GL-MT300N-V2

2025 Update: Took the rating from 3 stars to 5. First: Mainline OpenWRT now supports the device chipset which means I can use official downloads instead of ones made by the company that did not provide source code. Second: While the Ad-hoc/IBSS mode is not supported by the chipset, 802.11s mesh point mode *is* supported. This is a better long-term solution, and works great. I wanted to do B.A.T.M.A.N with some Pi Zero units (which can only do Ad-hoc, station, and AP modes), but that project fizzled out. Combining these with my home router also setup with 802.11s gave a very reliable mesh network (these provided extended wifi out on the patio). Original review: First, let me say that I did not purchase these (I bought two) to use in their intended purpose as a travel router. I was more interested in them as a cost-efficient learning platform for building a batman-adv mesh network. Unfortunately, the chipset in this little device is a MediaTek MT7628AN v1 which doesn't seem to have mainline OpenWRT support. The manufacturer does maintain several firmware images and an opkg repository, but I do not see any source code posted for their customized OpenWRT images (GPL violation?). The good: * Small and travel friendly. * Sufficient wifi signal * Easy to set up and use its basic functionality out of the box. Easily sets up as a wifi repeater. * Has a custom web UI that simplifies the most frequent, basic configurations. For more advanced options, LuCI is also available. The bad: * The wireless chipset doesn't support ad-hoc / IBSS mode which means they're useless as-intended for my batman-adv mesh project. * Can't even query the capabilities of the wireless chipset. "iw phy" returns nothing, and all of the radio interfaces seem to be "hardwired" into pre-defined modes (ra0 = iface used for AP mode, apcli0 = iface used in STA mode, wds0-3 for WDS). * I honestly don't trust this device not to send every secret that flows through it to Beijing, and the next thing I do will be a WireShark analysis. Assuming the silicon itself isn't compromised, I was hoping to simply reflash a vanilla OpenWRT image and build on that, but the architecture is not supported in mainline, and the chipset of the device was not published in the product description. Before giving up on these, I'm going to look into setting up a build environment for the chipset and compile my own image. * The OpenVPN client is garbage. It periodically disconnects and refuses to reconnect without several reboots. Clients lose internet access completely. Internet is otherwise solid with VPN disabled. Working on setting up WireGuard to see if it is any better. This is pretty much a core advertised feature of the product, so this is pretty unforgivable. * Chipset isn't supported in mainline OpenWRT. While the manufacturer's opkg repo does provide packages for that architecture, and that repo has so-far covered my needs, it makes me solely rely on the manufacturer. I suppose I could mirror their repo locally, but community support would be much preferred. * 3rd party OpenWRT packages are pretty much off the table. As with OpenWRT itself on this device, I'm looking into compiling the packages from source myself to bypass this limitation.

I recently purchased this Wi-Fi router, and I’m really impressed with its performance. The setup was straightforward, and it works seamlessly with all my devices. The signal strength is strong throughout my home, even in rooms far from the router. Streaming movies and online gaming are smooth, without any noticeable lag. The security features give me peace of mind, and I appreciate the parental controls for managing internet access. Overall, it’s a reliable router that delivers excellent speed and coverage at a reasonable price. Highly recommend!

We purchased the product so we could use it on a cruise. As people may know, cruise ships charge for each device you connect to the WiFi, so we should be able to connect a router, and then connect our phones and tablets to the router. 1. That "shared repeater" part worked. As long as we were in the room, we were able to connect two phones and an iPad to a single purchased WiFi. It takes a while to connect, and runs a little on the slow side, but it was usable, and good for the price. 2. This device does not have a built-in battery. If you want to carry it around the ship, you will need to plug it into a battery pack or some such. You will also need to keep an eye on cables, because it seems to come unplugged very easily or to at least lose the WiFi it is repeating. (The good news is that I could fit the modem and battery in a waterproof bag.) 3. The device allows use of two common VPN protocols (OpenVPN, WireGuard), but our cruise ship disconnected us when I tried to install WireGuard. I have no idea how it knew, so this may be user error. But if you are planning to use this with a VPN, then I would suggest you install and test it before you travel. 4. You have to be careful about the login and logoff, because our phones seemed to be identifying to the router using the same codes that the router was using to link to the ship's WiFi. So if the router turns off, then the ship might think that line is still connected, and not let anyone else connect on that account. This seems like pretty common behavior when a router is used as a repeater, so plan accordingly. 5. We did not use the Mango for USB modem, tethering, or ethernet. I have no reason to believe these don't work, it was just not what we were looking for. 6. This was almost a five-star review, but it was not as easy to set up as I had wanted. If you wait to get to the cruise ship before you try to set it up, you might spend a few hours of your cruise trying to figure out the instructions. This was only slightly harder than a regular modem repeater, but I had been trying to do the set-up on the flaky ship's Wifi, it would have been much harder.

