The Asus Blue Cave AC2600 Dual-Band Wireless Router for Smart Homes may not be the fastest dual-band router, but it is certainly one of the more exotic-looking ones. It delivered relatively good close-range throughput performance in our tests, but it didn't do very well on our long-range throughput...

Stylish design; Easy setup; Built-in network protection; Robust parental controls; Supports Alexa voice and IFTTT commands

Middling long-range performance; Sluggish file transfer speeds; MU-MIMO not enabled

Today we'll be taking a quick look at the Asus BRT-828 AC2600 Dual-WAN VPN WiFi Router. It's a business class router that offers dual-band AC2600 Wi-Fi connectivity and is suitable for home or a small

One of the fastest routers we've tested; 8 x LAN ports; M.2 slot for SSD; MU-MIMO support; Tons of VPN options; LTE broadband support; Adaptive and Smart QoS

Wireless speeds could be better

There are many different routers on the market right now, but the ASUS BRT-AC828 is a true innovation that has a lot to offer. This router offers all of the modern networking features that you would expect and then some.

ASUS' Blue Cave router has drawn a lot of attention for both its unique design and being one of the first routers to be based on an Intel / Lantiq platform. Announced last June at Computex 2017 , the BC started shipping only a month or so ago.

Since there is so much whining about this product, thought I would post a review regarding my positive experience with the ASUS CM-32. This is a fantastic firewall/router which replaced my not-so fantastic TWC Cable modem and kept me from having to pay rent.

This review will be divided into three parts: a. B&H Customer Service b. The DSL side of this device c. The wireless router side of this device. First, a little about me: I am a retired network manager for Uncle Sam. I know a little about these things. Enough said. a.

Most WiFi routers are meant to be stuffed in your study, out of sight – so not much thought will have been given to how they look. The ones that are intended for public view are usually aimed at technology lovers.

Stylish blue-lit design; Excellent performance and range with 802.11ac and 802.11n; Quad-port Ethernet switch; USB 3.0 for storage; printer and mobile broadband sharing; Feature-rich administration features; Reasonably priced

Admin interface will be complicated even for mid-range users; The blue cave design might be a portal to another dimension

The Asus BRT-AC828 doesn't come cheap, though: consumers should consider investing in Google Wifi or BT's system instead. But for small businesses looking to provide reliable Wi-Fi for their customers without the hassle of buying a bespoke solution, it's a great choice.

Eight Gigabit Ethernet ports; Ability to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot

Expensive

Love it!

If you want a router that has style, speed, security and great Wi-Fi coverage, the Asus Blue Cave AC2600 router is the one you want. At $175 or £180 (which converts to about AU$320), it's affordable and has all the latest 802.11ac features.

Asus' Blue Cave offers top speeds at an affordable price; The menu gives you access to almost every setting imaginable; Free security from Trend Micro provides added peace of mind; Alexa and IFTTT are supported

Network storage transfer speeds were slow; Constantly explaining to friends that it's actually a router might be annoying