Acer Predator Connect W6 Wi-Fi 6E Router Review

Introduction and technical specifications of the Acer Predator Connect W6 Wi-Fi 6E Router

Today we bring you the Acer Predator Connect W6 Wi-Fi 6E Review, one of Acer’s most advanced routers with an aggressive gaming aesthetic and equipped with the latest connectivity Wi-Fi 6E with a combined bandwidth of 7,800 Mbps along with Ethernet connectivity of up to 2.5 Gbps.

It has a hybrid QoS system compatible with Killer’s traffic priority engine, and a mobile or web application to be able to configure and manage it easily.

Let’s see what it offers us.

Technical characteristics of the Acer Predator Connect W6 Wi-Fi 6E Router

• Processor: ARM Quad Core at 2 GHz.
• RAM: 1GB DDR4.
• Internal Flash Memory: 4GB eMMC.
• 6 external antennas.
• AEXE7800 7,800 Mbps maximum bandwidth WiFi 6E MU-MIMO 2x4x2:

  • 2.4 GHz: 574 Mbps 2×2 20 and 40 MHz
  • 5GHz: 4.804Mbps 4×4 80MHz.
  • 6GHz: 2.402Mbps 2×2 160MHz.

• Physical Connectivity:

  • 1 x 2.5Gbps Ethernet.
  • 4 x 1 Gbps Ethernet (one of them for gaming).
  • 1 x USB 3.0.

• Hybrid QoS Algorithm with Intel Killer Prioritization Engine.
• WPA, WPA2, WPA3-Personal encryption.
• RGB lighting.
• 11 x 11 cm aluminum heatsink.
• Measurements: 111 x 265 x 260 mm.
• Weight: 0.875 kg.
• External 12V 3.0A (36W) power supply
• Price: 299 euros.
• Firmware used in the review: W6_1.30.308516.

Design and Physical Connectivity

The Acer Predator Connect W6 is a high-performance router with its own design from the company’s Predator “gaming” range. Therefore, the use of an aggressive design is not surprising, with a certain pyramidal shape and 6 large adjustable antennas coming out of the sides.

It has a black finish with several large slots in the upper area. These slots allow the passage of air for cooling, which is handled by a large 11 x 11 cm heatsink made of aluminum and located in the main chip of the equipment.

In addition to cooling, the large open strips also reveal the RGB lighting system offered by the Acer Predator Connect W6 inside, a system that, in addition to customization, also shows us the status of the device.

In the lower area there are also many openings, as well as holes to fix it on the wall.

Although it depends on each user, the “symmetrical” orientation of the router would be placing one of the vertices forward, leaving 3 antennas on each side.

In this way, towards the rear, the two sides that meet at the farthest corner would be the ones that hide the physical ports.

On one side we have the reset button, the WPS connection button, a USB-A type 3.0 (3.2 gen 1), and the power connector for the external 12V and 36 W (3.0 Amps) adapter.

It is on the other side where we find the physical network ports, with four RJ45 1 Gbps for the LAN, and another RJ45 for the WAN with 2.5 Gbps. This WAN port can be used both to connect to the Internet and to use as a conventional LAN port in access point mode.

Interface and Configuration of the Acer Predator Connect W6 Wi-Fi 6E Router

The configuration of the Acer Predator Connect W6 is done from its web interface, or through the Acer Connect app available for mobile devices. However, as we will see throughout this section, the app is very basic and only allows us to configure a few options, so it is advisable to use the web interface for most tasks.

The first time we access the interface, we will have the possibility to perform a quick configuration (with a menu inherited from the Predator X5 router as we can see, since the name has not been changed). This configuration tells us how to connect it to the Internet, the WiFi and administrator passwords and little else.

Once connected, we have a panel where we can see the status of the router’s connection, its WiFi networks, the bandwidth used, and access the different menus. Everything in a visual and simple way.

