Customer Ratings & Reviews

As someone who is fairly familiar with wireless networks and mesh networking, I was excited to try this new system due to the claims made regarding features and coverage. After 3 days of uses, I am overall please with the performance. I have found the set up to be a breeze and anyone can do it if they have 10 minutes or less and a smartphone. Simple step by step set up! The iPhone app was hard to find as it was not under ALLY as depicted in the pamphlet, but under Amped Wireless ALLY instead. The features were quick to learn and easy to use. Setting up Network side AVG Anti-virus was easy, just a tap of a setting, although I am not sure how secure this truly is at this point. The Parent Controls are FAR SUPERIOR to that of similar product such as Linksys were you must configure each website to be blocked individually. Amped allows you to set curfews times, block genres of websites, and even pause internet access for connected devices if needed. A big plus for parents wishing to help control their child's internet usage or times. The speed of download is questionable for my experience. I am used to running between 75 - 95 Mbs D/L and about 18-24 Mbs U/L on Xfinity services. However, since installing Amped, I have experienced 11-14 Mbs D/L and 20-24 Mbs U/L when testing my speeds using Speedtest.net. This is confusing to me as nothing else has changed other than installing the Amped system. However, in Amped's defense, I have no buffering issues with streaming systems except a hiccup or two with my iPhone not connect to a game a few times. PROS - Simple out of the box Setup - Minimal technical skills necessary to setup, used, and configure - Parental Features are top notch!! - Easy to use smartphone app for access and reporting of wifi network access and usage - Up 15000 sq ft coverage CONS - Larger footprint than other mesh network setups - Speeds are questionable based on my personal experience and testing

I have been fortunate enough to have the chance to test over 20 routers in the last few years – so I’ve seen quite a few of the competing products. I have to admit though – even though I have a Disney Circle device on my normal network, this Amped Wireless ALLY Plus router system could easily replace it with nearly all the functionality! Setup was a breeze on the smartphone – quite comparable to other mesh networks I’ve tested (although technically 3 or more devices are required for a true mesh). Why should you buy one? Are you tired of setting up wifi extenders that you have to log into as you roam your house? Floor 1 is SSID 1, floor 2 is SSID 2, etc. The Amped ALLY system can make that much easier! Also – do you want more control of what your children are seeing, accessing and when they use the internet? Again, the ALLY plus system can help you get that under control! I consider myself an advanced home technology evangelist. For those of you that like to setup your own Firewall rules, setup a home VPN tunnel, perhaps have home servers you access from afar with port forwarding rules, etc – this may not be the router setup for you. It lacks some of the advanced features you’ll probably expect. The Base unit comes with 3 available ports, which is OK since you likely have an 8-16 port switch you’ll use anyway. The extender unit has only a single ethernet port – I was hoping for 2-4 so an improvement could be made here, but at least it has a port! If you’re a relatively non-technical household and you just want to gain some control over your younger children’s surfing and gaming habits – this router system may be right for you. It’s easy to setup via the wizard with easy to access and set options for blocking application and website filters. It takes a little work to setup a profile for each user and add their devices (much like the competitors), but the profile is saved to the smartphone and not to the cloud – so you need to repeat the setup on multiple devices or always use the same device to manage the settings – another improvement to be made. From a performance perspective – I was impressed. The system handled speeds and tested out just as fast as more expensive competitor solutions. Data transfer rates were high between my device and the system itself, and the device didn’t show any signs of latency when accessing the internet either – see photos. Nice work Amped Wireless! Overall, I would recommend this system to households with younger children since I’m a firm believe that the older kids need to learn the responsibility of self control and what is right/wrong to do on the internet. Don’t kid yourself – you may have it blocked at your house – but when they go to a friends house it’s a whole different story – so it’s best to teach them right from wrong and practice good habits.

