ZyXEL Keenetic Viva Router: reviews, review, review, connection, and setup

Buying wireless routers is important. The user should study all possible models, manufacturers and general characteristics, which may differ from this or that device. It is interesting that the development of technology does not stand still, and now there are more and more reliable companies that produce good devices for their fans.

New items

Not so long ago, users began to get acquainted with the new way of connecting to the network. Internet Center - combined functions of not only a modem and a router, but also received many interesting parameters that help to distribute the Internet via Wi-Fi to IP telephony. So, thanks to this device it is possible to establish a connection on several PCs and mobile devices, while using calls on VolP.

Before we get acquainted with the hero of today's review, it is worth to understand what the Internet center can be like. It is mainly presented in 2 types: LTE and 3G / 4G. The first option is considered cheaper, it can cost about 6-7 thousand rubles. It works to create a local wireless LAN and connect two devices via Ethernet, to them a dozen gadgets via Wi-Fi and a couple of phones for VoIP. The antenna of such an Internet center has a gain of 5 dBi maximum.

The second option will cost a little more. The cost is directly proportional to the capabilities of the device. By Wi-Fi in this case, connects up to 32 devices, two pairs via Ethernet and a pair of phones. There is also a 3G function.

Manufacturer

Before we tell you what ZyXEL Keenetic Viva receives, we will learn a little about this manufacturer. The company appeared relatively recently, it was founded in 1989. It has a public type and is located in the Chinese Republic of Hsinchu. The manufacturer is quite famous and familiar to many as the creator of high-quality network equipment for home and industry.

The company mainly produces Ethernet, VoIP, ADSL, WiMAX, Wi-Fi. Fame came from the dialup modem, which was often purchased in Russia. Now most often the manufacturer purchases equipment with DSL and Ethernet, among which there are modems ADSL, Internet centers and routers.

Observer Hero

оит отнести неплохую модель от ZyXEL. To the center of distribution of the Internet it is necessary to carry a good model from ZyXEL. Keenetic Viva characteristics got decent for the average price segment. In general, it is designed to establish an Internet connection through a dedicated line. In doing so, it supports all the necessary protocols that may be encountered. Among them, as always, PPPoE, PPTP, IPv4 / IPv6, etc.

Appearance

Immediately it is worth saying that the company does not attach special importance to the packaging of the goods. It looks rather modest, but stylish and discreet. Given that this is not a gaming device for a PC, there should be no excessive pathos in the package. So, before us is ZyXEL Keenetic Viva. The unpacking overview, of course, is not so important. Although, to make sure that you have purchased the same device with the necessary accessories, it is better to find out about the bundle.

So, the Internet center is packed in a strong white cardboard. On the front side of the logo of the company flaunts, in the middle - the image of the model itself, and next to a bright background indicate the supported technology and the overall characteristics of the product. Below modestly indicated model, as well as its features.

The back of the box is completely sealed with a variety of specifications in several languages. Immediately there is an image of the interface panel indicating the formats of the connectors. There is also support for special technologies and information about useful resources.

Inside the box there is nothing superfluous. Unfortunately, there are no gifts here either. The Internet center here is in a protective film, along with the main documentation and a guarantee coupon. From the wires you can see an external pulse unit, which was powered by 12V 1A. A network patch cord of bright yellow color is also present in the kit.

Design

Of course, the appearance for the router is not the main thing, but I would like it to look decent. In this case, it's all true. Users praised the design of ZyXEL Keenetic Viva, the reviews on this issue were good. Despite its large-scale capabilities, the device is compact in size, executed in black and, by the way, very similar to its fellow workers in the shop. So, for example, from the Keenetic Extra model, the hero of our review can be distinguished by antennas.

The case is made in black color, plastic at first sight is durable and high-quality. The top and bottom of the router uses gloss, from above there are also additional geometric elements that adorn the model. In general, the top panel looks interesting. The most part is covered with wavy matte lines, which, together with plastic look harmoniously.

The universal button is located in the lower right corner of the top panel. Around it everything is made of gloss, as if allocating it from the mass, so that the user does not lose and pay attention to the functionality. Nearby there was a place for the company logo.

