Choosing a VPN Router

• Right: you have a streaming box, game console, Apple TV or smart speaker that cannot run a VPN client; several family members and no wish to teach each one; devices that must stay connected around the clock (NAS, camera uploads).
• Right: an office or household inside China that needs a stable outbound connection. Split routing on the router sends Chinese sites direct and everything else through the tunnel, and devices never notice a VPN.
• Not right: one phone and one laptop, mostly travelling — a client is lighter.
• Not right: a dorm or shared flat where you do not control the network, or a carrier-locked modem/router that will not accept a second router. A portable router (battery-powered, works from an Ethernet cable or an upstream Wi‑Fi) is the compromise.

Both paths end up running the same firmware; the difference is who flashes it and who is responsible when something goes wrong.

Flash it yourself: you already own a router supported by OpenWrt (we support over 1,000 models). Pick the model on this site to build the firmware online, receive the download link by email in three to five minutes, and flash it following the flashing guide. Suits hands-on users who want to save the price of a device. Firmware building and router access both work on any account tier.

Buy pre-flashed: we ship a GL.iNet router with the firmware installed. Plug it in, open the admin page, enter your account and it works; each unit includes service on the Personal-plan baseline — one year with the mini, two years with the other three — Family gets half that value, Enterprise a quarter, always equal value. Suits anyone who does not want to tinker, or is setting it up for non-technical family.

Either way the firmware updates its own components — no re-flashing — and route addresses changing never requires a configuration change.

• GL-MT300N-V2 (mini, US$200, 12 months of service included): palm-sized and USB-powered, so a power bank can run it. 2.4 GHz Wi‑Fi only and 100 Mbps ports. For one person travelling: plug into hotel Ethernet or join the hotel Wi‑Fi, and a phone and laptop can browse and watch 1080p video. Not suited to being the main router at home.
• GL-MT3000 (portable, US$300, 24 months included): dual-band Wi‑Fi 6 with a 2.5G port, slightly larger than a palm. Strong enough to be the main router for a small household — a TV, a streaming box and several phones and computers together — and small enough for a backpack. Choose it if you want one router for home and travel.
• GL-MT6000 (desktop, US$400, 24 months included): two 2.5G ports plus four gigabit ports, external antennas and the most processing power of the four. For large homes, many devices (a dozen or more), broadband above one gigabit, regular 4K and console gaming, or a small office. It sits in one place as the only router; it is not one to carry around.
• GL-XE3000 (mobile, US$400, 24 months included): built-in 5G/4G and a battery. Insert a SIM card and it is a standalone network; it also takes an Ethernet cable. For places without fixed broadband — camper vans, job sites, trade shows, short lets — or as a backup when the home line goes down.

• Travelling alone, staying in hotels, on a budget → GL-MT300N-V2.
• A flat or small household where the TV and streaming box need Chinese or overseas video → GL-MT3000.
• Mostly at home, but you want to take it on the occasional trip → GL-MT3000.
• A large home, many devices, broadband above one gigabit, or an office shared by several people → GL-MT6000.
• No broadband, or you are on the road most of the time → GL-XE3000.
• Setting one up for parents who are not technical → GL-MT3000, bought pre-flashed: plug it in and it works.

• One unit, two roles: powerful enough to be a small household's main router, small enough to travel with. It is the only one of the four that does both.
• It will not date quickly: Wi‑Fi 6 and a 2.5G port leave headroom over most home broadband. The mini model has only 2.4 GHz Wi‑Fi and 100 Mbps ports, which becomes the bottleneck at home.
• The price works out: US$300 with 24 months of Personal-plan service included, against US$200 with 12 months for the mini. Counting the included service, the extra US$100 buys a clearly better device plus another year.
• It is the one we know best: our own test unit is this model, new firmware is checked on it first, and the flashing video tutorial uses it. When you hit a problem, we have the same device on the desk to compare.
• When not to choose it: for a large home, many devices or broadband above one gigabit, go straight to the GL-MT6000; with no fixed broadband, the GL-XE3000; if it is only for one person on trips and price matters most, the GL-MT300N-V2 is enough.

If you already own a supported router and want to do it yourself, the full flashing procedure has its own guide, with a video: see "Flashing the Router Firmware: From Stock to Ours, Step by Step" under Related pages at the end of this page. It covers building the firmware on the site, flashing it from the stock admin panel, joining the new Wi‑Fi afterwards and the router connecting by itself.

• Cannot reach the admin page after flashing: the computer has not picked up a new address. Reconnect the cable or Wi‑Fi, or open 192.168.11.1 directly.
• Weak Wi‑Fi at only 20 dBm: the firmware sets radio power to the regulations of the country it is in, and needs one internet connection to switch to your country’s setting. Connect the WAN cable first after flashing.
• Inside China and Chinese sites became slow: split routing is off and everything is going through the route. In the router's split settings choose Forward Split: Chinese IPs go direct and everything else uses the route.
• Abroad and you want Chinese content: choose Reverse Split. Reverse split turns the direction round — only mainland Chinese IPs go through the route back to China, and every other site uses your local broadband directly. Chinese video, music and apps then see a Chinese address, while local sites and streaming services take no detour and keep their speed. The firmware picks the direction from where the router is, so you rarely need to change it; if it looks wrong, switch it in the split settings.
• The router is connected but one device bypasses it: that device usually has its own static or private DNS (Android’s Private DNS, the browser’s Secure DNS). Turn it off and retry.