The Amped Ally plus wireless router comes with an extender and the package is very clearly marked as to how to set them up and connect it to the modem. The setup of both the primary router and extender was quick and easy. The primary router has 4 gig ethernet ports, a wps button and a usb port. The extender has a single gig port and a sync button to connect to the primary router. This was the easiest setup of any extender so far and the multicolor led light on front of the device clearly indicates the status. No configuration on the extender is required. The coverage is really really good and I have not experienced any loss of signal. However there are a few shortcoming with the usb storage port. I had to reboot the router everytime a usb device was attached and it would be awesome if this is fixed in a future uodate. The device however shows is DLNA enabled and shows up as a network share. Streaming to both wired and wireless worked great. The app is very easy to use and you can assign devices to users and then control the way they access internet. You can block typical social apps easily as well. The only issue I had was when one day none of the devices worked when connected to wifi. After rebooting manually the router returned to factory defaults and I had to run a quick setup. best part was I wasnt at home and was able to do this remotely. Remote access is through app only I believe. All in all this is an excellent performing hardware when setup right.

Amped Ally wireless router Overview: The amped ally wireless router is a whole house AC band router that promises to deliver coverage up to 15,000 square feet home. The box came with 2 small square devices, about 4"x4"X1". All I had to do was plug in the router to my modem, connect the other end to my switch and download the app. Setup: I had a few issues during setup, most of which I was able to resolve, some with the help of customer service. 1. The Ally app had issues when I was going through the setup. The router was connected to my modem and I was able to get on the internet with my iPad, but the app told me I didn't have internet connection. I had to reset and start over, this fixed the issue. 2. During setup, once I was able to get passed the setup stage on the app. The app would sometimes give me a message that I have no connection - big red screen "Ally is offline". 3. I tried logging into router configuration page on a browser, it asks for an "Access code" that it says I should be able to find under the router itself. There is no code under the router. Customer support informed me I could find the access code in the app. 4. The toll free number on app for support was incorrect, it lists a "800” number, should've been “866”. The Ally has some unique features that I liked, here are a few: 1. Robust parental control features. You can limit kids activity by app, get reports of their online activity and more. 2. Being able to log into the web interface to make changes. So while you can control most of the functionality from the app, it's good to know you have another method if needed. Another manufacturer with a similar device I've used limits you to the app only. 3. New device on LAN notification. I was at work and I received a notice that a new device connected to my network, It turns out my kids had a friend come over and they needed the wifi. On another occasion I received a notice some Microsoft device that I didn't recognize connected to my network, I was able to block it from my app. I found this feature to be very useful. One quirky thing I noticed, so I setup router, plug the internet connection into my switch where I have about 15 connections. Over the next few days, I would randomly get notices that a new device connected to my LAN, they are valid devices, but I would've expected to get the notices when I connected the router to the switch. It's not even that I turned these devices on and the router detected it. No one was home at the time. Ally customer support was helpful and professional. The wait time I experienced to ranged from 5 minutes to 45 minutes. Usability: Once I was able to get the router up and running, it was great! I had only setup the router in my basement and I was able to get coverage in the whole house (3,300 sq feet, 3 stories including basement). The speed was very good, comparable to other routers I've used. The flexibility of the parental control features are much better than other routers I've used. It's user friendly and well laid out in the app. You can even create a profile for each child (or adult). So for example, in the app, you can pick a device that shows up on your list of devices connected to your LAN, assign a name to it, say "Connor". Then find the other devices Connor uses and also assign to him. From there, you can limit the apps he uses block internet by time with "Curfew" feature or have an "activity report" sent to you if he accesses blocked sites. I thought this activity report would send you a list of all sites a child goes to, but it seems that it only sends you a list of blocked sites that is accesses. I thought about setting one up for my wife and blocking shopping sites, but she uses her phone mostly and would just not use the wifi to shop. :( Overall, I think this router has its pros and cons as I've described. I really wanted to use this router but I found it a bit too buggy. Once these issues are worked out, it has a lot potential.

