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Reddit Reviews
Get a used Wi-Fi 6 WAX206 for under $60 and install OpenWrt. The original GL.inet Flint 1 is also good for cheap. You get indefinite updates and similar (if not better) security and performance than stock firmware. Doesn’t require any hacking or tinkering
Seconding flint 2 as well. It would have been my go to if I had to just buy a consumer grade router. But I have opnsense on a dedicated box so it was overkill for me and I got a Cudy WR3000H and put openwrt on it and turned into alll in one managed switch with VLAN aware SSIDS
The Flint 3 doesn't support vanilla OpenWRT. Only the Flint 2 does, which in a lot of ways, is better anyway. It's a fantastic router.
I use a Flint 2 from GL-iNet and I'm really happy with it. I don't have any major needs. Has anyone used it and found it good? Do you have any advice to leave?
I gave up on doing anything but letting devices pick when to roam years ago. Same SSID, lets the device pick when it should switch APs. I run on overlapping channels because devices will roam more willingly and bandwidth contention is not a factor I have to consider. The better the WiFi AP the better the overall experience, due to things like MIMO and beamforming. Unless the dedicated AP has better hardware than the Flint 2, there is little downside to just turning off DHCP on a second flint(and changing its LAN IP). That said, WiFi 6e/7 is getting very prevalent, and the 6GHz spectrum is really nice to have. Half my devices are 6GHz capable, so they sit on that 160MHz non-DFS channel which is faster than my internet connection.
You could just download the WireGuard config files onto each of your devices instead. If it's just for home use, you can probably just ditch your ISP router and get a Flint 2 or 3.
Firestick should support VPN apps with killswitch. I have Surfshark VPN on it. If that's what you're using it for, test it out to see if it meets your requirements. I saw your other comment about routing certain devices through the VPN, I believe the 4.8 firmware allows you to choose either a Global setting (All devices route through VPN) or Policy based (You can choose which devices can use it or not). If you have any WiFi 7 devices, go with the Flint 3. If not, the Flint 2 would still do everything you'd want it to do.
GLi Flint 2. It'll do all that. Plus more. $120. I replaced an Asus RT AX86 U Pro with a Flint 2. I then learned you don't need to spend a lot to get a good router.
Ubiquiti if you can swing the cost, if you need a good budget option look into GL-iNet Flint 2 or 3, they're more budget friendly but offer a lot of the same features, they're also running on openwrt.
What u/leviathan_dev said but get a GL-iNet Flint 2, much better than TP-Link garbage, and lots cheaper with almost all of the features of the Ubiquiti hardware. Unless you're super techy Ubiquiti is overkill and a waste of money over something like the GL-iNet products. I love my Ubiquiti gear but for a general consumer it's not always the best choice.
For a non tech person, as much as I love and recommend Ubiquiti hardware, I would probably recommend a GL-iNet Flint 2 or Flint 3. They have all of the more advanced security features, but are less expensive and have a more consumer friendly UI. The biggest limitation is they don't have any dedicated Access Points so depending on the size and construction of the area you want to cover there may be coverage issues. You can buy another one and put it in AP mode though so there are work arounds.
Go with GL-iNet Flint 2 or Flint 3 instead, much better product.
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