Your security matters, and Slate 7 (GL-BE3600) makes it easy to stay safe & connected!
Secure Your Data β Encrypted connection protects you from cyber threats. Power Up Anywhere β Use the Type-C power interface & PD supply to connect to a power bank for ultimate portability. Private Network Access β Only trusted devices can connect for extra security.
Does GL.Inet has a lot of employees and techs? Another new router to support and make sure is bug free is spreading out the resources pretty thin I would think.
How is it going for the Beryl AX users that been dealing with severe bugs in 4.7.0 for over 2 months? Oh wait, they still haven't got a fix and had to downgrade. See the sticky topic on your own (sub) Reddit. The OP gave up after 2 months and took his loss and will never buy or recommend another Gl.Inet device again.
Spreading out resources so thin whilst continuously pumping out new products is an odd strategy.
Reminds me of the mini pc business. So many half broken and buggy models due to lack of BIOS fixes and updates and instead of fixing it these companies just release a new model. And somehow people keep buying it.
GG I guess!
Edit:
There are currently 29 supported routers on the website for sale. Excluding 4 that are marked as upcoming. Some firmwares and tooling might be shared but each unique h/w platform will have it's own unique bugs, quirks and things to deal with to support them. I think soon having over 30 routers to actively support is way too much given people with severe bug are already waiting 2+ months for fixes while they downgraded. It is just silly.
Edit 2:
Did some digging and it appears the company has less than 50 employees. There are even more products coming under a new brand called KATALYST (they write it in all caps). Which will also bring out wifi and 4g/5g routers.
KATALYST will debut with 5G and LTE fixed wireless access products and plans to expand into WiFi solutions and a broad range of business IT hardware products. Distribution partners are currently being added.
I really hope the plan isn't to churn out more and more products while never really fixing the "old" products. But it looks like it's going that way or already has been that way.
@SourMilk
I totally agree with your assessment of GL iNet having too many products and not enough engineers to support them.
GL iNet continually walks away from older routers, even ones as recent as the Slate Plus (A1300). This router, which was released after the Slate AX and is still being sold, has not received the 4.6 or 4.7 production firmware and isn't even listed for the upcoming 4.8 firmware, as shown on GL iNetβs own firmware page.
Let's not even talk about their poor 4.x support for the Mango and Shadow routers, two of their most popular products still on the market. GL iNet hasn't even bothered to release a 4.x user guide for them.
This trend of releasing numerous products without adequate support and updates is frustrating for loyal customers who have invested in GL iNetβs hardware. Itβs essential for GL iNet to streamline their product lineup and ensure proper firmware support and documentation for existing devices.
I do sort of agree with what some are saying. There are a lot of GL-iNet devices, but the factory firmwares are a bit all over the place.
Especially things like the little screen of the Slate 7 will possibly make it harder to get that supported in OpenWRT, if that device gets support for the Slate 7. If it does not, it is even more important that the GL-iNet firmware is kept in good working order.
Nevertheless, the Slate 7 looks to be a fairly cool device!
Hundreds, wow! Then it's even more impressive that a show stopping bug that has been known by Gl-Inet since last year has still not been fixed. Sticky post by Gl-Inet staff in the companies Reddit sub:
Hopefully the team will investigate and correct the bug soon.
That was on at the end of December, but the problem has been known to Gl-Inet for longer. When buying Gl-Inet routers keep in mind that if you run into bugs you might not see a fix for months and months. Or a fix at all. They tell you to just be patient and use an older (unstable/slower/insecure/etc) firmware until maybe one day they fix it. Soon β’
Actions speak louder than words and the simple fact this bug still has not been solved says it all.