Synology MR2200ac Mesh Wi-Fi Router

I purchased my first Synology RT6600ax April 2023. About 6months later I decided to purchase a second one and use as a Mesh (meaning like Orbi and other units tying them together). Depending on your square footage of your home, you may or may not need more than one. Some may need updwards of 3 at best or 4 or more for much larger homes. The average person likely only need between 1-3 with 2 being ideal for most.Let me start by saying you don't have to be a Techy person to setup Synology routers. The user interface (Linux) is very clean and easy to use. Adding additional RT6600ax units are super easy as well during setup. All "looks" not jokes aside, don't be fooled by it's appearance. As a matter of fact, who cares as long as it performs and that's where Synology comes in. "Set it and forget it!" You can set up to a total of 4 different WiFi names to connect to plus add a Guest one for a total of 5, to keep lets say IoT (Internet of Things) = Smart devices separate from your Gaming and/or Streaming devices. I have my Main, Gaming, Media, IoT, and Guest. You can name them whatever you like.What I like most about Synology unlike others... NO SUBSCRIPTIONS! Their security is top-notch as well as downloadable apps are free and useful. You can also create and run let say a VPN on the router and allow only specific traffic to use it and allow others to bypass it. Super cool. Set it and forget it!Now, let me say this because I've been reading some reviews here and there about Synology support and speed. I'm going to call BS on the majority and call those the entitled group who feels like their needs are important over all things possibe, not of reality. HEY OVER HERE... I'M #1... ANSWER ME NOW!!! Have to laugh at most of them or those that are just trying to re-invite their own understanding, not of what it really is. First off, if you have AT&T or another provider whose modem/router combo is the primary source of your internet, you MUST set that device in what's called Bridge mode or pass-through. That means the traffic will pass through it to your Synology router which will be the acting DNS (Communication and Traffic Router) for your service. Your Service Provider such as AT&T will not support you adding your own equipment and the Techs will surely play dumb because it's not their job to hook up and configure your 3rd party equipment. It's not Synology job to support your speed issues coming in through the providers equipment. So there's this tall tell that if one doesn't help me, surely the other will. They're 2 different entities that work together but not for us to get 100% of what we think we're entitled to have. The speeds you pay for are ALWAYS to be looked at as UP TO that speed. Speeds don't stay the same. Many factors will affect your speed. You phone don't need 1gig gong to it. It can't handle it. So it won't detect it. The 1 gig or whatever your speed you're paying for is the shared speed amongst all of your devices. As one device uses a block of that speed you have, it will affect the speed of other devices. The more the devices sharing, the less each device will get and it's ok as long as it's working. If your speeds are terrible, maybe look at whose downloading large sums of data affecting your speed. Otherwise, normal "legal" traffic usage with tons of devices should suffice.Ok, back to my review. Getting back on track... I have 2 RT6600ax routers. As I move through my house, my connection transitions to the other without interruption. I pay for up to 1gig. I'm getting through to the routher a speed of 987 pretty consistent when I check. Sometimes it'll drop to 950. We have over 30 devices. Smart home with several phones/tablets, handheld consoles when the grandkids and guest come over in addition to 3 gaming systems, 4 computers, and 5 TVs going at any given time and/or at the same time. There's a lot going on on my network. Synology handles them with ease. 2 are hardcore gamers. Ping and Speed are everything to them. There are times I may have to work from home. When I do, even with all of that traffic, as most who work from home knows (No one can be doing a lot or it'll affect calls and/or my work.) I don't have those issues.I've been happy with my RT660ax here. Just last year I purchased 2 additional for our second guest home. There, we have over 20 smart cameras around the property. It's out in the country where the fastest speed is only up to 25MB! It's also a smart home with about 40 something devices in all there. Synology handles all of those devices. It utilizes the shared speed control amongst all of those devices with that speed. I do have to admit, no gamers there. They hate it. Maybe in the future the speeds will get better but no router will make magic with speeds like that but what it will do is ease the pain and Synology RT6600ax does that.Lastly, as an update, yes, the signals show up as 6ghz aka WiFi 6. Also, it's very easy to manage your network on the go. It's really a powerful router. Some of my friends have switched to the same router as well since acknowledging my experience. You won't regret your purchase.

