DrayTek Vigor 2762ac review: A fine choice for the home, and an even better one for work
If it's advanced features you seek, the Vigor 2762ac is a great choice
Pros
- Flexible access controls
- Solid performance speeds
- 3G and 4G USB modem compatible
Cons
- Only two aerials
- Not the easiest to use
At first I thought I’d been sent the wrong model: it was hard to believe that this tiny, two-aerialed little box could be DrayTek’s top-of-the-range prosumer router.
DrayTek Vigor 2762ac review: Features and performance
However, it’s a mistake to judge the Vigor2762ac by its size. For sure, its wireless credentials aren’t as ambitious as some of its heftier competitors, with a quoted maximum bandwidth of just 866Mbits/sec on the 5GHz band.
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Yet, in our tests it generally kept up with its rivals, delivering a solid 10MB/sec even at the remote end of my home. There’s no MU-MIMO, mind you, and, of course, only two aerials, so if you have lots of wireless devices running flat out, the Vigor2762ac might not cope as well as a pricier model.
The diminutive case also packs in a pair of USB 2 sockets. You can use these to share storage across your network via SMB or FTP (there’s no media-streaming option) or hook up a compatible printer.
If downtime is a no-no, you’ll be pleased to know that you can also plug in a 3G or 4G USB modem to take over if your primary internet connection goes down – although be warned that, since the two ports are stacked tightly on top of one another, a bulky dongle could potentially obstruct access to the second connector.
Access controls are impressively flexible. The scheduling function lets you configure up to 15 timeslots of any length, recurring on specified days of the week, monthly or at an interval of your choosing, and you can blacklist not only URLs but individual services and specific applications.
There’s a built-in category-based filtering service too, although you have to subscribe to activate it, which costs a fairly steep £50 per year.
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DrayTek Vigor 2762ac review: Verdict
Overall, the DrayTek Vigor2762ac is a fine choice for the home, and an even better one for work. The price is very competitive, and it’s an impressively reliable router.
Its only weak suit is ease of use: the web portal is absolutely loaded with technical information and advanced enterprise-level features, which may frustrate and discourage less technical users.