These little things are great. They have lots of features, but they do have performance limitations. With OpenVPN, you're not going to get 10Mbps with 256 encryption. More like 8Mbps. I've read that other protocols fair better.
They will load balance, and do failover almost seamlessly, as long as the session running isn't using the connection you pull. But it fails over in less than a second. Practically instant. From what I've read, only WAN bonding can sustain a break in a connection like that. I have no problems gaming with load balancing enabled.
I have a Unite Explore tethered over USB (configured as pass through) with a Netgear Nighthawk M1 over ethernet, both with external Netgear MIMO antennas. For some reason, load balancing didn't want to work by default, I had to edit some settings, and then reboot it a few times to get them to stick. I'm using USB + Wan for load balancing, and I wasn't even sure that would work. I couldn't find anyone else on the forums that was trying to do that.
Yes, I use this for home internet. It recognized my AT&T Unite Explore immediately with almost no configuration, and gave me 40Mbps+ down and 30Mbps up under ideal tower conditions. My phone is a tad faster, but hotspots have less priority than phones/tablets. The forums say they push ~90Mbps over the Wan/Lan interface over ethernet, so I wouldn't think this would be a bottleneck for LTE use.
Load balancing does make surfing *feel* faster, and other people using the internet do not noticeably affect me. Multiple videos in multiple tabs load noticeably faster. Downloads are faster only when you have multiples or are using a download manager. Uploads are faster, more consistent in speed, and this makes all browsing peppier. Latency is marginally improved (~5ms).
WIFI penetration is acceptable inside a log cabin with a huge stone fireplace. Not great, but at this price, that's not a con. I will upgrade the antennas soon.
I've had to reboot it a few times over a couple of days span a few months back. I changed out my charger/PS to something rated for over 2A at 5V. No problems since. It powers my Unite Explore over USB, so maybe this was a factor in the original power supply with my WIFI output maxed out in the settings. I think I also had the WIFI on and range maxed out on the UE at that time. I was still experimenting.
I've also noticed with a USB port voltmeter that not all cables will push over 1.5A, so make sure your cables aren't 1)cheap or 2)going out. I had a cable that tested perfect, and weeks later the wife said it wasn't fast charging on the QC 3.0 charger. I tested it, and it was not. Changed cables, and her phone was quick charging immediately. I can see how this would cause reliability problems with a travel router, as cables get twisted, stretched, and kinked constantly.
So,in summary, for nearly 6 months, hardly any reboots have been necessary, and none since the larger power supply and cable check. More reliable than any other router I've had that cost less than $100, while pushing more data than I pushed through any of them in a month, and using load balancing on top of all of that, over LTE as well, spanned over USB/Ethernet interfaces. I have two desktops, 3 phones, 1 tablet, a Fire Stick that sees lots of use, and both desktops game often. All use VPN more often than not. I do not do much data transfer over the LAN side of things, so that might show it's lack of CPU. I've had 15 devices connected for a week at a time, and no issues. Most were phones, though.
I use VyperVPN from the desktops and tablet, and they stay connected for several days at a time. I got the router to connect to VyperVPN, but as I said earlier, it was relatively poor performance at 256 bit encryption with OpenVPN. VyperVPN wasn't exactly plug and play like other services.
However, we all know that the processor isn't a beast. This is low power. For what it costs, for its size, it has amazing functionality, and in context, reliability. OpenWRT allows this to be very, very flexible if you're tech oriented.
I have yet to use the USB for anything but tethering and testing the webcam functionality, so I can't comment on its proficiency as a baby NAS or print server. My printer is ethernet.
Overall, this is a great value, and I can see it capable of many different uses. I'll probably buy a few more and see what the Mesh performance is like. Pittsburgh Mesh uses an older version of these with great success.
Similar items that may deliver to you quickly
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
- GL.iNet GL-SFT1200 (Opal) Secure Travel WiFi Router, AC1200 Dual Band Gigabit Ethernet Wireless Network, IPv6 USB 2.0 MU-MIMO DDR3, 128MB Ram Repeater Bridge Access Point Mode, Router for Public UseAmazon's Choicein Computer Routers$10.19 shippingGet it as soon as Monday, Dec 16
- GL.iNet GL-A1300 Pocket VPN Travel Router - Portable Wi-Fi Router for Travel, Easy to Set up, Connect to Public & Hotel Wi-Fi login Page$10.19 shippingGet it as soon as Monday, Dec 16
From the brand
-
Founded in 2010, GL.iNet is a leading developer of OpenWrt Wi-Fi and IoT Network Solutions. We build Wi-Fi routers, IoT gateways and remote device management platforms for a wide range of scenarios.
We bring powerful but affordable Wi-Fi networks to families across the globe. Our devices are highly customizable for creating a personalized Internet experience, and a remote device management platform for monitoring, analytics, and configuration.
-
-
-
-
Product Description
Shadow is mini size and travel-friendly, which is applicable for small enterprise, business and family scenarios. It’s your best choice that provides internet surfing together with wireless.
- Security
It's outstanding security protocols and data encryption technology offers an extra layer of protection wherever you go.
- Privacy
It is the best travel accessory for business travellers, journalists, frequent flyers and anyone who feels the need to protect their privacy while surfing the internet.
- OpenVPN and Wireguard
It supports 30+ popular OpenVPN service providers and Wireguard.
