Pros: this router is a simple entry level router in my honest opinion it does what it needs to do with a few bells and whistles added for convince. Like the USB share port nice to have but it could be better, dual bands for splitting up your wireless traffic. Small device that should work for just about all space constraint places. Guest login so you dont have to share your personal settings.

Cons: as others have said I'll rehash again USB 2.0 really guys catch up with the current millennium with USB 3.1 out now this should be min USB 3.0 . 5GHz band is barely there if you go to far from the router. I've tested many different router though this program and I have to say this is by far the worst 5GHz performance to date.

Other Thoughts: If your in a small apt or tiny house living then this will work fine for you. Otherwise I'd suggest spending a few more $$ and buying something better.

Manufacturer Response:

Hello,

We are sorry to hear that you experienced an issue with the AC1200 Dual Band Wireless Router, TEW-813DRU. Channel selection and placement of your wireless hardware can also help improve performance. You can change the channels in use on the web based management GUI’s Basic > Wireless page. Placement of the router should be centralized and mounted as high as possible. Avoid enclosing the TEW-813DRU for best practices.


Regards,

Adrian
TRENDnet Support
http://www.trendnet.com/support

Pros: - Competitive price
- Straightforward GUI

Cons: - Youtube is almost unwatchable due to lag

Other Thoughts: I bought this model based on a recent positive review by a computer magazine. It's fine for basic needs, but inconsistent performance with video streaming services on all computers in my home network has caused me to set it aside and return to my Netgear 3800. The difference was noticed immediately - youtube is again watchable in HD without stuttering! Yes, I went through all the troubleshooting tips in youtube and nothing worked = the problem was this router not being able to handle video streaming very effiiciently. Oh well. I'll give this away to someone who won't notice the difference.

Manufacturer Response:

Hello,

The TEW-813DRU should have no issue with HD streaming. An HD stream typically requires no more than 5 Mbps and the router is more than capable of providing this type of speed. Please update the unit with the latest firmware from our website. If you continue to experience this issue email adrian@trendnet.com and we will have a support representative assist you with warranty services. Please include a link to this review.


Regards,

Adrian
TRENDnet Support
http://www.trendnet.com/support

Pros: Much better range than my very old D-Link 802.11g on 2.4g, 4 out of 5 bars all over the house. Seems very fast.

Gigabit Ethernet, good firewall features, mapping ports through NAT, etc.

Cons: 5ghz range sucks. A single sheetrock wall and it's at 32Mbps in the next room over. It is fast if it has true line-of-sight though.

Pros: 1. Small package
2. Stable
3. Performance is decent
4. Works out of the box
5. USB for storage
6. Wife friendly
7. Price is good
This router is small, not much bigger than an average book, which is great, because it can be hidden on a bookshelf. Yes, it is wife friendly. I have mixed feelings about the LEDs on the front of routers. These are not horribly bright, and a little black tape you can’t see them, Honestly there should be a switch to turn theses off.
The performance has been good. The router itself has run flawlessly without having to be reset. Often, I have found that routers need to be reset, because they overheat over time. This one has just worked.
I will say that the performance is decent. The router does drop as you get further away from it. This is to be expected, and this one appears to be pretty average. The speed is really good when you are up near it. This router will work in my large house, but it must be centrally placed.
What I really liked about this router is that it was very easy to set-up. My 12 year son could handle the job and get us up and running really fast. There were some simple instructions on the unit. Follow the link to the website, a wizard runs and you are now secure and safe. This is the way that routers should behave for the average user.

The USB port works for storage well without a lot of headaches. (More about this in cons).

Cons: 1. USB 2.0 – really? 2.0
2. 5.0 Ghz band was not the best
Honestly, these are not deal breakers for the average person needing a router. USB 2.0 is an older standard, but most will not notice because the wireless function would prevent speeds in the USB 3.0 range anyways. If there is a wired connection to the router, then yes you would notice the slow down.

My experience with the 5.0 Ghz band was not all that good. It was spotty at best on several different devices. With other routers, I had no issues. The speed was slow and the connection just did not work all the time.

