Tenda AC21 5 GHz router review, is it worth it?

The Tenda AC21 (AC21) router released in 2020. It is powered by Realtek RTL8197FH @ 1 GHz chipset, 64 MB of RAM and 8 MB of flash. The AC2100 router is compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac standards, and the maximum speed that you can get with AC21 is 300 + 1733 Mbps. The router has 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN and 3 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN ports.

The AC21 supports dual-band Wi-Fi, offering both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Tenda places a strong emphasis on network security.

Table of contents:

• Tenda AC21 specifications
• Tenda AC21 pictures

Tenda AC21 (AC21) specifications

Body

If you plan to move or travel frequently and need to take your router with you, the dimensions become important for portability. Smaller and more compact routers are generally easier to transport, while larger routers with external antennas or multiple ports may be bulkier and less convenient to carry. The weight of a router can be a consideration in certain situations, but it is generally not as crucial as other factors such as performance, features, and compatibility.

System

The Realtek RTL8197FH @ 1 GHz CPU provides processing power to handle various tasks and services within the AC21 router. The AC21 comes with 64 MB of RAM. The amount of RAM in a router can impact its performance and capacity to handle concurrent operations and traffic. Higher RAM capacity allows for better multitasking, larger routing tables, and improved overall performance. The 8 MB flash memory in the router serves as the storage medium for the router's firmware. It is a non-volatile memory that retains its data even when power is removed from the device.

The Tenda often releases firmware updates to enhance the router's functionality, improve security, fix bugs, and add new features. Firmware updates can provide performance improvements, compatibility with new devices or protocols, and address vulnerabilities. The Tenda packages the AC21 router with 12 V / 1.5 A PSU. A good PSU is an essential component of a computer or electronic device that converts electrical power from an outlet into the appropriate voltage and current required to power the internal components of the device.

Network

Like many modern routers, the AC21 supports many network standards too. The IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses, represented as four sets of numbers separated by periods (e.g. 192.168.0.1). The AC21 router also supports IPv6 protocol, allowing you to utilize the latest version of the Internet Protocol. The LAN ports are physical connectors on a AC21 router that allow you to connect devices to your local network using Ethernet cables.

This router has Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, which provides data transfer speeds of up to 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) over Ethernet connections. The WAN port on a router stands for "Wide Area Network" port. It is used to connect the router to the external network, typically provided by an internet service provider (ISP). The AC21 router supports Gigabit speed on its WAN port, that can support speeds up to 1000 Mbps. This router ensures that you can fully utilize high-speed internet connections provided by your ISP. The PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) is an older VPN protocol that was widely used in the past but is now considered less secure compared to newer alternatives like IPsec or OpenVPN.

Wireless

The 6 x 6 dBi, fixed antennas of AC21 influence the quality and stability of the Wi-Fi signal. A properly positioned and well-designed antenna can minimize interference and signal degradation, leading to a more reliable and stable connection. The AC21 is compatible with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks. 2.4 GHz is the most widely used frequency and in some cases may be overcrowded. The AC21 supports 5 GHz signals. Most modern devices, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and smart TVs, support dual-band Wi-Fi, which means they can connect to both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks. By utilizing the 5 GHz band, you can offload some devices from the crowded 2.4 GHz band, reducing congestion and improving overall network performance.

The AC21 belongs to the Wi-Fi 5 class. Wi-Fi 5 operates on the 5 GHz frequency band and utilizes wider channel widths and advanced modulation techniques to deliver higher data transfer rates. The AC2100 refers to the maximum combined data transfer rate supported by the router across all Wi-Fi bands. The AC21 is capable of a maximum throughput speed of 300 + 1733 Mbps. The real-world speed of a AC21 router is typically lower than its theoretical maximum speed.

The TX power of AC21 can be adjusted by the user or set automatically by the router firmware. Higher TX power values indicate stronger signal transmission, which can result in a larger coverage area. The AC21 router offers several security protocols: WPA, WPA2, WPS. The WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) was introduced as an improvement over WEP and provides stronger security. If WPA3 is not available, WPA2-Personal with AES encryption is still considered secure.

The AC21 router offers WPS. The WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) provides a simplified and convenient method for connecting devices to a Wi-Fi network. Instead of manually entering the Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password, users can use the WPS feature to establish a connection with the push of a button or by entering a PIN. The Tenda AC21 router is capable of creating a guest network. Guests connected to the guest network usually have limited access to network settings and configurations. They are typically restricted from accessing devices connected to the primary network, such as printers, network-attached storage (NAS), or other shared resources.

Connectivity

The AC21 router doesn't have file-server or print-server functionality.

Administration

The default IP address of this router is 192.168.0.1. Explore the router's configuration interface to access more advanced settings such as port forwarding, DHCP settings, parental controls, firewall settings, and QoS (Quality of Service) settings. If you are unable to log in to the setup panel of your Tenda router, performing a reset can be a helpful troubleshooting step. It is highly recommended to change the default password of your AC21 router after the initial setup. If you forget the new password in the future, you may need to perform a factory reset on the router to revert to the default settings.

The specifications above are based on the official data published by the manufacturer, but we also take user reviews into consideration. If you found an error or something lacking in the specifications above for the Tenda AC21, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

Tenda AC21 (AC21) pictures

If there’s information about the Tenda AC21 that you would like to see on this site, then write to our webmaster@routerchart.com address.