Howdy folks,
I was originally hopeful when I ran across these GL-Inet routers. On the plus side, they introduced me to OpenWrt. Unfortunately, tethering is not reliable. I've tried a couple of different models, and the results are the same. They work fine otherwise.
Looking for a suggestion of a reliable travel router that supports tethering and will also work as a wifi repeater. Keeping the size down and the number of antennas low is a plus, but I'd put up with it for reliable tethering.
We're you using official OpenWrt or the GL builds?
Tethering works about the same on any router. Of course your phone and/or phone company can be the cause of unreliability as well.
The USB charger power supply can be an issue on travel routers. I prefer something sold as a small home router with 12 volt input.
Mike,
I appreciate the response. The GL-iNet routers started with their native firmware, I then updated to the latest version from this site yesterday. No, it's not the phone. It's an Iphone X that tethers very reliablty when plugged directly into a PC.
At this point, happy to spend more and go Asus or Linksys. Or do none of the major brands support this functionality?
As a travel router, I have been using the GL-AR750S with current OpenWrt (master) plus Travelmate for a long time without any significant problems. Because of COVID-19 I currently do not travel, but that's another story ...
Nope, bitten apples do not come into my house ... 
I only have experience with Android devices so far.
I've found the rndis driver on OpenWrt very reliable to tether Android. Have people using it for whole house Internet.
Interesting. It certainly could be an issue with Apple support.
Yep, I could not observe any tethering problems so far. In my setup all STA connections are made via 2.4G, the router AP operates on 5G.