Flint 2 or Flint 3

It depends who you ask. Here is just my opinions.

Flint 2: It's fine if you can get it for the £115 price. Proper full OpenWRT is the main selling point. It's really popular so getting support for your exact setup is pretty easy.

Flint 3: The Flint 2 crowd will tell you to avoid the Flint 3 because it's not MediaTek based but at the same time I still read people having problems with wifi performance on the Flint 2. It's hard to say if that's just user error though due to popularity (i.e. they placed it in a faraday cage and didn't tell anybody). I don't mind GL going this approach as it could iron out wifi problems if they do exist (different chipset) and competition is key to improvements. You also have to factor in a brand new product where no company has really nailed wifi 7 properly and I don't expect GL to magically do it. You're kind of a guinea pig for like a year.

Then again a tri band wifi 7 router for about £105 (excl shipping) is pretty insane. Personally I think there is better alternatives especially for the UK market.

Zyxel EX5601. Basically a Flint 2 in sheep clothing. I have it and can't complain. Was hard to flash before but now you can do it without serial access. Around £60-£65.

Linksys SPNMX42 (aka MX4200v2). The UK market is flooded with these and picking one up from many of the altnet ISP like CF or GC for about £45 is pretty easy. They have the exact same hardware as the Eero Pro 6 but none of the locked down Eero software holding it back.

I was actually going to write up some flashing and then configuring OpenWRT guides for these devices (specifically aimed at UK) as it would also help reduce ewaste when people see what they are capable of.
 
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I think @GregI has nailed it above. I have the Flint 2 and don't see a compelling reason to change or get one to play with. It's a shame as I was really looking forward to the Flint 3, but GL have made some odd choices in it's design (active cooling, slower chipset and inferior performance to the Flint 2 in some aspects). Probably on grounds of hitting a cost I imagine.

It may one day have full blown OpenWRT but that isn't likely to be for a long while and isn't guaranteed if that is something that interests or concerns you.

Edit - if you are prepared to show some patience the early bird offer is very good for a Wifi7 device though.
 
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Ad_Augendae said:
I would want a bit more head-room on the cpu 1.5GHz quad core would be deal breaker for me, my old Cap AX has 1.8GHz,
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Not sure clock speed and core count are best indications of performance outside of the same generation. If we assume it’s the A53 thats suspected, that same SoC is in the UDMP and does IDS/IPF at 3.5Gb/s and NAT at way higher, while also being an NVR amongst other things. What concerns me is this is the router for yesterdays connectivity, 5Gb wholesale is about to roll on CF, more is expected next year, a 2.5Gb limited product with 1GB of RAM feels like a F2 refresh, not so much an F3.
 
I was sort of tempted by the flint 3, despite owning an Mikrotik rb5009, but missed the super early bird offer yesterday so fomo has left the building and will wait for other revews
 
$anch3z said:
I was sort of tempted by the flint 3, despite owning an Mikrotik rb5009, but missed the super early bird offer yesterday so fomo has left the building and will wait for other revews
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I was looking at it as well for the wifi 7 ellement and 2.5g, wifi is complex enough on tik but I still want a wifi 7 AP for upstairs as thats where all the best kit is.
What was you thinking just for an AP ?
 
Ad_Augendae said:
I was looking at it as well for the wifi 7 ellement and 2.5g, wifi is complex enough on tik but I still want a wifi 7 AP for upstairs as thats where all the best kit is.
What was you thinking just for an AP ?
Click to expand...
More or less just an AP, but if I can find a decent 2.5gb switch with at least one sfp+ cage I'll go with that and look at a couple of wifi7 access points. Alternatively I'll move the wan port which is 2.5gb on the Mikrotik to one of the 1gb interfaces and use the flint 3 as an AP on the single 2.5gb interface.

Pre-ordered for 120 delivered in the end
 
@GregI

Took the words right out of mind.

I was going to order it I could have got it for £99 but soon as I was going to place the order the wife put that idea to bed.

Got a lovely phone call telling me the washer had just gone with a big bang!! Had to leave work early got home kitchen walked into a nice paddling pool in the kitchen. It went with such force it moved forward and pulled the inlet pipe off the back, though it took her 5 mins to turn off the water surestop switch.

I'm going to wait now and wait for reviews on the flint 3, but really thank everyone for contributing to this topic.
 
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If anyone missed out yesterday on the super early bird order after signing upto the newsletter read this.

everyone,

We would like to sincerely apologize for the technical issues that occurred during the launch of the Flint 3 preorder in our EU and UK stores. Due to an unexpected system delay, some of you were unable to place your orders during the critical first ten minutes—resulting in missed opportunities to claim the super early bird offer.

We understand how frustrating this experience must have been, especially for those who subscribed early and waited patiently for this launch. It was never our intention to create confusion or disappointment, and we're deeply sorry for not organizing this preorder event as smoothly as we should have.

We also recognize the concerns raised around the limited quantity of super early bird offers. While we actually made more super early bird stock available than we did for the Slate 7, the demand for Flint 3 far exceeded our expectations. That strong response is exciting, but it also shows us we need to plan better to ensure more supporters have a fair shot.

To make things right:
If you subscribed to Flint 3 newsletter updates and attempted to make a purchase in the EU or UK store yesterday but missed out on the super early bird price due to the issue, we will honor the super early bird price for you.

Please contact our CS team at [email protected] with proof of your attempt. After reviewing your case, we'll issue a partial refund or provide an adjusted offer if eligible.

Looking ahead, we're taking meaningful steps to improve.
  • We're planning a website revamp to make sure our online store offers a smoother and more reliable experience for all users.
  • We're also committing to conduct more user testing before future product launches, so we can catch potential issues early and deliver a better launch experience.
  • In addition, we're exploring new ways for our community to secure early bird offers in advance—whether that's through early access reservations, waitlists, or verified subscriber perks. And we'd love to hear your suggestions! If you have ideas, feel free to share them with us.

To everyone who showed up early, tried to order, and shared honest feedback—thank you. We deeply appreciate your patience, passion, and support. It hel grow and deliver better experiences in the future.
 
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