This is quick review of my favorite gadget purchase of 2023. The GL.iNet Beryl AX (GL-MT3000) Travel Router proves that big and amazing things can come in small packages. They need to work on that name though. It certainly doesn’t just roll off the tongue. This small router that fits in the palm of your hand allows you to do any number of router like things in order to get connected, stay connected, and stay safe while connected.
I started looking into travel routers early this past fall as my November/December schedule started firming up. Our family was expecting a new granddaughter. (Yay! She arrived and is gorgeous.) I had a work gig that was going to take me out of town the week before Christmas and for five weeks after that to direct The Lehman Trilogy at Playhouse on the Square in Memphis. That gig meant we had to do some of our many family holiday trips earlier in the month of December.
All of that combined meant some hotel stays and visits to relatives with large houses that don’t exactly have great WiFi coverage. Essentially I was looking for a way to piggyback on and extend WiFi reception in those destinations. Some of the travel would mean both my wife and I would be working at times from those various locations in addition to enjoying family time.
The GL.iNet Beryl AX (GL-MT3000) Travel Router filled that bill and more. Not only am I able to piggyback and extend WiFi when needed, but it provides built in VPN services that can help when you don’t exactly want to use hotel WiFi without some form of VPN protection.
In addition, it can combine an existing WiFi signal with a tethered connection to a smartphone to boost the signal even more. I’m not quite sure how they make that magic work, but they do. You can grab existing WiFi by plugging into a router or over the air. The connection can handle up to 70 devices. I don’t have that many, but when we’re traveling we have more than a few.
And as far as small packages go, the device is small enough to toss into your bag when you need to travel light. Once the show I’m working on moves into the theatre i’m looking forward to extending and boosting the signal of the public WiFi channel there where I work so I don’t have to log in to the networks we used for technical theatre operations.
I won’t get into all the technical ins and outs but I will say this is a bit fiddly to set up. But once you’re up and running it’s certainly a keeper for my kit. Here’s a link to a review from the Gadgeteer that goes into more detail if you’re interested.
All in all for a $100 purchase it’s already proven it’s value.
Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3 