From Aircove to Fortify: ExpressVPN upgrades to more powerful router hardware with GL.iNet

As Aircove retires, Fortify moves ExpressVPN onto GL.iNet’s higher-performance Flint 2 platform, with 12 months of the ExpressVPN Advanced plan included for new and returning users.

• Fortify becomes ExpressVPN’s new router offering, built on GL.iNet’s Flint 2 platform with more capable hardware than the previous Aircove generation.
  
• Aircove and Aircove Go are being retired from sale, with existing customers continuing to receive support through 2027 and 2028, respectively.
• 12 months of ExpressVPN’s Advanced plan, a $119.95 USD value, are included for new and returning users.
  
• Fortify brings Wi-Fi 6 AX6000, 4×4 MU-MIMO, Multi-Gig connectivity, VPN speeds up to 900 Mbps on WireGuard®, and support for up to 86 concurrent devices.*
  
• GL.iNet provides the specialist router hardware and networking platform, while ExpressVPN brings the VPN and privacy technology.
  
• Existing Aircove and Aircove Go owners will be eligible for a discount on Fortify.

In 2016, ExpressVPN released dedicated router firmware, giving people a way to run the VPN at the network level years before it became a mainstream idea. That work eventually led to Aircove, the first Wi-Fi router with ExpressVPN built in, followed by Aircove Go. We’re now making the next significant change to how we build for routers.

The Aircove hardware platform has reached the point where the next meaningful performance upgrade requires moving to newer hardware rather than another software update. As Fortify launches, Aircove and Aircove Go are therefore being retired from sale. Existing owners can keep using their routers and will continue to receive critical security updates and customer support through our published timelines. Existing Aircove and Aircove Go owners will also be eligible for a discount on Fortify.

Fortify moves the ExpressVPN router experience onto GL.iNet’s Flint 2 platform. It brings substantially more capable hardware, including Wi-Fi 6 AX6000, 4×4 MU-MIMO, Multi-Gig connectivity, support for up to 86 concurrent devices, and VPN speeds up to 900 Mbps on WireGuard®, compared with up to 330 Mbps on Aircove.*

GL.iNet specializes in networking hardware. ExpressVPN specializes in VPN and privacy technology. With Fortify, GL.iNet builds and maintains the hardware, firmware, router interface, and networking platform, while ExpressVPN brings the VPN service, privacy technology, and global infrastructure.

That lets each company focus on what it knows best, while giving customers a more powerful router and a stronger platform for ExpressVPN’s work in the category.

Why we’re working with GL.iNet

Aircove combined ExpressVPN’s own router software with hardware designed and produced for ExpressVPN. Fortify uses a different model.

Rather than designing another router platform from scratch, we’re bringing ExpressVPN to GL.iNet’s existing Flint 2 platform. GL.iNet has spent years developing networking products and has built a strong following among networking enthusiasts and privacy-conscious users.

The benefit isn’t simply that another company makes the hardware. It means the networking platform is being developed and maintained by a company whose core business is routers, while ExpressVPN concentrates on the VPN and privacy experience running on top of it.

For customers, those responsibilities should largely disappear into the experience. You get capable networking hardware from a specialist router company, with ExpressVPN available at the network level.

At launch, Fortify connects to ExpressVPN using WireGuard®, with the VPN configured and managed through GL.iNet’s router interface.

Fortify is also the first product in a longer-term router partnership between ExpressVPN and GL.iNet. We plan to keep developing that relationship and exploring what comes next, without making promises today about specific future products.

More powerful hardware for busy home networks

A VPN running at the router level has to share the same hardware resources as everything else happening on the network. In a busy home, that can mean streaming, video calls, cloud backups, gaming, downloads, and dozens of connected devices all competing for capacity at once.

Fortify is a significant hardware upgrade from the previous Aircove generation. Its Flint 2 platform delivers dual-band Wi-Fi 6 up to AX6000, with maximum speeds of 1148 Mbps on 2.4 GHz and 4804 Mbps on 5 GHz, alongside 4×4 MU-MIMO, compared with AX1800 and 2×2 MU-MIMO on Aircove.

It also has a 2.0GHz quad-core processor, 1GB DDR4 memory, 8GB eMMC storage, and Multi-Gig wired connectivity through one 2.5G WAN port, one 2.5G WAN/LAN port, and four LAN Ethernet ports.

Fortify supports up to 86 concurrent devices, giving it capacity for streaming, gaming, calls, downloads, and other everyday activity across a busy home network while ExpressVPN is running.

