GL.iNet Flint Alternatives

[achnisch]

Hi all

I will be in the market for a new router soon and the Flint seemed like the perfect fit, however I've been reading that the firmware can be buggy and as they use their own flavour of Open-WRT it would not have the latest features/security updates.

I've been looking into some of the WiFi 6 routers from Asus and the ones that are supported by Merlin are unfortunately out of my price range (around $150 CAD). Am I better off keeping an eye out for a used Merlin supported router?

I guess my requirements are:

• Coverage for 3,600 square feet
• Reliable
• Well supported/updated
• Disable internet between set times on a per device basis
• Parental controls
• VPN support
• Mesh support for future expansion
• Adguard support (nice to have but not essential)

Writing all that down I realise I'm probably asking way too much for my budget! It seems that a used Merlin supported router would tick all my boxes but just wanted to ask if there were any other routers I hadn't considered (e.g. would a cheaper non-Merlin supported Asus router cover most of my needs?) Am I wrong about my reservations with the Flint and should go with that over an Asus?

If a Merlin supported router is my best bet, which are the better models to look out for as I've read that the AX-88U is not necessarily better than the AX-86U for example.

Thanks in advance

 

[Tech Junky]

Why not keep what you have and add an AP instead that's within your budget?

Nwa220ax6e runs $150 or nwa210ax is $125.

 

[achnisch]

I don't currently have any equipment, will be moving to my own place soon and I don't believe the ISP I'm likely to go with provides a router. I don't think APs were a big thing when I last looked into routers, but I'm guessing I can't use one on its own (i.e. I'll need an actual router first and then I can add APs to that in future?)

 

[Tech Junky]

A router gives you nat/firewall protection. The AP provides the WiFi and if you split the two it's a cheaper upgrade when WiFi improves.

Since you don't have anything currently it's a good position to be in. You're not swapping $300+ routers for better WiFi speeds

Get something cheap with at least a 2.5ge port for an AP to connect to and an AP. Wired routers start out fairly cheap and provide the foundation to build off of.

 

[L&LD]

For 3,600 SqFt, you don't need a router + AP. However, your budget seems off vs. your expectations too.

For a well-supported router that should easily handle your new home's WiFi, the GT-AX6000 is the minimum you should be looking at.

A very well-balanced (hardware) router, which is stable, proven (over a year now), has RMerlin support, and will receive the 3.0.0.6.xxx level firmware as it becomes available (not valid for all AX routers, but note that all Asus AC class routers won't be receiving the latest firmware and security features either).

Bump up your budget to today's reality. Or, wait until you see what the ISP provides. Any other path forward is sacrificing the network potential not only today but far into the future too.

 

[snah001]

I bought as earlybird the new Flint 2 (GL-MT6000) for $ 93,- including shipment.:

OpenVPN speed up to 190 Mbps; WireGuard® speed up to 900 Mbps
Wi-Fi 6 Max. 1148 Mbps (2.4GHz) + 4804 Mbps (5GHz) Wi-Fi Speeds
Preinstalled with native firmware based on OpenWrt 23.05 (Kernel version 5.15)

Will receive it somewhere next week so really curious if it is as good as they promise it is.

GL-MT6000 / Flint 2

Home Products Flint 2 (GL-MT6000) GL-MT6000 Wi-Fi 6 AX6000 Home Router MEET Flint 2 High-Performance Wi-Fi 6 Router Pre-order Now Pre-order Flint 2 Now. Order Flint 2 at a discounted price with FREE SHIPPING. Only 100 items available - first come, first served! FREE SHIPPING included Order limit...

www.gl-inet.com

 

[CaptainSTX]

I bought as earlybird the new Flint 2 (GL-MT6000) for $ 93,- including shipment.:

OpenVPN speed up to 190 Mbps; WireGuard® speed up to 900 Mbps
Wi-Fi 6 Max. 1148 Mbps (2.4GHz) + 4804 Mbps (5GHz) Wi-Fi Speeds
Preinstalled with native firmware based on OpenWrt 23.05 (Kernel version 5.15)

Will receive it somewhere next week so really curious if it is as good as they promise it is.