I’ve been using the GL.iNet GL-MT300N-V2 (Mango) Mini Router for travel and around the house, and it has become one of the most useful networking gadgets I own. Despite its small size, this little router delivers consistent Wi-Fi performance and a lot of flexibility that bigger routers often don’t offer. ✔ What I liked • Compact and portable: This thing is tiny — perfect for throwing in a backpack, suitcase, or even a pocket. I take it on trips, and it’s made hotel Wi-Fi way more usable by creating my own secure network. • Easy setup: It took only a few minutes to get up and running. The interface is user-friendly, and most features are accessible right from a browser without any complex steps. • Versatile modes: I use it as a travel router, repeater, and Wi-Fi bridge — it adapts to whatever connectivity situation I’m in. Whether I’m sharing a single wired port at a hotel or boosting weak Wi-Fi signals, this little device handles it well. • Security features: It supports VPN (OpenVPN & WireGuard), which makes it great for secure browsing when on public Wi-Fi or untrusted networks — ideal for travel, remote work, or just more privacy at home. • Good performance for size: Not blazing fast like a full-size router, but more than capable for streaming, browsing, and light downloads. Consistent signal and coverage for a device of this footprint. ⚠ Things to consider • Not high-end speed: Being a compact travel router, it isn’t designed for ultra-high-speed connections or heavy 4K streaming across many devices simultaneously. But for personal travel use or small home networks, it’s more than enough. • Limited Ethernet ports: Only one WAN/LAN port means you’ll need a switch if you plan to connect many wired devices — typical for a device this size. ⭐ Final Verdict The GL.iNet Mango Mini Router is a fantastic travel companion and a very flexible networking gadget for everyday use. It’s easy to set up, supports multiple modes, and brings added security with VPN options. For anyone who travels — or wants a compact, secure way to manage Wi-Fi — this little router is a solid pick. ✔ Recommended for travelers, remote workers, and anyone wanting portable Wi-Fi control.

My requirement for this device was fairly specific. I travel every week for work and have begun bringing my Nintendo Switch on these trips with me. The problem is that the Nintendo Switch is notoriously horrible at connecting to wifi with a captive portal (aka registration splash screen). Such as hotels or other public wifi might require for confirmation to connect via a browser window. Basically the Switch hidden browser is worthless for these situations and hardly ever works. So I bought this device as a work around. By using this router to connect to the hotel wifi I only need it to make the connection and then it rebroadcasts my own private network. Which the Nintendo Switch can connect to just like any normal wifi that doesn't use captive portals within internet browsers (such as your home network). Setup was fairly straightforward. Granted I am a Network Engineer so I have a slight advantage. However, I found the instructions easy enough for anyone. My only minor complaint is that the router doesn't start broadcasting unless you toggle the "mode" switch located on the side (next to the reset button). The instructions aren't clear on that and the toggle switch itself isn't even labelled (but it is called out in the manual). Anyway turn that on first. Once I had setup the router per the instructions. I went ahead and pre-connected all of my devices (phone, laptop, Nintendo) while it was connected to my home network. Then a few days later I setup the router in a hotel. Using my phone I went to the router IP address (admin menus) and connected it to the hotel wifi. Then I launched a browser via my phone to do the hotel wifi registration. Done. Now the router is on the hotel wifi and all of my devices are connected to the router. One IP address. One registration (instead of having to register multiple times for multiple devices). Turned on my Nintendo Switch and it worked perfectly. No messing around with the Nintendo browser. So in summary. The router works on hotel wifi with captive portal. You only need to perform the hotel registration once and all of your devices are good. For $20 something bucks this just saved me a month of hotel registration headaches that I have been fighting. Thumbs up and highly recommend for anyone else in a similar situation. Side bonus this will give your personal devices an extra layer of protection from those public networks. This router is also very small (about 2x2 inches) so it easily fits inside a Nintendo Switch travel case if you own one.

Small and perfect for streaming devices to get past Geo-restrictions to watch content from other countries. The downside is that it's powered through micro USB instead of USB-C. It does not come with a USB charger so you need one. Works with surf shark wire guard VPN. You can connect your cell phone as an Internet provider in a pinch if necessary. Surf Shark doesn't have a VPN client for Apple TV. This solved the problem. Additional Info. The router runs OpenWRT and supports multiple VPN profiles in memory which can come in handy to access streaming content from across the globe. It supports multiple protocols such as Open VPN, L2TP, IPsec, WireGuard, & IKE2. The company also provides cloud management apps for Android and perhaps Apple. So once you set up your various VPN profiles, switching between them can be done easily with the phone app. Several popular VPN providers are already listed but you can manually set your VPN profiles using your provider vpn.conf from their website or enter it manually with a cell or PC. Here is another plus, if you add an inexpensive ethernet switch to the LAN port, you can connect multiple streaming devices. I use an Apple 4K Gen 3 and a Nvidia Shield TV 2019. My Roku can connect to this router using the built-in 2.4Ghz wifi hotspot this router provides. This won't replace a full home main router unless your needs are very modest. But given its small size, the modest needs of streaming devices, and how small streaming devices like Amazon Sticks, Roku, and Walmart streaming devices are, it is a no-brainer for travel as you can put them inside a case and pack it with your luggage. Just a reminder, this does not come with a USB dongle/charger. But most people have many lying around in draws from old phones.

