GL Technologies via Amazon has for
Prime Members: GL.iNet Gigabit Travel AC VPN Router (GL-AR750S) for
$55.92.
Shipping is free.
Thanks to Community Member
noobiebuyer for finding this deal.
Includes: - GL-AR750S-Ext (Slate) router
- Power adapter
- USB cable
- Ethernet cable
- User manual
Features: - CPU: QCA9563, @775MHz SoC Memory: DDRII 128MB
- Memory: DDRII 128MB
- Storage: Dual Flash 16MB Nor + 128MB Nand Flash
- Interface: 3 WAN/LAN Ports: 10/100/1000 Ethernet, 1 USB2.0, 1 Micro USB (power), 1 Reset Button, TF Card Slot (128GB Max.)
- Customizable mode switch
- Foldable dual-band external antennas
- High speed AC750 Wi-Fi: 433Mbps(5G) +300Mbps(2.4G)
- Three customizable LED lights
Top Comments
The only reason this router is being on sale is because the new router (GL-MT1300) was released, at a similar price to the old AC750S-Ext. ($74.90) https://store.gl-inet.com/product...-gl-mt1300
The chipset on this router is quite dated at this point, it's single core QCA9563. I don't have this specific router, but I do have a TP-Link router with the same SoC. On that router, I get ~20mbps on openvpn and ~80mbps through wireguard.
It's not bad, but it's certainly not as fast as I'd prefer.
Of course, being an older model it also has micro USB, whereas the newer one has usb-c.
My personal recommendation if you're going to spend $60-70 anyway on a travel router is as such:
Raspberry Pi 4 (2GB): $35
2 x MT7612U USB adapters (AC1200 x 2): $20 x 2 - from aliexpress/amazon
Total cost comes down to $75, and you can upgrade the components individually down the road when wifi6/6e comes out on usb sticks.
You can put OpenWRT on the raspberry pi and it will have dedicated backhaul/connection to your hotel's wifi instead of halving the bandwidth available to your client devices. The RPI4 can also handle wireguard up to a gigabit and openvpn @ 300mbps so you get way more performance than these outdated overpriced travel routers.
Even if you don't like the RPI4 DIY, the newer GL-MT1300 has a dual core MT7621A SoC which is significantly faster than the QCA9563. Wireguard speeds of 200mbps are to be expected vs ~70mbps. https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-us...erformance
For $20 more the GL-MT1300 is the better buy if you care at all about performance and I find more and more that hotels have fiber or at least >100mbps connections now.
Otherwise the AC750 at $55 is /acceptable/ but not hot by any means - just warm.
For context, a fully saturated wifi5 connection should hit 500-600mbps in real world use. QCA9563 wireguard caps out at ~75mbps, MT7621 wireguard caps out at ~200mbps.
I've stayed in hotels with gigabit symmetric connections, others with terrible 10/1 connections. If you're downloading and uploading stuff, you'd cap out the CPU at 100/100 for example on the MT7621 CPU and 40/40 on the QCA9563 CPU.
In addition, if you want to power one of these things as you travel so you have it as a repeater for all your devices, and be able to plug it in to the wall at your convenience (so it doesn't reboot the router as you move it around) you can get a power bank/battery pack that supports passthrough charging.
Notable powerbanks that support passthrough charging include: ZMI Ambi 10k ($25), zendure x6 ($$$$) , Voltaic V50 USB Battery Pack ($$$), etc. That way you can keep your travel router running without reboots as you get to the hotel or move away from the hotel and keep it in your bag or something.
I had to do a lot of digging to find/build my optimal travel router, hope this helps someone.
A final thing to note: if you plan on using any device as a wireless repeater, you should have 2 separate radios, otherwise you will halve the throughput due to the frequency/channel space. For example, 2 clients both using channel 36 will mean the theoretical throughput will be halved. Because both the AC750 and MT1300 only have ONE radio, your throughput is halved. By having 2 separate radios on the DIY RPI4, you can make sure you have this issue by setting up the connection on 1 channel and the AP (access point) on a separate channel. That way your clients will not experience throughput halving.