I was excited to see a Wi-Fi system that claimed to seamlessly integrate parental controls, web filtering, and curfew settings. The Ally Plus system delivers solid performance, but it misses the mark in just a few areas. PROS: - Dead-simple setup. All of the cables you will need are clearly labeled to tell you where and when to plug them in. After plugging in the main router to your modem and powering it on, the Ally app walks you through the rest of the steps. All you have to do it choose a network name, password, and a few other basic settings. Once that's done, the app will walk you through the setup of the extender node, which is essentially plug-and-play. - Very respectable Wi-Fi performance (speed and range). At 15 feet away from the main router, I clocked network transfer speeds averaging 414 megabits per second (mbps) via the 5 GHz network. When I was closer to the extender node, speeds averaged about 245 mbps. I have full signal in nearly every corner of my 3,000 sq. ft. home, although speed deteriorates at the far edges. Simply put: this system should provide enough bandwidth to max out the speed of nearly any residential Internet connection. - Intuitive mobile app with a great foundation for parental controls. The app lets you create users and assign specific devices to each user. You can then set website filters, curfews, and view activity reports for each user. You can even block specific mobile apps like Facebook and Snapchat. The app is very easy to use for even the least tech-savvy parents. CONS: - I'm not sure if I did something wrong, but I can't seem to get the website filters to work properly. I created a "user" in the app for my nephew and assigned his iPad to that user. I enabled all of the filters, including alcohol, online dating, gambling, etc. When I used his iPad to test out the filtering, I was still able to browse to the main websites for several popular alcohol companies, dating apps, and gambling services. It's now been 3 days and the filters still don't seem to be working. So either something is wrong or the system thinks that these websites are somehow allowable even with the filters on. Luckily, the curfew and app-specific blocking features work flawlessly, so at least I can keep my nephew from staying up too late on his iPad. - If you want to tweak many of the advanced settings of the router, you can't use the mobile app: you're forced to use a web interface via web browser. Not an issue for most people, but something to be aware of if you're an advanced user. - Only one ethernet port on the extender node. If you want to hard-wire more than one device into the extender node, you'll need to use an ethernet switch. OVERALL: This is an excellent entry-level Wi-Fi system for small to medium-size homes. It will easily blanket your home with a fast, reliable Wi-Fi signal and provide a market-leading platform for parental controls. I do hope, however, that Amped will continue to improve the effectiveness of its website filters. If you have a large, multi-story home or need bleeding-edge speed and signal in all corners of your home, you may want to check out some of the more expensive mesh networking solutions. On the other hand, if you're simply looking to move away from your old, bulky router and step up to a more powerful wireless system, the Ally Plus could be for you. You'll get some great parental control features to boot -- something I haven't seen in any of the competition. Recommended!

After using this whole home wi-fi system for a few days I am left with negative feelings. The set-up process starts with an app that has a nice interface and worked well up until the point it told me I needed a firmware update to the main unit. I started the firmware update and then got an error message that it could not be completed. Going back to the main menu, I went to try again and got a message that the firmware is "up to date". That was my first problem. I then connected the secondary unit, which paired without any difficulty. I like the design of these units. They are small, sleek, and do not take up much space. The extender unit does have one ethernet port if you need to connect any wired devices. Once I was fully set up I began connecting my various wireless devices that were previously all working perfectly with another wi-fi network. Most devices connected perfectly and worked well. Two devices (a smart TV and an A/V receiver) would not connect. After performing routine troubleshooting, I still could not get them to connect and went back to using their previous w-fi network instead. This was frustrating, as there was no rhyme or reason for this connectivity issue. Future firmware/app updates may help resolve these issues, but for now I cannot recommend this wi-fi system.

