So, I updated my drop-in router (GL-BE9300) to 4.9.0. My main router is GL-AX1800 running 4.6.8. Drop-in is set up according to Drop-in Gateway - GL.iNet Router Docs 4 , but after the update the LAN range of BE9300 changed to subnet 192.168.60.1, the main is 192.168.6.1. Should the two routers have the same subnet (different ranges) or different subnets?
The instructions for non-GL routers suggest turning off DHCP on the main router, but not for GL (main) routers. This confuses me.
Hi
You can refer to the topology below, which illustrates the expected setup when the main router and the GL.iNet router operating in Drop-in Gateway mode use different LAN subnets.
In general, Drop-in Gateway mode is intended for scenarios where:
For your use case, it does not appear that Drop-in Gateway mode is necessary.
Could you clarify your requirements and your intended network setup so that we can provide more appropriate recommendations?
These are actually two different operating modes of Drop-in Gateway:
Disable DHCP on the main router and enable DHCP on the Drop-in Gateway.
In this mode, the Drop-in Gateway distributes its own WAN IP as the gateway address via DHCP, allowing it to take over traffic routing for all LAN devices connected to the main router.
Keep DHCP enabled on the main router and manually configure only a few devices to use the Drop-in Gateway's WAN IP as their gateway.
This approach is suitable when only a small number of devices need to use the VPN, DNS, AdGuard Home, or other services provided by the Drop-in Gateway, while all other devices continue to access the internet directly through the main router.
Whether the main router is a GL.iNet device or another brand is not relevant. The choice depends entirely on your intended use case.
Also, could you let us know where you saw that description? We may need to update the documentation to avoid misunderstandings.
My old Flint 1 (wifi turned off) has to remain the main router due to its physical proximity to a) ONT and b) wired devices attached to it, while Flint 3 serves as the wifi AP. The physical location of Flint 1 (basement) means it can’t effectively serve as the wifi AP. Moreover, the newer Flint 3 firmware offers network/wifi control that the older Flint 1 does not yet have. I would love to have only a single router, but this is not practical in my situation.
The description is in Step 3 (for GL.iNet routers) on Drop-in Gateway - GL.iNet Router Docs 4 . It does not indicate that DHCP on the main GL.iNet router should be switched off, only that Gateway should point to the drop-in router.
If the Flint 3 is only there because it is in the right place for Wi-Fi, I would not use Drop-in Gateway for that part. Use it more like an AP: main router keeps DHCP/routing, Flint 3 gets a LAN IP in the main subnet, and DHCP/NAT are off on the Flint 3 side. Different subnets make sense for a routed/drop-in gateway design; for one flat home LAN with wired devices plus Wi-Fi, same subnet is usually less surprising.
i’d agree, but it’s not just acting as an AP, it also handles VPN, Zerotier/Tailscale, AdGuard, … I suppose Flint 1 could do most of those functions too, not sure what the performance difference would be for WG tunneling.
Thank you for clarifying your use case.
In that scenario, Drop-in Gateway does seem like a reasonable choice.
Thank you as well for the explanation regarding the DHCP differences.
In Drop-in Gateway mode, if you want all devices to route their traffic through the Drop-in Gateway, the DHCP server must provide the Drop-in Gateway's WAN IP address as the default gateway. Therefore:
This is the reason for the difference in the documentation. Both approaches are valid and should work correctly.