I was pretty impressed with just how cheap this thing feels because it made me realize just how little of a form factor was required for the functionality this thing has. It's almost like a Raspberry Pi except more like a Banana Pi. Well, so the really cool upside is that this thing works on my captive portal effortlessly (password required in browser after WiFi connection), and the UI for the router management interface is very nice. However, this is a WiFi repeater, so if you're not using it over Ethernet, it's taking your WiFi signal and broadcasting it out milliseconds after. This results in a noticeable loss of bandwidth, but not enough to make your browsing sessions totally sluggish. An Ookla speed test showed about a 50% downstream/upstream reduction. (I did not try a LAN transfer but did successfully connect peer-to-peer devices.) I was hoping that I'd be able to use this little guy to have a private network of my own and use accessories like my HomePod. While it was effective, despite the bandwidth drawback, the real reason I decided to box this up and return it back to Amazon is that there were blatant connectivity gaps where I would experience 100% packet loss and a stalled connection that would have no real solution outside of taking down the network interface and bringing it back up. That was unacceptable, unfortunately. I had a hard time giving this thing less than 3 stars because I could still see use cases for it, such as while traveling in a hotel for an extended (but finite) period of time. Unless I got a dud (and I doubt it), this probably isn't the device you want for a home WiFi repeater/extender. You might find yourself wanting to chuck it across the room, and it's unfortunately not heavy enough to be satisfying for that either. It'd be like tossing a plastic container lid. Just doesn't have the effect you want.

Update: I'm leaving this at 4 stars due to setup and restart issues but this device is definitely worthwhile owning. I used it on a month long cruise as a repeater for a single device captive login and after learning how to configure it, it was flawless in operation and permitted multiple devices to easily connect. The primary setup difficulties have to do with using an IPhone as the interface (I don't know if Android phones will experience the same issues). With the IPhone, I found it necessary to turn off the DNS attack protection feature. Then, when restarting the router using my IPhone, it was necessary to turn off my phone WiFi, turn it back on and select the router (enter router password if necessary) to get the captive (Cruise ship) login to pop up. Once the captive login credentials were entered, my other devices were able to connect to the router. Note - using my MacBookPro to connect, it wasn't necessary to turn off WiFi for the captive login to pop up automatically. I haven't tested using the MacBook with the device's DNS option in its default state though. (Original Review) Gave this only 4 stars because of setup issues. I initialized the GL-MT300N-V2-ed1 mini router per instructions and personalized the admin password and SSID. I set it up as a repeater for my 2.4G Xfinity home router, however the mini router kept saying “internet not connected”. I also set the “remember” button when I selected the Xfinity router. Thinking I might have done something wrong, I reset the mini router (reset button 10+ seconds) and reinitialized/set up the same way (did not need the defaults “goodlife” admin pw after first reset). I repeated the admin reinitialization and (repeater) wifi setup with the same negative internet warning. Also checked my Xfinity router admin page and saw that the mini router was connected but still not passing data. Tried moving away from Xfinity router, incase the Xfinity signal was swamping the mini router signal, without success. I then shut down the mini router for a while and after about 10 minutes, I powered the mini router up again. With my IPhone connected to the mini router SSID (cellular data off), I logged back into mini router admin using the previously personalized pw and was astonished to see it was connected to Xfinity router and passing data (the wireless led was blinking). I tried browsing several different sites and was initially rebuffed by an Xfinity “device paused” warning page. After several attempts accessing different sites, I tried ignoring the Xfinity warning and discovered that reloading immediately brought up the desired site. After that, I was able to power down (disconnect) and automatically reconnect to the remembered wifi connection on power up without any login password. Some other notes: online help pages mention a green power led and a red wireless connection led - however, all the leds are white. The power led comes on quickly once the mini router has power, but it takes about a minute for the wireless led to light up. Also, the slide switch next to the reset button is apparently a programmable function switch that by default has no function. I've only tested this with a 2.4G wifi signal but the online literature suggests that it is also capable of 5G with a different wireless channel selection. Overall, once I got past the initial hiccups, the mini router works like a charm and I’m looking forward to using it with multiple devices on an upcoming cruise (cruise wifi only permits a single device connection).