As mentioned before, the size of the case is compact. If we do not take into account the antennas, which in our case are thin and short, the "box" itself was 34 mm in thickness, 157 mm in length, and 110 mm in width. On the back there are rubberized legs, next to them are bolts (although they are unlikely to be useful to you), as well as places for fixing the router to the wall. Most of the bottom is a white sticker indicating the model, service and serial number and information for setting and power characteristics.

Details

The ZyXEL Keenetic Viv router received all the necessary ports. They are located on the rear panel between the two antennas. Their location is typical for many models not only of this manufacturer.

Before us is a hidden reset button, which the user sometimes has to face. Nearby there is another universal button. Next, there are five numbered Gigabit LAN / WAN ports, with the first number being 0, and then 1-4. The null port is signed as "Internet" and marked in blue, other "Home network" connectors are marked in yellow.

Next is the power button and the connector for the power supply. Antennas are not removable.

On each side there are ventilation grilles, and on the right side there is a USB 2.0 port, which is the only one here and indicates that the device supports USB hubs, which means it allows connecting several external devices.

The front end seems at first to be a usual matte panel, but in fact there are hidden indicators that are not visible when turned off. Of only nine. There is no port speed indicator, but there is Wi-Fi in Extra with good brightness and two-color display. Otherwise, the status of the gadget connection is shown here, as well as the Ethernet ports, the presence of the network and the use of the USB port.

Inner

The device is based on SoC MediaTek MT7620A, which is built on MIPS24Kc. The frequency thus reaches 580-600 MHz. The chip consumes little energy, so it is covered by a small plate of the heat spreader. The chip inside received a radio band with a 2.4 GHz band, and there is room for a USB 2.0 controller.

Flash memory is a bit - only 16 MB, but that's enough. RAM 128 MB, should also be enough. To ensure the correct operation of wired ports, a switch is installed in the device. In general, these values will suffice for a good middle class system. It's interesting that there is a processor inside, which is very similar to the already forgotten third Pentium.

Capabilities

Antennas have 3 dBi each, which should also be sufficient within an ordinary apartment. If you have a two-story house, you will have to look for another Internet center. A not very pleasant surprise is that the antennas are not removable, and therefore it will not be possible to expand the coverage area. The maximum speed of a wireless network in our case is 300 Mbps. This indicator is indicated on the box, in fact its value may be less. Usually, the decrease in speed occurs due to any interference in the form of a wall or the overlapping of work by another router.

Interestingly, the Ethernet ports are all gigabit. Their number allows you to create a home network and with the help of it to quickly share information. As mentioned earlier, there is a USB slot, but they are rarely used, and more often it remains useless.

Among other things, it should be noted that the router, in addition to its direct duties, can support interactive television. You can also create a guest wireless network, but it will not be accessible to all users of the home network and the Internet speed will become somewhat slower.

The device can be controlled using a smartphone thanks to a special application. It is possible to configure a stand-alone torrent client that allows you to stay online, but the PC can be disabled.

Home network via WiFi router can work in several directions. For example, there is a DLNA server that helps launch a media network in which TV, smartphones and tablets are involved. It is possible to connect the printer, for this purpose the USB port is calculated. The user can connect a VPN server, use filters from Yandex, which will help protect against dangerous sites and botnets. Of course, we must not forget about parental control.

On practice

Before you learn all about how to go for ZyXEL Keenetic Viva setup, it is worthwhile to understand the performance of the device. The main thing to test is the routing speed. If you are not going to take customers at more than 2.4 GHz, then this model will suffice with interest.

If we take into account the IPoE and PPPoE connections, we can observe almost gigabit speeds, which makes it possible to implement hardware NAT. The PPTP and L2TP values range from 200 to 270 Mbps. They can easily cope with work on a mass channel of 100 Mbit / s and, naturally, with full-duplex mode. These values will be a pleasant surprise, as they are noticeably smaller on the package.

Also need to check the speed of the wireless controller. If you use a gigabit switch, the results of 130-180 Mbit / s are excellent. In general, it turns out that the performance of the device at the declared level. Router copes with all tasks, and yet manages to compete with more expensive models.

Implementation

Interestingly, the Keenetic Viva setup is simple, and if you also deal with the firmware, you can get several times more opportunities. The NDMS 2 series is specifically designed to expand the basic capabilities and open pleasant surprises to the user.

