Turn a ~$30 GL-MT300N-V2 pocket router into a standalone DLNA media server — no internet required. Flash a custom OpenWrt firmware, plug in a USB drive with your media files, and any device on the Wi-Fi hotspot can stream via VLC or any DLNA client.
In-car setup: pocket router powered by a 12 V-to-5 V adapter, paired with a USB media drive. All smart devices on the hotspot can stream via DLNA.
What you need
- GL-MT300N-V2 pocket router (~$30)
- USB flash drive or USB hard drive (NTFS formatted)
- 5 V DC power source (USB charger, power bank, or 12 V-to-5 V adapter for car use)
- VLC Player (or any DLNA client) on your smartphone or tablet
Setup steps
- Download the custom firmware — get gl-mt300nv2-dlnasrv.bin (~13 MB), an OpenWrt-based image with DLNA pre-configured.
- Flash the firmware — replace the OEM firmware on your GL-MT300N-V2 with the downloaded
gl-mt300nv2-dlnasrv.binfile. - Prepare your media disk — format a USB drive as NTFS and copy your media files into
Audio/,Video/, andPhoto/folders. - Power on — attach the media disk to the router's USB port and power the router with a 5 V source.
- Connect to Wi-Fi — the router broadcasts a hotspot with SSID
dlnaserverand passwordgoodlife. - Open VLC — install VLC Player on your device, connect to the hotspot, and navigate to Local Network. The DLNA server (penguin icon) will appear with all your media files.
Default credentials: SSID = dlnaserver, password = goodlife. These are for initial setup only — change them immediately (see Security section below).
Step-by-step screenshots
The following image walks through the full flashing and configuration process in 16 slides:
Complete setup walkthrough: firmware flash, USB disk preparation, Wi-Fi connection, and VLC media browsing.
After following all 16 slides, connect your smartphone or tablet to the dlnaserver hotspot (password goodlife) and open VLC to browse media over the local network.
VLC Player on Android showing the DLNA server and available media files.
In-car infotainment use case
For those with an extensive multimedia collection, this compact DLNA server works well as an in-car infotainment system. Passengers can stream local media on their smartphones or tablets via the shared Wi-Fi hotspot — no mobile data or internet connection needed. This is especially useful during long drives through areas with poor network coverage.
The setup is simple: a pocket router powered by a 12 V-to-5 V DC adapter, paired with a USB media drive. When powered on, it creates a Wi-Fi hotspot and serves files over DLNA to all connected devices.
Security
Change the default credentials immediately. Modify the web UI login password, Wi-Fi SSID, and Wi-Fi password through the standard OpenWrt web interface at http://192.168.8.1.
SOURCE CODE
github.com/hackboxguy/openwrt-wrapper — build configuration and scripts
gl-mt300nv2-dlnasrv.bin — pre-built firmware image (~13 MB)
6 comments:
Can You create a emergency mesh network using car power or powerbank usb?
The solution works fine.
Is there a possibility to use it through cable connection (WAN) also? It would be used as a media server on the network and you wouldn't have to connect your phone to another wireless network stopping your connection to the outside world.
This looks like it would be great for a trip, but would I be able to flash it back to the normal GLinet router software later?
I am curious.
yes, using router's webUI, its easy to revert back to the OEM provided firmware from GL.iNET
yes, WAN port on this pocket router can be connected to other router(ISP provider) so that all devices connected this pocket router can have internet connectivity
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