Hands on Review: GL.iNet GL-MT300N-V2 Mango Travel Router!

Travel routers are generally small devices that allow you to create a small Wi-Fi network.

The problem with traditional Wi-Fi routers is that they don’t know how to handle “captive networks”. Captive networks are networks that require you to log in before you can access the internet. Many publicly available WiFi networks are considered captive networks. That includes most hotels and cruise ships.

Travel routers are (or at least should be) designed to handle captive networks. You basically log in to the router through a web browser and then log into the captive network using the router’s settings.

This in an in depth look at the GL.iNet GL-MT300N-V2 Mango Travel Router including setup, speed trials and real world use during travel

Unboxing GL-MT300N-V2 Mango Travel Router

Front of the box – Travel Friendly, Flexible Power Supply, Powerful Hardware, Open Source Platform

Back of the box. This actually has some really useful information on it including 3 steps to setup the router.

Side of the box. VPN (this router can work with VPN services like NordVPN and others), max 300 Mbps Wi-Fi, Compact

Out of the box. This comes with the router, a USB power cable, a network cable (not needed for bridging a Wi-Fi connection) and a getting started guide.

Top down view of the router

Check Current Price, Specs and Availability:

What are Other’s Saying? Search this product’s Amazon reviews for “cruise” – may include reviews for other sizes or variations

GL.iNet GL-MT300N-V2(Mango) Portable Mini Travel Wireless Pocket VPN WiFi Router – Access Point/Extender/WDS | OpenWrt | 2 x Ethernet Ports | OpenVPN/Wireguard VPN | USB 2.0 | 128MB RAM – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link

Also, sometimes available as renewed: GL.iNet GL-MT300N-V2(Mango) Portable Mini Travel Wireless Pocket VPN Router – WiFi Router/Access Point/Extender/WDS | OpenWrt | 2 x Ethernet Ports | OpenVPN/Wireguard VPN | USB 2.0 Port (Renewed) – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link

Size comparison, onboard GL.iNet GL-MT300N-V2(Mango) next to GL.iNet GL-MT3000 (Beryl AX) – Hands on Review

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Related: Setting Up Your Own Wireless WiFi Hotspot on Your Next Cruise!

Hands on Review GL-MT300N-V2 Mango Travel Router

I’m not sure if this is the back or the front. USB port, reset button, what appears to be an exhaust vent

This appears to be another airflow vent for cooling

This side has two network ports, one for WAN and one for LAN and the power port. Again, the WAN will not be needed if you’re connecting to a wireless network.

Bottom of the router. Some identifying information has been redacted. My SSID and key are visible. If we happen to run into each other and you find my network… go for it. 🙂

Size comparison next to GL.iNet GL-MT3000 (Beryl AX) – Hands on Review

For size reference next to a bottle of Sun Bum sunscreen (my standard size reference item on Cruise Packing List)

Setting Up The GL-MT300N-V2 Mango Travel Router

After powering on the device I connected to it via WiFi and then used a web browser to navigate to the admin page. Mine was at 192.168.8.1.

Setting an Admin password

The Internet Screen after logging in the first time. As you can see the device is not connected to the Internet.

I clicked “Repeater” and was presented with this screen. In repeater mode the access point gets internet from another WiFi network. It then shares that connection to other clients.

As you can see I’m connected to the internet now. I have my own little network. The name of my host Wi-Fi network has been redacted in this screenshot.

IMPORTANT: UPDATE FIRMWARE! After setting up the router one of the most important steps you should complete is to update the firmware. This is an easy process and important. Updated firmware contains security and bug fixes.

As an added layer of security this router can with VPN services like NordVPN and others

The scheduled tasks tab allows you to schedule the front LED light, schedule a regular rebook and schedule availability of your WiFi network.

The overview page gives some good information about usage and uptime

Speedtest #1

I think speed tests are to be taken with a grain of salt. Point in time measurements are dependent on a lot of things. Overall trends are however important. This is a speed test from a PC connected to the GL-MT300N-V2 Mango Travel Router.

