Aircove Go | Portable Wi-Fi 6 VPN Router | Protect Unlimited Devices | Free 30-Day ExpressVPN Trial | (U.S. & Canada Version)

I bought this router as I often travel and need to get multiple devices on WIFI and it's just a pain to have to connect each one. Frankly the VPN functionality is a definite plus but isn't the reason I bought this router in the first place. The router is easy to set up and is easy to connect to WIFI, even when needing to go through a capture portal. This means that I just have to connect one thing and everything else just connects to the WIFI of the router as it normally would. If you are looking for a router that easily supports VPN functionality without a ton of configuring, this is a great buy. One thing I would call out, even though it should be obvious, is that this router specifically works with the ExpressVPN service. I call this out because I recently ran into someone who purchased this and was surprised it didn't work with their particular VPN provider. Yeah I didn't get it either, but figured it was worth calling out in my review in case it's helpful for someone.

I bought this to replace an older Android device that I was using for wifi-to-wifi sharing and I've been very pleased! I was already an ExpressVPN user, so this integrated with my account perfectly. It's USB-C powered and can be plugged into any sufficiently-powered USB-C socket (I *think* PD-20+ is the spec, but I can power it on most of my high-wattage hubs). The killer feature for some is per-device VPNs, which allows you to select which device goes to which endpoint. For personal devices, this is nice because you can offload the VPN computation out to the router and just use the internet like normal. For work devices it's a little less relevant since you're probably on a host-level VPN anyway. I've tested and it works great with streaming devices (Fire TV, etc) for those that need that. For me, the best feature is being able to set-and-forget the Wifi sharing directly over its web interface. Additionally, it has WAN and LAN ethernet ports, so if you find a spot with a hard line, you don't even need to do that. I've also found the transmission antennaes to be great (much further than if using a phone to Wifi share), which probably means the connectivity its making for its wifi uplink will be more solid as well. Overall, a great purchase and a good value.

I bought this router on July 20, 2024. It died yesterday, May 5, 2025. 9.5 months. However, there is some context: 1. I have brought this on several trips domestic and international in this time, and it has worked excellent both on flights and in hotels. I bring with me many electronic devices when I travel, and having them connect through this same router and then out to a public WiFi saves a ton of time compared to connecting each one directly to the public WiFi each time I stop. 2. The router is actually comprised of two parts: (1) the hardware, which is actually a GL.iNet Slate AX with an ExpressVPN-branded chassis; and (2) the software, which is developed by ExpressVPN. 3. The software is easy to use, considerably more so than GL.iNet's default firmware that is more designed for power users. The last version I used, AircoveOS 5.2.3, worked generally fine. The key feature of AircoveOS is native Lightway (ExpressVPN's proprietary VPN protocol), which is faster than OpenVPN and at least as fast as WireGuard, and more importantly, is not blocked in places like airline WiFi. However, there are bugs: I have observed putting connections on the "No VPN" group (i.e., a direct connection to the internet and not through the VPN) would cause some of their packets to drop. 4. The hardware, however, leaves some to be desired. This is not my first GL.iNet router, and my experience with GL.iNet hardware is that they are cheaply built and has issues. As is evident, mine had failed in under a year. 5. I will add that while I would set it up to run continuously in hotels, the longest it had been running was for a week until recently. Before it died, it was running for 1.5 months at home because my wireless access point was out. One might argue that a travel router isn't designed for extended use, but that is rubbish. It simply is bad hardware design. I would buy it again because I still need an ExpressVPN travel router. I will encourage ExpressVPN to find a better hardware vendor to make their next router.

