GL.iNet Slate 7 (GL-BE3600) is yet another travel router from the company, but it adopts the latest WiFi 7 standard with combined link speed of up to 3600 Mbps. The Slate 7 router supports both OpenVPN up to 100 Mbps and WireGuard up to 540 Mbps, and integrates with over 30 VPN services. The WiFi 7 router is relatively affordable starting at just $96 for pre-orders, but that’s limited to the first 800 orders, and after that the price goes up to $102 for the next 1,000 pieces, and the retail price will be $120 after that. Orders are limited to one per customer for the first two offers, and 10 per customer at the $120 price tag during the pre-order period. Deliveries are scheduled to start at the end of April / beginning of May. GL.iNet Slate 7 (GL-BE3600) specifications: SoC – Qualcomm quad-core @ 1.1GHz (Likely the IPQ5322, […]
Qualcomm X85 5G modem powers 12.5Gbps Dragonwing Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Gen4 Elite platform
As Mobile World Congress 2025 has just started, Qualcomm has announced the X85 5G modem with up to 12.5 Gbps peak download speed, 3.7 Gbps uploads and targeting a wide range of applications from Android smartphones to PCs, FWA routers, industrial applications with Ethernet TSN, or even railways with support for FRMCS (Future Railway Mobile Communication System) in Europe. The company also introduced the Dragonwing Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Gen 4 Elite platform based on the Qualcomm X85 5G modem, a quad-core processor, GNSS, tri-band Wi-Fi 7, and network Edge AI coprocessor with up to 40 TOPS of NPU processing power. Qualcomm X85 5G modem Qualcomm X85 5G Modem-RF System specifications: Peak Download Speed – 12.5 Gbps (FR1 + FR2), 10.3 Gbps Peak Upload Speed – 3.7 Gbps Cellular Modem-RF – 10CC aggregation in mmWave, 6CC aggregation in 5G sub 6GHz, 400 MHz carrier aggregation (DL) Cellular Technology 5G NR […]
Citronics built a router based on the Fairphone 2 mainboard
Belgium-company Citronics has designed a router based on the mainboard of the Fairphone 2 smartphone, connecting the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 “system-on-module” to a carrier board with Ethernet, USB ports, and other connectors, while leveraging 4G LTE, WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity from the phone’s core board. Citronics calls this type of hardware “Circular Microcomputers,” which refers to small computers focusing on sustainability and circular economy principles using parts from discarded devices like old smartphones. There’s actually more than one router, as Citronics designed its own development kit, and also partnered with other companies to design custom gateways based on the Fairphone 2 mainboard. Let’s have a look at the devkit first. Citronics devkit: Fairphone 2 mainboard SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AB) quad core Krait 400 processor @ up to 2.26 GHz with Adreno 330 GPU System Memory – 2 GB LPDDR3 Storage – 32GB eMMC flash Connectivity – 2G/3G/4G LTE, […]
GL.iNet Spitz Plus GL-X2000 – An affordable WiFi 6 cellular router with GbE, dual SIM, and load balancing capabilities
GL.iNet Spitz Plus GL-X2000 is a Wi-Fi 6 cellular router with GbE networking, two nano SIM slots, interchangeable high-gain antennas, and more. It is built around a Qualcomm IPQ5018 dual-core 1 GHz SoC and supports AX3000 Wi-Fi speeds with data rates of up to 574 Mbps on 2.4GHz and 2402 Mbps on 5GHz. Other features include support for multi-WAN connectivity, failover, and load balancing for stable connections, it also comes with preinstalled VPN support for over 30 providers. It also has remote management features that allow users to monitor data usage, update firmware, and troubleshoot through a centralized interface. The device is available in different LTE variants for North American and international markets, supporting region-specific bands. These features make this router useful for applications such as remote work, mobile offices, industrial IoT, and backup connectivity in areas with unreliable broadband. GL-X2000 (Spitz Plus) specifications: SoC – Qualcomm IPQ5018 dual-core Cortex-A53 […]