Using the GL-MT300N-V2 Mango Travel Router onboard Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas

Here’s the box on the desk in our stateroom

This is the type c adapter. Using this adapter means I don’t use a precious 110/3 prong adapter. Related: Cruise Ship Power Solutions – Making Use of the 220 Volt Cabin Outlet On Your Next Cruise.

Here it is plugged in and ready to go

Flipping the router over to get the password and connecting to my network GL-MT300N-V2-28a

After connecting to the network I opened my browser and went to the travel router’s IP address 192.168.8.1 so I can connect to the ship’s “captive” Wi-Fi network.

Of course it doesn’t have an internet connection because my home WiFi is a little too far away at the moment 🙂

Clicking on the “switch network” button in the “repeater” section of the page allows me to select a new network.

I chose WiFi-Guest-Odyssey to connect the GL-MT300N-V2 Mango Travel Router to the ship’s Wi-Fi.

Here’s the magic… this page popped up right away after connecting the GL-MT300N-V2 Mango Travel Router to ship’s WiFi.

This is that mechanism in action

Logging in to my (previously purchased) Wi-Fi package

Whammo! I’m connected to the internet via my GL-MT300N-V2 Mango Travel Router that is using ships Wi-Fi.

Speedtest #2

This test is using my iPhone connected directly to ship’s WiFi

Connected to ship’s WiFi I got 9.27 megabits down and 3.80 megabits up. As you can see this ship uses SpaceX Starlink

This test is connected to the GL-MT300N-V2 Mango Travel Router network (which is in turn connected to ship’s WiFi).

Connected to the GL-MT300N-V2 Mango Travel Router network I got 11.1 megabits down and 3.75 megabits up. This is actually FASTER than directly connecting to the ship’s WiFi network and faster than my speed test using the more expensive and larger GL.iNet GL-MT3000 (Beryl AX) – Hands on Review. Having said that, recall what I said previously… I think speed tests are to be taken with a grain of salt. Point in time measurements are dependent on a lot of things. Overall trends are however important.

GL-MT300N-V2 or GL-MT3000?

I also have the GL.iNet GL-MT3000 (Beryl AX) – Hands on Review. That is larger, generally more expensive, faster and more feature filled. It also is powered by USB-C (vs micro USB C for the MT300N-2). Although the MT3000 is theoretically faster at hotel and cruise ship internet speeds… does it matter? As I’ve shown here the MT300N-2 actually outperformed the MT3000 in onboard speed tests (take those with a grain of salt). I think they’re both great options and it probably comes down to size. If you’re looking for something ultra portable go with the MT300N-V2 if you have a little more room in your bag the MT3000 is a great choice.

Conclusions

This is a great travel router. It’s easy to use, compact and I’m happy with it’s performance and features. I’ve found this size on the GL-MT300N-V2 Mango Travel Router is great. About the same size as a deck of cards. I’ll be trying this with NordVPN soon, so keep an eye out for that update.

Check Current Price, Specs and Availability:

What are Other’s Saying? Search this product’s Amazon reviews for “cruise” – may include reviews for other sizes or variations

Related: Hands on Review: GL.iNet GL-MT3000 Beryl AX Travel Router!

GL.iNet GL-MT3000 (Beryl AX) – Hands on Review

GL.iNet GL-MT3000 (Beryl AX) Pocket-Sized Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Travel Gigabit Router | WiFi Router | OpenVPN, Wireguard, Connect to Public & Hotel Wi-Fi login Page – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link

For lots more about what you should pack for your next cruise check out our complete packing list.

Related: Setting Up Your Own Wireless WiFi Hotspot on Your Next Cruise!

Setting Up Your Own Wireless WiFi Hotspot on Your Next Cruise!

Related: Using Your Cell Phone Onboard with WiFi Calling!

wifi calling and cruise ships My iPhone with Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas Royal Promenade int eh Background. See “VZW Wi-Fi”

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