Product review
February 2019
Wireless routers
We've tested 12 store-bought routers and 10 ISP-supplied models to assess their WiFi performance and security, plus how easy they are to set up.
February 2019
Synology
RT2600ac
Price
$389
Score
77
Good
Recommended
Price
$389
Score
77
Good
Recommended
Why is this free?
This report is free thanks to a donation from CHORUS provided to support consumer broadband education.
Consumer NZ is non-profit. To help us get a fairer deal for all New Zealand consumers you can become a Consumer member or make a donation. We’ll use your contribution to investigate consumer issues and work for positive change.
When we asked our testers which router they’d buy after this test, they said the Synology. It has excellent security and fibre speeds. The router is very good at channel switching and its 5GHz network is excellent. It has four external antennas and is fairly large, which means it may not fit with your décor.
Test results
- 73WiFi performance
- 78Ease of use and setup
- 90Security
Good points
- Good WiFi performance.
- Excellent 5GHz WiFi performance.
- Easy to use
- Excellent for security.
- Excellent fibre speed.
- Very good for channel switching.
Bad points
- Only OK 2.4GHz WiFi performance.
- Very noticeable interference on 5GHz signal.
Model
- Avg price
$389
Speed test results
- Fibre
9.3/10
- WiFi performance 2.4GHz
5.5/10
- WiFi performance 5GHz
9.0/10
- Obstruction 2.4GHz
Noticeable interference from obstruction
- Obstruction 5GHz
Very noticeable interference from obstruction
- Channel switching ability
Very good at channel switching
Specifications
- Fibre
Yes
- WiFi bands (GHz)
2.4 & 5
- Antennas
4
- Antenna placement
Two on rear, one on each side, can fold 90° and rotates 360°, removeable
- Dimensions (WxDxH) [mm]
77 x 280 x 169
- Weight (g)
695
Features
- Mesh
- MIMO
Yes
- Beamforming support
- Ethernet LAN ports
4
- USB ports
2
- Media sharing via USB
- DLNA
- Installation wizard
- Quality of Service
- Parental controls
- Parental control features
Web filter, time scheduling, safe search
- Firewall
- Guest network WiFi
Yes
- WPS support
- 3G/4G passthrough
- VOIP
- Wall mountable
Member reviews
Have you used this product? Share your opinion with Consumer members
We also tested
Not found what you want?
We've tested 10 other wireless routers.
Synology
Pros
It works well and reliably when closer to the router.
Cons
The range isn’t great. My internet connection frequently drops out when I’m using a device in a room about 12 metres from the router. I have a single story older wooden house. That is extremely irritating and at that price I expected better.
Recommend it?
Maybe, it depends on what you're after.
Viviane M.
Used 3 - 6 months