Edimax是一家台湾公司，生产价格实惠的智能家居设备，包括无线路由器(wireless router)。他们目前最顶级的无线路由器(wireless router)是Edimax BR-6478AC V2，它绝对不贵。它的价格约为 70美元(USD)，而且它承诺会物超所值。虽然这款路由器的硬件规格似乎并不令人印象深刻，但对于价格如此合理的设备而言，功能列表(feature list)相当长。我们收到了Edimax BR-6478AC V2进行了大约一周的测试，经过多次测量和测试，我们准备在这篇评论中分享我们关于这个设备的结论：
拆箱Edimax BR-6478AC V2 AC1200 千兆双频 Wi-Fi 路由器(Edimax BR-6478AC V2 AC1200 Gigabit Dual-Band Wi-Fi Router)
Edimax BR-6478AC V2 无线(Edimax BR-6478AC V2 wireless)路由器的包装看起来不错。在正面，您可以看到该设备的图片以及其最重要功能的列表。
在背面，您可以看到有关此路由器可以运行的所有模式的一些信息以及有关如何快速设置路由器的信息。在包装盒内，您将找到以下元素：路由器、电源适配器(power adapter)、以太网电缆(Ethernet cable)、带有USB 设备服务器工具(USB Device Server tool)的光盘、手册和多种语言的快速安装指南、印刷版快速(Quick Installation Guide)安装指南(Quick Installation Guide)、保修和其他一些传单。
拆箱体验非常简单明了，正如您对这款价格实惠的设备所期望的那样。我们很高兴在包装上您不仅可以找到营销语言，还可以找到对该路由器用户有用的信息。(The unboxing experience is very simple and straightforward, as you would expect from a device this affordable. We enjoyed the fact that on the packaging you can find not only marketing speak but also useful information for the users of this router.)
硬件规格
Edimax BR-6478AC V2 无线(Edimax BR-6478AC V2 wireless)路由器具有580 MHz的Mediatek MT7620A 处理器(Mediatek MT7620A processor)、64 MB RAM和 8 MB固件存储空间(storage space)。
它有两个外部天线，用于广播 2.4 和 5GHz 频率的无线信号。与任何现代路由器一样，Edimax BR-6478AC V2支持以下无线网络标准：802.11ac、802.11a、802.11b、802.11g 和 802.11n。2.4GHz 频段的最大理论带宽为 300 Mbps，5GHz 频段为867 Mbps ，总带宽为 1197 (Mbps)Mbps。
在路由器的背面，您会找到电源端口(Power port)、用于将路由器连接到Internet 服务提供商的(Internet service)LAN 端口(LAN port)、用于将设备连接到网络的四个千兆以太网(Gigabit Ethernet)端口、一个Reset/WPS button和一个USB 2.0端口。
就尺寸而言，路由器并不是很大，尽管它有两个相当高和粗的天线。它的尺寸为 190.2 x 172 x 42 毫米或 7.48 x 6.77 x 1.64 英寸的宽度、深度和高度(depth and height)。路由器也很轻，只有 322 克或 11.35 盎司。它的前面有一个大的通风口(air vent)，后面有两个较小的通风口，您可以在下面看到。这样就形成了一个高效的冷却系统(cooling system)。
如果您有兴趣详细了解这款无线路由器(wireless router)的官方规格，请访问此页面：Edimax BR-6478AC V2 规格(Edimax BR-6478AC V2 Specifications)。
设置和使用Edimax BR-6478AC V2 AC1200 千兆双频 Wi-Fi 路由器(Edimax BR-6478AC V2 AC1200 Gigabit Dual-Band Wi-Fi Router)
Edimax BR-6478AC V2 无线(Edimax BR-6478AC V2 wireless)路由器的设置过程(setup process)相当冗长，涉及许多步骤。首先(First)，您设置路由器的工作模式：路由器、接入点(access point)、Wi-Fi 范围(Wi-Fi range)扩展器、Wi-Fi 桥接器和 WISP(Wi-Fi bridge and WISP)（无线互联网服务(Internet service)提供商）。
然后设置是要使用 iQ设置向导(Setup wizard)（配置向导(configuration wizard)）还是要手动配置所有设置。如果您继续使用该向导，系统会要求您将Internet 服务提供商的(Internet service)以太网电缆(Ethernet cable)连接到路由器，输入您的连接详细信息并配置路由器广播的无线网络。
与其他路由器相比，应用您的设置需要更多的工作，这通常是Edimax 无线(Edimax wireless)路由器的弱点。更改任何设置时，路由器需要重新启动才能应用您的更改，这使得配置过程(configuration process)比其他制造商的路由器慢。
初始设置结束后，继续手动更改其他设置。例如，您应该更详细地设置无线网络的工作方式、更改管理员帐户(admin account)的默认用户名和密码(default username and password)（以提高网络的安全性）、启用您想要使用的额外功能等等。
正如您在下面的屏幕截图中所见，用户界面(user interface)更加简洁。这绝对不是关于外观，而是让您访问Edimax提供的配置选项。
在多语言支持方面，Edimax提供 16 种语言的用户界面，您可以在下面看到。
