Aircove | Wi-Fi 6 VPN Router for Home | Protect Unlimited Devices | Free 30-Day ExpressVPN Trial | (U.S. & Canada Version)

My initial two months of using the Aircove router from ExpressVPN have been very positive, and I recommend it as a general-purpose secure router that is extremely simple to set up.Jumping on the introductory discount of the ExpressVPN Aircove was a snap decision as a continuing expressVPN subscriber. It fit all the requirements I has for an internal home router. I already had a two-year-old WiFi5/WPA2 mesh router which provides adequate coverage in my 1300 sq-ft split-level home without requiring any satellite routers, but I wanted to move to WPA3 security for my devices that support it and VPN coverage for devices that that couldn't run expressVPN.1. SecurityNow that all of our phones and laptops support WPA3, it was time to move to make the painless upgrade to our WIFI security. I routinely noted unknown devices probing my WiFi5/WPA2 router and figured that a concerted attack was just a matter of time. I continue to use that router as my edge router for untrusted devices that I own such as smart TVs and smart home switches used for trivial functions like outdoor holiday lighting. Since most of these devices are confined to the GUEST network, penetration of any one of them is of little concern.2. ConvenienceI found the Aircove's setup to be the easiest I've ever encountered after several decades of using routers from industry leaders. It was literally a 5-minute process.An even bigger convenience factor is that the expressVPN software running on the router eliminates the frequent task of downloading and installing expressVPN updates to stay-at-home devices. I have yet to verify that the expressVPN in the router auto-updates, but even if that claim is not met, updating it manually is still a great time saver over updating my many devices with several different Operating Systems.PerformanceAs a non-gamer, I do not choose to pay for 1Gb internet service. Still, I like getting the bandwidth that I'm paying for even while protecting my devices with a VPN. Having the router spend cycles doing the the encryption and decryption degrades latency vrs having no VPN but has little effect on throughput, and allows those CPU cycles to freed up on all my devices that no longer have to run the VPN to get that protection while in my home. Given all this, a serious gamer should have a high-performance gaming router as the edge router but may want to seriously consider the Aircove as an internal router for a non-gaming network of devices.SupportAlthough this is expressVPN's first foray into selling routers, there is reason to expect better support for this product since most of it's users are paying $100/yr for the expressvpn subscription.Hardware QualityAlthough not a huge name in the home router market, the Chinese company that manufactures the hardware has a solid reputation for quality and support.PriceAt roughly half the price of comparatively powerful WiFi6/WPA3 routers that run ExpressVPN or anything of comparable quality, this purchase was a no-brainer.FeaturesAs I indicated before, the lack of GUEST network support is justified by the main goals of this router, but is alleviated when used as an internal router where an edge router supplies a GUEST network. The Aircove is also poor in the bells and whistles such as Parent Controls. Having no minor children in my home makes that a non-issue, besides, if I didn't trust my children, they would be confined to the edge router or even to it's GUEST network.There is no suite of security tools such as some companies provide on the premier routers, but I never found such to be very useful compared to just having a modicum of vigilance in reviewing your connection logs.The Aircove sports four ethernet ports in addition to the WAN port, which should be plenty in the WiFi-intensive world we live in. If not, unmanaged switches are very inexpensive.There is no USB port, which I also consider reasonable for an internal security router. If I want a low-security file-sharing device, it would make more sence to put it on the edge router. If you don't use an edge router or yours lacks a USB port,for $50 you can use something like PLEX on a RaspberryPI to flexibly share media on either your high security Aircove network or on the low security edge router network at the cost of tying up one ethernet port or buying a switch or via WiFi if you must waste wireless bandwidth in that fashion. A Roku Ultra can supply a subset of those features, as well.A minor plus feature is the four foldable antennae. This makes the Aircove a passable travel router. This works particularly well for me as it leaves the edge router behind with all the functionality that the dog/house sitter is permitted.CriticismsThere is not much to say here. WiFi 6E or 7 will be nice when our devices start supporting it. Support for other emerging wireless smart home standards would be nice, as well. The Aircove is not a mesh hub, but I could attach additional Aircoves to satellites of my mesh edge router if needed.My biggest beef is that expressVPN running on my devices runs afoul of the expressVPN running on the Aircove. The ability to list devices by hardware MAC address that should be exempted from the VPN in the Aircove is a good feature but does not help with computers that are dual-bootable where one of the OSs is auto-launching expressvpn and another is not, perhaps because it is not available for that OS. Also, I'd like to see arbitration so that the device with the later version of expressVPN wins, or if they are the same that the device yields to the Aircove. Better yet, the arbitration policy could be configurable on a device-by-device basis with the default being as previously suggested.Finally, this is a criticism only in the positive sense: the Aircove seems to boot and come on line with the VPN active remarkably quickly: an indication of it's powerful processor and efficient software.

