Phicomm K3C

amazon Phicomm K3C reviews

If you are looking for a router that is unlike any other, check out Phicomm K3C. Stylishly designed and equipped with Intel’s WAV500 circuitry, the K3C is an AC1900 Router that supports the latest 802.11ac technology, including Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) stream and burst format. It delivered good (but not huge) throughput in our testing, was easy to set up, and has a user-friendly management interface, but parental controls and QoS settings can take a toll job.

Not your usual Router

Designed by Denmark-based Jacob Jensen Design Studio, the K3C is a sleek router that’s 9 inches tall, 3 inches wide, and 8.2 inches deep. The case comes in a choice of colors: Classic Grey, Galaxy Silver, and Champagne Gold and are designed to stand upright and be placed outdoors. There is no LED on the face of the Router, but there is a small LED on the bottom that is solid blue when everything is working fine and blinks blue when the internet connection is lost. A blinking yellow light indicates a poor WAN or Wi-Fi connection, and the LED blinks red when the reset button is pressed. Surrounding are three gigabit LAN ports instead of the usual four, a WAN port, a USB 3.0 port, a power switch, and a reset button.

K3C is a 3×3 AC1900 Router that can reach up to 600Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1300Mbps on the 5GHz band. It has six internal antennas powered by Intel’s WAV500 Series chipset, supporting the latest 802.11ac wireless technologies, including MU-MIMO. Sending data to compatible clients concurrently instead of weekly sequence and beamforming, targeting the client directly instead of transmitting data over a broad spectrum.

The web-based management console is easy to use and offers many settings. It opens a network map showing all connected clients and their stats like how long they have been connected, their connection type, and their current upload and download activity.

The Devices screen provides similar information, but you can limit upload and download capacity and block individual clients from accessing the Router. Wireless settings allow you to edit SSID and password, change channel width, and enable/disable MU-MIMO and beamforming. Advanced settings are organized in a Windows-like tile format and include Parental Controls, QoS priority and VPN server, client, guest Wi-Fi, and Port Forwarding settings.

K3C offers limited parental controls. You can block customers from accessing the internet during certain hours and days, but there are no website blockers or content filters. Likewise, the Router’s QoS settings are limited to prioritizing an application (web surfing, gaming, media streaming), but you cannot specify high priority. For a specific client like you can with the Asus RT-AC1900P. The Health Check utility provides a quick and easy way to see how strong your password is and if your firmware is up to date.

Easy installation, average performance

Installing K3C is pretty easy. I connected it to my desktop PC and my cable modem, and it automatically opened a browser window with the Phicomm welcome screen. I clicked Start Setup and followed the instructions to create a log-in password, select a time zone, and choose an internet connection type (DHCP, PPPoE, Static, PPTP, and L2TP). Then I created passwords for both Wi-Fi bands. You also have the option to use a single SSID for both bands if you want the Router to select one for optimal performance automatically. The whole process takes less than five minutes.

While the K3C scored decently on our throughput tests, it’s not what you’d call a stellar performer. The 80Mbps score on our 2.4GHz proximity test (in the same room) is significantly slower than the D-Link DIR-878 and leaves the Asus RT-AC1900P by more than 20 points.

The K3C’s 375Mbps score ranks right behind the D-Link DIR-878 but can’t come close to the Asus RT-AC1900P, the D-Link DIR-885L/R, and TP’s score -Link Archer C7 v2. Its score of 137Mbps is also at the end of the pack.

The K3C performed slightly better in our MU-MIMO throughput tests. We used three identical Acer Aspire R13 laptops equipped with Qualcomm’s QCA61x4A MU-MIMO circuitry to see how the Router handles concurrent data streams. It achieved 193Mbps on the short-distance test, beating both the D-Link DIR-878 and Linksys EA7500 while staying close to the D-Link DIR-885L/R Router and Trendnet TEW-827DRU more expensive. Its score of 110Mbps on the 30-foot test is also higher than D-Link DIR-878 and Linksys EA7500, not fast as the D-Link DIR-885L/R and Trendnet TEW-827DRU.

We moved a 1.5GB folder containing a mix of photo, music, video, and document files to and from a removable drive connected to the Router’s USB 3.0 port to test file-transfer performance. The K3C hit a read speed of 32.6MBps, on par with the Asus RT-AC1900P (35.1MBps) and slightly faster than the TP-Link Archer C7 v2 (27.5MBps), but well above the mark set by their leader, I set out, Netgear NightHawk X10 R9000 (89.1MBps). The K3C’s 25.6MBps write speed falls behind the Asus RT-AC1900P (34.2MBps) and TP-Link Archer C7 v2 (27.3MBps) and is significantly slower than the Netgear X10 R9000 (77.1MBps).

Style, Average

The Phicomm K3C AC1900 Dual Band Gigabit Router may not be the fastest out there, but it offers respectable throughput at a reasonable price and looks good. Powered by Intel’s WAV500 chipset, it offers MU-MIMO streaming and streaming technology. Its management console makes it easy to configure wireless and internet settings and monitor the Router’s status. That said, a few parental control options and Quality of Service would be nice.

where can you get a Phicomm K3C online

PHICOMM K3C AC 1900 MU-MIMO Dual Band Wi-Fi Gigabit Router – Powered by Intel Technology, Silver: Buy it now