GL.iNet GL-MT300N-V2 (Mango) Wireless Mini Portable VPN Travel Router, Mobile Hotspot in Pocket, WiFi Repeater Bridge, Range Extender, OpenVPN Client, 300Mbps High Performance, 128MB RAM

The media could not be loaded. OK, so this was a quick buy for me as my VPN router at home got config corrupted and I was stuck without VPN. I had read some of the reviews regarding the OpenVPN option on this device being easy to set up and I can honestly say I was sceptical that this tiny little box could delivery what I needed while my VPN router is out for repairs. I was not disappointed, the reviews are 100% correct and VPN setup on this tiny kit was seamless to setup and working perfectly.Packaging:The product packaging was good and everything you need to get started is in the box. What I got in the box:1 x GL-MT300N-V2 Mini Travel Router1 x 1 USB Power Cable1 x RJ-45 Flat Ethernet Cable1 x User ManualSetup:The tiny router is connected via the its WAN port directly to a LAN port on my BT Hub5 router. The cool thing is that it takes its power via USB so its gets it power directly from the USB port on the back of my BT Hub5 this makes it a very clean and tidy setup. The software is nice and simple and is easy to use and play around with. I downloaded the VyprVPN openvpn config file and uploaded it to the router. Selected my preferred location and connected pretty quickly. The only thing that is missing from this device for me is to be able to disable the VPN to specific devices on the network. At this stage I have to use my BT Hub5 for all my devices that don’t need connecting to the VPN on that network while are other devices that require VPN access now connect to the tiny router. It’s not that much of a big deal over all but it’s nice to be able to manage all network devices on one single router than having devices connected to 2 separate routers which doesn’t helps with network management and network security over all.Performance:I have been using the router for a few weeks now and honestly I have not seen any disconnections or network latency. I have done several network tests after setting it up and I was get accurate speeds that reflect the same speeds I get from my BT Hub5. I actually cant believe this tiny router has such great performance. Once switched over to VyprVPN the speeds test reflect a solid 12Mbps download speed and 7Mbps upload speed needless to say I was very impressed. The VPN speeds are slightly faster that my damaged VPN router which cost me around 150 pounds. If you are using this device just for VPN, this is a all or nothing router, either all devices connected to the tiny router are connected to the VPN or none are connected if the VPN is turned off.Pros:* Good Quality* Easy Setup* Cheap* Fast* Multipurpose* Tiny* Supports OpenVPNCons:I personally haven’t had any issues with this device. I would have like to be able to manage all my devices on one network, but this more a personal want and not any fault the software or the device.Conclusion:This is an awesome device and I can’t believe what you get for the price. I am not using this router as a travel companion but as temporary VPN router while my router is getting repaired. It’s been a life saver for me and I would highly recommend this router if you are looking for a travel router or a static VPN router at home or even in a small office environments.

There is no doubt that this is a seriously useful piece of kit for such a small amount of money.The features you get for a tiny £20 box are incredible.It may be advertised as a travel router and it works very well as one, but that is just the tip of the iceberg...I use mine mainly at home as an OpenVPN router to push any traffic I need through NordVPN servers.It sits behind my BT SmartHub and connects directly from its WAN socket into one of the BT Hub's LAN sockets via a short ethernet cable and is even powered from the 0.5amp 5volt USB port on the rear of the BT router.It is very easy to setup with NordVPN .ovpn config files from their website. I have tried a few VPN providers but have found Nord to be the best in both value for money (if you pay for 12 months upfront then it is seriously good value) and for the shear number of servers in so many different countries. It is also extremely reliable and fast. It works with GL.iNet products like this one seamlessly.I have also used this router as a WiFi extender/repeater which works extremely well (far better than expected) and also allows you to use Open VPN configs while doing so which is really handy. It is mega useful if you need to use a free hotspot or free hotel wifi connection while traveling and secures your data and gets around website and usage blocks. If you are outside your home country and want to access content restricted by location (like TV or News streaming like BBC iPlayer from the UK) or want to access content at home from a different country then this has you covered by using OpenVPN configs to route you through the country of your choice.It is great for plugging a USB drive into for sharing files securely over your network from it.I have also used the smartphone tethering and 3G/4G modem features which are both a great feature for securely using and/or sharing a mobile data connection.It uses very little power and so with the addition of a USB power bank it makes it easy to have setup anywhere. I have a 10,000mah Juice brick and it keeps it running for several days solidly.If you want to delve deeper into the advanced settings then there are a ton more options, features and plugins already pre-installed and also available to download to upload to and use this device for more advanced and specialist uses.I know that you can open the case and access plenty of other connections for other uses. I think there is even an external antenna socket inside on the PCB that is useable.I did own a previous version/model of a GL.iNet router a couple of years ago and at the time it was unreliable and was prone to crashing and connection issues.I am VERY happy that they have addressed all those issues and every feature I have tried on this model over the past 3 months work perfectly and with the latest firmware all have been resolved 100% and this is now a solid piece of kit that is in my opinion a must have device even if you only use it as a simple travel router.Finally... They have just released the full latest revision of the firmware for these boxes to download and install OTA and I have just let it upgrade to the version 3.011 from 2.xxx and it really improves on everything. It is more streamlined, easier to use and even more feature packed. This has made this £20 box even more powerful and useful.I can't recommend this device highly enough! It will change how you use the internet. It does the job of boxes that can cost you 10x the amount of money just as well.

The stock firmware looked quite slick with an integrated DDNS service & VPN support but as I immediately replaced it with OpenWrt 21.02.2 I can't comment more on that.The unit itself is very nicely put together and tiny. I was quickly able to connect it as a client via the LAN port to a hotel WiFi network and simultaneously run both my secure & DMZ WiFi access point SSIDs through via WireGuard to both of my home & office gateways.The only slight issue I had was it spontaneously rebooting under load but when I stopped using the charger that came with my Samsung A52 phone to power it in favour of a U-Green PD one that seems to be solved.Excellent little gadget and I suspect I'll be buying one of GL-iNet's more powerful dual-band offerings soon.Update: Having obtained a USB power monitor it appears that even with a USB thumb-drive connected and both wifi WAN client & LAN access point active it draws no more that 250mA at 5V. With a Samsung A52 plugged into the USB being charged & acting as the WAN interface this goes up to around 700mA.Updated 2023-03-27I've been using this router on my travels for a while now and continued to upgrade it to the latest OpenWrt (22.03.3 at present). Even with a GaN USB PSU it still exhibits some instabilities when used as both an access point and a client onto hotel wifi, especially where that wifi is a little sub-par, crashing when changing settings sometimes for example. The wifi phy only supports four simultaneous AP and client configurations which is a little constrained for my purposes but at the price it's still a good device. However I'm planning to upgrade to one of GL.iNet's dual-band devices with uSD & more powerful CPU as soon as I get home.