Whats in the Box ---------------- 1. Router 2. Repeater 3. Power adapters 4. Network Cable 5. User guides Setup ----- VERY EASY, I did not even have to go through the user guide to set it up. Just downloaded the APP and installed it on my phone (Make sure to search for AMPED ALLY, else you will get ALLY BANK app) Make sure to follow the exact instructions as in the App, i skipped the step of power recycling the modem and had to spend some time to troubleshoot Once you set it up, you can rename the SSID, setup your own passwords There is also a GUEST network you can configure. Setting up the REPEATER was even more easier, there is a button called SYNC which you need to push and the repeater communicates with the ROUTER by itself and pairs APP --- Now, the APP lets you see the devices that are connected and you can also assign users to devices. Once you do that, you can set user level permissions, you can control which SITES can be blocked, you do not need to specify the actual URL, you can select the category lets say ADULT and the router will block all ADULT sites for this user you can also block some of the Well Known APPS for a user who is connected to the network The Router has built in AVG internet security antivirus which is great CONNECTIVITY ------------ I had an ASUS RT-AC68U router which could not reach one of the rooms in my house for 2.4GHZ signal, once i connected this ALLY router, i could get upto 30 Mbps download speed in that room (i have a max of 60Mbps line) which is great and that too without connecting the repeater eleswhere in the house at 5GHZ, this router gives me around 50Mpbs to 60Mbps speed depending on how close or far away from the router you are the router did not have any dropped connections at the time of writing this review USB --- the router has a USB 3.0 port wherein you can connect a mass storage device which will serve as a NAS drive, i did not get a chance to test this FINAL WORD --------- i like this router, it has simple setup, good speed with no dropped connection , i recommend!!

The Amped ALLY router is an AC1900 system with a companion wireless extender. The wireless signal of the primary router is good, comparable to my current AC1900 router I had prior to this. Once I connected the extender, there was a noticeable increase in signal strength in the bedrooms furthest away. From what I can tell the extender does not have dedicated wireless backhaul nor does it support ethernet uplink to main router. It also isn’t a mesh point, strictly a wireless extender. Despite the disappointing lack of modern features, the extender does it’s job and extended the network in my home without any perceivable added latency. The only negative I noticed with regard to the extender was client roaming was hit or miss. Often I would notice my phone had poor signal in my living room due to it still being connected to the extender in another part of the house. The initial setup was done with the ALLY app via my iPhone. I had one minor issue with a server error during setup, but they were related to the phone not connecting to the new wireless network after initial setup. An obvious fix, but the app neglected to inform the user that they needed to connect to the newly created network that the app just prompted you to create. Again, not an issue for most, but I could see where a novice could get frustrated or confused. Once up and running, you can dig into the parental controls of the system. In order to enable content filtering, you must create users and add devices to users. It would be nice if there was a network wide ruleset, rather then needing to assign every device to a user. I liked the curfew options and the activity features, though the activity reports are generic and just a list of sites blocked and at what time. I was intrigued by the AVG protection promoted with the device, but it is nothing more than additional content filtering. Essentially, the device compares the website URL with a blacklist and blocks it if it is on a list of malicious hosts. Unfortunately, this is easily circumvented and not very effective. It would have been nice if the device was doing some sort of AV scanning and IPS, but I realize that is beyond the scope of most SOHO routers. Overall, the ALLY system performed as good as my existing router, but offered some great parental features. I recommend this for non-techie families trying to keep their children safe online and reinforce set times to use their devices.

This router is only half baked. It should not be bought or sold until major issues, gaps, and bugs are fixed in the software. The marketing material and the promise of user-device management are very appealing and mentioned that coverage up to 15,000 square feet. I have replaced my existing mesh Wi-Fi router with this one and i am really disappointed with speed test results in both frequencies. The packing was good and not that great compare to other routers. Setup was mostly a breeze, just follow the prompts in the app and you're up and running using mobile apps either in iOS or Android. Confusing between the phone apps and the web dashboard. After a simple setup on the app other features require the web to setup. When using the web to set things like radio basic settings it says you can't because the app is managing them, but the app has no place to change the settings, so you need to delete all your app data and reinstall to make small changes to the router configuration which is very time consuming exercise User setup is easy on the app, as is associating devices. But, all other setup, user definition, device naming, associations, rules, etc. are stored only on that phone. A second parent cannot control and/or if the phone breaks you have to set it all up again. Also, if you need to make a change you need to erase all the data and start over. It has built in AVG protection. Alerts only worked about 50% of the time for me (sample of 20+ devices). Port forwarding for things like alarms, nest only have one port and doesn't support the second (local) port. Hardware configuration is very good. However, the app / web software and Wi-Fi results are very disappointing. It is not allowing to use all special characters to create complex Wi-Fi password and password has to be less than 16 characters. There are more issues, bugs, and annoyances. I have tested and used many routers in past few years and did not except many issues and poor Wi-Fi speed 300$ router. I was getting 150mbps+ in Wi-Fi all around the house with mesh Wi-Fi router + satellite combo. With Ally plus, i am getting only 25+ mbps. I have tested in 10 different locations inside the house and the Wi-Fi speed is really disappointing. I have changed back to my old router after using it for a day. I would suggest to spend little more to buy other mesh Wi-Fi routers if you are looking for best Wi-Fi speed throughout the house instead of Ally Plus.

