If you are a traveller, and you’re looking for the Best Router options, the GL.iNet GL-AR300M Mini router should be a pretty obvious pick. Even if you don’t care about the technical aspects, it provides fantastic usability with top-notch performance for the price. And because of that, it deserves to be on your shortlist, if you’re looking for the Best Travel Router on a budget.
Why We Like It – GL.iNet GL-AR300M Mini
We have rarely seen a mini router come with as good internals as the GL.iNet GL-AR300M Mini below 30 bucks. And it comes with open source programmable OpenWRT pre installed, the process which is the most complicated part about the OpenWRT custom firmware.
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- Comes with open source programmable OpenWRT pre installed
- Dual Ethernet ports
- 128 MB NAND flash memory and dual flash support
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- Build quality is not that great
- 100 Mbps ethernet ports
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Performance
The performance of GL.iNet GL AR300M Mini router is absolutely fantastic for the price, as we mentioned before. Open source programmable OpenWRT custom firmware is fast and optimized as always. On top of that, its 128 MB NAND flash storage also supports dual flash. So, you can always install another custom firmware to run on top of OpenWRT. It truly is a mini smart router in that sense.
Range
Not having an external antenna doesn’t exactly hurt the range of this VPN travel router in any way, shape, or form. In fact, it provides even better coverage compared to their own GL.iNET GL-AR150 wireless router. However, it does fall short when compared to the costlier GL.iNet GL-AR750S.
Durability
The build quality of the GL.iNet GL AR300M Mini router is not that great, and we can understand why that is. To provide a mini travel router like the GL.iNet GL AR300M at this low price, you have to cut corners somewhere.
Ease Of Use
The hardest part of the open source programmable OpenWRT is the installation process. And unlike the GL.iNet GL-E750, the GL.iNet GL AR300M Mini router pretty much comes with OpenWRT pre installed. Everything else is a breeze, and you get countless customization options. If this is troubling, you can settle for the Motorola MT7711 that offers a pretty easy set up.
Value
The value aspect of this mini smart router is absolutely amazing. You can not find a mini travel router that comes with better specs than this one at this price right now. And the OpenWRT firmware being the stock firmware of this mini smart router, boosts its value even more.
GL.iNet GL-AR300M Mini Wrap Up
All in all, the GL.iNet GL-AR300M Mini provides excellent performance combined with top-notch customizability. If you can put up with the build, you should go for this one.
