FAQ

Is there really no monthly subscription?+
None from us. Pay $349 once, use PacketMole forever. The only third-party service it relies on is Tailscale, which is currently free for personal use (up to 6 users, unlimited devices at time of writing). If Tailscale ever changes their pricing, your PacketMole still works on whatever plan you decide to use.
Why not just use a VPN like Cloudflare WARP?+

Different tools, opposite jobs. A VPN like Cloudflare WARP, Nord, or Proton routes your traffic through the VPN company's servers, so websites see a shared datacenter IP belonging to the VPN — not your home IP. PacketMole does the reverse: it routes you back through your own home internet, so you keep your own home IP address anywhere you go.

That matters because the things people want this for — streaming services that check whether you're on your home network, region-locked content, banks that flag new locations, or appearing to work from home — all key off your specific home IP. A VPN's datacenter IP is the wrong answer, and streaming and banking sites routinely block known VPN and datacenter IP ranges (that's the “you appear to be using a VPN or proxy” error). Your own residential IP doesn't trip those blocks.

The flip side:if all you want is to encrypt your traffic on sketchy coffee-shop Wi-Fi, a regular VPN does that and PacketMole is overkill — and the two even stack, since you can run a privacy VPN on your device on top of PacketMole. PacketMole's job isn't to hide who you are; it's to make you look like you never left home. Full breakdown: PacketMole vs a VPN.

Do I need a Tailscale account?+
Yes — Tailscale offers a Personal plan that's currently free (no credit card required). The setup card walks you through creating one in about 60 seconds. Your Tailscale account belongs to you, not us. We never touch it.
How long does setup take?+
About 10 minutes once you have everything plugged in. The printed setup card has 4 steps. We test every PacketMole before it ships, so the routers are already speaking to each other — you're mostly just connecting them to your home internet and to your phone.
When will my order ship?+
Each PacketMole is hand-packaged to order. Plan on up to 2 weeks before it ships. You'll get a tracking email the moment it leaves Florida.
Does this work outside the US?+
We only ship within the US for now. The hardware itself works anywhere with internet — but we want to nail US shipping & support before expanding.
Will it work on T-Mobile Home Internet / Starlink / cellular WiFi?+
Yes. These connections are usually behind CGNAT (carrier-grade NAT), which silently breaks most WireGuard-based competitors. PacketMole uses Tailscale, which handles CGNAT transparently via its DERP relays. It just works.
What about hotel captive portals?+
The Travel unit handles them. You connect the Travel unit to the hotel WiFi via its admin page (which displays the captive-portal login), then your devices connect to the Travel unit's own WiFi network and the captive portal is already cleared.
Will it work with my employer's VPN — and will I appear to be working from home?+

For most corporate setups, yes — and yes. PacketMole works at the network layer: your laptop connects to its WiFi just like at home, and your employer's VPN client (Cisco AnyConnect, GlobalProtect, Zscaler, OpenVPN, WireGuard, etc.) runs on top of it normally. From your employer's perspective, the connection appears to come from your home IP, because it does.

It WORKS for:standard corporate VPN clients; IP-based location enforcement (country, state, or city); and hardware-attested devices (TPM-backed corporate laptops, MDM-managed devices).

It DOESN'T work for:the small minority of employers who deploy device-level location detection — specifically, GPS or OS location services on the laptop itself; WiFi network fingerprinting (comparing your connected SSID against a known list); or zero-trust conditional-access platforms that continuously attest device location. Those signals come from the device, not the network, so no router can change them.

If your employer just uses a VPN and trusts the source IP as where you are (which is most of them), PacketMole is transparent.

Can I rename the travel router's WiFi network?+

Yes — and you should consider it. Your travel unit ships with a randomized residential-blending name (something like “Plum-Leopard-847”) that's intentionally generic to blend in at hotels, cafes, and Airbnbs.

After initial setup, go to the setup page and tap Customize Wi-Fi nameto pick whatever you want. Many customers rename it to match their actual home WiFi name (so all their saved devices feel “at home” everywhere); others pick something more discreet.

Privacy tip:for maximum stealth, avoid names that obviously identify the device. Anything containing “PacketMole”, “VPN”, “Travel Router”, or that names what the device does is a giveaway if an IT department ever does a WiFi survey looking for known travel-router products.

What if it stops working?+
Email us at hello@packetmole.com. We respond from a real human inbox. PacketMole has a 30-day return window (see refund policy). The underlying hardware (both GL.iNet routers) is covered by GL.iNet's standard 1-year manufacturer warranty.
Can I see your code?+
No. The firmware overlay and setup tooling are internal. PacketMole is a finished product — pre-tested hardware, signed firmware updates, a printed setup card with your unique code, and a real human behind hello@packetmole.com. We sell something that works the first time you plug it in.
Who's behind this?+
A small operation. See the About page. Our parent shop is Slick Engineering.

Still have a question? Email hello@packetmole.com.