用户界面中有一些直接可用的帮助(Help)文档，但在解释方面并不完全完整。如果您需要帮助，最好使用Edimax 网站(Edimax website)上提供的用户手册。那个有很多关于所有设置的信息。不幸的是，完整的用户手册(user manual)只有英文版(English)。
说到设置，Edimax BR-6478AC V2为几乎所有内容提供了许多手动设置，但有一个例外：您无法自定义它正在广播的无线网络使用的标准。(wireless network)除此之外，我们能够配置任何我们想要的东西。Edimax BR-6478AC V2提供的 2.4 GHz 无线网络(wireless network)使用 802.11 b+g+n 标准进行广播，而 5GHz无线网络(wireless network)使用 802.11 a+n+ac 标准进行广播。您不能将这些无线网络(wireless network)设置为仅使用一种标准。
不幸的是，Edimax 用户(Edimax user)界面使用的语言是技术方面的。休闲用户如果想摆弄这款路由器所提供的一切，就必须查阅用户手册。不过，专家和 IT 专业人员将进行管理，而无需查阅任何手册。用户界面的另一个缺点是响应您的点击和命令(click and commands)的速度很慢。如果您有一些高级设置要更改，请耐心等待，直到所有配置选项都加载到屏幕上并且您的设置在重新启动后得到应用。平均而言，重新启动大约需要 90 秒才能完成。
我们建议您完成的一个步骤是固件更新。在我们的测试过程中，我们更新到了当时可用的最新固件版本：1.09。幸运的是，Edimax在定期发布固件更新方面做得很好，这些更新修复了错误并提高了性能。
设置路由器后，我们开始从网络连接所有设备：台式电脑、笔记本电脑、平板电脑、控制台、智能手机和无线打印机。我们连接它们中的任何一个都没有问题，网络共享(network sharing)、媒体流和其他与网络相关的任务运行顺利，没有任何问题。
但是，我们确实注意到了您应该注意的几个实际方面：
- Edimax BR-6478AC V2不提供将其安装在墙上的系统
- 这个路由器是灰尘和磁铁(dust and magnet)，因为它有光泽的表面
- Edimax BR-6478AC V2即使长时间使用也不会发热太多，非常棒
- 没有关灯按钮，没有软件设置
- 两个无线网络都有一个 LED 指示灯，不清楚是两者都工作还是只有一个网络工作。其他可用的LED(LEDs)用于电源(Power)、互联网和 USB(Internet and USB)。
阅读这篇评论的下一页，了解这款无线路由器(wireless router)提供的性能。
Reviewing the Edimax BR-6478AC V2 AC1200 Gigabit dual-band Wi-Fi router
Edimax is a Taiwanese company that makes affordable smarthome devices, including wirelesѕ routers. Their top wireless router at the moment is Edimаx BR-6478AC V2 which is by no means, expensive. It costs around 70 USD and it promises to offer quite a lot of bang for the buck. While the hardwаre specifications of this router don't seem impressive, the feature list is quite long for a devicе that's priced so reaѕonably. We rеceived the Edіmax BR-6478AC V2 for testing for аbout a week and, after several measurements and tests, we are ready to share our conclusions about this device, in this review:
Unboxing the Edimax BR-6478AC V2 AC1200 Gigabit Dual-Band Wi-Fi Router
The packaging used for the Edimax BR-6478AC V2 wireless router looks good. On the front you can see a picture of the device, together with a list of its most important features.
On the back you can see some information about all the modes in which this router can function and information on how to quickly setup the router. Inside the box you will find the following elements: the router, the power adapter, an Ethernet cable, a disc with the USB Device Server tool, the manual and the Quick Installation Guide in several languages, the printed Quick Installation Guide, the warranty and some other leaflets.
The unboxing experience is very simple and straightforward, as you would expect from a device this affordable. We enjoyed the fact that on the packaging you can find not only marketing speak but also useful information for the users of this router.
