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Synology has a solid reputation for making high-quality, feature-rich network-attached storage (NAS) devices. But the company also started making wireless routers about two years ago. It has taken a while for these to arrive in the UK, but our first look is finally here, and begins with the flagship of the two-product range – the RT2600ac.
This isn't a balls-out high-end router, but it does have the kind of solid feature set we have come to expect from Synology's other product ranges. The WiFi is quad-stream and dual-band, and it offers 800Mbit/sec across the 2.4GHz waveband alongside 1.73Gbits/sec at 5GHz, giving it the 2600 AC rating from which its model name is derived.
The port allocation is standard but nothing is missing. There's a four-port Gigabit Ethernet hub and extra dedicated Gigabit Ethernet port for the broadband WAN connection. Both USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports are included for attaching peripherals such as storage. A more unusual inclusion is the SD card slot on the front, which will be handy for things like sharing photos across the network.
With a reasonable price a little north of £200, the Synology RT2600ac sits somewhere in the middle between more budget-conscious routers such as the Linksys WRT3200ACM and NETGEAR Nighthawk X10 R9000.
Let's find out how it fares in comparison.
Price: £223.98
Specification:
Wireless protocols: MU-MIMO with 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz, 802.11a/n/ac 5GHz
Performance: AC2600 (1733 + 800 Mbits/sec)
Antenna Configuration: 4×4 External Antennas for 2.4/5GHz
Ports: 4 x Gigabit Ethernet, 1 x Gigabit Ethernet WAN, 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.0, SDXC card slot
Modem Support: VDSL/ADSL 2+ or cable
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