It also includes:

• Multi-WAN failover
• Smart Queue Management to help manage latency across busy networks
• AdGuard Home support for network-level ad and tracker blocking

VPN performance also gets a substantial boost. Fortify can reach up to 900 Mbps using WireGuard®, compared with up to 330 Mbps on Aircove and Aircove Go.*

Aircove to Fortify:
What’s changing

VPN speeds can reach up to 900 Mbps on WireGuard®. VPN speed figures are based on the router's hardware VPN capability in client mode under controlled local network conditions. Actual speeds over an ExpressVPN connection may vary depending on the VPN server, ISP, client device, and network conditions.

Moving to Flint 2 gives Fortify considerably more processing power, memory, and network capacity than the previous Aircove generation.

How router-level protection works with Fortify

One of the advantages of running ExpressVPN at the router level is that it can cover supported devices connected through the router, including devices that can’t install a VPN app themselves.

That includes smart TVs, streaming boxes, game consoles, smart speakers, security cameras, and other connected devices. Their traffic can run through ExpressVPN without separate VPN software having to be installed on each one.

You choose a VPN location and manage the ExpressVPN connection through Fortify’s GL.iNet interface, while devices connect to the router as they normally would.

12 months of the ExpressVPN Advanced plan included

Fortify includes 12 months of ExpressVPN’s Advanced subscription plan for new and returning users, valued at $119.95 USD. That covers the ExpressVPN service used through the router for the first year, while the same subscription can also be used through ExpressVPN apps on personal devices away from home.

Advanced extends beyond the VPN itself. It includes ExpressKeys, our zero-knowledge password manager; Advanced Protection, which can block ads, trackers, and malicious sites and includes parental controls for adult content; and ExpressMailGuard, which helps keep your real email address private when signing up for services online.

The 12-month plan also includes up to three days of holiday.com eSIM data, while customers in the U.S. get Identity Defender, with monitoring and tools designed to help if their personal information is misused.

These additional Advanced plan features live in the ExpressVPN apps rather than the Fortify router interface. The router handles ExpressVPN at the network level, while the Advanced plan extends the privacy and security experience to personal devices, passwords, email addresses, and activity beyond the home.

For eligible customers, all of that is included for the first 12 months rather than requiring a separate Advanced subscription on top of the cost of the router.

Built on GL.iNet’s networking platform

Your router handles traffic from almost every connected device in the home, so the technology underneath it matters.

Fortify runs on GL.iNet’s networking platform, with GL.iNet’s established router interface and networking functionality.

ExpressVPN brings its privacy technology and global VPN infrastructure to that platform, including a no-logs policy that has been independently audited and verified.

It’s the same division of expertise that runs through Fortify as a whole: an established networking platform from a company that specializes in routers, with ExpressVPN concentrating on the VPN and privacy experience running on it.

What Fortify means for Aircove owners

As Fortify launches, Aircove and Aircove Go are being retired from sale, and ExpressVPN will not produce additional units.

Router hardware has a finite lifecycle, and moving to the level of performance we want for the next generation requires a newer hardware platform rather than another software update to Aircove.

If you already own an Aircove or Aircove Go, nothing changes immediately. You can keep using it.

Aircove will continue to receive critical security updates and customer support through 2027, while Aircove Go will be supported through 2028. Existing owners don’t need to make any changes now.

For full details, including support timelines, warranty information, and answers to common questions, see our Aircove support FAQ here.

Existing Aircove and Aircove Go owners will also be eligible for adiscount on Fortify. To claim the offer, contact ExpressVPN Customer Support, who will confirm your Aircove ownership and provide a discount code.

Fortify becomes the router offering ExpressVPN will promote going forward, using GL.iNet’s specialist hardware and networking platform rather than another router platform designed and maintained in-house by ExpressVPN.

Through this new model, ExpressVPN will continue investing in the router category by concentrating on the VPN, privacy technology, and customer experience, while GL.iNet concentrates on the networking platform underneath it.

After nearly a decade of building VPN experiences for routers, Fortify gives us more capable hardware today and a stronger model for continuing that work in the years ahead.

Availability

Fortify will be available from the official GL.iNet website from September 16 at an MSRP of $199.99 USD, with Amazon availability to follow shortly after launch.

We’ll share further regional pricing and availability details soon.

*VPN speeds can reach up to 900 Mbps on WireGuard®. VPN speed figures are based on the router’s hardware VPN capability in client mode under controlled local network conditions. Actual speeds over an ExpressVPN connection may vary depending on the VPN server, ISP, client device, and network conditions.