The GL-AR750S-Ext (Slate) was, for a long time, the default recommendation for travel routers. Dual-band WiFi, OpenWrt pre-installed, solid VPN support, and a compact form factor that fit in any bag. It earned its reputation. It is also discontinued.
If you searched for the AR750S and landed here, this is what you need to know: GL.iNet still makes excellent travel routers. The current lineup has improved on the AR750S in almost every spec. The question is which model fits your use case — and the answer depends on whether you need WiFi 6, how fast your hotel Ethernet actually is, and what you are willing to spend.
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What a travel router actually does
Before getting into the options: if you have not used a travel router before, here is the short version of why they are useful on the road.
A travel router sits between you and whatever internet connection the hotel or apartment is offering. You connect once to the travel router, and then every device you carry — laptop, phone, tablet, streaming stick — connects through it. This gives you three things:
One login, all devices. Many hotels require a login page for each device. With a travel router, you authenticate once and everything behind it is automatically connected.
A VPN for everything. Running a VPN client on a travel router means your entire connection is encrypted by default, including devices that do not support VPN apps natively (smart TVs, game consoles, some streaming sticks).
Your own secure network. You are not sharing a WiFi network with other guests. Your devices can talk to each other privately, which matters if you are sharing files or casting between devices.
The two GL.iNet options worth buying
GL.iNet Beryl AX (GL-MT3000) — $98.99
The Beryl AX is the current top-of-the-line portable GL.iNet router, and it is the right choice for most travelers who care about performance.
The headline specs: MediaTek MT7981B dual-core at 1.3GHz, WiFi 6 (AX3000 — 574 Mbps on 2.4GHz and 2,402 Mbps on 5GHz), a 2.5G multi-gigabit WAN port, and a 1G LAN port. WireGuard throughput is rated at up to 300 Mbps; OpenVPN at up to 150 Mbps.
The 2.5G WAN port is the spec that has aged the AR750S out. Newer hotels and co-working spaces increasingly have Ethernet drops that can sustain speeds above 1 Gbps. The old Slate’s Gigabit WAN was already the bottleneck on those connections. The Beryl AX removes that ceiling.
WiFi 6 matters on the router side because of how it handles multiple clients. If you are working with a laptop and a phone simultaneously, OFDMA allows the router to schedule transmissions more efficiently than WiFi 5 could. In practice, the difference is most noticeable on congested hotel WiFi where the Beryl AX is pulling signal — WiFi 6 handles concurrent streams better.
VPN performance is the other meaningful upgrade. WireGuard at 300 Mbps on the Beryl AX versus the AR750S’s considerably lower throughput (typically 50–70 Mbps on WireGuard) is the difference between a VPN that throttles your connection and one that does not.
It runs OpenWrt, supports 30+ VPN providers, and has AdGuard Home for DNS-level ad blocking built into the interface. USB 3.0 port for external storage. At $98.99, it is almost twice the price of its predecessor, but the performance gap justifies it.
Check price at GL.iNet — $98.99
GL.iNet Opal (GL-SFT1200) — $39.99
The Opal is the budget option and it earns its place. WiFi 5 (AC1200 — 300 Mbps on 2.4GHz, 867 Mbps on 5GHz), dual-core 1GHz processor, 128MB RAM, Type-C power. WireGuard at up to 65 Mbps, OpenVPN at 12 Mbps.
At 145g and 118 × 85 × 30mm, it is slightly larger than the Beryl AX but still easily packable. The Gigabit Ethernet ports cover 99% of hotel Ethernet connections. If you are staying in business hotels where the Ethernet drops are standard Gigabit, the Opal’s WAN port is not a limiting factor.
The use case for the Opal is a traveler who wants hotel Ethernet aggregation and basic VPN without paying for WiFi 6. If your VPN provider’s servers are geographically close to your destination, 65 Mbps WireGuard is more than enough for a working connection. International VPN routing (e.g., tunneling to a US server from Southeast Asia) will see higher latency regardless, and the Opal handles that acceptably.
