Two-minute evaluate
- Very quick
- Wonderful vary
- Prosumer and SMB options
- Worth is determined by native pricing
We had been lately blown away by Synology’s push into the Wi-Fi 6 router market. The corporate’s RT6600ax (opens in new tab) might need seemed boring and ugly, however its efficiency, options and value modified all the pieces. Now Synology is again with the Subaru-sounding WRX560 which affords related headline specs and options, however in an even-cheaper, extra family-friendly package deal.
Our main gripe with the RT6600ax was that, for all its slick apps and interfaces, it was nonetheless a bit techie for the common Joe. The WRX560 rapidly addresses this. Set-up is the best we’ve but seen: the cellphone app immediately discovered our machine, requested what we needed to name our Wi-Fi community and requested for a password. Achieved. It additionally addresses our secondary gripe with the RT6600ax – the WRX650 appears significantly better!
The cellphone app is well-featured, intuitive and quick. The primary two of 4 tabs seamlessly interlink to indicate you what’s in your community, the bandwidth used, plus you possibly can organise primary QoS priorities and pause every machine. You can even simply arrange a visitor community and provides a QR code to guests to hook up with it.
The Protected Entry tab addresses our earlier points about managing staff with parental controls. It lets you very-easily arrange intensive entry and firewall controls for teenagers, adults and gadgets. This entails creating profiles which assign web entry scheduling, time-limits and content material filtering for particular person (or teams of) gadgets plus content material filtering (together with real-time entry to on-line risk intelligence databases) for teenagers, staff and friends. There are default classes, however they’re all configurable. It’s some of the well-featured and easy-to-use filters we’ve seen and, in contrast to rival fashions, it doesn’t require a subscription.
The Settings tab offers entry to the same old prosumer router settings, however accessing them through the web-browser offers the most effective expertise available on the market due to the Synology NAS-like GUI. All Synology’s dwelling and SMB add-on packages can be found, together with superior VPN, server instruments and obtain managers. The one annoyance is it is advisable to add USB storage to put in and use them.
Different options embody help for 10 SSIDs to phase gadgets and other people in your community and supply completely different firewall controls to isolate or mix them. That is nice for sensible properties, SMBs and residential places of work the place hackable IoT gadgets could be locked down and never used to entry your vital and delicate information. One of many 4 community ports affords 2.5Gbps for LAN or WAN connections and different Ethernet ports could be mixed for load balancing. It’s a completely featured enterprise router should you want it to be.
It additionally smashed by our efficiency checks, managing 791.5Mbps up shut, 375Mbps two rooms away and an incredible 216.7Mbps down in our longer-distance ‘down within the backyard’ take a look at. The latter rivals high triple-node mesh methods! That’s regardless of solely working on one 2.4GHz channel and one 5GHz channel.
As such, the mix of value, options, worth, ease-of-use all imply this needs to be on the shortlist of anybody seeking to buy a Wi-Fi 6 router.
Synology WRX560: Worth and availability
- How a lot does it value? $220 / £220 / AU$429
- The place is it obtainable? Out there now
- The place are you able to get it? Out there in most main markets together with the US, UK and Australia
The Synology WRX560 is out there now within the US, UK and Australia and is within the strategy of showing in different worldwide markets. The efficiency and options on supply recommend a excessive retail value however the WRX560 has avenue pricing of simply $220 / £220 / AU$429. That is, frankly, ridiculously low. What’s extra, you possibly can join a number of fashions collectively to create an final mesh community and nonetheless save a fortune in comparison with any top-tier mesh system which has comparable efficiency to this solo machine.
It’ fundamental rival is its huge brother, the business-designated RT6600ax. They help the identical options however, for the RT6600ax’s barely greater value you get an additional, configurable 2.5Gb Ethernet port, a quicker processor and extra RAM, plus an additional 5GHz channel. We would not have seen these translate to real-world efficiency features beneath normal utilization, however they need to make a distinction throughout a crowded community. So, should you’re managing a number of staff and a number of IoT gadgets throughout a number of networks, it’s probably value paying extra for the RT6600ax.
