Tenda ac10u review Hybrid WiFi Router

Overview of the Tenda AC10U Hybrid Wi-Fi Router

Tenda routers have always been distinguished by their performance and functionality compared to competitors in the same price range. Tenda AC10U is no exception. It is a high-performance, dual-band AC gigabit router. It is built on powerful hardware, thanks to which, the router can withstand the simultaneous connection of a large number of devices (up to 30) . Tenda AC10U can easily cope with network-demanding online games and high-definition streaming video playback. Plus, there is 1 USB port and, what is also important, a simple and functional web interface.

Tenda ac10u Main specs:
Data Transfer Rate: up to 867Mb per second |Frequency Bands Supported:Dual-Band 2.4GHz, 5GHz| Number of ethernet ports: 3 | Wireless Compatibility: 802.11ac |Number of USB 2.0 Ports: 1|RAM: 128MB | chip: 1GHz Realtek RTL8197FS | Coverage: up to 2000 Sq. ft| MU-MIMO Technology |

The volume of network devices has recently gained quite a lot of popularity. And this is quite normal. People are increasingly forgetting the usual methods of storing and transferring information (flash drives, portable drives, and, gods, CDs!). The quality and quantity of content on the network is also increasing, which is why its dimensions are growing. In 2020, you won’t surprise anyone anymore, for example, watching movies on your home TV in 4K resolution, and at the same time, you need a conditional child to be able to watch the cartoon on your tablet on YouTube without lags at that moment. Well, of course, all this should be on WiFi. As you can see, not only leisure, but also, for some people, the convenience of work directly depends on the quality of the network today. And now a completely accessible router came to our review, which will help you quickly and easily organize a high-quality wireless network even in a relatively large room. But let’s talk about everything in order.

Options Tenda AC10U

A potential buyer of Tenda AC10U after paying the bill receives a rather impressive box in size. Note that the box is made in the usual black color for the company with orange accents, which we already saw in the Tenda AC9 and Tenda Nova MW6 . The box is replete with a lot of diverse information that will help to better understand all the strengths of this router.on the back of the box you can see detailed technical information about the router and also its comparison with other models of the line.

But, no matter how interesting the box would look, it’s much more interesting what is hidden inside 🙂 The delivery set can be called pretty standard: the router itself, a network cable, a power supply (the same impressive size as in the set with Tenda AC9 ) and booklets with additional information, a guarantee and a quick guide to customize.

AC10U Design

As for the design, for a long time already in our editorial office there was no device that would become so hotly discussed. We must pay tribute to the designers of the company, they tried their best. The router itself is located both horizontally and has the ability to mount on the wall (vertically). But to be honest, I don’t really want to hide such an animal somewhere under the table or behind the closet. And all because outwardly the router resembles some wonderful and a little creepy guest from the depths of the ocean or an alien from far space. And this image is complemented by blue LEDs on the front panel, which can be easily mistaken for eyes, and four antennas (two on the sides and two at the back) are a kind of tentacle. In a word, here the flight of fantasy is simply unlimited.

The main feature of the case design is strict, sharp lines. Case material – this smooth matte plastic. Also on the front panel there are only 4 LEDs, which on average is unusually small for routers, but it is quite justified in such an unusual design. We believe that such a number of light indicators will be quite enough to understand that:

• the router is on;
• Is the Internet connection active?
• Are the devices connected to the router via LAN?
• Is the Wi-Fi network active?

On the rear panel you can find the WiFi buttons, Reset 3 LAN ports, WAN and USB ports, as well as a power supply socket. The presence of a USB port in this router can be found directly from the name. The manufacturer indicates the presence of a USB port by the letter U in the name.

The ability to connect storage to the router is a very useful feature that can significantly expand the capabilities of your home network. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, all the ports in this router are gigabit, which is also important. On the bottom there are 4 rubberized legs that not only hold the router well on the surface, but also raise it noticeably. Most likely this was done in order to provide the router with good cooling. Here you can also find a pair of holes for wall mounting and a nameplate with information regarding the default parameters of the wireless network and the address for entering the admin panel.

The overall dimensions of the router can be called quite compact. The linear dimensions are 220 x 141.5 x 49 mm, and the weight is only 350 grams.

Technical specifications

We can immediately learn about the technical characteristics of the Tenda AC1200 router from the information on the box. The statement that it is great for online games in high quality 4K video is especially striking.

As you already understood, in terms of design, the Tenda AC10U pleasantly surprised us, but what is hidden inside the router? In general, the technical stuffing of the router is also quite good. The heart of the device is a quite productive “system on a chip” Realtek RTL8197FS, which operates at a frequency of 1 GHz. Also on board there are 128 MB of DDR3 RAM and 16 MB of storage space for the firmware.

The router itself offers support for 802.11ac Wave 2 standard and 2 × 2 MU-MIMO transmission, delivered using four external fixed antennas. Separately, we were pleased with the presence of these antennas, because each frequency has its own pair of antennas, which means that you can count on the maximum signal quality.

As with many other routers, it can also work using older 802.11n / b / g standards. The total theoretical maximum throughput is 1167 Mbit / s, divided as follows: 300 Mbit / s for the 2.4 GHz band and 867 Mbit / s for the 5 GHz band (which is why the router received the name AC1200 in the name). This performance is quite enough for downloading torrents, watching 4K from a connected storage and simultaneously connecting a fairly large number of devices. Cool, yeah?

