Best travel router

Chicago Tribune

2 days ago

Whether you want to backpack across the European Union or make sure you stay in touch with your business partners from half a world away, having a travel router can assist you in circumventing some of the common network issues that occur during international travel.
With a travel router at your disposal, you can convert any wired internet connection into a Wi-Fi connection with minimal effort, offering excellent security and a host of great technical options.
Keep your connection safe and secure
No matter where your travels take you, wired connections or accessing a public Wi-Fi connection could result in potential risk issues. Cybercriminals in particular target these public Wi-Fi hotspots where information quite often flows unprotected. Whether you are staying in a luxury hotel or just renting a bed for eight hours at a hostel, it never hurts to take that little bit of extra caution when accessing the internet.
Instead of seeking public unprotected Wi-Fi hotspots or physically plugging your computer into the internet, travel routers provide you with your own secure Wi-Fi network by connecting to an ethernet, act as a Wi-Fi hotspot to connect other devices and even perform the duties of a Wi-Fi range extender. Whatever your particular destination, a travel router will help keep you in touch with your friends, family and contacts and help ensure your digital safety.
Travel routers powering options
As with many advanced electronic devices, it is important to consider exactly how your brand new travel router will be able to power itself up. This will depend on the continent and the country you're traveling to. While having the ability to simply plug your travel router directly into a wall socket is the most convenient way to keep your device in working order, having the ability to receive power via USB port or even batteries might be the only thing between you and your ability to access the internet.
Physical specifications
Depending on just how far from the beaten path you intend to travel, you will absolutely need to purchase a travel router that doesn't take up an excessive amount of room or weigh a ton. When it comes to challenging issues such as packing your luggage to be under the airline's baggage allowance or needing your tech to easily slip into your backpack or pocket, you should always consider the size and weight of your travel router before you end up stuck with it for thousands of miles and countless hours.
Power banks, file storage and more
While having the ability to ensure secure internet access in a variety of forms is certainly an incredible convenience, some travel routers are capable of offering much more than that. For example, select travel routers contain power banks that can be used to charge and power up other devices, while others can serve as file hubs capable of performing TITAN transfers between multiple USB devices simultaneously. In fact, some models of travel routers can even support traditional hard drives or HDDs as well as USB card readers, meaning you might not even need to bring your laptop along.
Additional protection and custom options like VPN and Open Source
In addition to providing the protection offered by conventional Wi-Fi security measures like WPA2, some travel routers are equipped with the ability to connect to VPNs, or virtual private network clients and servers, providing an extra layer of security and significantly improving the speed of your internet connection. For those who prefer to take their technological security into their own hands, some models offer extensive options for customization, including the ability to use Open Source operating systems and software, DIY hardware upgrades, extendable USB discs and much more.
Depending on your desired features, a quality travel router can cost anywhere from $29-$59 and sometimes more.
Why do I need to buy a travel router in the first place?
A. While you technically don't need to purchase a travel router, it certainly makes managing your Wi-Fi-enabled devices and safely connecting to the internet much easier than it otherwise would be.
Will I need to pay a subscription fee to use my travel router?
A. Unless you purchase a device through an internet service provider or ISP to constantly provide services, owning and using a travel router will not incur any additional expenses.
Top travel router
GL.iNet GL-MT3000 (Beryl AX) Portable Travel Router
What you need to know: This powerful travel router has all the features you need to surf the web securely without losing any speed.
What you'll love: It boasts surfing speeds of up to 574Mbps on the 2.4G band and 2402Mbps on the 5G band. Unlike some other portable routers, this one supports WPA3 protocol for extra security. It comes preinstalled with OpenVPN and WireGuard, and it has the ability to run both a VPN server and client at the same time within the same device.
What you should consider: Some people reported problems with connectivity.
Top travel router for the money
VONETS Mini 2.4GHz Portable Wireless Travel Router
What you need to know: This affordable travel router offers a wide range of ports and functions.
What you'll love: This unit offers two Ethernet ports that can exchange and support Wi-Fi or WAN access in Wi-Fi router mode as well as Wi-Fi smart bridge mode, AP Client, hotspot, range extender and a one-year warranty.
What you should consider: Users have reported being unable to create solid connections.
Worth checking out
GL.iNet GL-AR300M16-Ext Portable Mini Travel Wireless Pocket Router
What you need to know: This travel router is ideal for those who want to make sure their browsing is secure wherever they go.
What you'll love: This unit comes preinstalled with OpenVPN and WireGuard VPN clients and servers, and offers compatibility with over 30 VPNs. It has 128 megabytes of RAM, two Ethernet ports, 16MB NOR Flash, a USB port and a mini-USB port.
What you should consider: Users have reported issues with losing the network connection.
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