My First Travel Router (GL-MT1300 Beryl)

Technical Support for Routers
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Hi,

I just bought my first travel router GL.iNET Beryl. I have knowledge on home router setup but would like to know the best setup for a travel router. I can probably figure out the technical setup but I would like to understand the overall conceptual part which I have read some on WireGuard already

First, is OpenVPN or WireGuard required and without it, is the router still secure enough for usage during travel such as credit card, banking, etc…? What is the overall purposes of OpenVPN or WireGuard beside the masking of my location? What is TOR?

If OpenVPN or WireGuard is recommended, I saw on youtube that a file is needed and upload to the router. Please confirm.

Second, how does the flow work for a travel router. When I get to a hotel, do I connect to the hotel WIFI from this page (192.168.8.1)? Can I do it from the GL.iNet phone app if I don’t have a laptop?

Third, which Android app should I download to control this GL.iNET Beryl router?

Thanks

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Hi,

First, is OpenVPN or WireGuard required and without it, is the router still secure enough for usage during travel such as credit card, banking, etc…? What is the overall purposes of OpenVPN or WireGuard beside the masking of my location? What is TOR?

If OpenVPN or WireGuard is recommended, I saw on youtube that a file is needed and upload to the router. Please confirm.

You don’t need to run a VPN. Connecting your Beryl to a public WiFi will create a firewalled connection between you and the public WiFi with a different subnet. Therefore traffic not destined for you will not traverse the firewall. Devices attached to you Beryl, will not be seen by devices on the public WiFi. As long as you ensure that you are using HTTPS sites then there is still security for your banking etc.

A VPN will further protect you by encrypting all the data that you send out on the network. It can also be used to appear as if you’re in a different location ( state or country). TOR is really just another VPN.

You subscribe to or create a VPN service and then you need a “client” configuration file that is uploaded to the router. You’re best of subscribing to a VPN provider that allows you to use Wireguard as this is a much more efficient (and hence faster) protocol.

See here for VPN setup instructions.

Second, how does the flow work for a travel router. When I get to a hotel, do I connect to the hotel WIFI from this page (192.168.8.1)? Can I do it from the GL.iNet phone app if I don’t have a laptop?

Correct. You can either go to the web interface or use the app.

Third, which Android app should I download to control this GL.iNET Beryl router?

There’s two at the moment, a green one and a blue one. You want the blue one.

Have a look here for general setup instructions.

Thanks

3 Likes
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Limbot,

I am still debating if it is necessary to get VPN. But lets say if I do, how do I know if a VPN allows me to use WireGuard? Is WireGuard a technology? https://www.wireguard.com

Would NordVPN have WireGuard? What VPN do you use if you don’t mind sharing and pointing me in the right direction?

I know having both VPN and this travel router will be the ultimate security but can you help me understand if you have to pick one or the other, which one would be more secure for banking, credit card, etc…?

Which one would be better in performance? This router’s performance would be based on the WIFI. Whereas the VPN would be based on the company’s server?

Thanks Limbot

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Also Limbot,

Which app are you referring to? Thanks

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=xyz.goodcloud.glinetapp

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IMG_20220303_193000
IMG_20220303_1930001080×2340 172 KB

(Second one in your pictures)

I am still debating if it is necessary to get VPN. But lets say if I do, how do I know if a VPN allows me to use WireGuard? Is WireGuard a technology? https://www.wireguard.com

Most providers will have somewhere on their site if they support. Have a look at this thread here for some of the ones that gl.inet users use. Yes Wireguard is a VPN protocol and is much more efficient (and hence faster ) than previous VPN protocols like OpenVPN, IPSec

Would NordVPN have WireGuard? What VPN do you use if you don’t mind sharing and pointing me in the right direction?