AR300M-EXT mini travel router
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Connect to public's Ethernet, e.g. hotel and airport to create a private wireless network easily. |
Connect the router to another existing wireless network, e.g. when you are using free Wi-Fi in a hotel or cafe. |
Connect to existing Access Point and create a private Wi-Fi hotspot. |
Turn a wired signal to wireless and also create a wireless network for Wi-Fi enabled devices. |
Compare with similar items
This Item  GL.iNET GL-AR300M (Shadow) Mini VPN Travel Router with 2dbi External Antenna, Wi-Fi Converter, Mobile Hotspot in Pocket, OpenWrt, Repeater Bridge, 300Mbps, 128MB Nand Flash, 128MB RAM, OpenVPN | Recommendations  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | $89.99 | -21% $86.90 List: $109.90 | $66.79 | $152.10 | -30% $34.90 List: $49.90 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Monday, Dec 16 | Get it as soon as Monday, Dec 16 | Get it Jan 21 - 23 | Get it as soon as Monday, Dec 16 | Get it as soon as Monday, Dec 16 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Sold By | — | GL Technologies | GL Technologies | Amazon.com | GL Technologies | GL Technologies |
| connectivity tech | Wireless | Ethernet | Ethernet, Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi, USB, Ethernet, LTE | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB |
| number of ports | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| data transfer rate | 300 megabytes per second | 1300 megabits per second | 3000 megabits per second | 1500 megabits per second | 433 megabits per second | 1200 megabits per second |
| wireless standard | 802 11 BGN | 802 11 AC, 802 11 B, 802 11 G, 802 11 N, 802 11 A | 802 11 AX | 802 11 AX | 802 11 AC | 802 11 AC |
| frequency band class | — | dual band | dual band | dual band | dual band | dual band |
| lan port bandwidth | — | 1000 Mbps | 10/100/1000 Mbps | 10/100/1000 Mbps | — | 10/100/1000 megabits per second |
| RAM size | — | — | 64 MB | — | 0.13 GB | 128 MB |
| security protocol | WPA2-PSK | WPA2 or WPA3 | WPA3, WPA2-PSK | WPA3, WPA-PSK, WPA2-Enterprise | — | — |
| frequency | 2.4 GHz | 5 GHz | 5 GHz | 5 GHz | — | 5 GHz |
| operating system | OpenWRT | Linux | Linux | Proprietary networking operating system (e.g. Cisco IOS, Junos OS, RouterOS, ZyNOS) | — | OpenWrt |
| antenna type | — | fixed | retractable | internal | — | fixed |
FAR exceeded my expectations.
For a long time now, I have been using a Tripmate Elite (HT-TM06). You kinda can't beat the functionality of it with the built in battery pack. Still, it's performance is not amazing and this GL.iNET device caught my eye due to the external antenna.Long story short, the performance does indeed blow the tripmate away. The attached images were for each device in our motorhome on the side of the house. I only had one or the other powered up for each test and both were placed in the same exact location by themselves. The results are telling!I love that this Gl.iNET thing is already running openWRT and it has good support with 128 MB ram and flash storage. Yeah, it's not as user friendly in a way as the Hootoo custom interface but it was not hard at all to set up DLNA media sharing and openVPN for hide.me. The use of the little hardware switch to turn the VPN on and off is pretty neat as well. Since the little guy has to do encryption/decryption for the VPN, the performance was not amazing but I did manage to get around 8 Mbps which should be fine for a 1080p netflix stream while traveling abroad.MAC spoofing is going to be soooooo nice to have at times as well.The 2dbi external antenna appear to use the standard mini connector so one could conceivably get even more powerful ones and connect them.You know what would be even better than this unit? This unit with a built in rechargeable battery!
Top reviews from other countries
Ben H
1 kapot, 1 moet vaak rebooten
Reviewed in the Netherlands on December 21, 2020
JM
Geniales Teil, mein übernächster Nachbar teilt seinen DSL Zugang mit mir !
Reviewed in Germany on October 24, 2020
JM
Reviewed in Germany on October 24, 2020
So habe ich mir diesen kleine Router gekauft und gleich zwei etwas längere Antennen dran geschraubt, die noch bei mir rumlagen. Die bekommt man für knapp 10€ auch hier: Antennen
Die Einrichtung war ganz extrem schnell und einfach, ich habe nur die Sprache ausgewählt und auf der WEB-Oberfläche das WLAN meines Nachbarn eingetragen ( das Passwort hat er mir freundlicherweise gesagt). Die beiliegende Bedienungsanleitung ist kurz und sehr gut zu verstehen. danach habe ich das gute Stück nur noch aus dem Fenster in Richtung des Nachbarhauses gehängt und es über USB und einem Handynetzteil mit Strom versorgt.
Zwei Minuten später habe ich mich im Gl-AR300M WLAN mit dem Passwort goodlife angemeldet und konnte über den DSL-Zugang meines Nachbarn surfen. DANKESCHÖN!
Der Router kann natürlich noch viel mehr, aber ich setze diese Dinger meistens zum "Verlängern" von irgendwelchen Hotel-WLANS ein. Man kann den Router einfach per Powerbank mit Strom versorgen und auf der Strecke zwischen funktionierendem WLAN und dem eigenen Zimmer verstecken. Klappt immer und man kann danach auch mehr als ein Gerät im Hotel WLAN anmelden.
Statt als Router kann man das Gerät auch als reinen Repeater oder als Accesspoint verwenden. Wer es ganz kompliziert aber auch ganz umfangreich möchte, kann auf die Oberfläche vom installierten OpenWRT umschalten. Damit kann man viele Dinge tun, wer mag kann auch einen Webserver auf diesem kleinen Teil laufen lassen...
Fazit: Das macht Spaß, Daumen hoch!
Images in this review
Amazon Customer
Perfectly Versatile
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 10, 2019Roberto Nucera
Super mini router extender. Piccolo ma efficace
Reviewed in Italy on December 11, 2018
