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[Prime] GL.iNet GL-MT300N-V2 Mango Mini Travel Router $31.92 Delivered @ GL.iNet via Amazon AU

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OzBargains favorite Mango is back on special. Prime Day Lighting deal. Description copied from previous deals…because lazy.

Note: This unit will not support EAP security

The GL-MT300N-V2 supports full OpenWRT, multiple modes and the USB 5V 1A power input gives you heaps of options to power (from notebook, phone charger, powerbank) for remote applications.

Check previous posts for usage cases, questions etc.

  • MINI TRAVEL ROUTER: Convert a public network(wired/wireless) to a private Wi-Fi for secure surfing. Tethering, 3G/4G USB Modem Compatible. Powered by any laptop USB, power banks or 5V DC adapters (sold separately). 39g (1.41 Oz) only and pocket friendly.
  • OPEN SOURCE & PROGRAMMABLE: OpenWrt pre-installed, USB disk and WebCam extendable.
  • LARGER STORAGE & EXTENDABILITY: 128MB RAM, 16MB Flash ROM, dual Ethernet ports, UART and GPIOs available for hardware DIY.
  • OPENVPN CLIENT & TOR: OpenVPN client pre-installed, compatible with 20+ VPN service providers. TOR firmware available for downloading.
  • PACKAGE CONTENTS: GL-MT300N-V2 mini router (1-year Warranty), USB cable, User Manual.

Couple of things here that maybe useful (in no particular order):

  • If you use as a WISP repeater then you WILL lost 50% of your bandwidth as the 2.4Ghz channel is shared between WISP/WAN and LAN. If you want to avoid this better to look at a dual band travel router like the AR750S and WISP on one band and WiFI LAN on the other
  • Supports out of the box OpenVPN and Wireguard Server and Client
  • My suggestion is if you're going to use VPN then try and find a provider that supports Wireguard. This unit isn't the most powerful VPN router but theoretical max VPN speeds are 11Mbps on OpenVPN and 45Mbps on Wireguard
  • VPN access on/off can be controlled by a physical on/off switch. So you could connect to the Mango WiFi "normally" and when you want to you can flick the switch to turn on the VPN. I have a Mango as part of my network that only some of MY devices attach to so not everyone on the network is affected.
  • Via the web interface you can switch VPNs. I have a Wireguard client back to my home router server for security and Australian internet access but also have 3 OpenVPN countries setup on Nord/Pure for geographical VPN. It's easy as dragging a CFG file into the interface to setup and the web interface lets you change between them
  • One thing that isn't mentioned is the security implications on connecting to an open network. You end up with your own firewalled, subnetted network (This is why Chromecast will work on a hotel captive portal network)
  • While default is 1 WAN and 1 LAN ethernet, if you are using WISP you can change to 2 LAN ports
  • Because it's OpenWRT based you can add any of the packages out of the OpenWRT repository. I have run VPNS, AdBlock, Transmission Torrent downloads to the USB stick connected etc
  • It can also be used as an AP or repeater. Handy because of it's size
  • 5V/1A means you can run off a phone power pack, modern PC/Tablet USB port, Car 5V adapter or powerbanks. I'll often sit in an internet cafe with the Mango connected to a USB port on my notebook and WISP connect to the free WiFi for security.
  • It is never going to be the fastest or strongest WiFi box out there.
  • Because of it's lower power consumption one of my projects I want to do is a geocache out in the bush. Mango+powerbank+solar cell in a waterproof container. You can create a captive portal on it which will be used to present a web page to the final cache destination.
  • Full LUCI interface can still be accessed outside of the Gl.iNet wrapper (not installed by default)
  • Note that this is using Mediatek proprietary network drivers.
  • There are alternative firmwares out there - Native OpenWRT, RooTer…..
  • If you're on holidays with the family you can configure all your devices to attach to the Mango and as you move from free WiFi to free Wifi you don't have to reconnect all their devices just the Mango once. You can put a USB stick on it to share music/movies/photos (or in a car, or on a plane) even without an internet connection.
  • You can connect a 4G USB Dongle to it (as long as it's supported by OpenWRT) or USB tether your mobile to it and use as a router to share the LTE.
  • Because the router presents itself as a device to the network, and all connected devices to the Mango present as the Mango (if that makes sense), gets around restrictive WiFi networks where you can only have a limited number of devices. Useful too if you're paying for per device.
  • It's a great small and versatile unit. It won't suit everyone or every circumstance, but if you've got a use for it they're a great jigger :)
Price History at C CamelCamelCamel.
This is part of Amazon Prime Day sale for 2022

Related Stores

Amazon AU
Amazon AU
Marketplace
GL.iNet, Hong Kong
GL.iNet, Hong Kong

closed Comments

  • +22

    Anyone else look at the thumbnail and think it was a commbank deal?

