printer friendly version

One box to do it all

The Securifi Almond+ is the first router that combines Wi-Fi and smart home automation in one. With ZigBee and Z-Wave antennas, this router lets you connect to and control hundreds of smart home devices, from light bulbs to garage door openers, right from your smartphone. It’s the router for those who want wireless data and feel the need to command a slew of household devices. Know how long and when your door is open – or even better – unlock your door remotely via your phone.

Instead of blinking LEDs on conventional routers, the Almond+’s home screen displays icons in a 4 x 2 grid, and don’t need to be connected to a PC to set up or configure. If you get tired of looking at these icons, you can turn the screen off manually or automatically after a set idle period, or have a screensaver displaying time and date, combined with local weather.

In the back of the router are four Gigabit wired LAN ports as well as a pair of USB 3.0 ports that work with hard drives and printers. The Almond+ lacks an on/off switch; instead, you’ll use the touch screen to power it on or off.

Easy setup

The beauty of having a touch screen is that you can configure the Almond+ by simply tapping it. The process takes three to five minutes. The Almond+ comes with an AC adapter, a flat Ethernet cable and mounting hardware (desktop stand and wall mount).

After plugging in the AC adapter and modem and tapping the on-screen Wizard icon, the Almond+ sniffs out your Internet connection and then sets itself up as your choice of a router, access point or range extender. Next, you can change the network names and passwords.

In addition to Wi-Fi, the Almond+ can interact with ZigBee and Z-Wave home automation products, and has been tested with more than 90 different sensors for everything from door and window locks, garage door openers, light switches and thermostats.

Inside the Almond+, a 750 MHz ARM Cortex dual-core processor with 512 MB of RAM and 512 MB of flash storage runs the show. There are three Wi-Fi antennas inside the case as well as separate ones for ZigBee and Z-Wave home automation connections; none are removable. The router can shape its transmitted signal to suit its clients.

The dual-band router can move up to a theoretical limit of 450 Mbps in 2.4 GHz mode and 1.3 Gbps in 5 GHz mode for a total peak output of 1.75 Gbps.

Specifications

• Size: 1.6 x 7.3 x 5.4 inches

• Number of Wi-Fi antennas: 3, not removable

• Wi-Fi: Dual-band 802.11ac/1.75 Gbps

• Ports: 4 Gbps LAN, 2 USB 3.0

• Peak 802.11ac performance: 363.5 Mbps

• Range in 2.4 GHz mode: 48 metres (5 GHz frequency included as second communication frequency for enhanced distances)

Share this article:

Further reading: