Synology RT6600ax AX6600 Wireless Router Review

Rating: 8.0.

WiFi 6 has been out in the wild for a few years now, and has finally become a standard feature on notebooks. Previously it was a luxury if you could afford it, but now you will be risking obsolescence by not going for WiFi 6. Luckily, brands like Synology that know how to provide all the features you need for a keen price, have options for you. The RT6600ax is a tri-band WiFi 6 router, but it costs less than £300.

The Synology RT6600ax incorporates three radios. The main 5GHz one offers 4,800Mbits/sec throughput, then a secondary 5GHz radio provides 1,200Mbits/sec, while the final 2.4GHz waveband operates at 600Mbits/sec. Since they can all be used simultaneously, the sum makes up the AX6600 rating. The antennas have a 4 x 4 MIMO configuration for the main 5GHz radio, and 2 x 2 for the secondary radios.

Wired connectivity is pretty typical for a mainstream router, with a dedicated Gigabit Ethernet WAN connection, plus four more for wired devices, and a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port for peripherals. However, the LAN ports have a couple of tricks up their sleeve we will discuss shortly.

Although you can pick up decent 802.11ac / WiFi 5 routers for well under £200, WiFi 6 still commands a considerable premium. However, the Synology RT6600ax's sub-£300 price makes it more expensive but affordable for the latest technology, in roughly the same price bracket as NETGEAR's similarly specified Nighthawk AX12.

Specification:

• Wireless protocols: MU-MIMO with 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz, 802.11a/n/ac/ax 5GHz
• Performance: AX6600 (4,800 + 1,200 + 600 Mbits/sec)
• Antenna Configuration: 4×4 External Antennas for 5GHz; 2×2 External Antennas for 2.4/5GHz
• Ports: 4 x Gigabit Ethernet (including 1 x 2.5G), 1 x Gigabit Ethernet WAN, 1 x USB USB 3.2 Gen 1
• Modem Support: VDSL/ADSL 2+ or cable

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