Conclusion:

Setting up the Tenda AC6 AC1200 smart dual-band wireless router is quick and easy, and in no time you can be up and running with WiFi speeds that will come close to some more expensive devices on the market. In addition, the mobile app gives you a secondary means of managing the router that many may find to be more convenient than a web browser. Features like the high powered amplifiers, four large external antennas, and beam forming technology will help carry the signal throughout a typical house with ease with plenty of bandwidth for a typical family.



The Tenda AC6 offers good range and throughput on the 5GHz band, and would make for a decent choice for people that didn't rely on wired connections for transferring files. The 100Mbps wired ports are a big downer to me since it would limit my Internet connection and severely cramp sharing the contents of my 18TB media server. Even if you really just wanted a WiFi connection, if your ISP offers a connection that is greater than 100Mbps, you will never be able to achieve that since the data from your modem will be limited by the 100Mbps WAN connection on the AC6. On top of that, the lack of a USB port is a bit surprising, as just about every router regardless of price has one of those these days. It can make for an easy way to share files on your network, but I like to use them for printer sharing to avoid having to leave a PC on with my 'old' USB printer.

Right now Newegg.com lists the AC6 for $31.99, which is a pretty impressive price for a feature packed AC router. However, the recently reviewed Tenda AC9 is for sale from Newegg at $39.99, and for $8 more than the AC6 you get a similar interface, comparable WiFi performance, Gigabit wired ports, and a USB port - making the choice a difficult one in my opinion. The Gigabit wired speeds may be worth the few extra dollars alone.

Pros:

» Respectable performance for a budget friendly device
» Web interface is easy to use and fairly feature rich
» Mobile app makes management of the router even easier
» Powerful antennas will get the signal to the corners of most typical homes

Cons:

» Only 100Mbps wired ports
» No USB ports
» Delivered in USA with a European style power cord (hopefully an isolated mistake)

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