_repeater() {
     echo ""
     
     echo ">>> Creating service user..."
-    ensure_service_user
+    if ! id "$SERVICE_USER" &>/dev/null; then
+        useradd --system --home /var/lib/pymc_repeater --shell /sbin/nologin "$SERVICE_USER"
+    fi
 
     (
     echo "10"; echo "# Adding user to hardware groups..."
     for grp in plugdev dialout gpio i2c spi; do
-        add_user_to_group "$SERVICE_USER" "$grp"
+        getent group "$grp" >/dev/null 2>&1 && usermod -a -G "$grp" "$SERVICE_USER" 2>/dev/null || true
     done
 
     echo "20"; echo "# Creating directories..."
     mkdir -p "$INSTALL_DIR" "$CONFIG_DIR" "$LOG_DIR" /var/lib/pymc_repeater
 
     echo "25"; echo "# Installing system dependencies..."
-    install_system_packages
-    install_bootstrap_python_packages
+    apt-get update -qq
+    DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y libffi-dev libusb-1.0-0 sudo jq pip python3-venv python3-rrdtool wget swig build-essential python3-dev
+    # Install polkit (package name varies by distro version)
+    DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y policykit-1 2>/dev/null \
+        || DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y polkitd pkexec 2>/dev/null \
+        || echo "    Warning: Could not install polkit (sudo fallback will be used)"
+    # setuptools_scm needed for git version detection during build
+    pip install --break-system-packages setuptools_scm >/dev/null 2>&1 || python3 -m pip install --break-system-packages setuptools_scm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 
     echo "28"; echo "# Creating virtual environment..."
     ensure_venv
 
-    ensure_yq
+    # Install mikefarah yq v4 if not already installed
+    if ! command -v yq &> /dev/null || [[ "$(yq --version 2>&1)" != *"mikefarah/yq"* ]]; then
+        echo ">>> Installing yq..."
+        YQ_VERSION="v4.40.5"
+        YQ_BINARY="yq_linux_arm64"
+        if [[ "$(uname -m)" == "x86_64" ]]; then
+            YQ_BINARY="yq_linux_amd64"
+        elif [[ "$(uname -m)" == "armv7"* ]]; then
+            YQ_BINARY="yq_linux_arm"
+        fi
+        wget -qO /usr/local/bin/yq "https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/releases/download/${YQ_VERSION}/${YQ_BINARY}" 2>/dev/null && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/yq
+    fi
 
     echo "29"; echo "# Installing files..."
     cp "$SCRIPT_DIR/manage.sh" "$INSTALL_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
@@ -858,9 +744,26 @@ upgrade_repeater() {
         fi
 
         echo "[3/9] Updating system dependencies..."
-        install_system_packages
-        install_bootstrap_python_packages
-        ensure_yq
+        apt-get update -qq
+
+        apt-get install -y libffi-dev libusb-1.0-0 sudo jq pip python3-venv python3-rrdtool wget swig build-essential python3-dev
+        # Install polkit (package name varies by distro version)
+        apt-get install -y policykit-1 2>/dev/null \
+            || apt-get install -y polkitd pkexec 2>/dev/null \
+            || echo "    Warning: Could not install polkit (sudo fallback will be used)"
+        pip install --break-system-packages setuptools_scm >/dev/null 2>&1 || python3 -m pip install --break-system-packages setuptools_scm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+
+        # Install mikefarah yq v4 if not already installed
+        if ! command -v yq &> /dev/null || [[ "$(yq --version 2>&1)" != *"mikefarah/yq"* ]]; then
+            YQ_VERSION="v4.40.5"
+            YQ_BINARY="yq_linux_arm64"
+            if [[ "$(uname -m)" == "x86_64" ]]; then
+                YQ_BINARY="yq_linux_amd64"
+            elif [[ "$(uname -m)" == "armv7"* ]]; then
+                YQ_BINARY="yq_linux_arm"
+            fi
+            wget -qO /usr/local/bin/yq "https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/releases/download/${YQ_VERSION}/${YQ_BINARY}" && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/yq
+        fi
         echo "    ✓ Dependencies updated"
 
         echo "[4/9] Installing files..."
@@ -881,7 +784,7 @@ upgrade_repeater() {
 
         echo "[5.5/9] Ensuring user groups and udev rules..."
         for grp in plugdev dialout gpio i2c spi; do
-            add_user_to_group "$SERVICE_USER" "$grp"
+            getent group "$grp" >/dev/null 2>&1 && usermod -a -G "$grp" "$SERVICE_USER" 2>/dev/null || true
         done
         # Install/update CH341 udev rules
         SCRIPT_DIR_UPGRADE="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"