Hello, I'm new to this community and have a few questions regarding the GL.iNet GL-MT6000.
I’ve been considering purchasing this device, but before making my final decision, I wanted to ask a few things:
Power Consumption: How Efficient Is the Flint 2?
What is the actual power consumption of the Flint 2 under regular usage? Does it really stay under 20W, as advertised?
How efficient is the Flint 2 in terms of energy savings? Are there any settings or adjustments that could help reduce power usage without compromising performance?
Access Point Mode: How Well Does It Perform?
How well does the Flint 2 perform in Access Point (AP) mode? Can it handle multiple SSIDs and devices smoothly without overheating or performance drops?
If using OpenWrt on the Flint 2, how does it compare to the GL.iNet firmware in AP mode? Are there any limitations when using OpenWrt, or is the device fully functional with it?
OpenWrt vs. GL.iNet Firmware: Which One Should I Use?
How flexible is the Flint 2 when using OpenWrt compared to the GL.iNet firmware? Are there any features in the GL.iNet firmware that might be missing or more difficult to set up in OpenWrt?
Flint 3: Is It Worth Waiting for the Next Version?
Will the Flint 2 still be a good option, or are there significant upgrades expected in the next version?
User Experiences: What Do You Guys Think of the Flint 2?
How do you guys feel about the Flint 2’s overall performance? Are there any recurring issues or standout features that make the device a hit or miss?
Flint 2 Dynamic VLAN Assignment:
Does the Flint 2 GL.iNet GL-MT6000 support 802.1X Dynamic VLAN Assignment with RADIUS / FreeRADIUS? If yes, is this feature only available when using the GL.iNet firmware, or does it also work when using OpenWrt alone?
Thanks for the reply i hoppe the ap mode works good cause i wanted to put it behind my opnsense box cause i saw it cost the same amount like my other ap and i wanted to try somthing new
Yes, but have you seen all the intractable problems with the WiFi reliability and the chronic issues posted here on almost daily basis relating to the WiFi on this router? It is only worth it as a router but completely useless as a wireless access point in my opinion. Mine has only been useable (I am quite a heavy user with multiple wireless clients scattered all over) by making it work as my main router with wireless off and connected to TP-Link Deco mesh or to a Unifi APs kit for the wireless functionality.
Oh, sad , I didn’t know that many users have problems with the WiFi reliability. Is it that it disconnects clients randomly, or are there also issues with speeds, or other problems?
Could I also ask, since you mentioned you are a quite heavy user with multiple wireless clients scattered all over, how many SSIDs and clients do you have roughly? I’m just curious because I only wanted to use it for a relatively small number of clients—around 8 to 15 running simultaneously at most.
It would be helpful to know if the issues arise more with larger networks or if the device struggles even with smaller setups.
Unfortunately, problems are encountered with all of the above. There is longstanding and an ongoing debate here about whether stable firmware with closed source wifi driver or the experimental versions with the open source one are better. In my own experience, both are terrible for the wifi functionality but the experimental firmware (OP24) has been much more stable otherwise.
These routers would only allow a single SSID per band as well as another SSID per Guest WiFi per band (i.e. max of 4 different SSID). My wireless is turned off as stated earlier (BTW, I am still to find a way to actually turn the WiFi radio completely off on the Flint2, something that has not been possible to do so far). I currently have about 70 wireless clients and about 20 wired ones connected to the Flint2 via a TP-Link Deco BE65 in AP mode (only went for this higher-end and more expensive one rather than a more affordable version as it is triband with no facility for me to utilise wired backhaul). The size of the network does not appear to have much bearing on the reliability issues reported with these routers as far as I know.
That’s not a problem for me since I’m planning to use only 4 SSIDs.
Do you mean that even when you turn off the wireless, the router still sends out the SSID, or how should I understand that? Sorry, my English isn't very good.