Nord doesn’t officially support Wireguard on OpenWRT routers, but there’s a “workaround” that you can find here.. The VPN provider I use might not be the right provider for you. Firstly geographically I’m in Australia, and performance to another country will be very different potentially from where you live (e.g. a USA VPN server will be much slower for me in Australia, than if you live in the USA already). What are your requirement? Is it to just have a VPN for security or do you want to bypass geographical restrictions to stream movies? It is kind of hard to make a recommendation without knowing a few more of your requirements and circumstances

I know having both VPN and this travel router will be the ultimate security but can you help me understand if you have to pick one or the other, which one would be more secure for banking, credit card, etc…?

For hotels, coffee shops, libraries etc, being fired walled off from the rest of the public network is more important to me. Ensuring HTTPS sites will be safe for banking etc.

Which one would be better in performance? This router’s performance would be based on the WIFI. Whereas the VPN would be based on the company’s server?

Performance across the board will have many factors that affect; WiFi speeds and signal (of both the gl.inet router and your source signal), processor power of your gl.inet router (especially if you run a VPN), internet performance, number of hops to VPN server, VPN servers speed/power… Using a VPN does have some overhead (even Wireguard), so you will lose some speed when your VPN is enabled

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You are pretty awesome Limbot. :+1: :+1: Thank you for taking the time to reply mate!!! :+1: :+1:

I had lots of questions between VPN and this GL-MT1300 Beryl router. But you provided all of the answers and more (in so much valuable details) to my questions.

I am mostly interested in security for Banking, Credit Card, etc… You helped me to make the informed decision that the router without the VPN is good enough for me. Yes, I will make sure the sites are HTTPs.

For hotels, coffee shops, libraries etc, being fired walled off from the rest of the public network is more important to me. Ensuring HTTPS sites will be safe for banking etc.

Also, the convenience of having all devices going off of the router is another benefit.

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Limbot,

I was able to get both the Cable and Repeater to work without the installation of the APP. I was able to update the firmware as well.

Cable:
I connected an ethernet cable from the cable modem to the WAN of the GL.iNet Beryl router. I then configured everything in a browser (192.168.8.1) just like a regular router.

BTW… Do I need to do anything in the Firewall Tab or can I keep it as default?

Repeater:
Once I selected the GL.iNet Beryl router as the WIFI in the android phone, I can click on the settings and “Manage Router” which will take me to a browser (192.168.8.1) in the phone.

Notice… SSID of the WIFI has to be visible. Otherwise it will not work. Initially, it did not work for me because my main router’s SSIDs are hidden. As soon as I made it visible, it worked fine.

Questions:
If I can control the router from the browser in a phone, why would I need the APP? Is the APP similar to what can be done in the browser (192.168.8.1)?

I installed the APP but I did not understand how to use it (group, cloud, bind, etc…). Can you give me a brief understanding of how to use the APP because I really would like to understand this.

Thank You

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The glinet App is just another option for users who prefer an smartphone app UI, which is optimized for a small screen. Personally, I only use the web browser UI on a PC and have not installed the app on my phone.

You can leave the Firewall settings as default, which are the safest, unless there is something special you want to do.

I do not work for and I do not have formal association with GL.iNet

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You don’t need to use the app, as @wcs2228 says, it’s just a different means of managing your router and most other consumer vendors use an app these days so it kind of keeps some status quo with other players in the market.

That being said some of the advantages of the the app are:

  1. Need it to setup a mesh on the B2200/Velica
  2. If you have multiple routers in remote areas you can manage them via remote access like you can on Goodcloud (web based), which is handy for many people (e.g. I can check/basic manage the router in my wifes office if she has issues).
  3. The app interface means you can manage on your phone while the web based Goodcloud is a web based app so may not present well on some devices.

Locally I the web interface and remotely “managed” another 3-4 routers with family :).

Horses for courses.

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Thanks wcs2228 and Limbot.

I tried to get the app to work but could not get it to bind my router to the GoodCloud. I will continue to play with it. I am happy at least I got this to work before my trip.

I am surprise the good performance of speed in REPEATER mode, testing through SpeedTest.Net.