There is support for the required network connections. This refers to cable, Wi-Fi and 3G / 4G modems. Broadcasting of ports and DDNS is supported. Working with interactive television can have several directions, among which a dedicated port, multicast, VLAN and Udpxy. It is possible to install a regular or guest wireless network. The firmware has a modular structure, and therefore there is some flexibility in setting, adjusting and implementing additional functions. Software update occurs promptly and on time.

If you do not know how you can use the USB port that the ZyXEL router has acquired, then there are a couple of ideas on this. For example, to connect a device for organizing data, storing it with synchronization over the network via SMB and FTP, again creating a DLNA server, using offline downloads of files, and, as mentioned earlier, using the printer.

To connect a drive of this type, you can use the HDD of different file systems. Sometimes you have to look for a software module. There is also a software kit for this, which gives access to resources through a specific name and password. That information that is written to an external drive is available. It can be accessed through the DLNA protocol by applying a media network. The user can only use one folder for indexing and the button that starts the scan.

Auxiliary software

To ensure offline downloads of files, you can use the transmission application. The user has all the necessary parameters to configure it. These include port numbers, speed values, connection numbers, and so on. The maximum data download speed will reach 5 MB / s. In general, this is enough. To use the service, you can choose your own Web interface. If necessary, there is a way with connecting the Internet to it.

This does not end with the use of utilities. Connecting the Transmission Remote GUI will also help, but with a slower data transfer rate of 2-4 MB / s. Despite this, access is considered a priority, it works quickly and correctly.

Customize

It is important to understand how to connect ZyXEL Keenetic Viva and configure it. In general, it is not difficult to do this. There are not many wires, and the instruction helps to solve this problem. Through the power supply, you need to connect the router to the outlet, and use a yellow cable to connect the "Internet" port with a similar connector to the PC.

But the setting can cause some problems. The fact is that not all Internet providers help to set up or ask for this service a monetary reward. It's not difficult to do it yourself.

In the browser, enter 192.168.1.1. We need an input with a username and password. Usually here it is customary to enter admin in the login or password field or enter the password in the password 1234. When you first enter the interface of the router, it launches "Quick Setup Wizards" on your PC. If you previously had a device of the same manufacturer, then nothing new will be seen, since the interface is identical to the entire family. But in general this option is suitable for the basic setting, which will make only a tenth of what is needed.

Here, by the way, you can use automatic configuration or web configurator. Of course, if you do not understand much, it will be easier to call an ISP to help you. Those who have a lot of experience, of course, use the web configurator. Thus, you can more accurately deal with ZyXEL Keenetic Viva. Tuning in this case requires knowledge of some nuances, such as the protocol, which must be specified in the contract with the Internet provider.

Here you will have the opportunity to set the connection name and password, as well as the type of encryption. In the latter case, it is recommended to choose WPA2-PSK.

Reviews

The ZyXEL router is still a popular device, which is often praised rather than scolded. There are a lot of reviews, so it's easy to understand how the router manifests over time. Users noted an attractive design. Despite the black plastic, the exterior of the Internet center was really very attractive and stylish. The arrangement of the buttons, like all connectors, is convenient.

The home network via WiFi router also proved to be easy to set up and adjust. Especially on the Internet, a lot of instructions in both text format and video reviews. So, the local network allows you to transfer information through all components. Also, to really include in this chain of smartphones, tablets, televisions and in general, everything that is in the house.

Also, users noted the presence of an opportunity, which allows the ZyXEL Keenetic Viva router to perform port forwarding. For those who do not know, this is the ability to form a call from the network to the PC through the internal network using NAT (NAPT). At the same time, access works by redirecting the traffic of the installed ports from the external address of the router to the address of the desired PC of the local network.

ZyXEL Keenetic Viva had negative reviews. Most often they were concerned with devaysov, which suffered from unscrupulous assembly. Some home buyers began to notice that the wireless network has cut back on speed. And if at first the reductions were invisible, then after steel at times less than the declared values. Some tried to fix this problem with flashing, but only the replacement of the device in the store acted.

More about the ZyXEL Keenetic Viva reviews concerned software problems. Some models after a couple of months of use began to reset the parameters themselves to the factory settings. Especially those who could not change the warranty model were disappointed, and after several trips to the service center they despaired and bought another router.

In the rest, the model remained in good standing with many buyers. They praised quick and easy to understand settings, coverage, capabilities and technologies. Also, the device after a couple of years proved to be a reliable option, which is resistant to changes, it catches a signal well and has a stable software component.