Your English is perfect and it's my explanation that's bad. When you turn the wireless off on the router, it turns off the SSID (I am unsure as to whether it just hides it or remove the ability to connect to it altogether as I haven't tried that). The WiFi radio continues to beam its signal regardless, causing potential interference with other WiFi in the area and I have not been able to turn the beacon off completely.
Are you able to easily return it after purchase where you are if it doesn't work well for you? If so, I cannot see much harm in giving it a try as long as it can be returned if not fit for your purpose.
That's weird. I've never seen a device act like this. Are you using an older firmware? (Even if you are, it shouldn't act like that. If you want, I can buy one and test it to see if I have the same problem.)
Yeah i think I can return it easily. I think I'll give it a try and hope it works. If I encounter these problems, I'll make a new post, or if I find some fixes, I'll share them
I've been using the Flint 2 as my main router for months, and so far, I'm very happy with it.
Everything works fine, including the Wi-Fi. So far, no disconnecting problems or other related Wi-Fi issues (but other people seem to had problems with this).
The wireless speed is actually amazing. I get almost 1Gb download and upload from my PC while on a wireless connection (I have a symmetric 1Gb ISP connection) in my office, about 10 meters away.
My previous 200€ ASUS router could not do that.
This is not completely true.
You can create as many as you want with the advanced mode, LuCI. It's a more complex process, but there is plenty of documentation on how to do it.
It is true that you only have 4 SSIDs if you are only using the GL.iNet GUI, but many features are available in LuCI.
There is how you can do it while using SSH (a response from a GL.iNet Staff):
I think the device was built to handle networking to some degree.
The extra storage helps a lot.
If the OP want's a full feature router distro then they ought to install OpenWRT and then use all the features it has. (knowing the few drawbacks and how to unbrick it)
That is very strange behavior, but might explain some strange things I noticed when I was experimenting with using a TP Link EAP670 AP with my MT6000 - I turned off Wi-Fi in Flint 2 gui but EAP670 radio scan showed unknown signals I thought were from a neighbor’s router. In the end I found the Flint 2’s signal more than adequate for my needs (5GHz working well outside my house in my yard), getting nearly full 400Mbs download (which is my Xfinity plan speed) over 70 feet away through walls etc. Previously I needed to fall back to 2.4GHz channel to get good signal at that range. So I abandoned the idea of using a separate AP because my Flint 2 works so well.
Only on my first week, but so far no issues and no signal dropping. Very satisfied
EDIT - although I live in a rural area and can use 160 MHz channel width, I stay on 80 MHz because I think it’s more reliable at distance and my 400 Mbs plan doesn’t require 160 MHz Wi-Fi.
EDIT 2 - for a time, I considered setting up an Opnsense box with an AP…. But my home network isn’t that complicated and the Flint 2 offers all the functionality I need with minimal complexity. The AdGuard Home plugin seems to reduce a lot of junk. The WireGuard vpn has proven to be both fast and reliable, handling my SDR server with ease. Sometimes less is more ;-). Certainly, less electricity usage is nicer.
I’ve only had my Flint 2 for a few days, but here are some initial impressions:
1 - Seems very power efficient. I don’t doubt the specs and would guess less than 20w under load.
3 - I’ve been experimenting with Opnsense and have found the GL gui to provide easy access to the basics. Openwrt is available through Luci on its own webpage if you need more detailed control. I use both depending what I need to do.
4 - There aren’t many Wi-Fi 7 consumer products yet, so unless you are bleeding edge there’s not much benefit. Not to mention that any new router will have growing pains and you will be the Guinea Pig. Better to let others do the beta testing if you can.
So far, I’ve been very impressed by my Flint 2 and have abandoned plans to build my own router based on Opnsense because the MT6000 does everything I need. The Openwrt foundation provides a lot of flexibility if you need it. I haven’t run into any critical issues and performance has been much better than the TP Linl AX55 it replaced.
, I didn’t know that many users have problems with the WiFi reliability. Is it that it disconnects clients randomly, or are there also issues with speeds, or other problems?