And I must say that it is not at all baseless.

• Firstly, Tenda AC10U is one of the few routers of this company, in which there is a USB port to which you can connect an external drive and open shared network access to it. And also in the latest firmware version they also added support for mobile 4G modems, making the router even more universal.
• Secondly, it has 4 gigabit ports at once. And this means that he will be able to work with the most expensive Internet tariffs to date and provide maximum speed on cable connection.
• Further, Tenda AC10U supports all wifi frequencies at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz according to the 802.11ac standard. In theory, the speed on them will be up to 300 and up to 867 Mb / s – hence its second name AC1200. The router is equipped with 4 powerful antennas of 5 dBi, two for each band. Thanks to them, the gigabit speed of the Internet will be supported in a wireless signal.
• Finally, the Tenda AC10U also has useful features such as MU-MIMO, which make it possible to exchange information between several devices (up to 30) not in turn, but simultaneously. And also Beamforming, which intelligently directs the wireless signal bundle in the direction where the network user is located.

All this positively affects both the speed of the Internet and the expansion of the coverage area of ​​the wifi network.

Tenda ac10 vs ac10u

Many are interested in how the models of Tenda AC10U and AC10 routers differ from each other. It’s simple – since one of them has the letter “U” at the end, it means that it has a USB port. Accordingly, the Tenda AC10 does not have it, which means that there are no all the functions associated with it – support for drives and modems.

Interesting features of Tenda AC10U

In addition to excellent design and good performance, Tenda AC10U can offer some more interesting chips. Separately, we note the Tenda WiFi application, which allows you to control the router from a smartphone. The application is excellent, but most of all we liked the fact that you can monitor the network even when you are not at home, but for this you need to create an account. It is also possible to run an assistant that will analyze your network, identify bottlenecks and suggest options for resolving them.

We also highlight the following points that cannot be found in cheaper routers:

• guest network – a social network with special rules for guests;
• parental control – setting rules for users on the network;
• VPN Server and IPTV;
• network schedule;
• DDNS – the ability to disable the router via the Internet;
• Bandwidth Control – setting the access speed for each device.

Tenda AC10u

Packaging, equipment, appearance

The box at the Tenda AC10U is impressive. On the flip side, in addition to listing the main features, there is an interesting comparative plate of different routers from the Gigabit Tenda series. Our model occupies the second stage of 4 here. But at the same time, it is not too different from its “older sisters”, at least for home use, its data should be enough for the eyes.

In addition to the router itself, the package contains detailed instructions, a cable for connecting to a computer and a power adapter.

Externally, the Tenda AC10U looks very futuristic. Reminiscent of some kind of spider robot. In general, the design is not for everybody, and perhaps someone will not want to put it in a prominent place in the apartment.

Case material – matt black plastic. There is a feeling that it is durable enough, and certainly will not get dirty from contact with the fingers.

Slots are hidden in the folds to cool the inside of the case. On the front side there are indicators of operating modes. They are all of the same blue color and, if desired, are disabled in the settings.

The rear traditionally houses network connectors and function buttons. There are two of them and each has its own clearly assigned function. It is impossible to change it, One – to force off the relay of a wifi signal. The other is a combined WPS with a factory reset .

A USB port is adjacent to them. It is a pity that in Tenda AC10U it is standard 2.0, not 3.0. It is understood that it is enough to perform all tasks when working with a pluggable hard disk or flash drive. But in practice, I can say that its bandwidth is not enough to play high-quality video on a Smart TV, TV set-top box on Android or a video projector.

If you turn the Tenda router upside down, you will see a label with information for setting. The administrator’s personal account is located at tendawifi.com or 192.168.0.1 . There is no password to enter, but there is a key to connect to a wireless signal.

The legs are plastic without rubber pads, but high enough to provide the highest possible ventilation through the grill.

Connecting to a Tenda AC10U Router

To connect the Tenda AC10U router to the Internet, you need to carefully look at the signatures under the network connectors. All of them are of the same color and differ only in designations.

• “1,2,3” – these are LAN ports for connecting computers, IP cameras and other devices via cable. If you will be setting up a Tenda router from a desktop computer, then connect the Ethernet cable from the kit to one of them, insert the other end into the network connector on the motherboard. However, if the setting will be made from a laptop or smartphone, this is not necessary.
• WAN is just the entrance that is of most interest to us at the moment. You need to insert the cable into it, which the Internet provider has extended to your apartment.

In order to connect to the router itself, there are two ways:

• By cable from a PC
• Via WiFi from a laptop or phone

Despite the fact that the Tenda AC10U has support for the Tenda WiFi mobile application , it is not possible to perform initial setup through it. For it to work, you need to activate this function in the control panel. It is not clear why this is done. Today, more and more people use only smartphones, and in many cases it would be convenient to perform the initial configuration of the router through the application.

But back to our reality. The easiest way to set up a Tenda AC10U router is via WiFi. As soon as you plug it into a power outlet, it will begin to distribute a wireless signal in two bands – with the names “Tenda_XXX” and “Tenda_XXX_5G”. They are protected by default. Moreover, the password for connection in each case is individual and is indicated on the label on the router.

Summary

Tenda AC10U is a good router for those who are looking for high-quality network equipment for a reasonable price. An interesting design, support for two bands, a wealth of settings and an excellent mobile application will help to organize a high-quality wireless network with the possibility of network storage. We can safely recommend this router for home use.