I’m what you would call an ‘advanced’ Internet user. I want to start this review out in that manner because I feel like the Ally Plus is a good system for some types of users. I consider myself ‘advanced’ because I have dozens of smart home products throughout my house in addition to multiple computers and mobile devices that use a WiFi signal. While the Ally System was very easy to set-up, it ultimately couldn’t handle everything I was throwing at it. I had some issues with the system locking up and having to reset it more than once. I did try to limit my WiFi usage to a few devices and I found that the system worked much better that way. So, for most family situations, this would work just fine. Another issue I had was that the parental controls seemed limiting. Again for most users, the options might be fine, but I have a teenager and I want to be a little more specific with her Internet uses. All in all, it’s not a bad system. I do think its price is a bit on the high side in comparison to other systems.

I got mine today and intended to set up same day. I had no issues at all with setting up it's very simple and easy to set it up. I checked the speed and honestly didn't give me more speed but I got better coverage with its extender. I liked it

Disclaimer: I have received this product for free in exchange of honest review. So here it is… This was a 4 Star product to me until I ran into some issues and got a call back from the support, I had to drop my rating to 1 Star. Overall, Amped Wireless - Ally Plus is an OK product for beginners. This is not the best compared to price vs features. I consider myself as an advanced user because networking is pat of my professional life. Pros: + Unlike some competition ALLY comes with web interface in addition to smartphone access - but comes with a price (see cons) + Great coverage without any external antennas - signal strength is at par with my previous router with antennas - really impressive. (with a massive drop on speed - see cons) + Parental control aka device control is pretty straight forward and designed perfectly and “exclusively” via smartphone app. + Device design itself is sleek and eye appealing Cons: Unreliable network connection after 24 hours (check images) - needed reboot to gain network access again You don't see half of the features on the smart phone that you see on the web interface and vice versa. (very confusing) Never change the IP address from 192.168.3.1 to anything else if you plant to enable AVG Security on the router - though not sure why there is an option to change IP address at first place if it is not to be changed (see other thoughts). Some devices drops connection and requires rebooting the device, not the router. Though coverage seems to be at par with my previous router (1 v/s 2 ALLY including extender), connection speed has drastically dropped by 60-70% Other thoughts: Originally I was impressed with the router and wanted to give it 4 stars. However, after talking to the Escalated Support Team, I had to drop it to 1 star. Biggest challenge I faced apart from the CONS mentioned above was enabling AVG security feature, I was not able to access the web interface anymore. Called support, the scheduled a called back for next day morning. I have received a prompt response next day morning. However, after some trouble shooting I was told that if I have changed IP address from 192.168.3.1 to anything else, I have to toggle AVG security to OFF from a smart phone in order to access web interface. ALLY was designed to work on 192.168.3.x series only! I shared my thought with them, if that is the case why there is an option to change the IP address at first place? After almost 30 second silence, they repeated ALLY is suppose to work on 3.x series only. I have more than 50 devices on my network and at least 1/3rd of them has static IP addresses. To use ALLY I have to reconfigure my devices including mounted wifi cameras? No way! At this point I wouldn’t recommend ALLY to advanced users. It may be OK for beginners, again, price v/s features its not worth it. Like other user mentioned, it is a half baked product trying to sell for full price.

