Flint

Flint in a nutshell

Flint is a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 router that ships with full OpenWRT and gives tinkerers complete control over a home or small-office network.

How to use Flint

1. Plug the power cable and attach the WAN lead from your modem.
2. Connect a laptop through Ethernet or the default wireless SSID printed on the base.
3. Visit flintk12.com or 192.168.8.1 to open the setup wizard.
4. Choose a new admin password, pick your Wi-Fi names, and click “Apply”.
5. Dive into the OpenWRT interface for advanced tweaking, package installation, or VLAN-based segmentation.

Our hands-on impression of Flint

I spent two weeks running every device in my flat through Flint and came away with mixed feelings. The model labelled “Flint 2” felt speedy and stable, and at £115 the built-in, un-stripped OpenWRT firmware justified the outlay. Streaming, gaming, and a small server all co-existed without hiccups. Things changed when I swapped to “Flint 3”; the hardware remained solid yet the feature set hadn’t moved forward, so that higher price tag stung and left me underwhelmed. The name also triggered memories of the documentary about the Michigan water crisis—full of twists no one wanted—which perhaps coloured expectations.

Advantages

• True OpenWRT: Every package repository is available, meaning wireguard, ad-blocking, or custom QoS rules are one click away.
• Fair launch price on Flint 2: £115 felt reasonable for Wi-Fi 6 speeds and four gigabit LAN ports.
• Clean initial wizard: Five minutes after unboxing I had guests browsing on a separate SSID.
• Fan-free chassis: Silent operation kept the living room quiet.

Drawbacks

• Flint 3 let-down: Extra cost without fresh abilities prompted disappointment during tests.
• Sparse documentation: Beginners may struggle to find plain-language guides for deeper OpenWRT settings.
• Bulky shell: The case occupies more shelf space than many rival routers.
• No multi-gig ports: Anyone on a faster than gigabit fibre line must look elsewhere.