The trade-off versus the Beryl AX: noticeably lower VPN throughput, no WiFi 6, and USB 2.0 instead of 3.0. For most non-demanding use cases, none of those limitations matter in practice.
Check price at GL.iNet — $39.99
Beryl AX vs. Opal — which one to get
| Beryl AX (GL-MT3000) | Opal (GL-SFT1200) |
|---|
| Price | $98.99 | $39.99 |
| WiFi standard | WiFi 6 (AX3000) | WiFi 5 (AC1200) |
| WAN port | 2.5G multi-gigabit | Gigabit |
| WireGuard throughput | Up to 300 Mbps | Up to 65 Mbps |
| OpenVPN throughput | Up to 150 Mbps | Up to 12 Mbps |
| USB | 3.0 | 2.0 |
| Weight | Not listed (compact) | 145g |
Get the Beryl AX if:
- You use a VPN regularly and need full-speed throughput
- You stay in hotels or co-working spaces with high-speed Ethernet
- You connect more than 3–4 devices simultaneously
- Performance matters more than price
Get the Opal if:
- You want basic VPN and private networking without spending $100
- Your VPN use is light (browsing, email) rather than video streaming
- You are looking for the lowest-cost way into a GL.iNet setup
Setting up a GL.iNet travel router
Both routers use GL.iNet’s standard admin interface, which is the cleanest UI in the travel router category. Setup takes about five minutes at a new location:
- Plug the router’s WAN port into the hotel Ethernet port.
- Connect your device to the router’s WiFi (SSID and password are on the label).
- Go to 192.168.8.1 in a browser to reach the admin panel.
- If the hotel requires a captive portal login, the router will detect it and let you authenticate through the panel.
VPN configuration is in the admin panel under the VPN section. Most commercial VPN providers (Mullvad, ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, and 30+ others) have configuration files you can paste directly in. WireGuard is the recommended protocol on both routers — faster and more stable than OpenVPN in most travel scenarios.
FAQ
Can I use a GL.iNet router with hotel WiFi instead of Ethernet?
Yes. Both routers support “wireless repeater” mode where they connect upstream via WiFi rather than Ethernet. Performance is lower than wired because the router is handling both incoming and outgoing WiFi on the same radio, but it works. Useful in hotel rooms where the Ethernet drop is awkwardly placed.
Do I need to own a VPN subscription to use a GL.iNet router?
No. The router provides the private local network and the Ethernet aggregation (one login for all devices) without a VPN subscription. VPN is optional. That said, the VPN capability is one of the main reasons people buy these routers, and a WireGuard VPN on a fast server adds meaningful privacy on untrusted hotel WiFi.
What happened to the GL-AR750S-Ext?
It was discontinued by GL.iNet. The Beryl AX supersedes it in every meaningful spec category. If you bought an AR750S and it is still running, it will continue to work — GL.iNet maintains OpenWrt firmware updates for older models. But if you are shopping now, the AR750S is no longer available new from GL.iNet.
Is a travel router worth it if I only travel a few times a year?
For most occasional travelers, probably not. The primary use case is frequent business travel where hotel Ethernet quality varies and VPN access matters. If you travel a few times a year to leisure destinations with reliable WiFi and no strong VPN requirement, a travel router is a nice-to-have rather than a must-have.
The bottom line
The GL-AR750S-Ext earned its reputation, and its successor lineup from GL.iNet is better in every category. For most travelers, the Beryl AX at $98.99 is the router to buy — WiFi 6, a 2.5G WAN port, and WireGuard throughput that actually keeps up with modern hotel Ethernet speeds. The Opal at $39.99 is the right pick if your needs are light and you want to spend less.
Both run OpenWrt, both have GL.iNet’s clean admin interface, and both set up in five minutes at any hotel with Ethernet. The hard part of travel router ownership is remembering to bring it.