DISCLOSURE: I used a Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone to control the units. This is my 3rd set of "mesh" network access points. Of the 3, this is the only set that has had 2 units. For my house, 3 is mandatory in order to cover the square footage. SETUP was tedious as multiple resets occurred just to get these things paired up with bluetooth and each other. It was a process that appeared simple, but in the end, was far from it. There are definitely flaws with these units talking to the paired device with the app. I'm more of an advanced user, and like others, I have nearly all of my devices as static IP addresses. This was a problem on many levels... I re-IP'd a few of them just for testing purposes, but afterwards, set them back. There just simply was not enough range to cover our entire home which consisted of 3 total floors (basement, main, upper). Probably around 6000+ sq-ft. Other manufacturers have done a better job at full system integration - Ally should get those products and follow suit. This was not a good experience, and again - 3 units may have helped, but setup was my biggest hangup with the product.

I bought this product in good faith and now wait for you to solve this – last 4 days off every day I tried to login Holding my settings hostage – I will be returning this and I will be posting this every where until you can provide an answer or you get better servers that don’t fail, if in a short period of time I do not hear back, I will ask the larger public community if they know anything by posting it on a well followed tech blog … friend is the editor. Please take responsibility by correcting the problem or releasing a public statement with some info so that expectations can be properly managed. Hello everyone: I had a good experience with Amped products before, so I tried the new Ally System. I had hoped the bugs had been worked out – people complained at first release that there were problems with the server down not allowing access when needed to change settings for monitoring. That was maybe a year ago. Well it is still happening. And worse than I thought. I really hoped it would work but when the server is down - my settings are held hostage – until who knows – leaving some without access etc. I will be getting an RMA and returning this product if they cannot deliver on their promise. Don’t worry about their return policy, I think failure to deliver what is advertised is cause enough that they will accept returns, no matter the purchase date, they are in breach and at legal risk. A contract cannot be considered complete until consideration and service or goods are exchanged as agreed. They agreed to deliver an advertised and working Ally system complete with the working feature set of monitoring that relies on a server that has a very low amount of uptime, unreasonably low compared to the industry standard. The helpline staff state that they are not in charge of the servers, I assume a third party is running them, Amped needs to settle their issues or take over for their lack of delivery if that is the case. Maybe a class action against both will help Ally leverage some response against the server company they have employed. If anyone has any info about what is causing this or when it will be fixed please post it Thanks

My secondary job is being "the I.T. Guy" in my office and among my friends and family. That means I've set up more than a handful of home and small office networks. I may not always do it quickly and efficiently, but I get them set up and have been successful helping my friends bypass cable and DSL service calls... All this means that I've been very excited about the new products such as Ally. Not only do they intend to provide whole-house/small office coverage, they're meant to be nearly "plug-n-play" with simple connections and apps with step-by-step instructions. I've tested similar products and have been pleased with the simplicity and reliability. This was unfortunately not the case with Ally. Three times I completely shut down and reassaembled my network because it was assigning addresses outside of the range of my printers and WeMo devices. Once I finally resolved that issue, it simply did not stay connected to the internet. I moved the base device to 5 different locations, as well as changing its orientation from horizontal to vertical. I tried changing the patch cable to my modem. It simply would not stay stable. This irritates me, but as my girlfriend stated, it's "maddening" if you're an average tech user who just wants to get to their email or social media app.

Pros -Full-featured for network customization -Doesn't require mobile app or 3rd-party account to set up -Allows parental controls by user, device, and time -Integrated anti-virus -Good Coverage -Good Speed Cons -No dedicated backhaul channel cuts extender's bandwidth -Mobile app setup doesn't support wireless passwords over 15 characters -Mobile app required for some advanced features ( users and anti-virus ) -Base unit only has 3 switched ports -Extender has only one port Overall Among the slew of whole-home, out-of-the-box network solutions available today, the ALLY is the most balanced I've seen in terms of newbie friendly setup and advanced controls for the network experts. The ALLY is pretty much idiot-proof to setup. The router has a network cable already plugged into the uplink port in the box, with the cable labeled "Plug into modem." Both power adapters also have large labels stating whether they go to the router or extender and the extender is programmed out of the box to automatically connect with the router. Using the mobile app ( iOS and Android only ) takes you through the whole process to setup and configure the router. However, you can't use a password longer than 15 characters for the wireless networks when doing so. And unlike other systems, the mobile app doesn't hide advanced settings from you. Those that aren't available from the app itself can be reached over the regular web page access ( the app has a link to open the web page ). For the networking experts, you can still set the system up manually by plugging a PC into the router and going from there. You can still access a setup wizard, or go full manual mode. Unlike the app setup, the web access supports passwords longer than 15 characters. However, you will need the mobile app for a few settings ( namely adding additional users and enabling the AVG anti-virus ). The ALLY does lack a few things competitors offer. The base router only has three wired ports instead of the four you get with many other routers. The extender only has one wired port. If you've got network enabled home theater components like a smart TX, game console, or satellite box, you won't be able to wire them all to the extender without an additional switch. The ALLY also doesn't have a dedicated backhaul communication channel, meaning maximum wireless bandwidth through the extender is half what it is through the main router. Overall, this is a great system. The ALLY doesn't limit its user base by only working in basic or advanced modes. It offers great parental controls limiting websites and network access to individual users, devices, and/or times in the day. Coverage is fantastic for even fairly large, multi-level homes. The lack of dedicated backhaul is practically unnoticeable in regular use as the remaining bandwidth is still greater than most people's ISP.

