Beta Firmware for New Features – Advanced network function realized by DPI

Routers
1

Hello everyone,

We are excited to announce the release of a new Beta firmware that brings powerful Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) capabilities to our router platform. Based on intelligent DPI traffic analysis, this firmware introduces three major features—Data Statistics, Content Protection, and QoS—along with VPN AmneziaWG obfuscation support and enhanced SQM (Smart Queue Management) functionality.

This Beta version is now open for community testing, and we sincerely invite you to try it out and share your feedback!

:white_check_mark: Key Features Included in This Beta

1. Data Statistics

A traffic insight dashboard that identifies and categorizes network usage by applications.

  • View real-time and historical traffic for up to 7 days

  • Time filter options: 1 hour / 1 day / 7 days

  • Detailed application-level statistics ranked by total usage

  • View how much traffic each device uses for each application

  • One-click block for any application

2. Content Protection

A smart online safety feature powered by DPI classification.

  • Automatically blocks harmful or malicious websites

  • Helps provide a clean and secure network environment

  • Supports custom rules for blocking specific apps, domains, or IP addresses

3. QoS (Quality of Service)

Optimizes bandwidth usage when the network is congested.

  • Prioritizes critical application traffic such as video calls and gaming

  • Reduces latency during limited bandwidth conditions

  • Improves overall network responsiveness

4. VPN Obfuscation (AmneziaWG)

Enhances traffic privacy during VPN transmission.

  • Option to enable Amnezia obfuscation when creating a VPN server

  • VPN Client supports Amnezia obfuscation, automatically identifies the profile and starts the standard or obfuscated program.

5. SQM (Smart Queue Management)

Included by default in this firmware.

  • Reduces bufferbloat and stabilizes latency

  • Automatically syncs configuration with the first SQM rule in LuCI

  • Includes global toggle and queue method selection

  • Enabled for all LAN devices by default

:warning: Usage Guide & Important Notes

  1. Disable “Network Acceleration” before use

    – This is required, otherwise DPI-related features may not work properly.

  2. Trial Period Notice

    – This Beta firmware includes a built-in DPI license valid until December 1, 2025.

    After the trial period ends, Data Statistics, Content Protection, and QoS features will cease to function.

  3. Beta firmware disclaimer

    – This is not the final release. Some features are still under development, and your feedback will help us improve performance and stability.

:bright_button: Questions And Answers

Q1: Will these features require a subscription fee?
A1: The features currently under testing will be free to use after their official release — no additional fees will be charged.

Q2: When will these features be available, and on which devices?
A2: After the testing phase, we plan to gradually roll out these features to more device models, depending on their hardware capabilities and performance.

Q3: What will happen after the current test period ends on December 1st?
A3: After December 1st, the DPI-related features will be temporarily disabled, while all other firmware functions will remain available.
We will continue to improve and optimize the DPI feature by fixing bugs and enhancing the user experience. A new firmware update will be released to extend the test period.
The official DPI feature will be launched together with the official SDK release, which is expected in Q2 2026.

:wrench: Availability

Please note that this is a limited user test. The beta firmware with the above features will initially be available on the following GL.iNet models. Beta firmware is now available for download. Please go to the firmware download page for your router model and download firmware v4.8.99 (under the BETA tab):

:speech_balloon: We Need Your Feedback!

Please help test this firmware and report:

  • Feature bugs or crashes

  • Incorrect app classification

  • UI/UX improvement suggestions

  • Performance feedback (CPU/memory usage, network speed impact, etc.)

Your feedback will directly shape the final release! :raising_hands:

We look forward to your comments and feedback!

— GL.iNet Software Teams

15 Likes
4

Amazing work and plenty of new features to dig into and test with great first impressions. Thank you to the developers. I am still in process of setting my Flint 2 up with this beta firmware and one thing that I have come across so far is a possible bug with repeater mode not connecting on reboot and not allowing me to change the switching mode as shown in screenshots:

Repeater2
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Allow Switch
Allow Switch1920×912 47.9 KB

Illegal
Illegal1920×912 66.2 KB

1 Like
5

Prior to allocating engineering resources to new feature development, it is critical to prioritize the stabilization of the core firmware for existing hardware, such as the Flint 3. A strategic focus on resolving outstanding bugs, squashing regressions, and improving overall reliability is a prerequisite for user confidence and a successful product lifecycle. Shipping a stable, fully-functional release should be the paramount engineering objective.

6 Likes
6

Features 1, 2 and 4 are likely to b e very useful for Brume 2 (GL-MT2500).

About AmneziaWG, what version is included? As far as I know from some reports here in the forum, AmneziaWG 1.0 is already detected by some countries, version 1.5 was a quick workaround and version 2.0 should be the best choice.

2 Likes
7

Surely the two can go hand in hand together, no?

2 Likes
8

In theory, yes. In practice, they compete for the same resources and focus. Trying to do both simultaneously means neither gets done properly. A 'stable core first' approach reduces long-term chaos and technical debt, making feature development faster and safer later. It's a strategic trade-off, not just a preference.

3 Likes
9

Will have to completely disagree on that one. I am delighted with this release and my initial setup without delving into all the detailed settings (dual wan with failover, always-on VPN client, VPN policies, Tailscale, Goodcloud, Control D DNS, IP reservations and DDNS) all seem to be working really smoothly so far apart from what I reported earlier with repeater mode. Early days still but very encouraging nevertheless.

2 Likes
10

I was pointing to Flint 3 issues, not Flint 2 …

1 Like
11

Have not tested the new features yet, but seems to work flawlessly for existing settings as expected on my flint 3 as same as prior 4.8.2 beta firmware, that’s good.

However when I first saw the ridiculously massive version bump before reading this announcement post, I’ve expected it could be an update for qsdk 13 and openwrt 24, but still on op23 that’s sad Xp

12

Damn, amazing features!

Will try them on my Flint 2 (and maybe 3, not sure yet)

13

Wow, awesome stuff. Thanks guys.

14

Careful when you start throwing the term “license” around, that usually indicates plans for paywalled features. It's a tough sell to ask people to test out firmware for you, but also tell them some features will stop working at the end of the year. Innovation is good, but this is a very amateurish way to go about it.

4 Likes
15

So if I test this firmware I would need to reinstall 4.8.3 December 1st?

16

After upgrading to FW v.4.8.99, the Flint 3 WiFi upload speed is weirdly slow (only 1xx Mb in 1Gb/1Gb PPPoE line), download is normal.

17

Thanks for including QoS! is it based on MTK HQOS by chance? Also, is this license something we will need to pay for in the future?

18

Out of curiosity, what version of opwrt and kernel? :thinking:

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1 Like
21

It does not reproduce in my Flint3 locally, please let us know more information:

  1. Which WiFi is the wireless client set to connect to? 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz, MLO?
  2. What kind of device is your wireless client? For computers, let us know the network card (NIC) model; for phones, let us know the phone model.
  3. Are all wireless clients experiencing slow DL speeds?
  4. What are the speeds of wired clients?