Synology RT2600AC - Expandable Mesh Router, Gigabit Ethernet, Parental Controls

I have been fighting against Wi-Fi dead spots at home for a long time, and this is my first time victory. Previously I have been a long term Linksys user since the golden ages of WRT54GL. I have also used Linksys EA6700, and even flagship like the EA9500. I have also tried various Wi-Fi repeaters (range extenders) of various brands, but they all shared a common issue: any device in the area where signal strength is about the same from two signal sources (one router and one repeater, or two repeaters) would intermittently drop package because the device decides to switch signal source, even when it is not moving. This is a pain because it results in dropped video calls and stuttering live streams. The so-called "seamless roaming" is totally useless and cannot avoid periodical and temporary disconnections. The lesson learnt here is that only a single router without any additional add-ons like repeaters can be the most reliable, robust and consistent solution. When it comes down to fighting against the Wi-Fi dead spots at home, the options narrow down to a single router with the best 2.4GHz range. I have done my research online for many days, and eventually found a tech geek doing tests and reviews at smallnetbuilder. The measurement data seem legit to me from a prospective of engineering, at least not biased/subjective as other reviews with merely vague descriptions. It appears that by looking into the "Throughput vs Attenuation" charts, this Synology RT2600ac holds best against signal loss, i.e. it will penetrate most walls among all routers they tested. Further looking into their routing performance spreadsheets, I have noticed that this Synology RT2600ac has least number of retries for TCP and least number of lost packages for UDP under stress tests, and beats the flagships of other brands (e.g. Linksys, Netgear, ASUS, TP-Link etc) by several orders of magnitude. I decided to give it a try by myself and see whether it is really that good. As a long term user of Synology NAS, I like the consistent UI offered by this RT2600ac. The initial setup procedure has been very smooth and I updated the OS to SRM 1.1.4-6509 straight away. The result is very satisfying: I can confirm that the dead spots in my bedroom are now gone finally, and the signal strength bar has been obviously improved with stable connections compared against the bulky EA9500 with 8 antennas! It just proves that the measurement data from smallnetbuilder are telling some truth. My devices also no longer intermittently drop connections! I have tried to stress test with multiple computers downloading from the internet and at the same time uploading to my Synology NAS, and everything went smooth and stable! The router has been up and running for a week now and I have never had to restart anything. Pros: State-of-the-art hardware specs: 1.7GHz quad-core + 512MB RAM Best 2.4GHz range as of H1 2017 Extremely stable connections without maintenance Synology's SRM router OS with next generation UI and functions Very fast and easy to set up out of the box Cons: Maybe a little bit pricy?

Oh thank god, a router system that doesn't break the bank and actually works as advertised. I'd moved over to a use-the-isp-router-just-as-a-modem set-up a while back to try to keep a lid on the kids' Internet usage which was getting out of hand. Asus rtac86u was the WiFi router component which was good to begin with though it still needed a booster to reach the furthest part of the house. But... The thing (memory) leaked like a sieve and needed rebooting at least once a day and after a couple of months' reasonably hard use just died on the 2.4g band. Very disappointing. I then discovered 30+% of all other buyers found the same.. Set off in search of a mesh capable router, had used synology nas products before and like their interfaces and after reading an effusive review about these MR2200 units took the plunge. Have two in a mesh pair, have never had wifi at home like it, it's revolutionised home working. It can sustain simultaneous video calls on three devices while maintaining HD streaming on TV and general surf Internet activities. *And* it has all of the parental control bells and whistles too. Only time will tell whether the hardware lasts but if uptime is anything to go by it's a winner (has gone 10 days between boots with no deterioration of service or weird connection hang ups etc). The interface is great with lots of control over everything (caveat - you can't dial up or down the wifi signal strength in mesh mode - no biggie in my case - and once meshed the interface treats the pair as if they were one - again don't really find this to be a problem). Only other thing might be the single lan rj45 jack but this is a _wifi_ router and you can always stick a switch in the back if desperate for more ports. I highly rate / recommend these.