This is a good whole home system with mostly simple functionality for average users, possibly heavy users as well. I have used many routers from low to high-end and the ALLY Plus is good, but not great. Setup-Software (3 /5): Set-up requires a mobile phone app. Huge disadvantage. I understand most people have smartphones, but limiting to App setup is a huge con for me. However, this is becoming commonplace for whole-home systems, which is a standard I do not support. Overall, the setup is quick, easy, and should be no problem for most users. Setup-Connections (4.5/5): I am really happy this includes 3 gigabit ports. I would prefer 4 at a minimum, but this is much more than other whole home systems (like Linksys Velop and Google Home) that do not have more than one port per device. This is very useful to me, but I would still like to see more built-in ports. At this price point, I shouldn’t have to buy additional Ethernet switches. There are certain situations where wired is necessary, but I guess having a whole-home system is supposed to solve that problem. Includes USB 3.0 which can allow for external storage devices on the network. Definitely a nice feature not present on all whole-home systems. I have not seen any information on using the USB port to hook-up a printer for wireless printing. Easy hook-up to modem through ethernet connection. The router was out of the box and fully functioning (including set up time) within 20 minutes. Connectivity and Range (4/5): The connection is quick with good, not great, range. Compared to an Apple Airport Extreme and ASUS AC1900, I am getting at least 20% greater range outside the house, which is approximately 3k-4k square feet. My devices connect immediately most times, but I have noticed so lag here and here. Using devices from one coverage area to another is not necessarily “seamless” with some definite pauses/decrease in connectivity. For example, watching an HD stream in one area, then moving around into the next coverage area did result in pixilation at times. Performance (3.8/5): Good speeds and little to no lag. Power users with many devices and multiple simultaneous streams should be okay, but I would probably recommend another device. Explore your options at the very least. I have tested with three streams and online gaming activity with no significant slowing, but getting streams started was slow at times. I have not noticed considerable lag when gaming, other than what is expected from the game itself. Performance should be good for most users, but those with heavy demands or wanting instant connectivity and minimal lag, may want to look elsewhere. Summary (5/5): Overall, this is a good router, but nothing special. I think there are some really high points incorporating additional Ethernet ports and USB 3.0. The device looks nice and can blend in well. Heavy users may be disappointed in the level of performance. At this price point I would look in to additional options before settling in to this product. It is definitely cheaper and well-equipped compared to other Whole-Home systems. With some software updates, this system may improve. For most average users I think you will be happy. However, for a power user like me, I would stick to a highly powerful solo unit. This is a good whole home system with mostly simple functionality for average users, possibly heavy users as well. I have used many routers from low to high-end and the Ally Plus is good, but not great. Setup-Software (3 /5): Set-up requires a mobile phone app. Huge disadvantage. I understand most people have smartphones, but limiting to App setup is a huge con for me. However, this is becoming commonplace for whole-home systems, which is a standard I do not support. Overall, the setup is quick, easy, and should be no problem for most users. Setup-Connections (4.5/5): I am really happy this includes 3 gigabit ports. I would prefer 4 at a minimum, but this is much more than other whole home systems (like Linksys Velop and Google Home) that do not have more than one port per device. This is very useful to me, but I would still like to see more built-in ports. At this price point, I shouldn’t have to buy additional Ethernet switches. There are certain situations where wired is necessary, but I guess having a whole-home system is supposed to solve that problem. Includes USB 3.0 which can allow for external storage devices on the network. Definitely a nice feature not present on all whole-home systems. I have not seen any information on using the USB port to hook-up a printer for wireless printing. Easy hook-up to modem through ethernet connection. The router was out of the box and fully functioning (including set up time) within 20 minutes. Connectivity and Range (4/5): The connection is quick with good, not great, range. Compared to an Apple Airport Extreme and ASUS AC1900, I am getting at least 20% greater range outside the house, which is approximately 3k-4k square feet. My devices connect immediately most times, but I have noticed so lag here and here. Using devices from one coverage area to another is not necessarily “seamless” with some definite pauses/decrease in connectivity. For example, watching an HD stream in one area, then moving around into the next coverage area did result in pixilation at times. Performance (3.8/5): Good speeds and little to no lag. Power users with many devices and multiple simultaneous streams should be okay, but I would probably recommend another device. Explore your options at the very least. I have tested with three streams and online gaming activity with no significant slowing, but getting streams started was slow at times. I have not noticed considerable lag when gaming, other than what is expected from the game itself. Performance should be good for most users, but those with heavy demands or wanting instant connectivity and minimal lag, may want to look elsewhere. Summary (3.5/5): Overall, this is a good router, but nothing special. Star rating closer to 3.5 than 4, but I rounded up. I think there are some really high points incorporating additional Ethernet ports and USB 3.0. The device looks nice and can blend in well. Heavy users may be disappointed in the level of performance. At this price point I would look in to additional options before settling in to this product. It is definitely cheaper and well-equipped compared to other Whole-Home systems. With some software updates, this system may improve. For most average users I think you will be happy. However, for a power user like me, I would stick to a highly powerful solo unit.