Solid, stable router. It may be a bit underpowered though and takes a while to boot up. Once it's booted up you basically don't have to worry about it at all. Applying the firmware updates was smooth and I never encountered any issues after any of the updates (unlike another Brand where occasionally you'll have to reset the router after applying updates sometimes to resolve issues). Quality control of their firmware and firmware updates appears to be good. If you can find one of these and having the maximum wifi range is not a priority, it's a great option.

I bought this as a replacement for my Airport Extremes. Let me say, I still like the AE's and they were great. As we say where I come from: "They work fine & last a long time". Unfortunately Apple discontinued the line & any hope I had of them ever upgrading their software to make re-configuring and adding features died along with that decision. So I went looking for other options.I went with the RT2600AC because after researching, this router supposedly had the combination of hardware and software options that I had always desired from my AE's.The RT2600AC is as simple or complex a wireless router as the user wants it to be. I don't consider myself as "tech savvy" but I am also not 'Tech ignorant". I had the router online and was receiving signal within 10-15 minutes of powering it up. Initial setup for basic functionality was straightforward. Coverage of the wi-fi signal was as good or better than my previous AE's. My son (who is a gamer) said he has noticed that his IP times were down (good thing) and his FPS were up (also a good thing), for all that is worth to the reviewers out there. I interpreted that as the data speed from the router was better than the AE. Once the user gets to this point everything is a matter of personal needs & wants. The unit has more functionality than a Swiss Army Knife.So I will highlight what I have found useful so far:The unit identifies via its router management software SRM every device that connects to it.Then it allows the user to define priorities and limitations to these devices such as:Allocating bandwidth priority so the user can assign priority to which device the user wants to ensure has greater connectivity to the internet, should the need arise (otherwords: if one watches TV via the internet but one of the kiddos is eating up all the connectivity watching You Tube videos or playing HALO, then the user can assign a higher priority to the TV so it gets the connectivity it needs instead of the two devices fighting each other for bandwidth and the TV constantly buffering).Also every device can be setup with bandwidth limitations to constrain how much bandwidth any device will consume at any time.Every device can be setup with limitations as to content access. Adult sites, gambling sites, sites with violence, etc.. can be blocked for individual devices. Usually the pre-made filtering packages of the software suffice and can be assigned to the devices. There is also, however, the ability to create a custom user packages, or even the ability to block specific websites. ALL OF THIS is done from the router. No going into several individual devices anymore to set each units own parental control or other restrictive setting. Just log into the SRM on the computer and go to town. One can even set up the router to NOTIFY YOU if someone is trying to access inappropriate content and it will give the site and which user(s) were trying to gain access to it. These handy features seems to be designed not only for its use as the home router but also as a wifi router for a small business.On top of this, it gives graphical displays of the amount of bandwidth each device is consuming and will even run an easy to follow report on bandwidth usage and breakdown what sites are using the most.Interfacing into all its features is done from the SRM (web based application) but there is also the smart phone app that will allow limited access to control these features when one is away from the computer. Within the SRM are capabilities for external storage, cloud services, VPN, security, and many many other features. And the router itself has handy features that make its use simple and convenient. Wifi can be disabled/enabled from a push of a button on the router. This is handy for troubleshooting or just to get all the kids attention when they have difficulty dragging themselves away from their devices to do their chores (one of my favorite features!!!). Handy USB 3.0 & 2.0 slot right on the router for connecting external devices (i.e. external hard drives) & even an SD Card slot. There are four Ethernet ports on the rear for those who have a need for wired connectivity and even a simple on/off button to power up/down the unit.I need to refrain from writing a novel here (because I can't even begin to list all the functionality of this unit) so let me sum it up this way. The RT2600AC allows the user to have total control of his/her network. Whether you are a person who needs simplicity to set up a simple network or if your a Sheldon Cooper techy type who isn't happy unless there are a million functions that require extensive computing knowledge; this router has the ability to satisfy both needs. For those of us in between, with a little reading (btw, SRM gives easy access to helpful information) you'll discover useful capabilities that should far exceed your expectations but not your abilities/ know-how. Only time will tell if the longevity / lifespan of the router will be equal to that of my previous Apple AE's. So far.......Very Good!!