Review on TRENDnet Wireless Gigabit Pre Encrypted TEW 812DRU by Ryan Fuhrer

I had an old DLink router that ended up not being enough for my household needs, so I started looking for good routers that were affordable given how advanced the technology was. This wireless router topped a few online reviews (including CNet+PC Mag) and what struck me was the wealth of features it had for the price. Now I have to say - while I'm a seasoned IT professional myself, most of the key features that the average person setting up Wi-Fi at home needs or uses are literally just a push of a button away. 1) Setup is very easy, it's pre-encrypted so you don't need to set a password. If you want to use a unique password, you can use it. 2) It has 2 lanes, think of it as high and low speed networks so you can actually control which devices connect where - depending on your streaming or network needs. You no longer need to share your valuable WiFi password with your whole family or teenage friends. You can set up guest account to share like they do in mall, coffee shop or hotel and manage only 1 account and reinstall it anytime without affecting all your personal accounts or passwords - easy to use feature. and appreciated. 4) The management console/interface is simple - green - red colors for the items you need to see (network status, account issues, etc.). Simple, intuitive. 5) Enabling or configuring features is as easy as simple yes/no questions. Each item you choose to enable has an on/off switch to extend its functionality - all advanced items are disabled by default - offering a higher level of security for the average home user. 6) If you are an advanced IT professional or know your network concepts, you can set up DMZs, partition networks, manage accounts/permissions, prevent guest access to your home LAN, etc. 7) It has scheduling features that are easy to set up to make the Limit traffic and even set schedules - no YouTube after 9pm. or no more Netflix, or whatever you choose! Overall, I'm very happy I got it in the price range. - Are there better routers? Sure, but they cost twice as much - this worked for me - and as PC Mag pointed out, this thing just flies over WiFi. My measured speed increase was over 25% just using the 5MHz band - and I didn't even change anything! If you're wondering how much load this thing can handle, I have about 10 mobile devices (tablets or mobile phones), 3 smart TVs (each with video streaming services), 4 PCs/laptops, 1 wireless printer, alarm system/ Surveillance and 2 game consoles. Not to mention the devices my "guests" use when we have friends or family at home! All of this eats up network bandwidth - this thing hasn't stalled.