Feature Suggestions for better experiences (Portable Router)

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1

Hello GL.iNet Team

I would like to submit some feature suggestions and bug reports for future firmware updates of portable routers, the Mudi 7, to improve the user experience.

  1. Native support for multiple virtual SSIDs per interface: Adding extra virtual wireless interfaces via the LuCI panel causes clutter in the management panel and adds the wireless interfaces to the main section. This means that enabling virtual networks causes the entire radio module to shut down and restart, binding to a new channel. Please add native GUI support to the GL.iNet management panel to manage multiple SSIDs per interface (breaking the current limitation of 1 2.4GHz + 1 5GHz per area), or at least provide a GUI for managing multiple interfaces.

  2. Repeater mode optimization: First, Wi-Fi scanning takes too long, approximately 10 to 20 seconds. The UI is blocked before the scan is complete. Sometimes, even refreshing the page only returns a cached list from a minute ago, even if the listed SSIDs are completely out of range. Secondly, for battery-powered travel routers, the device connects to a weak access point in the mesh network until the signal completely disappears, then takes up to a minute to reconnect to a stronger node. Even with bgscan enabled, roaming remains unstable, leading to frequent disconnections. Connection tests showed that smartphones connect to nearby networks in just a few seconds, while the router takes a minute. Furthermore, these routers have inadequate support for mesh Wi-Fi networks (e.g., in places like airplanes or cruise ships or an extensive area), failing to seamlessly switch between nodes like smartphones. Connecting the router to a smartphone requires turning on the phone's mobile hotspot and setting the connection type to Wi-Fi, which is cumbersome and the opposite of what is expected. Additionally, whenever the upstream network switches channels due to congestion, the router doesn't switch smoothly but disconnects, then takes a minute to reconnect. Please add comprehensive repeater support. While the product is advertised as portable and battery-powered, some features are unusable in terms of portability. Please indicate these limitations in the settings, as figuring them out yourself is frustrating.

  3. Built-in browser tools on touchscreen devices for accessing captive portals. When connecting to public Wi-Fi, another device (phone/laptop) is required to access the upstream portal and authenticate. Devices like the Mudi 7 or Slate 7 Pro have large enough touchscreens, so please add support to allow running a web viewer directly on the device to resolve the forced portal issue.

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3

Hi,

Thank you for taking the time to share these detailed suggestions and for explaining the practical usage scenarios behind them.

Regarding additional virtual SSIDs, the Mudi 7 hardware supports a maximum of two VAPs per radio. Therefore, it cannot support additional simultaneously active SSIDs beyond this limit.

We have recorded your other suggestions and will forward them to our product and R&D teams for further evaluation.

Thank you again for your feedback and support.

4

Thanks for the consideration, I’d also like to add for the repeater optimization to speed up the auto-reconnection process. I took several tests in cases where the Mudi 7 disconnects from the repeater Wi-Fi to connect to another network. It took 40 seconds in average, which is far too long, instead of the typical 5-10 seconds in consumer devices. Please improve this function too.