Conclusion:

The Tenda AC9 AC1200 dual-band Gigabit Wifi router is a fairly budget friendly option that offers more than I was expecting it to. It provides impressive throughput (wired or wireless), a well designed user interface, and plenty of configurable options that will let you customize your network like you normally can't on a lower price router. While the wireless speeds may be the real selling point of this device, I also appreciate that Tenda included four Gigabit ports for wired connections, and it frustrates me to find a fast wireless router still offering 10/100MB/s wired connections. It doesn't have some of the really high end things like multi-user MIMO or a combined speed rating of say AC3000+, but for the price you really are getting quite a bit.



The AC9 can be used as a router, bridge, or an access point. It comes setup as a router by default, and can be configured quickly within the software to be a bridge. Getting it to be an access point is not really difficult, but not as clear cut. Other routers I have used feature a physical switch or software based buttons to make this happen, where the AC9 takes a little more work that is not as obvious... Basically you have to disable its DHCP server, connect a cable from a LAN port to your existing network, and set it to use an IP address on your existing network. A one click approach would definitely be nice. Other nice to have items would include an additional USB port so you could share files and run a print server, and maybe a USB 3.0 port so that the shared files could be transferred that much quicker.

Shopping around finds the Tenda AC9 at many popular retailers, including Newegg where the price is just under $60 (US). Considering the performance and wealth of features available through the user interface, that is definitely an attractive price.

In the end, the AC9 AC1200 dual-band Gigabit Wifi router earns the Bigbruin.com "Recommended" and "Good Value" awards.



Pros:

» Impressive speeds and range
» Well done web based user's interface
» Wired connections are Gigabit
» Attractively priced
» Available phone app for greater control

Cons:

» More than one USB port, or a USB 3.0 port, would be nice
» Having a simple button or other method of enabling access point mode would be nice

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