The Synology RT6600ax has six unfolded and aligned antennas. Seven diodes on the front show the current status. On the right side you will find the WPS button as well as the WLAN button. In the test, the router achieved top values thanks to the use of multiple radio channels in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands. We measure a maximum download rate of 1,667 MBit/s and a transfer rate of 814 MBit/s with optimal Wi-Fi 6 conditions. According to the manufacturer, the transmission rate in the 5 GHz frequency band under Wi-Fi 6 is 4,804 Mbit/s. The router is able to process multiple end devices at the same time because AC-MU-MIMO and AX-MU-MIMO are supported. So there are no losses in speed.
In addition to a power supply unit, the scope of delivery also includes an Ethernet or RJ45 cable. Unfortunately, a modem is not integrated. The device has three 1 Gbit/s LAN ports, one 1 Gbit/s WAN port and a switchable 2.5 Gbit/s LAN/WLAN connection. A USB 3.2 Type A port is available for connecting an external data carrier. Synology Router Manager software allows you to set up the router quickly. There are also some features of the software: You can set up five separate networks, set up a guest network or configure parental controls. In addition, you can use the RT6600ax as a printer, FTP, VPN and media server and use a mesh function. If you prefer to set up the router via smartphone, you can use apps for Android and iOS provided by Synology.
The leader of the leaderboard costs accordingly: around 300 euros is not exactly little. The power consumption isn’t exactly low either: it is 12 watts in standby mode and around 16 watts during data transfer.
Our conclusion at the time of testing:
“In the test, the Synology RT6600ax convinced with its excellent performance data, tri-band support and several Gbit/s LAN ports. However, in order to be able to use the router in your own four walls, you still need an appropriate modem.”