First at all, I found this unit very appealing and appropriate size, they are small, good looking. The fact that use and extender caught my attention. You will need to download the Amped wireless Ally Wifi app first, create an account and start to configure the unit using the app. I have a Samsung phone, so the android app was easy to use, and has a nice interface. After you follow all the required steps and prompts that will guide you, that is basically an intuitive task to do, you will be required to run a firmware update. Once is done the initial setup is finished. I have had a couple of other units with extenders, so I learnt that is better to configure the extender the first time really close to the router, so that is what I did, and I didn’t have any problem. Once this was done, I place the extender in another area of my home, it took a while to find a place where the connection light green was up, but It made it, and the connection was stable and solid. Something that I really like about the extender is the Ethernet port, which was very useful for me, I connect my Smart TV to the port instead of connecting on wifi, and watch Netflix and sony 4k movies without any problem. The Speed test was ok, 112 mbps, upload speed 10mbps via 5GHZ network, considering that I don’t have the top of the line Internet plan. The built is AVG function is a plus, and I played with the parental control settings, which I found really useful since I have a teenager at home. To recap, I think this is a good entry-level unit, if you have a 2 story home and has little experience or knowledge about routing, and a constraint budget, this unit is for you.

This system is just what our family needed. We live in a 3 floor home and have struggled getting wifi through the whole home. After trying top of the line routers, extenders and nothing working I read about that. Extremely easy to set up both units and within an hour had a signal across my whole house. The unit makes allowing guests get online, troubleshooting issues and setting parental controls.

Hugely disappointed with this purchase. bought it because it sounded like a great whole home coverage option for my new extremely long but narrow condo. The first problem was that the extender wouldn't connect with a good signal no matter where I put it in the house. Second problem, I had bought 3 new Amazon Fire TVs to "cut the cable cord" when I moved and I could not connect any of them to the Amped Ally Wifi. tried everything, kept getting errors, couldn't reach any customer support. Long story short, I returned it and bought the google home home system which connected with no problems to all our devices and gives decent reliable coverage through the whole home