  • +1

    Great travel router
    but from memory I bought it for sub $25
    seems $30 isnt a deal for me

  • Does anyone have experience with these on Cruise ships? I think cruise ships charge WIFI per user/person and have read that people can use these "travel routers" to connect to the WiFi then share it out to other devices? Cheers in advance.

    • +2

      I use it quite a lot for hotel wifi for similar situations - They have a good setup guide.

    • +1

      Top-rated question from Amazon listing:


      Would this work on a cruise ship to avoid buying multiple device logins

      Yes if sure would. You can use the guest login via the router to use the internet across multiple devices. I’ve done this plenty of times and it works well. Hit that helpful button if this helps you.
      By Tom… on 17 December 2019

      Without knowing the technical detail of the cruise ship I can't be 100%. However I am 98% sure it would as I used if for this very purpose in a number of Hotels this year.
      By Craig Hamilton on 18 December 2019

    • This works great for splitting a WiFi signal to multiple devices.

  • -1

    Can we use it in Japan and as a hotspot to share with 2 or 3 people ??

    • simply stated … yes.
      I have had one of these units for 3+ years now (pre-COVID, lockdowns) and had used it all over the place, both with public wi-fi and my phones internet data plan. Great for travelling and is a quick solution for on-the-go travellers. Combine with a VPN set-up, should provide a safe and reasonable solution for security, although nothing is perfect. It beats draining mobile phone data tethering and risking devices to insecure public wi-fi any day.

  • +1

    I found this limited by the amount of memory and packages to install and get TOR running on it along with NordVPN

  • Thanks OP, something like this wasn't on my radar but we have a big overseas family trip coming up at the end of the year and thinking through what I'm going to need to do from an internet and connectivity requirement in the accomodation, this will help me a lot!

  • I'm considering GL inet Ax1800 but the review is mixed with some ppl complaining firmware update messed up their modem n need to factory reset. Anyone has first hand experience? Any parental control? Guessing from review it's dual freq 2.4 n 5Ghz. Thanks

    • +1

      The original release firmware did have some issues, but Gl.inet has release new versions as issues have been found and reported on the forums (one of the good things about Gl.inet, they keep developing their firmwares often on user feedback). The current stable firmwares 3.xx are based on OpenWRT 15.05 however they are currently developing beta software based on 21.02. I've been running since before release in Australia (on 3.xxx) and it's been stable for my requirements. Parental control is done via Adguard.

  • +1

    Something I posted after running an issue when setting up my mango bought in a previous deal -

    ran into an issue where the mango couldn't connect to an SSID that was on channel 13 - legal in some countries but not others. I had to install putty and run these commands to get it to work - https://forum.gl-inet.com/t/gl-mt300n-v2-unable-to-be-repeat…

  • This one or the black GL-AR300M16 for $30.32? I recall a previous deal saying that the black one is slightly better/faster, but it seems that the mango is more popular.

  • what's the benefit of this vs a phone dedicated for hotspot

    • +2

      Phone Hotspot:

      • uses your mobile data allowance
      • uses your phone battery

      A pocket router like in this post:

      • uses existing internet infrastructure (hotel/cafe wifi/ethernet)
      • can be powered by ac (wall wart), laptop, powerbank

      Using this pocket router you can have a lot already configured: so you rock up, plug it into power, connect to it (via phone or laptop) and configure it for the hotel/cafe wifi/ethernet, now all your devices have internet access through it. Without the pocket router, you'd need to setup the hotel/cafe wifi on each device (or if ethernet, only be able to plug in your laptop). Some pocket routers also support a VPN connection (like this one does), so your traffic is kept private from the hotel/cafe/etc.