Other Thoughts: Who needs to apply? Well, the average user is the person who should look at this router. Power users should look elsewhere. There is one caveat, if you live in an apartment, I would also look elsewhere. The 5.0 Ghz band could be very useful where there is a lot of wireless traffic already. A small house owner or someone without a lot of computer needs could not by a better bargain.

Pros: Packaging is great. Can open up the box, connect and take off and go. If the packaging being this modest keeps the cost down, then I'm all for it.

Admin options are very straight forward and anyone with knowledge on how to turn on a computer would not have much of an issue setting the router up and changing the password.

USB connectivity is included, although I did not think it was useful for this router, I would have personally wanted more gigabit ports.

Gigabit ports: 4, more than enough for some, but I had to use an extra hard wired switch to connect all my devices.

The adapter, as mentioned below, is kind of short, and an extra foot or two of wiring would be much better.

Parental controls are easy to use, and included for those that need them.

The warranty period is exceptional, and not many products have that long of a warranty at the price point. Kudos to Trendnet.

Honestly, don't buy this if you live in an apartment bigger than 800sq ft. The range is not optimal for anything bigger, even when placed in the center of the apartment.

Overall, it's a good-great router for the price, but double more if you can and get something much better if you have a bigger living space.

Cons: Spotty at times, would have to disconnect devices to it, then reconnect to get a full signal, very sporadic however and only has happened a handful of times, don't think I've experienced it more than 4 times in a ~12 day period.

Range on 5ghz band could be much, much better, but cannot complain much for the current price, even not on sale.

Pros: No frills packaging (let's hear it for modesty?). The router itself is quite compact at about the size of the palm of my hand and sleek-looking. Quick install guide is in 5 languages, but who's going to read that? Just plug this little guy into your modem and then connect to your devices via ethernet or the default password written on. Password is easy to change in the admin, which is also easy to access via the link in the quick install guide. Firmware allows for some basic gaming and QoS customization, guest network. Range is decent. USB port a plus?

Cons: It would have been a negative that the USB port is 2.0, except the transfer speeds are so slow it wouldn't matter anyway. If you have an ancient USB drive that you're willing to run into the ground, go ahead and plug it in. Expect 5MB/s with a wired connection and 3 MB/s over wireless if you're nearby. Not so sleek-feeling - it's textured plastic. Basic firmware.

Other Thoughts: I used the TP-LINK TL-WDN3200 and Intel N2230 wireless adapters to benchmark this product against my DIR-868L, which is by all means a superior router with one exception - the 2.4GHz 802.11n band. This router was slightly better on the 2.4GHz band, getting an average of 220 MB/s 20 feet away and 8.3 MB/s 35 feet away through a thick wall. The DIR on the other hand got 190 MB/s and 0.0 MB/s respectively. On the 5GHz 802.11ac test, on the other hand, this router scored 302 MB/s from 20 feet and 166 MB/s from 35 feet through the wall while the DIR scored 290 MB/s and 87 MB/s respectively. I'd conclude that, while not as feature-rich, this router can provide a comparable QoS to the DIR, but I'd still take the DIR. It just feels a little smoother for gaming, but then again, it's AC1750 and I purchased it a couple of years back for $200. This router, on the other hand, is at a much lower price bracket and has the added benefit of not being a cylinder.

Are you a casual user/casual gamer who streams movies and music, but doesn't care about rich media features or a powerful GUI? This is a good pick.

Pros: Tiny size, the pictures don't do this router justice, for anyone needing a diminutive router, this thing is a beast for the size (on 2.4ghz at least!)
Great price
Awesome 2.4ghz connectivity and range
Decent 5ghz capabilities
Gigabit ethernet
Guest Network

Cons: The 5ghz connection was subpar across AC devices. It's bad to compare the router to AC routers that are double the price or more, but at the same time, it's an AC router...a low end AC router should perform better than older N routers, but this one doesn't across my home.

USB 2, with speeds of up to 800mb and 1gb wired, usb2 seems a little underpowered.

Short power cable. I could barely reach my office desktop.

Underwhelming router admin GUI.

Other Thoughts: Some benchmarks...

