Pros: Very easy setup and options are simple to adjust

Cons: The biggest issue I have with this router is that it is ridiculously selective in when it wants to work, and which ethernet cable it will work with. When I got my first router it worked great for about a month, then suddenly and seemingly randomly it would not connect to my modem, my modem wouldn't register any connection on its end, and it would appear that there was no cable plugged in between the two devices. I could take that exact same cable and unplug it from the TrendNET and plug it in to my old Netgear router and it would fire right up with no problems. This led myself and TrendNET tech support to believe the port was dead on the router, I RMA'd it, with my having to pay shipping, and got the new one. It had the same issue out of the box that I had to send the initial one back for. After trying almost half a dozen other ethernet cables that I had laying around the house, one of them finally got it to work. It ran great for about 4 months, then suddenly stopped working, with the exact same issues as before. Just as before I could take the same cable and plug it into my Netgear router, and it worked just fine. But after trying the last few cables I had laying around, the last one worked, and I was again using my TrendNET router, which lasted about a month before it died again.

Other Thoughts: It would be great if this router didn't seem to suck the soul out of ethernet cables, leaving them a hollow shell only able to operate with older routers.

Manufacturer Response:

Hello,

We are sorry to hear that you are experiencing issues with the TEW-823DRU. Please email adrian@trendnet.com and we will have a support representative assist you as soon as possible. Please include a link to this review.


Regards,


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

Pros: Really fast router for WIFI and Ethernet, ability to connect multiple devices. Especially all that for the price, it's a bang for it's buck.

Cons: Have to manually update the firmware.

Other Thoughts: Got this router to replace my five year old Netgear router... that died two years ago. It may not be the best router, but it's leagues cheaper than the expensive best routers and still operates at almost similar performance levels to it's more expensive brethren.

Pros: Easy set up

Cons: Connections keep dropping, firmware updates have to be researched not automatic

Other Thoughts: I purchased this dual band router hoping that all drops for my home network would stop. Prior to this router I had a single band router that was very slow EDIMAX BR-6228Ns Wireless Broadband Router IEEE 802.11b/g/n, however it worked. After a couple of months with this router, my connection was dropping or not connecting at all. We have 2 smart tvs, 2 tablets and 4 smartphones, so we need a reliable network. I have cable internet with 30+ MB speed up and 5MB down, I thought it was my cable connection and was ready to look for a new service provider, however, before the drastic step of switching providers, I did a bit of research and found that many other people with this router were having the same issue, I did a firmware update and things are working again. The firmware update has taken care of the problem for now. I hate the fact that whenever I have a connection problem I have to check and see if there's a later firmware update available. There should be some sort of notification that there's a new update available for people that own this router.

A month later, my connections are dropping again, and sometimes I get no internet connection at all. This is very upsetting after I spent $120+ back in October to acquire this router. My little EDIMAX BR-6228Ns Wireless Broadband Router IEEE 802.11b/g/n for $20.00 was more reliable than this.

Manufacturer Response:

Hello BV,


We are sorry to hear that you are experiencing an issue with the TEW-823DRU. Please email adrian@trendnet.com and we will have someone assist you with the router as soon as possible. Please include a link to this review.



Regards,

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

Pros: Okay, the router is good, it doesn't burn up like a furnace, stays a tad above warm, which is LOADS better than my old Cisco/Linksys router that felt like it was a sun giving off heat. This router works with my new TWC speeds, gives me 320+Mbps now, over my old router which was getting 140Mbps max on the downstream.

The GUI and interface looks modern and not as cluttered as my old router, also helpful hints on what does what, for does who don't know.

It DOES do dual broadcasting of its WiFi, and I get 250+Mbps on my 5Ghz wifi devices, FARRRRR better than my old router at 50Mbps.

Cons: Now the con, which sucked up four eggs. My old router had the capability of having 100 MAC addresses added to its MAC filter. For those that don't know, for an additional security with your WiFi, not only can you passcode it, you can also enable the MAC filter. You add what MAC addresses or devices you want the router to allow access to over WiFi. MAC address doesn't match, EVEN if you have the correct passcode, won't allow a connection.

Now, I have 50+ MAC addresses, that's for IP cameras, PTZ, tablets, TVs, consoles, smarthphones, Nest Protects, wifi thermostats, etc, numerous wifi devices.

Unfortunately, and this was NOWHERE to be found on NewEgg, the specs, even TrendNet's site, nor any reviews. This router ONLY allows a maximum of 24 MAC addresses to be added to its MAC filter.

Just 24. No more than that, whatsoever.

When I contacted TRENDnet about it, the CSR first said it was a hardware limitation. First off, I called out his excuse, MAC filters/tables are NOT hardware, they are software tables and can easily be updated in a firmware update to increase the MAC table inputs.

When told of this, the CSR then said that the "24 is what the Engineers decide to set the limit too, and they are not willing to change that amount."

Really? In this day and age, 24 is the number you choose for the MAC filter?

So, now I can either send this back to NewEgg and pay for the return S&H and restocking fee, or keep it and keep updating my MAC filter to what I need to use at the moment.

Or I can disable my MAC filter, just use WPA2, which is NOT hackproof, and have an open network.

Thanks TRENDnet, 2015 and somehow you program your routers like it's 2002 still.

Other Thoughts: I'll keep it, price was good, speeds are better than my old one, but I just wish I knew about the MAC Filter, as I would NOT have purchased it. The MAC filter info should be posted in its specs or another, as that is useful info for users.

Manufacturer Response:

Hello NoOne,

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. There may be room to increase the limit of MAC address filters available and we’ll definitely collect your feedback as well as other feedback to gauge development priorities and resources to improving our product line. We do recommend that you use WPA2 AES security. It is the strongest form of encryption available and is required for 802.11n and 802.11ac performance. MAC address filtering is not a form of security. It is trivial to bypass MAC address filters and they are typically used as an access control measure for non-malicious users.



Regards,

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

Pros: Awesome "WHEN" it works

Cons: The WAN/LAN randomly disconnects from the internet..

Other Thoughts: The thing that really sucks is that I have to pay to send something broken back. You would think that if you just spent $2500 on parts that they would treat you better. How is it my fault that I was sent something broken? So beware of this router.

Manufacturer Response:

Hello Ricnan,

We are sorry to hear that you experienced an issue with the TEW-823DRU. We recommend that you update the router with the latest firmware update on our website. If you need assistance with the router please email adrian@trendnet.com and we will have someone assist you as soon as possible. Please include a link to this review.


Regards,

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