GL-SFT1200

If you’re looking for a portable router that packs a serious punch, the GL-iNet travel router is hard to beat. I personally use it to provide router-level VPN across all devices in my home, including smart TVs and other networked devices, and it works flawlessly. Setup is quick and straightforward. Power it on, connect via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, and enter the router’s IP in your browser. The admin panel is extremely intuitive, making it easy to configure VPN settings, connect to networks, manage devices, or adjust firewall and port options. Even complex routing setups are simple to manage thanks to the clear interface and helpful documentation. The router supports both OpenVPN and WireGuard, but from my experience its real strength is getting full network-level VPN without having to configure individual devices. The physical VPN switch on the side is a clever feature, letting you toggle the VPN on or off instantly. And if I need to travel, it’s incredibly convenient—compact and foldable enough to carry in a bag. I can take it abroad and set it up in hotels or other networks to create my own secure Wi-Fi, piggybacking off the existing router or Ethernet connections. This makes accessing a safe VPN on all my devices easy, even when away from home. Overall, this is a small, portable router that delivers full-featured, router-level VPN at home, with an incredibly user-friendly admin panel, strong Wi-Fi, and excellent support. For the price, it’s hard to find a better option. Highly recommended.

The Bottom Line: If you travel internationally or just hate annoying hotel login pages, this tiny box is a must-have. It’s small, fast, and makes public networks actually secure. Why it’s a travel essential: International Reliable: I’ve used this across France and Wales with zero connectivity issues. It handles different network types like a pro. VPN Champ: The standout feature. I set it up to tunnel back to my home network—perfect for keeping my data private and accessing my home streaming services while abroad. Pocket-Sized: It’s barely larger than a pack of cards. It fits in my tech pouch without a second thought. USB-C Powered: I’ve even run it off a power bank when a wall socket wasn't handy. The Real-World Experience: The setup is intuitive. Instead of connecting five different devices to a new Wi-Fi every time I move locations, I just connect the Opal to the local network, and all my gear stays connected to the router. It saves so much time. The Verdict: A game-changer for digital nomads or anyone visiting family abroad. It’s significantly more stable and secure than using a phone hotspot.

This won’t be everyone’s use case, but someone out there will be in the same boat. I picked up the Opal not for travelling, but to spin up a NAT’d guest network at home. My main network is basically a home-lab ecosystem, and the last thing I want is visitors connecting their random devices directly to it. The Opal gives them a normal, no-nonsense Wi-Fi experience without me having to collect MAC addresses or fight with whitelists. Setup was straightforward. I put it on its own subnet, plugged the WAN port into my main network, and it was up. At first it treated my LAN like the public internet, but the router is way more configurable than its price suggests. You can SSH into it, tweak IPTables, block inter-subnet access, and even enable an advanced control panel module straight from the web interface. It’s essentially a cut-down Linux box with a friendly skin on top. A genuinely nice touch is the hardware switch for its VPN client. The router can connect to a VPN server and push all guest traffic through it, and you can toggle this on and off on the side of the unit. Useful in the UK, where half the internet wants you to upload your passport for reasons unknown. The one real snag was OpenVPN performance. Without tunnelling, I was getting around 250 Mbps on 5 GHz. The moment OpenVPN client was enabled, speeds dropped to single digits, around 5–7 Mbps. It’s not the router’s fault; OpenVPN is single-threaded and the Opal’s CPU just doesn’t have the grunt for heavy crypto. It routes traffic fine, but encrypting it is another matter. WireGuard was the fix. After spinning up a WireGuard server remotely, the Opal managed around 50–60 Mbps through the tunnel, which is more than enough for guests to browse and stream. I suspect the higher-end GL.iNet models would perform better here simply because of the upgraded CPUs. Overall, I’m happy with it. It’s a small, cheap, surprisingly capable router that’s perfect for experiments, side networks, labs, and guest isolation. If that’s your type of setup, it’ll probably slot in nicely.

I use this while away in my caravan. It allows me to hook up to the site wifi and then all my devices connect to the router. So your phones always connect at new sites to the router and you don't end up entering passwords multiple times ! Just the once for the router. Some sites my phone didn't even see the site wifi but my router could with its better aerials. So wifi all round . Provides better security for you connect ted devices and you can also use VPN if you have one for enhanced security. This little device has been a god send, phone TV and laptop all connected and this also gets round some sites only allowing one device / connection. Always streamed sports and movies without issues. Only downside for me was lack of USB 3 but that's just me. Highly recommended as: Good signal Good security Easy to setup and connect Small footprint. Not expensive Reasonable speed.

I am quite pleased with the product. Compact enough size for travel. Works great with almost any type of usb power source. Easy to set up, with a lot of features. The VPN functionality is especially straightforward.

Very easy to setup, proton vpn is not one of the default Von though, so you need to the proton website and download a configuration file, then upload it to the router, and you'll be ready to go

I recently purchased the GL.iNet GL-SFT1200 (Opal) Secure Travel WiFi Router for my travels, and it has exceeded my expectations. This compact router is packed with features that make it ideal for anyone needing reliable internet access on the go. The AC1200 dual-band WiFi provides fast and stable connections, and I appreciate the gigabit Ethernet ports for wired connections when I need them. One of the most convenient features is the ability to purchase a single WiFi access (such as in a hotel or airport) and share it securely with multiple devices via the router. This is a huge time-saver, especially when you’re dealing with limited access or want to avoid connecting several devices directly to a public network. The router creates a private, secure connection for all your devices, so you don't have to worry about security issues on shared WiFi networks. The security features are a standout, offering secure connections even on public networks. It's easy to set up in Repeater, Bridge, or Access Point modes, providing flexibility depending on the situation. The 128MB RAM ensures smooth performance, even when multiple devices are connected. I’ve found it especially useful in hotel rooms where WiFi is spotty, allowing me to create a personal, secure network with ease. The MU-MIMO support is also a nice touch, ensuring that multiple devices get good bandwidth without interference. The GL.iNet GL-SFT1200 (Opal) is a powerful and secure travel router that makes it easy to stay connected wherever I am. Highly recommended for frequent travelers!

Ik heb het kort getest, want ik krijg het pas met kerst. Maar ziet er heel goed uit. Ik wil op vakantieverblijf gebruiken om meerdere apparaten over een wireguard tunnel naar mijn thuis internet verbinding te laten lopen. Mijn internetverbinding thuis is niet de snelste, dus deze goedkope variant is voor mij snel genoeg, en goedkoper dan een zelfgebouwde op basis van een raspberry pi. En deze werkt meteen.

Good product Delivery is good Item is good and doing what is expected