Testing against a Netgear r7000 and Dlink DIR868L (triple and double the price respectively...which is why I still gave it a 4 star review...had this router been comparable in price, i'd give it a 3 star review) with two AC network interface cards (nic) (netgear a6100 and dlink dwa182)

Trendnet router
117 mbps connection speed, 73% link and signal strength 5ghz on the dlink nic
58.5 mbps connection and 86% link & signal strength on 5ghz with the netgear nic

Dlink router
585 mbps connection speed 90% link and signal strength 5ghz on the dlink nic
390 mbps connection 100% link & signal strength 5ghz on the netgear nic

r7000 router
468 mbps connection speed 100% link & signal 5ghz on the dlink nic
380 mbps and 100% link & signal 5ghz on the netgear nic

2.4ghz network performed on par with all 3 routers. The 5ghz AC worked decent if you were within line of sight but as soon as you moved 50 or 60 feet away or a floor down/up it dropped to next to nothing. It claims to have beamforming, but i'd really question the algorithms used by trendnet because it reminded me of the original AC routers that tanked on 5ghz.

So herein is my issue, if you're buying an AC router it's for additional connection speed and better range. This didn't really provide that, I was able to get 300mbps in the 2.4ghz spectrum to the same location on the same NICs, why would I pay for AC range and speed, if the N spectrum is better for this router? If you need AC, spend the money to get a more quality router. If you don't, just grab a trendnet N router & call it good.

Pros: Decent router for the price.

It's fairly small and looks nice. It has both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks with added guest network support (can be isolated from other network).

Parental controls are nice for those of us with children in the house.

The LAN ports on this router are gigabit, which is nice for physically connected items.

USB port for network media sharing.

3-year warranty!

Cons: Router locked up on me a few times and had to be power cycled. Wish it had a USB 3.0 port.

Pros: Affordability- Can't start off the review without mentioning this. The price is what makes it a very easy option out of the other lower-priced AC units. It's opening the door to higher end components, without breaking the bank.

Features- Gigabit ports (big plus for this price point), USB connectivity.

Range- I was surprised at the range, can even step out of the house and go 20-30 years before noticing a disconnect, which is more than what I can say for other routers in this price point.

Connectivity-Good to mention that this is packed with other connection-specific features, such as WPS, WPA2, and a handy (and welcome) guest network.

Dual Band- No complaints here, both bands work as they should, both with their limitations as far as speed, and range.

Comparison to other routers-

I have a few of the higher end AC1900+ routers, and this is long ways from having the same speeds or range, but that can definitely be fixed with a revision of the product (if an antenna port is available).

Trendnet is moving the right way to be a name that is recognized in high end connectivity, and the issues that this has could be fixed with minor tweaks and minimal price increase. Good job, Trendnet.

Cons: For this price, it is my only gripe. could have added at least the antenna port, for those of us that would like a slightly better range. The antennas for most of these products are now sold in brick and mortar stores for a reasonable price, and the option to connect one would've been great.

Other Thoughts: As mentioned in other comments, the charger does not say Trendnet on it. I do not mind that much as I understand it would just raise the price a bit for some consumers in some markets. I would just like some kind of marking, even with a small label that could be affixed to the power brick.

Pros: It is low cost and is a great add on product for a large home.
Or an apartment dweller.
It was plug and play. I only needed to copy the numerical password so I could sign on with my mac minis and ipad mini.

Cons: Range is limited. My home is 2 stories 25 by 40 each floor.
My spots for placement are limited for this piece of gear.


Bottom floor far right of my home and my ipad mini does not pick up reception in my kitchen which is top floor far right of the home.


Top floor far left of my home and my ipad mini does not pick up reception in my den which is bottom floor far right.

Bottom floor far right my den and my ipad mini does not get reception on top floor far left.

So to run the ipad mini In every room I would need two of these.

Now at 59 bucks I can do this. So if you have a dead spot in your large home this works as an addon. If you have a small apartment this should fully cover you.

Other Thoughts: Install was easy.

I have a modem >>> A 4 port wired router >>> a 16 port switch >>>>

this allows hard wire ethernet to 4 rooms in my house. I was able to plug n play this unit to all 4 rooms. this makes it 4 star. to be 5 star it would need to work for my ipad mini in every room .

I an a newegg eggspert reviewer. and this was a followup interview.