For some, nevertheless, the above is fanciful within the first place. On the time of evaluate, we discovered it was so laborious to seek out the WRX560 in inventory, to the purpose that some shops are had been charging a hefty premium for it. In the meantime, the RT6600ax’s value has began to calm down, which means each routers can value the identical in some locales!
Synology WRX560: Design and options
- Not ugly
- Finest entry controls available on the market
- Filled with skilled and prosumer options
Synology’s RT6600ax seemed older and dowdier than the very first mass-market wi-fi routers twenty years in the past – which is a few achievement. So, we had been happy to see a component of contemporary design added to the WRX560. Its tower-based chassis, with inner antennae, nonetheless can’t compete with glitzy RGB-decorated rivals, however it doesn’t take up a lot room and received’t blight most dwelling areas.
Nonetheless, it’s value labouring the purpose that the side-mounted USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port might be utilized by many consumers to insert a USB stick and, as you possibly can see from a number of the images on this evaluate, the sight of that protuberance is decidedly not aesthetically pleasing.
Configuration can principally be achieved by the well-featured, intuitively laid-out DS Router cellular app. This tells you what’s in your community and the assets that every machine is utilising. You possibly can assign Excessive Precedence or Low Precedence standing to gadgets, pause web entry and even block gadgets from connecting. You possibly can simply present entry to a core community or a visitor community through a QR code.
The Protected Entry tab offers the most effective parental/entry controls we’ve seen on any machine – and in contrast to many opponents, they’re solely free. All the pieces is predicated round profiles that are extremely configurable and really intuitive to make use of. The start line is whether or not you’re coping with a baby, grownup or complete native community.
For particular youngsters (or youngsters basically), you possibly can merely select which linked gadgets they use, add a reputation (and non-compulsory picture) after which set-up an internet-access schedule and/or a metered time quota. You can even assign (customisable) internet filters applicable to their age. Whereas these are at all times fallible and will by no means be wholly relied upon, you possibly can simply block quite a few curated classes of content material or particular web sites. You can even implement whitelist-only insurance policies for authorized web sites and may pressure Protected Search on YouTube and main search engines like google. If somebody needs entry to a proscribed web site, an admin is straight away notified through the app and may approve or deny the request.
Entry management for normal customers a lot is similar, however the content material filter is turned off by default. Nonetheless, you possibly can simply apply customisable settings presets for workers and friends. Stories and alerts can be found so that you can determine problematic behaviour and makes an attempt at illicit exercise.
Synology WRX560: Specs
Wi-fi connectivity: dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (2.4GHz/5GHz)
Pace: 3.0Gbps
Connectivity: 1x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet (WAN/LAN), 3x Gigabit Ethernet LAN; 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1
Processor: Quad-core Qualcomm @1.4GHz
Reminiscence: 512MB
Dimensions (HxWxD): 233 x 194 x 66mm
You can even implement normal settings throughout all gadgets on native networks and you may configure as much as 10 separate SSIDs.
The latter lets you phase completely different individuals and gadgets throughout separate networks in keeping with completely different firewall necessities. For example, youngsters would possibly get placed on a youngsters’ community that’s separate from a house workplace community – however you possibly can nonetheless present entry to the home-office printer. Staff could be barred from your house server, sensible audio system, media streamers and TVs. In the meantime, IoT gadgets could be remoted in order that, as an illustration, a safety digicam’s bi-directional stream could be rendered accessible in a single course solely. Consequently, if compromised, it will possibly’t be used to assault your community.
Additionally obtainable is Synology’s QuickConnect system, whereby you possibly can rapidly entry your router’s settings and apps over the web, wherever you’re on the planet.
A lot of that is obtainable on the app, however its value shifting to an online browser for the trickier configurations. As with the RT6600ax, Synology’s standard browser-based, NAS-like Synology Router Supervisor (SRM) OS is used within the WRX560. That is actually a mouse-and-keyboard-based desktop OS that is introduced by your browser, the place you possibly can entry and set up new apps.