Among the different options that the router allows us, we could not miss the opening of ports (something that cannot be done from the app). It is worth noting the gaming approach of the Predator W6 also in this section, since It has pre-saved the ports most used by the main consoles (Xbox, Switch, PS4 or PS5 for example) to be able to open them directly.

Naturally, we can open the ports we want manually.

It includes the security engine that applies filters to browsing to prevent certain websites, network attacks and even provide an extra layer of security to IoT or smart home devices. Also included in this engine is a parental control system with web blocking.

As we have already mentioned, the Predator Connect W6 allows the creation of three networks, one for each band (2.4 Ghz, 5 Ghz and 6 GHz) and within each one, another three, one for domestic use, another for guests and a third for Smart Home. In this way, connections can be separated and prevent IoT devices from accessing local computers and vice versa.

He Hybrid QoS allows a classification of the connection priority depending on the type of application that uses it and also of the different devices. We have low priority, normal priority, high priority and extreme priority levels for games.

Another mode of operation is oriented towards the use of NVIDIA GeForce Now game streaming to give the highest priority to the transmission of video and game data, with a lower level for audio.

Finally, it also prioritizes consoles over video streaming devices, smartphones, IoT, etc. Although all this can be overwritten, manually prioritizing the devices that we want, simply by dragging the icon of each one.

The application, on the other hand, requires us to register with an Acer account. Curiously, it only allows you to create an account with typical @gmail and similar domains, since we have not been able to use the Geeknetic account to do so.

Beyond this anecdote, from the app we can see the passwords of the Wi-Fi networks pre-configured in the router and change the administration password in the initial configuration.

Once configured, we will have a simple monitoring screen, indicating the connected devices and the enabled WiFi networks.

We can also configure the priority in the QoS of the different devices manually.

And activate or deactivate the function of the security engine, together with the WiFi networks. But beyond these options, the app will not let us modify any more values.

Performance

In the 2.4 GHz we have achieved an independent link of 286 Mbps, this number increases to 2,402 in the 5 GHz band when establishing a 2×2 connection. In the case of 6 GHz, in this router we are limited to 2,402 Mbps

For testing, we have connected the Router by connecting 2.5 Gbps in LAN mode to a 10 Gbps network card (naturally, the link is limited to 2.5 GbE). Tests have been carried out from the same room as the router and from a lower floor.

The results are as expected according to the connections made, although the bandwidth achieved in 2.4 GHz is somewhat lower than expected. As for 6 GHz, we have achieved higher speeds with 5 GHz being in the same room as the router, not being separated, possibly due to the fact that it is a band that is not yet used much and is more free.

Analysis and Conclusion

The Acer Predator Connect W6 Wi-Fi 6E is a Router with enviable hardware. We have 1 GB of DDR4 RAM, a 2 Ghz quad core processor and 4 GB of storage that ensure a good future, as long as the company updates with new features and firmware.

Regarding the configuration, through the web interface we have quite simple options to use, with special mention to the hybrid QoS system with automatic detection and also with manual priority. The possibility of creating 3 different networks for each band is appreciated, with one dedicated to connected home applications, as well as security functions. It is true that it does not have as many options as other more expensive and advanced routers, but any home user will have plenty to enjoy WiFi 6E without problems and with the option of parental filtering.

However, everything we can do from the web interface is far from what the Acer Connect app allows, which just lets us configure basic WiFi parameters, prioritize a device and little else. In that sense, Acer has work to do in order to make this application an alternative to the Web configuration panel.

As for Ethernet connectivity, we missed that the LAN ports were 2.5 GbE or even more. We must not forget that we are talking about a 300-euro router and that, today, 1 Gbps ports should be left behind for the future.

In short, the Acer Predator Connect W6 is a router that brings to a somewhat more domestic market and the benefits of WiFi 6E networks with 6 Ghz and a combined bandwidth of 7,800 Mbps and with a 2.5 GbE port. All this with a fairly simple and visual configuration interface that allows from the creation of multiple separate networks to QoS and security functions.

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