Sections
- Page 1 Securifi Almond router Review
- Page 2 Setup & Performance Review
- Page 3 Value & Verdict Review
Securifi Almond – Value
Where the real appeal of the Almond comes, though, is its value for money. The £65 RRP puts it well below the vast majority of major brand router, and the touchscreen gives it both useful desktop functionality and a genuinely breakthrough setup and maintenance experience (complete wireless bridge onscreen setup shown to the right).
Menus are easy to navigate – here are the steps for setting up a wireless bridge.
Older routers like the D-Link DIR-645 outperform the Almond and can be had for a similar price, but they are far more complicated.
Furthermore, the Almond makes for an affordable wireless bridge and this is actually our preferred usage scenario for it. Anyone with dead spots in their home simply need plug in the Almond at a midpoint where the signal remains half decent, follow its onscreen wizard and within minutes the Almond has extended the signal to all areas of weak coverage.
We recognise wireless bridges can be bought for less than £65, but again their setup has never been this easy.
Verdict
The Securefi Almond deserves great credit for turning our initial suspicions around. What looked like an underspecified router with a gimmick is actually a breakthrough in simple, usable home networking. Its ability to function as both router and wireless extender is also ingenious and gives it a second life since it can be bought as the former then in time become the latter.
Despite this there are undeniably some specification shortcomings. The absence of Gigabit Ethernet is the most obvious and performance is solid, but not spectacular. Advanced settings also don’t match more premium routers, but for the asking price we wouldn’t expect them to.
Tech aficionados may steer clear, but there has never been a router as easy to setup and manage as the Almond. Securifi has made a quantum leap in usability and combined flexibility at a fair price and it bodes well for the company’s future when it does release an 802.11ac product. If routers tend to scare you, then the Almond comes highly recommended.
Trusted Score
Score in detail
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Performance 7
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Value 8
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Features 7
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Usability 9
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Design 8
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