  • +1

    I ordered this one yesterday. https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0777L5YN6 . Seems very similar to the Mango. Anyone have any thoughts?

    EDIT: Okay found some info from a previous post. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/631060. I think I made a good choice.

    Mango vs Shadow(16)

    Shadow has an Atheros SOC compared with the Mediatek SOC - does make it a little bit more versatile if you're planning on creating your own firmwares.
    Mango uses proprietary WiFi drivers for performance and stability. If you're considering going to "vanilla/native" OpenWRT you will have issues with the Mango but not the Shadow because of the SOC
    Shadow has faster processor speed
    Better theoretical VPN speeds on Shadow because of processor 45Mbps (WG)/ 11Mbps (Openvpn) on Mango versus 50Mbps/15Mbps

    • +1

      I bought this one April 2022 and back then it was black. Have used it three times in different hotels and it works seamlessly. I configured it at home to use same SSD as my home wifi.

      Went to hotel, pulled the LAN cable from back of tv and plugged it into this router and within minutes all of our mobile devices/tablets/firetvstick were connected to the home wifi SSD so no configuration needed on each device. Internet speeds were fast enough to watch youtube on ipad while watching netflix from the firetvstick plugged into the tv when both connected to same wifi generated by the router.

      In another scenario, there wasn't a LAN cable so i connected to the hotel wifi using this router, and again all my mobile devices connected to this travel router using the home SSD and it was fast enough to browse emails, social media photos/videos and ozbargain website for deals while it was raining on holidays. :)

      I didn't use anything advance like VPN etc though so can't comment on the other features but standard options worked great and removed headache of accessing internet from different devices for such a cheap price so that was worth the price.

      • Thanks for this. That's exactly what I bought this for so it sounds like it fits the bill.

  • It's been quite a bit cheaper - but then the AUD has sunk against the USD.

  • Any suggestions on which GL.inet router would be best to set up as a VPN Server for accessing the home network remotely?

    • The big thing to remember here is that your VPN server speed will be determined by your UPLOAD speed on your home network. So a 50/20 connection will only ever give you a MAXIMUM of 20. So when you look at the specs keep that in mine. The Brume is made more as a VPN server than a travel router, but you pay a bit more for it because of the chipset. Theoretically any of them would do the job. Just depends on speeds and budget :)

      • Thanks Limbot….I will have a look. I have a cheap 300/300 unlimited overseas (India). Planning to set up a VPN Server there which I can connect to from AU for accessing my local LAN there, some govt websites which arent available outside India and some media content hopefully, now that most VPN providers moving out of India.

        • id probably not sink money into the brume, it doesnt seem to get the same amount of love from glinet in the firmware department.
          you can install vanilla openwrt on it though since v21
          and if you want to look at the brume-w its end of life

    • I bought a GL.iNET GL-MV1000 Brume to use as a VPN server, replaced my Mango as it was far too speed limiting on my 500/500 fibre connection.

  • Looks like quite a few of the GL.iNet routers are on Prime Day deal. Been looking at the Beryl (MT1300) too.

    I’m looking to setup a GL.iNet router with either built-in 4G or 4G USB dongle as a travel router in a camper.
    Anyone have any suggestions?

    • If you want built in modem, i'd be looking at the Spitz (X750) as it has external anteannae and external SMA antennae connectors and you could potentially run some external antennae out side your faraday cage…ummm camper. Be aware though that the highest CAT level for the supplied LTE modems is only cat 6. May or may not be an issue for you. Because of our incredible NBN I don't have an NBN connection at the moment and running on a Spitz with a Belong (Telstra) sim. It's not getting the speeds I can get on my mobile phone (with a much higher CAT level) but it's just sitting in the cupboard doing its job. I'm getting around 12Mbps while my phone gets 50+ The 12Mbps is fine for me to stream some video while the son's gaming temporarily but I'm champing at the bit for a real wired connection…even if it is only going to be FTTN.

  • whats a good wireguard vpn provider? looks like theres only two for these devices on the config

    • There's 2 preloaded but you can use any provider that supplies you with a Wireguard config file. Normally then it's just drag and drop

  • +1

    Was almost about to pull the trigger on this but ended up getting the Beryl just for the better throughout over vpn and 5ghz wifi support. Only downsides I could is that it is more than twice the price and it needs 3A power supply.

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