With more and more devices becoming internet-connected, most ISP routers are just not set up to get the most out of them nowadays. As an EE broadband customer, I have had no real complaints with the routers they supply, other than the fact the control over devices is a little poor - for example, the EE SmartHub does not really allow you to manage DHCP reservation based on MAC addresses any more, but their older BrightBox 2 did. As I have a number of IoT / smart home devices at home, I have started to become a little more security conscious over what is connected to my home network. Also, as media streaming is becoming the norm, I started to notice a few issues with performance between my EE SmartHub and my NVIDIA Shield Pro, even over 5GHz WiFi. I started to look for a new router, and this kept cropping up but seemed a little pricey. As a Synology NAS user myself, I was attracted by the OS that Synology uses, and it is a fantastic improvement on the standard late 90's stuff most ISP routers seem to ship with nowadays. I decided to get the RT2600ac router over the MR220ac because I wanted to ensure I had the best available for my money, plus the extra horsepower is always a good thing in my eyes. Whilst the RT2600ac is a little on the big side, our router sits above our fridge in the kitchen so it's not a huge issue for me. Setup and installation was a breeze, thanks for Synology's well thought out OS, and I was up and running in no time. There are so many security features on this router, it really makes a difference. I opted to create a separate 2.4GHz network for my Chinese IoT devices and kept that isolated from other devices on my 5GHz / ethernet network - something you can easily do with the RT2600ac. I also decided to install some network cable in the form of Cat6 ethernet, and thanks for the various ports on the RT2600ac, this was straight forward. I only recently purchased the MR2200ac to add to my network to make it a mesh network, which has also significantly improved connectivity issues for devices on the edge of WiFi transmission - even setting that up was as simple as clicking a few buttons in the OS! Whilst it's a relatively ugly router thanks for the 4 antenna, it performs amazingly well. If you want a nice looking mesh router, then go for something else, but if you want performance and affordability, the RT2600ac from Synology is a must have.

This router has been used to extend the WiFi network from my Synology RT2600. Set-up was extremely simple as the RT2600 just automatically detects and configures the extender. There is no need to plug in a network cable when used as an extender. This device has generally boosted the WiFi around my home so I no longer have any dead spots. It is also very easy to move the device to another location around your house without any reconfiguration. The BIG complaint that I have is that the power supply comes with a EU type plug instead of a UK type. This is not acceptable considering how much it costs. Using a plug adapter makes the power supply hang-out a long way from the wall socket.

My experience with Synology RT2600ac WiFi Router, Sep - Oct 2019. I bought this to have better Networking & WiFi at home where I was using a Virgin SuperHub 3 and 100mbps fibre connection. The SH3 gave poor performance, and the widely documented path forward is to put it into Modem mode and buy a real WiFi Router. I first bought an ASUS AC88U which failed after two days and went back to Amazon. I bought the Synology RT2600ac about a week later after reading a lot more reviews. It was easy to install in a bedroom wardrobe and setup, very flexible. We got good speeds downstairs and upstairs with great coverage from the WiFi, enabling me to abandon my Powerline adaptors and local WiFi hotspots completely. Everyone happy. No more sluggish network, dropouts, intermittent freezes, bad coverage areas from the Virgin SH3. I updated the firmware and set it to auto update, which it did a few times over the next couple of days. The user interface is very clean, well designed, complete, easy to use and really helpful. I mean it gives clear guidance at each step instead of just a cryptic statement. I set everything up in two hours and it is all still fine three weeks later. Nothing changed on me, nothing unusual happened, updated itself fine. - No dropouts of any users / clients. Everyone reconnects when they get home without issues. - No internet disconnections, no WiFi fades. - Clean, correct, up to date Client list. - Clients are - iPads, iPhones, Macs, Epson printer, Android phones, Windows 10 PCs and Surface Gos, Ubuntu Laptop, Kindles, Raspberry Pi. All connected immediately and still are. Other reviewers said this router was worth the money and I fully agree. Everyone happy. Peace at last !!

