Introduction
With the number of VPN downloads rising, the marketplace has seen a number of companies striving for the top spot as the best provider. And with good reason, too. The online world can be a dangerous place, and protection against online criminals is becoming a must. Private Internet Access, more commonly known as PIA, is one of the most talked-about companies due to its VPN packages.
When it comes to VPNs, PIA is one of the top service providers, specializing in secure, encrypted VPN tunnels which add layer upon layer of online protection. Multiple worldwide gateways and virtual access to over 77 countries in more than 129 regions give users a lot of choices when it comes to selecting different servers. But today we’re looking at more than the regular VPN; we’re looking at PIA’s VPN routers.
VPN routers take the protection of a regular router and a normal VPN – and ramp it up a notch. All connected devices to the router will benefit from the VPN’s protection by installing it at home or work. That means no installing individual VPNs on each device, it just takes one setup and off you go. It’s a great way to secure all your devices from cybercriminals at once.
In this review, we look at PIA’s three routers: Netgear R6400, Linksys WRT3200ACM and Netgear R9000, which focus on quality, power and performance respectively.
Features
Netgear R6400
- Supports 3-6 devices.
- Ideal for small homes or apartments.
- 3 external antennas for browsing and streaming.
- 1 GHz dual core processor.
- Dual band wi-fi, supporting up to 1,750 Mbps.
Linksys WRT3200ACM
- Supports 7-10 devices.
- Ideal for medium-sized homes and large apartments.
- 4 powerful external antennas that handle increasing wi-fi needs.
- 8 GHz dual core processor.
- Dual band wi-fi, supporting up to 3,200Mbps.
Netgear R9000
- Supports 7-10 devices.
- Ideal for medium-sized homes and large apartments.
- 4 powerful external antennas that meet the needs for streaming and online activities.
- 7 GHz quad core processor.
- Quad band wi-fi, supporting up to 7,200 Mbps.
It’s always good to explore the best router with a VPN, to find out more features and specifications. As you’ll see that two of the PIA VPNs are similar, it’s the processor and speeds that are different, but each offers great protection and speed. These VPNs also all benefit from custom firmware upgrades, are easy to use, and the FlashRouters Privacy App comes installed.
Specifications
Netgear R6400
- Custom firmware upgrade – DD-WRT
- Processor speed – 1GHz (dual core)
- Antennas – 3 external
- USB ports – 2 (1USB 3.0 and 1 USB2.0)
- 256MB RAM
- 128MB Flash Memory
- Ethernet ports – 4 LAN, 1 WAN
Linksys WRT3200ACM
- Custom firmware upgrade – DD-WRT
- Processor speed – 1.8GHz (dual core)
- Antennas – 4 external
- USB ports – 2 (1USB 3.0 and 1 USB2.0)
- 512MB RAM
- 256MB Flash Memory
- Ethernet ports – 4 LAN, 1 WAN
Netgear R9000
- Custom firmware upgrade – DD-WRT
- Processor speed – 1.7GHz (quad core)
- Antennas – 4 external
- USB ports – 2 (1USB 3.0 and 1 USB2.0)
- 512MB RAM
- 1GB Flash Memory
- 6 Ethernet ports
Design
When looking at the three routers side by side, you’ll notice that they don’t look too dissimilar, especially the two Netgear options which obviously keep the same look and feel. However, you’ll clearly see the added antennas on the R9000 version (pictured above). The large antennas on these routers make them seem like mini spacecraft, waiting to find somewhere to land near an Ethernet port. However, the Linksys has a slicker design, looking more like the latest drone than a UFO! Turn each round, and the ports are signposted, so you’ll always know which cable goes where.
Impressions
When you get a router for your house, they’re not large, obstructive items. They’re dinky little boxes which you no doubt will try and hide if you can, within a cupboard, behind a book or somewhere on a shelf. With the PIA VPN routers, these mean serious business. Which means to offer that level of protection and power you need to support all your devices; the big clunky boxes do take up space.
Each router’s unique designs make it less overbearing and give it that ‘funky’ feel. It’s quite likely you’ll end up naming your VPN router as it feels like a robot that’s moved into the house. We noticed that you need to give it clear space for it to work, because it’s easy to walk past and bang into the antennas, knocking them out of place. It can be annoying having to rearrange them constantly to find the best signal, so it’s wise to make sure they’re positioned somewhere where that won’t happen.
Conclusions
The three PIA VPN routers mean business. They’ve got the power, the processors and the protection you need to cover multiple devices. You spend ages looking at reviews for keyboards, mice and other hardware, so make sure you research your VPN router, too. We think it’s easy to pick the right one. And although they may look large and complicated, it’s actually easy to set them up – just as a router should be.
