GL.iNet GL-MT3000 (Beryl AX) Portable Travel Router, Pocket-Sized Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Travel Gigabit Router, with OpenVPN & Wireguard for Public & Hotel Wi-Fi Use, Suitable for Cruise/RV/Airplane/Hotel

Short version:All the positive reviews are legitimate. This thing is great. If you travel, you won't regret the purchase; in fact, your only regret will be that you didn't purchase it sooner. I recommend just using the web UI for set up and configuration. The app is okay, but I rarely use it for anything just because the web UI is so good (and the app thus pales in comparison).Longer version:I cannot believe I didn't buy a travel router before now. This was also my first experience with GL.iNet, but I felt decently confident buying theirs over a competitor. And I'm *extremely* pleased with my decision. My experience was so good I looked into what other products they sell, including looking into whether the sell home network systems.This product is very easy to set up as long as you have very basic knowledge in this area (I have advanced knowledge in networking, but this router doesn’t really require that). It broadcasts a strong signal. Could it maybe be stronger? Well, sure, but there are tradeoffs between portability and broadcasting capability. And this thing is potent.I have used the web-based UI almost exclusively just because it is extremely good. The app is okay, but it pales in comparison. The web-based UI is also mobile responsive, so if you access it while on your phone, it almost feels like an app anyway. It's just a really solid piece of work from the GL.iNet team.For the price point (less than $100, and even less if you catch it on a sale), it's a great deal. It prompted a firmware update on first use, but that was quick and painless. It doesn't run hot, and it's quiet. It has tons of options for configuration, so if you are worried you're going to get a really "watered-down" router given it's a travel router, you are mistaken and in for a pleasant surprise. For those wanting even more control, you can also easily access LuCI and have full control, as this runs on OpenWRT. At the same time, if your needs are pretty basic, it still does well in that domain also.I tested the router in multiple different locations, both with and without captive portals for initial access to the Internet via Wi-Fi: Hotel (with captive portal), airport (with captive portal), and another hotel (no captive portal). Each time, connection was pretty painless (obviously more annoying with the captive portal, but still not bad at all). And once the router is connected, you can broadcast your own secure network (again, with or without VPN) and connect your devices to that. That's so convenient. I am eager to try a hardwired connection "in the wild" (I tested at my house and it was great, but that's a far more controlled environment), but if anything, that should be even easier than connecting the router via Wi-Fi. It also supports tethering if you need it, which is smart and an extremely consumer-centric move.You can easily configure it to connect to a VPN client, either through a commercial vendor or to your home VPN server if you run one. You can toggle global VPN connection (all clients on the router will be routed through the VPN) or specify the clients that should be routed through the VPN. The router also supports other functionality, like ad blocking through AdGuard Home and parental control options. The integration of AdGuard Home is fantastic, and depending on how you use it, you may not even need the additional parental control features they offer outside of AdGuard Home (this is what I'm doing when my kids are traveling with me, so I can't speak to how well the parental control features work). There are several other features I'm not covering here, else this review would be pretty long. Suffice it to say it's a feature-packed router.My only real criticism is their UI doesn't acknowledge VLANs if you configure those in LuCI. I get that setting up their custom UI to *configure* VLANs might be a tall order, but I'm not asking for that. However, getting their custom UI to still *acknowledge* VLANs and faithfully represent connected clients even in the presence of VLANs is an opportunity for them to improve, and it shouldn't be too hard to do. And looking at their forums, others have said the same and asked for the same. But if the word "VLANs" means nothing to you, fear not: It just means I functionally have zero critique that's relevant for you! If you do want to implement VLANs, know you can still do that, but the portion of the UI showing connected clients will stop being a faithful representation. This is still pretty "work-around-able", though. And depending on your use case, you may just be able to use their built-in guest network, which operates on a different subnet from the main network (it's not a VLAN). This is what I'm doing given I only use this when I travel and my networking needs are different when I travel (so, a bit of a compromise vs. my VLAN setup for my home network).In summary, this is a fantastic product. Two thumbs up to GL.iNet. You have a new fan in me.

This is the neetest device when traveling. One thing I know a person that support systems was that security was high on the list of things to be aware of to prevent system damage. Well using this router with PVN eliminates useing open wifi when in a hotel or some other place where wifi free yet is not encrypted. We know that someone using sniffer software cans see what is being sent across the wifi in a non encrypted environment. I has several modes that can be used to connect to wifi. From using your celphone hotspot, USB or using the wifi connection. Oh, it is easy to update the device once you have connected to the internet as well as testing to make sure that the VPN connection is working. As with any device over time it does get a little warm, but no more than any other electronic device from long use. Build quality seems to be ok even thou it has a plastic body it seem to still be of the sturdy type. Once you have setup the rounter even if there is a glitch it is easy to recovey. I found that once you set it and DO NOT forget you passwords it works well. I have told others how it allows you to protect youself on open networks. One thing i have found out that is you are using the routers wifi setup you can share with other family members so the no one has to wait for someone to get off to share networks where there may on be one access point.

The GL-MT3000 is a compact yet powerful travel router that truly punches above its weight. One of the standout features for me is how incredibly easy it is to set up a VPN server right on the router itself. Whether you’re using OpenVPN, WireGuard, or other supported protocols, the configuration is straightforward, and performance is solid.Another great feature is the free remote cloud access provided by GL.iNet. This means you can securely manage and monitor your router from anywhere in the world—no need for a static IP or complicated port forwarding setups. It’s ideal for people who want remote access to their home or office network while traveling.

I've never been happier with a router as I am with this company's products. I've spent the last 25 years chasing the top rated stuff from brands like ASUS (never again), Netgear (the okay-est), Linksys (decent in the 802.11g days I guess), and TP-Link (underwhelming). I've tried mesh setups, custom homebiilt rigs, enterprise grade hardware, and even gave up entirely on wifi and gone all hardwired ethernet for a couple years.Now I've got a couple of these and an MT-6000 from this brand and I've never had a network more stable than this.The setup and management is also very intuitive and extremely well done. Everything works out of the box. The phone management app works. The FIRST-PARTY IN HOUSE WARRANTY-SUPPORTED FIRMWARE provides full functionality of all advertised features (ASUS, you paying attention? I'm talking to you and calling out your "Merlin" BS).Oh and ya know what else? I simultaneously game online, stream to multiple media centers almost contantly, run a Plex server that always has at leat 2 or 3 remote streams going, provide NAS storage to several users at home as well as remote, run a meshtastic node, run a separate network with a whole mess of IoT light bulbs and thermostats and other wifi-enabled crap, type 3-page run-on sentence reviews on Amazon, and probably a few other things I've forgotten. Away from home in my RV, I'm connecting through one of these and my phone's WiFi hotspot to my home VPN to manage devices on my network through TeamViewer ... and the last time I rebooted the thing (at home) was over a month ago for a firmware update. These things are SOLID.