Have you tried using range extenders to increase the coverage of your Wi-Fi network? Found they're not exactly seamless when handing over as you move around? Dropping out or being a bit flaky, or needing re-booting at inopportune moments? Me too... My Synology router is a great piece of gear with an excellent user interface. I've now added three MR2200ac access points to create a mesh network around my large property, and couldn't be happier with the set-up. Configuration is a piece of cake, using the excellent Synology app. It's genuinely plug and play. The option to use a dedicated wireless channel or ethernet cable for back-haul is excellent and reduces demand on your useable bandwidth considerably. Same SSID and password throughout the coverage area, of course - but the handover between access points is genuinely imperceptible. Now, instead of multiple networks with different SSIDs criss-crossing my property, there's a single, lightning-quick mesh network that just works marvellously! Make the switch to Synology and get full, easy control of your network! You'll be glad you did! *** If you've found this review useful, please hit the "Helpful" button. I neither receive nor accept any incentive or reward for commenting on products, so this is a genuinely independent perspective. Your appreciation is what makes writing reviews worthwhile 😊 ***

Bought this after doing some research and reading some of the reviews. Much bigger than the BT Hub 5 (Plusnet one) it replaced, Also linked to a Synology NAS and works perfectly. Lots of menus for control with an excellent interface. Guided set up in about 10 minutes (plusnet fibre provider) with software updates at the same time. Just know your provider login details etc. SD card slot (useful for the app downloads) and 2 USP 3 ports. Wifi off and SD eject switches on the side. Only 4 ethernet ports, but I dont find that a problem - you can always expand this with a switch. You need a modem with this unit and I am using the original unit supplied by Plusnet from 2012. This has made such a difference through ethernet and wifi range. Expensive but worth the money. Very happy with the quality product of the product.

An excellent wifi router, with the added bonus of the familiar Synology approach to device management and support. That includes comprehensive and easy-to-use configuration software, and the backing of a responsive, well-organised, well-informed and helpful support operation - an example that some of Synology's competitors would do well to follow! However, if you are considering, as I did, buying these devices to create a mesh network behind some other existing router (ie, you wish to run in these Synology units in Access Point mode), then THINK AGAIN:- THE MR2200ac WILL NOT CREATE A MESH NETWORK WHEN OPERATING IN ACCESS POINT MODE. I will return to this later. The first thing you will notice when commissioning these units is that they are painfully slow to boot, and it typically takes several minutes from power-on to full operation. If you have multiple units, the initial process of pairing them is simply agonising. Pairing cannot begin until both units have reached an operating state - say 10 minutes from cold boot. The the main unit must then "find" its subsidiary unit, and then send it configuration information, all over wifi. This again takes a considerable time, during which the internet connection is unavailable, and the less patient user is likely to have given up long before the process is complete. I don't doubt that this is Synology being thorough, but I can't help feeling that much time might be saved if initial pairing could be completed using a wired connection between the units. However, the pairing process explicitly requires wifi connection only - wired connection can only be made once pairing has been completed, which strikes me as silly, as well as wildly unintuitive even if it is common practice. I have already mentioned mesh networking. Remember that this device is advertised and sold as a mesh router, which to me seems to be only partly true. The main point of a mesh network is that on can have multiple router/access-points working together to provide seamless wifi coverage over an area that could not be covered by a single unit. The benefit of this to the user is that one can move around anywhere within the covered area, connecting invisibly and without interruption of communication to the unit providing the best signal at that particular moment. Switching between units should be instantaneous. After I had installed my Synology units in addition to (and not as a replacement for) my existing DrayTek router, I found that there could be a hiatus in communications of several seconds, occasionally tens of seconds, in switching between units. It was only when I eventually queried this with the Synology support department I was told that mesh communications is only available when the master unit is operating in full router mode, otherwise it is explicitly disabled! I remain more than a little annoyed about this, as I found no indication of it before purchase, and nor does it seem a remotely reasonable limitation on so pricey a piece of kit. I am an enthusiastic user of other Synology NAS devices, and so I had no qualms in purchasing these devices. However, had I known of the mesh limitations I would most certainly not have done so.