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Smarthome

What is a smart home? How do you create a network in your home? How do you pick a good Wi-Fi router? How do you manage and connect to your network using the devices and operating systems in your home? What kind of smart devices should you use in your home?

Review TP-Link Deco M5 v2: A beautiful whole-home WiFi system!

Review TP-Link Deco M5 v2: A beautiful whole-home WiFi system!

  • review
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 05.12.2018
TP-Link is famous for its affordably priced home networking products. They manufacture not only wireless routers but also mesh WiFi systems. Their top-selling product in this niche is Deco M5, which now has a new v2 variant, which brings several quality-of-life improvements compared to the...
Synology MR2200ac review: Not your average mesh WiFi system!

Synology MR2200ac review: Not your average mesh WiFi system!

  • review
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 13.11.2018
Synology MR2200ac is the second Synology networking device that we have tested, and we are impressed. It is clear to us that this company knows how to deliver excellent networking devices to the consumer market, with top-notch security, privacy built-in, as well as advanced controls...
Synology RT2600ac review: Security, privacy, and flexibility!

Synology RT2600ac review: Security, privacy, and flexibility!

  • review
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 08.11.2018
Synology is a Taiwanese company that specializes in network-attached storage products, which are famous for their quality. Two former Microsoft employees founded the company that started by coding an operating system. Today, Synology manufactures wireless routers for homes and businesses, and the company offers a...
What is MU-MIMO in WiFi? Do I need it?

What is MU-MIMO in WiFi? Do I need it?

  • misc
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 17.10.2018
If you study the wireless routers that were launched since the summer of 2015, you notice that most of them advertise a technology called MU-MIMO or Multi-User MIMO and they also promise wireless transfers that are up to four times faster than on traditional routers....
Reviewing the TP-Link Archer C6 (v2): A good quality AC1200 wireless router

Reviewing the TP-Link Archer C6 (v2): A good quality AC1200 wireless router

  • review
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 05.10.2018
TP-Link has launched another affordable wireless router: TP-Link Archer C6. It is the second hardware revision of this model, with support for the 802.11ac Wave 2 WiFi networking standard, and 2x2 MU-MIMO transfers. It also has surprisingly good hardware inside, which should be able to...
4 ways to learn your WiFi password in Windows 10, when you forget it

4 ways to learn your WiFi password in Windows 10, when you forget it

  • tutorial
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 01.10.2018
Did you ever find yourself in a situation in which you need your Wi-Fi password, but you cannot remember it? What if you never knew your wireless password at home, just because a friend or a relative did all your network configuration and did not...
Tenda nova MW6 review: What you get from the cheapest mesh WiFi system?

Tenda nova MW6 review: What you get from the cheapest mesh WiFi system?

  • review
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 10.09.2018
If you are looking for cheap mesh WiFi systems, you may have encountered the Tenda nova MW6. On paper, this system looks promising: it has an affordable price, it is not bad looking, it has many of the features other mesh WiFi systems offer, and...
Linksys Velop AC1300 review: Linksys' most balanced mesh WiFi system!

Linksys Velop AC1300 review: Linksys' most balanced mesh WiFi system!

  • review
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 31.08.2018
Velop is the Linksys brand for whole home mesh WiFi systems. There are several Velop models on the market, with different prices, colors and numbers of stations. This time we received the more affordable WHW01 variant for testing. This model is smaller in size and...
ASUS Lyra AC2200 review: The first whole-home WiFi system by ASUS!

ASUS Lyra AC2200 review: The first whole-home WiFi system by ASUS!

  • review
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 28.08.2018
ASUS Lyra AC2200 is the first mesh wireless network system released by ASUS for home users. We were the first team in the world to test it, and our initial review was done using the first firmware version released for this product. Since then, ASUS...
How to find hidden wireless networks (SSIDs) in your area, in Windows

How to find hidden wireless networks (SSIDs) in your area, in Windows

  • tutorial
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 10.08.2018
You might need to find all the wireless networks that are broadcast in your area, including those which have a weak WiFi signal and those that have hidden their SSID (network name). For this task, you have to install a wireless network scanner and use...
NetSpot review: a great app for WiFi analysis and troubleshooting!

NetSpot review: a great app for WiFi analysis and troubleshooting!

  • review
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 30.07.2018
Here at Digital Citizen, we review many wireless routers and mesh WiFi systems. In our reviews, we analyze the wireless spectrum in our area, so that we understand how the wireless signal evolves and how capable the device that we are reviewing is. In the...
Simple questions: What is PPPoE and what does it do?

Simple questions: What is PPPoE and what does it do?

  • tutorial
  • Codrut Neagu
  • 20.07.2018
Most of the ISPs (Internet Service Providers) from all over the world offer broadband internet subscriptions. Some of them do it through a technology called PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet). However, even if you followed the steps necessary for configuring a PPPoE connection at home,...
ASUS Lyra Mini review: Excellent performance on the 2.4 GHz band

ASUS Lyra Mini review: Excellent performance on the 2.4 GHz band

  • review
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 06.07.2018
ASUS has three mesh WiFi systems on the consumer market. The cheapest of them is ASUS Lyra Mini. It is an AC1300 mesh system, with support for 2x2 MU-MIMO transfers, mobile remote management, built-in security that does not expire, and an administration user interface that...
ASUS Lyra Trio review: The beautiful whole-home mesh WiFi system

ASUS Lyra Trio review: The beautiful whole-home mesh WiFi system

  • review
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 20.06.2018
ASUS Lyra Trio is the latest whole-home mesh WiFi system from ASUS. It is a beautiful kit, with modern hardware and security features that do not expire after some time. If you want to get high-quality WiFi in large apartments or homes, ASUS Lyra Trio...
TP-Link Archer C5 v4 review: A popular wireless router, refreshed!

TP-Link Archer C5 v4 review: A popular wireless router, refreshed!

  • review
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 07.06.2018
TP-Link Archer C5 is an old and classic wireless router, that is popular in the market of affordable routers. Its success in sales has convinced the company to create a new revision of this model, so they just launched TP-Link Archer C5 v4. We received...
Bitdefender Box 2 review: Next generation home network security!

Bitdefender Box 2 review: Next generation home network security!

  • review
  • Ciprian Adrian Rusen
  • 25.05.2018
Smart homes include more devices than they used to include five years ago. Many homes have Smart TVs, smart plugs, smart bulbs, all kinds of smart sensors, and so on. All these devices are useful, but they tend to have little to no security built...