Hardware specifications
The Edimax BR-6478AC V2 wireless router has a Mediatek MT7620A processor at 580 MHz, 64 MB of RAM and 8 MB of storage space for the firmware.
It has two external antennas which broadcast the wireless signal for the 2.4 and 5GHz frequencies. As with any modern router, Edimax BR-6478AC V2 offers support for the following wireless networking standards: 802.11ac, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n. The maximum, theoretical bandwidth is of 300Mbps for the 2.4GHz band and 867Mbps for the 5GHz, leading to a total of 1197 Mbps.
On the back of the router, you will find the Power port, the LAN port for connecting the router to the Internet service provider, four Gigabit Ethernet ports for connecting your devices to the network, a Reset/WPS button and a USB 2.0 port.
In terms of size, the router is not very large, even though it has two rather tall and thick antennas. Its size is of 190.2 x 172 x 42 mm or 7.48 x 6.77 x 1.64 inches in width, depth and height. The router is also very light, at 322 grams or 11.35 ounces. It has a large air vent on the front and two smaller ones on the back, which you can see below. This makes for an efficient cooling system.
If you are interested to learn more about the official specifications of this wireless router, go to this page: Edimax BR-6478AC V2 Specifications.
Setting up & using the Edimax BR-6478AC V2 AC1200 Gigabit Dual-Band Wi-Fi Router
The setup process for the Edimax BR-6478AC V2 wireless router is a rather lengthy one and it involves many steps. First, you set the mode in which the router works: router, access point, Wi-Fi range extender, Wi-Fi bridge and WISP (wireless Internet service provider).
Then you set whether you want to use the iQ Setup wizard (the configuration wizard) or you want to configure all the settings manually. If you go ahead and use the wizard, you are asked to connect the Ethernet cable from your Internet service provider to the router, enter your connection details and configure the wireless networks that are broadcast by the router.
Applying your settings will take a bit more work than with other routers and this is a weak spot of Edimax wireless routers in general. When changing any setting, the router needs to restart in order to apply your changes and this makes the configuration process slower than with routers from other manufacturers.
Once the initial setup is over, go ahead and change other settings manually. For example, you should set in more detail how the wireless networks work, change the default username and password for the admin account (to improve the security of your network), enable the extra features that you want to use and so on.
As you can see in the screenshot below, the user interface is a bit more spartan. It's definitely not about the looks but about giving you access to the configuration options that Edimax has made available.
In terms of multi-lingual, support, Edimax offers its user interface in 16 languages, which you can see below.
There is some Help documentation available directly in the user interface but that's not exactly complete in terms of explanations. If you need help, you are best served by the user manual that's available on the Edimax website. That one has a lot of information available about all the settings. Unfortunately, the complete user manual is available only in English.
Speaking of settings, Edimax BR-6478AC V2 offers many manual settings for just about everything, with one exception: you cannot customize the standard used by the wireless networks that it is broadcasting. Other than that, we were able to configure anything we wished. The 2.4 GHz wireless network offered by Edimax BR-6478AC V2 broadcasts using the 802.11 b+g+n standards while 5GHz wireless network broadcasts using the 802.11 a+n+ac standards. You cannot set these wireless networks to use only one standard.
Unfortunately, the language used by the Edimax user interface is on the technical side of things. Casual users will have to consult the user manual if they want to fiddle with everything this router has to offer . Experts and IT professionals will manage though, without consulting any manual. Another downside of the user interface is that it is on the slow side to respond to your click and commands. If you have some advanced settings to change, arm yourself with a bit of patience until all the configuration options load on the screen and your settings get applied, after a restart. On average, a restart takes about 90 seconds to finalize.
One step that we recommend that you go through is a firmware update. During our testing, we updated to the latest firmware version available at the time: 1.09. Luckily, Edimax does a good job at releasing regular firmware updates which fix bugs and improve performance.
After setting up the router, we started connecting all our devices from the network: desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, consoles, smartphones and wireless printers. We had no issues connecting any of them and network sharing, media streaming, and other networking-related tasks worked smoothly, without any issues.
However, we did notice several practical aspects you should be aware of:
- Edimax BR-6478AC V2 doesn't offer a system for mounting it on walls
- This router is a dust and magnet because of its shiny surface
- Edimax BR-6478AC V2 doesn't heat too much, even after prolonged periods of use, which is great
- There is no button for turning off the lights and no software setting
- You have one LED for both wireless networks and it's not clear if both work or just one network works. The other available LEDs are for the Power, Internet and USB.
Read the next page of this review to learn about the performance offered by this wireless router.