OpenWrt 24.10 released with Linux 6.6, TLS 1.3 by default, and 1970 supported devices
OpenWrt 24.10 open-source lightweight Linux operating system for routers has just been released. It’s been upgraded to Linux 6.6 from Linux 5.15 in OpenWrt 2023.05, supports TLS 1.3 by default, improves support for WiFi 6 (802.11ax), and adds initial support for WiFi 7 (802.11be). After over one year of work since the release of OpenWrt 23.05, OpenWrt 24.10 adds over 5400 commits, and the total number of supported devices is now close to 2,000 at 1,970. It’s also the first stable release supporting OpenWrt One, the router directly designed by OpenWrt developers in collaboration with Banana Pi. OpenWrt 24.10 highlights: TLS 1.3 support in default images with MbedTLS 3.6 Activate POSIX Access Control Lists and file system security attributes for all file systems on devices with big flash sizes. Needed by docker. Note this is not enabled for all targets with the small_flash feature flag, including ath79/tiny, bcm47xx/legacy, lantiq/ase, lantiq/xrx200_legacy, […]
OpenWISP open-source solution facilitates the management of OpenWrt router fleets
Last month, I wrote about the WL-AC1000 AP controller, a hardware-based solution to monitor fleets of routers, and wondered why the company (Wallys) did not provide a software solution instead. It was pointed out to me that software AP controller solutions for OpenWrt routers do exist, but they looked not mature. After a quick search, I found OpenWISP described as an “open-source solution for efficient IT network deployment, monitoring & management” designed for OpenWrt Linux routers. OpenWISP allows organizations with several routers to manage them in a centralized location, get alerts when issues occur, upgrade the firmware of multiple routers with a few clicks, create users with permissions to access specific routers, and so on. OpenWISP Features: Configuration Templates – Manage device settings by defining reusable configuration templates that apply updates system-wide with a single change. Automatic Provisioning – Connect and configure new devices with zero-touch auto registration for rapid […]
Importing a single router in Thailand now requires an NBTC license
We’ve been reviewing routers sent to us from China from time to time including Xiaomi Mi AX6000, GL.iNet GL-MT6000, NanoPi R5S, and others. In late 2024, I was offered to review the OpenWrt One and GL.iNet GL-X2000 “Spitz Plus” WiFi 6 and 4G LTE routers, but neither review will happen due to changes in regulations, or rather enforcement, that now makes it more complicated and expensive to import a router in Thailand since an NBTC (National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission) license is now required. The Software Freedom Conservancy sent an OpenWrt One router through UPS at the end of October 2024, and received an email from the courier on November 2 that read in part: Due to your shipment is ROUTER, must use import license from. Therefore, UPS we unable to apply import license for customers. Please find the other agent to clear this shipment form Thai Customs detail below. […]
WL-AC1000 AP controller can manage large fleets of wireless routers and access points
Wallys Tech WL-AC1000 is an access point (AP) controller designed to manage and optimize the operation of multiple access points (APs) within large-scale wireless networks that you may find in factories, airports, hotels, train stations, etc… The WL-AC1000 is powered by a quad-core Arm processor coupled with 1GB RAM, 8MB NOR flash, and 256MB NAND flash. It is equipped with four GbE ports and one 2.5GbE port to connect the access points through switches. It’s available as a desktop version and a 1U enclosure to mount in a rack. Wallys Tech WL-AC1000 specifications: SoC – Quad-core ARM 64-bit A53 @ 1 .8 GHz processor (likely some Qualcomm QCS part) System Memory – 1GB (2x 512MB) DDR3L Storage 8MB NOR flash 256MB NAND Flash Networking Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port with PoE 3x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports 2.5Gbps Ethernet RJ45 port Power Supply – 24V DC Dimensions WL-AC1000-E – 192 x 122 […]