Trendnet TEW-673GRU Router Review

Posted 09/15/2010 at 1:38pm | by Michael Brown

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My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

We thought the 1.5x1.25-inch LCD on Trendnet’s TEW-673GRU was pretty cool at first. It informs you of the router’s status, provides real-time performance numbers, displays the time and date, and more. But our enthusiasm wilted when the display became corrupted to the point of being illegible. That’s unfortunate, because there’s a lot else to like about this router.

We like the Trendnet TEW-673GRU's removable/upgradeable antennas, but the flakey display gives us pause.

The TEW-673GRU is a dual-band model with two USB ports to support both a printer and a portable hard drive. It finished second in terms of TCP throughput on the 2.4GHz band (taking third place on the 5GHz band), and it turned in the fastest transfer speeds as a NAS device.

But it’s not all hot fudge and cherries with this sundae. You need to install a utility on each client PC in order to grant access to the attached storage device, for instance, and only one client can utilize those ports at a time. And while the TEW-673GR delivered high throughput to our outdoor patio using both radios, neither was able to penetrate our media room or reach our second outdoor location. The router isn’t capable of operating a guest network, either, and its integrated media server is not DLNA-compliant.

Trendnet TEW-673GRU

Hardwood

Excellent TCP throughput in most locations; dual USB ports; relatively strong NAS performance.

Fiberboard

Flakey display; must install client utility to use USB ports; no guest network; no DLNA-compliant server.

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