As a non-techie, the concept of a VPN had always remained a mystery... networks that are virtual? Please. How's that supposed to help me... much less, how would I ever have the time to get a degree in network administration so I could manage such a thing?With all the news about hacking and the more my online presence increased I realized I needed to bite the bullet and get smart. I was fortunate to get some guidance right out of the gate and learn about ExpressVPN. While it cost a little more than most other VPN providers, it was highly touted as insanely easy to install, configure, and use.As I honed in on the service, I made contact via their Live Chat and figured I would suffer through the "Live Chat Bot" cycle of questions and embarrass myself with a series of amateur questions that would make any online agent want to quit their job.Fortunately, I ran into Jesse (I believe that was the name). OMG. Incredibly patient, non-judgemental, answered all my questions without a moment of latency, and even offered insights I didn't realize I needed to have! At the end of our exchange, I had to ask if I was speaking with a bot. The response was "sorry, but I hate to disappoint you but I, along with all my other colleagues, are good ol' fashioned humans... happy to answer your questions 24/7!"Just. wow.This is the exact type of service I was going to need if I were going to take the virtual plunge. Not only did Jesse answer all my questions, but I was also given a link to ExpressVPN's Aircove Router... and not even with a hard sell. When I inquired more about the benefits, it became quite obvious that before I even signed up for an ExpressVPN subscription, I was going to have to order this thing. The idea of having the ExpressVPN software preloaded and configured was exactly what I needed. Even better was the idea that having the Aircove, coupled with the ExpressVPN subscription, I wouldn't have to flash the firmware or keep up with updates. For $200 bucks I could replace my existing 18-year-old router and quite likely get better coverage and performance.I ordered the Aircove at about 3:00 pm I think... it was sitting on my porch at 3:00 pm the next day! Thanks Prime! An hour later, I had a 1 year (+3month free) ExpressVPN subscription.The next morning I unplugged my old router, plugged in the Aircove thinking I would be in for a long interaction with Jesse at customer support again.The router light was on... and I thought surely this can't be that simple.I was right.After some light panic, I remembered I needed to log in with the IP Address conveniently printed on the bottom of the unit (along with a series of other important items like MAC Address and PW). The IP address in the browser was magic. Despite not having any access to the outside world, I was able to access the dashboard... and seeing that I had no connected devices and no internet, I restarted my machine.Boom.Something happened and I was suddenly connected to the outside world again. I was online and surfing the web within minutes (maybe 10?). After an hour or so of fiddling with the settings in the dashboard, reading the FAQs and Help... I installed the VPN on our iPhones and laptops.I've only had this VPN up and running for a few days, but man... simplicity at it's its finest. And you don't have to be a network administrator to make it go! Super impressed so far. I have 10 devices connected with 6 connected through my switch which only counts as 1 since it is attached to the aircove.I HIGHLY recommend everyone consider getting the router and the ExpressVPN service... especially for people like me who fear the "virtual" world. Just please, tell them I sent you!