Five stars because it does what it is supposed to do: use available hotspot and provide VPN protected WiFi connection. But a few things made setup more difficult than necessary. First, there was no paper in the box, so I didn't know I could just scan the QR code to start the set up process (which I found out about on YouTube). Second, it had the older 4.6 firmware, not the newer 4.7 version needed to enable "WiFi-Link" (which is using an available hotspot). That took me sometime to figure out. And then I had to upgrade the firmware manually. Not difficult but one more thing to bother with. Once it had the latest firmware, setup was easy. I have a TPLINK mini router that does the same thing, connecting to an available hotspot (they call it WISP mode), but that model does not deliver VPN protected WiFi. Picture shows Aircove Go providing good service inside a hotel room: VPN-protected internet for all our devices at once. Update 1: It has problems launching the hotel WiFi login page (to enter room number and last name, specifically Marriott Bonvoy hotel room WiFi). Perhaps it performs better for other hotspots. TPLink's WISP-mode, by comparison, reliably launches the sign-in URL. Thus, Aircove's firmware needs work. Since I already have the TPlink Mini Router from before, I simply daisy-chain the Aircove Go to it via a short internet cable (both routers provide it), to have reliable VPN-protected WiFi using the unsecured hotel room hotspot. Meaning, if this is your first router to try to connect to a Marriott hotel room WiFi, it may not work for you. Update 2 (May 2026): This thing is not only still going strong, it keeps on getting better! Firmware updates have ironed out old issues. I was at a hotel recently and it connected easily, quickly, and reliably to the hotel room's WiFi — WISP-mode worked flawlessly. I no longer needed to daisy-chain it to another travel router that used to be better performing when in WISP mode. This thing is so small, it is a perfect travel router, providing VPN protection for all devices connected to it (phones, laptops, smartwatches, tablets, e-readers, video-streaming devices, etc.). Now, here is my "hack:" at home I have the larger Aircove. When I travel I have this Aircove Go. I configured it so both have the same SSID (WiFi name). So, when I enable Aircove Go once inside the hotel room, all my devices are automagically connected and logged in to wifi, as if I never left home. So glad to have this lovely little thingamajig.

The Aircove Go itself is a solid device. Setup was easy, speeds were good for a portable router, and it did a great job protecting all connected devices at once. From a performance and usability standpoint, it worked exactly as advertised. However, I want to be very clear about one important limitation. Despite claims or expectations around being “undetectable,” my employer was still able to detect VPN usage. Using this device ultimately cost me my job because the company identified the VPN connection. This isn’t necessarily a flaw in the hardware — it’s more about expectations. If you’re buying this strictly for privacy, travel, or personal security, it does its job well. But if you’re hoping it will bypass corporate VPN detection or employer network monitoring, that is not something I can confirm or recommend relying on. Overall, it’s a good product for personal use, but it is not invisible to professional or corporate-level detection systems, and buyers should be aware of that before purchasing.

Works great! Easy to setup, nice admin interface, works wired or wireless, VPN service is one of the best. Must buy for use on hotels, public networks and even at home to easily connect multiple devices to other countries. Really useful product.

Rubbish! Cannot get it to work while travelling abroad and the online and technical support instructions are difficult to follow. It has been a paper weight for more than a year. Would give it zero stars if I could.

Purchased this product because I have used ExpressVPN for years. I get the Aircove so that I can travel and use this to both extend my WiFi range and VPN service all-in-one. I got to the hotel because I was traveling. Go to setup - NOPE!!! Must use a wired network to do the initial setup, then you can establish the ability to wireless link with other WiFi networks. In other words, this is useless until I finish my travels and eventually return home. This was NEVER stated in the information about the product on the Amazon site. If you purchase, ensure you have a wired network you can connect to in order to setup. You cannot do it otherwise. Update: ExpressVPN reached out and walked me through a manual means to setup the Aircove Go. Worked like a champ!! Brent spent 30 minutes making sure every aspect of the setup worked. I have been using it at several hotels and I love it. So easy to use and no more hassles in connecting my laptops or smart devices to the hotel - auto connects to Aircove Go, and I simply connect Aircove Go to the hotel. About one minute and all devices are connected. Perfect - exactly what I wanted. Not to mention secure VPN connections. Thank you!!

It works like a champ. Highly recommended

I had a some difficulty loading the express VPN on this unit, but that could be just me….instructions could be a bit more clear in my opinion.

I must have spent an hour online with the kind technical support and no matter what he did he couldn't get it to work with my $3K Dell XPS laptop (not cheap junk) but it worked with my TV so I let it go but two days later the TV quit working, also my iPhone, Samsung S23, my Amazon Fire HD 8", and all my Echo devices (all 4 of them) so I'm sending it back. "Your mileage may vary" The hard fact of life is that it's cheaper to let the customer do the quality control than test electrical devices than to do it themselves. I can see that with a $10 toaster, but this was hundreds of dollars, for crying out loud. I also noted to the technical support gentleman that the unit was running very hot, unlike my Netgear wireless router which I've gone back to using.