GL-MT6000 / Flint 2

Home Products Flint 2 (GL-MT6000) GL-MT6000 Wi-Fi 6 AX6000 Home Router MEET Flint 2 High-Performance Wi-Fi 6 Router Pre-order Now Pre-order Flint 2 Now. Order Flint 2 at a discounted price with FREE SHIPPING. Only 100 items available - first come, first served! FREE SHIPPING included Order limit...

www.gl-inet.com

I haven't used that particular model but their firmware is excellent and it offers many options. The VPN client either OPEN or WireGuard work well but I would be surprised that this or any router could get the WireGuard speeds that you quoted with the limited processor most routers usually have. Even on my VPN appliance with an I7 processor I seldom get speeds over 840 Mbps when running a WireGuard client.

Let us know what your router can actually get when it arrives.

 

[sfx2000]

I haven't used that particular model but their firmware is excellent and it offers many options. The VPN client either OPEN or WireGuard work well but I would be surprised that this or any router could get the WireGuard speeds that you quoted with the limited processor most routers usually have.

GL.inet can back up their claims - they're not known to exaggerate their numbers...

Regarding the i7 appliance, remember, WG uses chacha20-poly1305, so no HW assists there, it's all on core...

 

[sfx2000]

I guess my requirements are:

• Coverage for 3,600 square feet
• Reliable
• Well supported/updated
• Disable internet between set times on a per device basis
• Parental controls
• VPN support
• Mesh support for future expansion
• Adguard support (nice to have but not essential)

I think the big challenge is decent coverage for 3600 sq ft - 2.4 can do it, but 5GHz is a challenge for a single router/AP, mesh systems like Eero, Google Nest, and Netgear Orbi can cover that with good 5Ghz coverage, but those platforms don't really hit your other asks...

Synology RT6600ax along with a couple of MR2200ac's can hit that coverage area, and more features are available there, however, at the moment, they don't support WG, but they do OpenVPN and their own VPN clients.

GL-Inet is a good value solution, outside of the mesh requirement - but everything else is good - their SW is pretty solid, they have a good VPN solution that does support WG and OpenVPN for both client and server, and many of their models these days support AdGuard...

The GL-Inet devices do support both AP mode, along with Wireless Bridge, so if you can backhaul over ethernet, you can run a couple of routers in AP mode - so while it's not mesh, it's more classic multiple AP stuff...

SW - they build on OpenWRT and support it upstream with code commits...

HW - they do a good job - basically from Brume onwards they've been super solid, some of their earlier stuff was a bit noisy on the radio side, but that's been addressed in the WiFi5/6 models...

 

[CaptainSTX]

GL.inet can back up their claims - they're not known to exaggerate their numbers...

Regarding the i7 appliance, remember, WG uses chacha20-poly1305, so no HW assists there, it's all on core...

On the VPN appliance because both WireGuard and OpenVPN use just a single core not much difference in throughput.

I just tested by my GL-Inet AR750 which has a lessor processor than the OP's purchase but it can do 40 Mpbs when connected using a WireGuard client.

Interested in seeing what the OP actually gets and I agree that GL-Inet avoids most of the marketing boasts so I'm sure the speed will be good.

 

[sfx2000]

I just tested by my GL-Inet AR750 which has a lessor processor than the OP's purchase but it can do 40 Mpbs when connected using a WireGuard client.

I have an AR750 as well, great little travel router - I don't know much much later they'll be on the market, as QC-Atheros is end-of-lifed many of their legacy chips (foundry capacity is what I'm told) - and the AR750 is fully supported by OpenWRT on the ath79 branch...

 

[CaptainSTX]

I have an AR750 as well, great little travel router - I don't know much much later they'll be on the market, as QC-Atheros is end-of-lifed many of their legacy chips (foundry capacity is what I'm told) - and the AR750 is fully supported by OpenWRT on the ath79 branch...

Amazon has several newer models on sale. Really don't see upgrading as in hotels 20 Mbps is a fast connection.