Amongst these apps are VPN Plus Server, which staff can utilise – licence free – to entry your inner community remotely. There’s additionally Synology WebVPN which permits related VPN performance with out a VPN connection – only a internet browser. There’s additionally quick, site-to-site VPN tunnelling that’s Microsoft Azure licensed, lively listing and LDAP help, plus intensive notification and event-logging choices.
Different packages embody Media Server, RADIUS server, DNS server, extra risk prevention choices and the power to show USB storage right into a bona fide workplace server. Judging by Synology’s intensive NAS-based DSM group, we anticipate extra apps to seem down the road. However there’s little or no you possibly can’t already do right here.
Our solely gripe is that new packages require there to be USB storage hooked up… from the aspect. We anticipate many of the goal market will, by now, have a spare USB drive or two knocking round, so we’re primarily aggravated concerning the side-mounted positioning wanting dangerous.
In the meantime, the 4 Ethernet ports (one in every of which is 2.5Gbps) are all configurable for LAN or WAN performance, load balancing or attaching new nodes.
Finally, the WRX560 can do all the pieces the mighty RT6600ax can do, however with much less built-in headroom to develop for rising SMBs.
- Design and options: 5 / 5
Synology WRX560: Efficiency
- Very quick up shut and at distance
- Single 5GHz band offers little headroom
Just like the RT6600ax and different high Wi-Fi 6 routers, the WRX560 can entry the less-crowded 160MHz spectrum (besides in Canada and Australia) and the 5.9GHz channels too. Nonetheless, we had been involved about its dual-channel nature – there’s only one 2.4GHz channel and one 5GHz channel. Nonetheless, the antennae match the RT6600ax, so we had been eager to see the way it carried out.
We ran our common checks in our single-storey Sydney weatherboard cottage, which contain setting the router up within the center room, subsequent to our modem and NAS that are each linked by Ethernet. We examined by downloading massive information to a Wi-Fi 6 laptop computer subsequent to the WRX560, within the entrance room (two rooms away) and 25m away, outdoors, within the again backyard.
Up shut it managed a blistering 791.5Mbps, which is within the high 5 scores we’ve seen. Two rooms away, it managed 375Mbps which is the quickest standalone (non-mesh) rating we’ve seen from a non-pimped-out gaming router. In the meantime, down within the backyard, it scored an incredible 216.7Mbps, which rivals high triple-node mesh methods!
Fairly merely, these are among the many easiest efficiency and vary scores we’ve ever seen from a router. Shopping for three and utilizing them as a mesh will increase efficiency additional – and infrequently nonetheless prevent cash in comparison with different premium routers and mesh methods. Nonetheless, we do fear that should you really are utilizing the WRX560 for SMB or mesh functions, that single 5GHz band might get crowded somewhat simply.
Synology WRX560: report card
| Attribute | Notes | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Worth | Contemplating all the pieces on supply by way of options and efficiency, the WRX560 is usually unbelievable worth that is higher than any competitor at this value. Nonetheless, value fluctuations in some markets forestall us giving it full marks right here. | 4.5 / 5 |
| Design & options | Synology’s router OS makes the WRX some of the feature-packed routers obtainable, however it’s additionally effectively designed and easy to make use of, whether or not you simply need to tweak the fundamentals or get extra superior. | 5 / 5 |
| Efficiency | Regardless of solely being dual-band, the WRX560 delivered glorious Wi-Fi 6 efficiency in our checks, even besting some tri-band opponents. | 5 / 5 |
Ought to I purchase the Synology WRX560?
Purchase it if…
Don’t purchase it if…
Additionally take into account
- First reviewed December 2022
How we take a look at
We pleasure ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing course of, providing up long-term consideration to the merchandise we evaluate and ensuring our critiques are up to date and maintained – no matter when a tool was launched, should you can nonetheless purchase it, it is on our radar.
Learn extra about how we take a look at
