![]() On the inside, it looks nothing like the TP-Link AX21 and, instead, we get to see the four antenna connectors that are soldered to the board and I could immediately identify a Broadcom BCM531340KFBG switch chipset. You can use a metallic blunt tool as I did and ruin the look of the router as well (it gives it character).Īlso, be careful with those four large antennas because they will poke you everywhere while you’ll try to open up the router. To open it up, I had to remove the two screws from the bottom of the router and then use a prying tool to carefully detach the top part. There is no warranty seal, so unless you do some damage to the plastic case, you should still retain the warranty. I kept on mentioning the similarities with the TP-Link Archer AX21, so let’s open up the Speedefy KX450 and check its insides. Unfortunately, there is no USB port and that’s a fairly common occurrence at this price point. I saw that the third port doubles as IPTV which I assume is a preset QoS setting. Here, you will be able to find the Power port, a recessed Reset button (press and hold it for 8 seconds to return the router to its factory settings), a WPS button, the Gigabit WAN port and four Gigabit LAN ports. Now let’s go to the rear side of the router. If you want to know anything else (the status of the WAN, LAN ports or WiFi networks), you need to check the app, apparently. In any case, we do have an LED that flashes slowly if it failed to connect to the Internet, it will become solid yellow when it has managed to get a good Internet link and it will flash rapidly when you connect or disconnect an external device from the LAN ports. It seems that even the more budget-friendly brands have given into the so-called minimalist approach and the single LED may be the future of how we check the status of the router. After I took the AX1800 router from the package, I did find it suspicious that I could not see any LEDs or dedicated icons anywhere on the case and, after connecting the provided power cable I realized that there’s a single LED that shyly shines at the top of the case. As expected at this point, the antennas can’t be removed. The good news is that the manufacturer has added some mounting holes on the bottom of the case, so you can install the KX450 on a wall, keeping the antennas pointing upwards. Unfortunately, Speedefy liked TP-Link’s approach when it build the AX50, so there are no silicone feet and yes, this does mean that the router dances around on the desk, almost always having its grand finale on the floor. And there’s another reason why this is a bad idea: the feet. The Speedefy KX450 also measures 11.0 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches (28.0 x 16.5 x 4.0 cm), so it’s quite compact, but the antennas are very tall, so it may still be an inconvenience to leave it flat on a desk. It’s worth noting that the case is entirely made of plastic and it is covered by a black matte finish with only two glossy narrow bands to make the router more aesthetically pleasing. And this approach seems to work somewhat fine because the router would only get warm to hot in the middle of the case, but nothing more. The manufacturer has been a bit more conservative regarding the heat management, so there are some ventilation holes on the sides and the bottom side is partially covered by small holes. Indeed, the KX450 does have a very similar shape, with a narrower front section and a wider rear to accommodate the ports, but there are two antennas on the sides and two on the back, and the ventilation cut-outs layout is also very different. While on the inside, it is pretty much identical to the AX21, the Speedefy KX450 followed a very different design for the case, but I did notice some similarities with the Netgear RAX10. But, before jumping to conclusions, let’s put the Speedefy KX450 to the test and see whether it’s a reliable device or if the AX21 (or its other clones) are a better purchase. So, it’s pretty much a no-frills AX1800 router and, when paired with a simple user interface, it may be exactly what most people need in order to have their devices connected to the Internet. ![]() ![]() There’s the mandatory OFDMA technology, the support for the WPA3 is also a must in 2021 and there’s also BeamForming and MU-MIMO available. Obviously, Speedefy did not tackle the possibility to create a mesh network (yet), but it does seem to have the other features which are common for an entry-level AX1800 WiFi 6 router. TP-Link may not be the champion at building the most balanced software, but some of their features have definitely become more refined over the years (while some others went completely missing, but that’s another story) and this includes the support for OneMesh. I have opened both WiFi 6 routers and the internal layout is very different, the four antennas on the Speedify seem to be more powerful and, as expected, the software differs quite a lot. ![]()
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