Edit: corrected model number because I don't have photographic memory
It does increase the risk for other servers that are connected similarly which can increase the risk even inside the firewall depending on how things are configured, etc. Too many variables that can cause trouble.
192 Comments
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Normal Routers have faster CPUs and more ram/memory far better signal range. If you do research you can find cheaper routers on Ebay and install openWRT on them.
Thanks for the answer in advance.
Thanks for the answer in advance.
Big advantage of Gl.inet is they have built-in wireguard server and client. I don't seewhy ppl still using openVPN while the newer wireguard has much better speed.
The cheaper $20 mango one has only 2.4Ghz, but with wiregaurd, i get 30mbps up and down, better than this $55 router with openvpn. Silly for ppl to choose openVPN.
Big advantage of Gl.inet is they have built-in wireguard server and client. I don't seewhy ppl still using openVPN while the newer wireguard has much better speed.
The cheaper $20 mango one has only 2.4Ghz, but with wiregaurd, i get 30mbps up and down, better than this $55 router with openvpn. Silly for ppl to choose openVPN.
I definitely will look into setting up Wireguard server using Pi.
I may have a follow-up question.
I can see Brume-W (GL-MV1000W) can meet 97Mbps for OpenVPN and 280Mbps for Wireguard.
What decides the speed? CPU? Ram? or the whole design?
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I definitely will look into setting up Wireguard server using Pi.
I may have a follow-up question.
I can see Brume-W (GL-MV1000W) can meet 97Mbps for OpenVPN and 280Mbps for Wireguard.
What decides the speed? CPU? Ram? or the whole design?
Many VPN service provide wireguard connection now, such as windsribe.
My new place has all bills paid, including use of the landlord's WiFi Internet (no ethernet). SpeedTest shows about 100 mbps up/down. That's plenty for me. The WiFi seems to be on a closed guest network. I cannot cast from my phone to my smart TV because they cannot "see" one another. I cannot use my phone as a remote for my Roku TV because it cannot "see" the TV on the network. Landlord does not want to adjust his router settings.
GOALS: 1. I'd like to cast from phone/tablet to Roku or Google TV. 2. Hook up my WIRED SiliconDust HDHR network tuner to a network, along with a USB hard drive for DVR recording. Also want to playback/record with the WIRED HDHR on the network. All I really need the Landlord's WiFi for is Internet. I need my own discreet network for the other tasks.
This device seems like it would accomplish all of this. For that matter, maybe one of the routers I have laying around would do the same job. Seems like I need a "bridge." Any help would be appreciated.
I recently moved from a Note 4 to a Note 9.
I used the Foxfi app to use my Note 4 as a hotspot when on the road.
The Note 9 doesn't allow that.
I have the original unlimited internet plan, and can't make changes without signing up to a new plan.
Anyone have suggestions on a workaround?
Or maybe a device similar to this that I could move my SIM card to when I needed a hot spot?
I use VOIP (Google Voice) for calls/ texts, so my phone only needs wifi.
A removable battery would be a plus too...
Thanks in advance!
This is a good little travel router. The best part of it is it can log in on the captive portal login you see at hotels coffee shops and airports. Your typical router can't do that or heck, even some cell phones has problem loggin on those.
It does wifi both ways, on the connection and to send out on your local network you would create. Pretty fast even on the intranet you created.
If it's on sale, it's well worth the price. There is a new device that was made, but that is more specifally for a home environment than for traveling. I tried other devices, but this seems to do the job. You can look into the RAVPOWER travel router, which does similar and that one has a built in battery too. It's your pick. This one you can still power it by USB external battery (you buy seperately), since the power cable comes in the usb plug to the wall adapter or you can power it on your laptop.
Update:
I check on the site where I bought it from last time. Directly from the manufacture overseas. They have a sale for $58.15 and it takes about 1 month for it to ship to me. So yea, if this goes back on sale. it's a buy for the price and time it will take to get to you since it's from amazon, I would think it would be fast.
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