When we reviewed the Gryphon Guardian mesh Wi-Fi system, we were impressed with its rich parental controls and strong short-range throughput performance, but we found its long-range performance lacking. The company’s latest offering, the Gryphon AX 2-Pack ($479), also comes with excellent parental controls and delivers strong short-range throughput. Even better, its long-range performance is rock-solid as well. Our Editors’ Choice pick, the $449.99 Asus ZenWiFi AX (XT8), offers slightly better all-around performance and a few more features for a few dollars less. But the Gryphon AX delivers a strong “place” showing in the mesh race.
Identical White Mini Towers
As the name implies, the Gryphon AX 2-Pack comes with two identical white mini-tower nodes that provide coverage for homes of up to 5,000 square feet. A single node that covers 3,000 square feet will cost you $279, saving you some cash if you’ve got a smaller house. The nodes measure 6.6 by 3.2 by 5.2 inches (HWD) and have a small status indicator on the front. Around back are two gigabit Ethernet ports (LAN and WAN) and a power jack. This system lacks the multi-gig LAN ports and USB ports that you get with the Asus ZenWiFi AX (XT8).
Each of the nodes is powered by a quad-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, and 512MB of flash memory. Each also has six internal antennas, and the system employs most of the latest Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) technologies, including WPA3 encryption, Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) data transmissions, MU-MIMO simultaneous data streaming, and direct-to-client signal beamforming.
The Gryphon AX nodes do not support 160MHz channel bandwidth, which many other Wi-Fi 6 routers offer as a way of decreasing signal interference. But the Gryphon AX nodes do support Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) bandwidth, which should help in locating an uncrowded channel. This is a tri-band, AX4300 system that can reach maximum data rates of 591Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, 1,237Mbps on one of the 5GHz bands, and 2,475Mbps on the second 5GHz band.
Gryphon routers are known for their robust parental controls, and the AX system lives up to the reputation. The easy-to-use options offer age-based filters for elementary-, middle-, and high-school students, as well as toddlers and adults. You can also choose an unfiltered setting. Toddlers can access only those sites on your whitelist, while the elementary-school category gets whitelist access plus an assortment of educational sites. Middle-school students have no access to social media sites, but high-school students do.
Once you’ve created a user profile, you can go in and tweak access control for that user by restricting access to specific categories and apps. The category list is extensive and includes gambling, video streaming, social networking, sex education, dating, and political sites, among others. You can also monitor site visits using the Insights feature and track overall data usage for each user.
Gryphon does not include network security software with this system, but you do get a 90-day trial of the company’s Advanced Internet Protection tools, which are designed to protect every device on your network from malware, security vulnerabilities, and other online threats. Once the trial period expires, you’ll have to subscribe to Gryphon’s Premium plan—$7.99 per month, or $89.99 per year.
Navigating the Gryphon Connect App
You control the AX system with the Gryphon Connect mobile app for iOS and Android devices. It opens to a Home screen that displays the name of the network, the number of repeaters (nodes), and the number of active devices connected. There’s also an Internet Speed Test button, a panel that shows the amount of total data used during the month, and a button to suspend Internet connectivity.
At the bottom of the screen are Alerts, Users, Home, Devices, and Settings buttons. The Alerts button opens a screen where you can view notifications such as when the system has been rebooted or when a device has logged on. Meanwhile, the User button takes you to a screen where you can create user profiles, assign parental controls and monitor user screen time and web browsing history.
The Home button takes you back to the Home screen, and the Devices button lets you see a list of clients, if they are connected or offline, and how they are connected (wired or wireless). Here you can also view a list of Managed and Unmanaged devices and Gadgets (smart home devices) that are connected to the network. Tap any device to see its MAC ID and IP address, give it bandwidth priority, assign it to a user, enable port forwarding, or delete it.
Tap the Settings icon, shaped like a gear, to configure Wi-Fi, LAN, and WAN settings. This is also where you can configure IGMP Snooping if you’ve got devices like Apple TV and Chromecast on your network, as well as define QoS settings. Finally, the Settings menu lets you enable malware protection, add another repeater (node), view system information, and set up two-factor authentication.
Easy to Install
As with most mesh systems, the Gryphon AX is easy to install. I started by downloading the mobile app and creating an account. I logged in, gave the app permission to access my phone’s camera, and scanned the QR code on the base of the node that I designated to be the main router. Following the onscreen instructions, I then unplugged my modem, connected the Gryphon router to the modem, and powered up both devices. After 30 or so seconds, the LED began blinking white indicating the router was online. I waited another 10 seconds for the pairing process to complete, gave the new network a name and password, and after another 20 seconds the initial setup was complete.
To add the second node, I tapped the Settings button at the bottom of the Home screen, tapped Add Mesh Repeater, and scanned the QR code. I powered up the node, waited around 30 seconds for the LED to blink white, and then waited another minute and a half for the app to find the node and pair it to the router. I gave the node a location, placed it in another room, and the installation was complete.
The Gryphon AX delivered solid performance in our throughput tests. The router node’s score of 860Mbps on the close-proximity (same room) test was identical to that of the Asus ZenWiFi AX (XT8) and just 5Mbps slower than the Linksys Velop AX MX10. The TP-Link Deco X90 led with a slightly higher score of 888Mbps.
On the 30-foot test, the Gryphon AX router showed excellent range and led the pack with a score of 462Mbps, significantly higher than its competitors. The Asus ZenWiFi AX (XT8) scored 347Mbps, the Linksys Velop scored 333Mbps, and the TP-Link Deco X90 took up the rear at 305Mbps.
The Gryphon AX satellite node also turned in respectable throughput test results. Its score of 625Mbps on the close-proximity test was a tad faster than the TP-Link Deco AX90 satellite (623Mbps), but it couldn’t match the Asus ZenWiFi AX (675Mbps) and the Linksys Velop (667Mbps) satellites. On the 30-foot test, the Gryphon AX satellite scored 591Mbps, once again besting the TP-Link AX90 satellite (583Mbps) but not the Asus ZenWiFi AX (619Mbps) or the Linksys Velop (611Mbps) satellites. (See more about how we test routers.)
In addition to throughput testing, we use an Ekahau Sidekick Wi-Fi diagnostic device and Ekahau’s Survey mobile app to test wireless signal strength. (Ekahau is owned by Ziff Davis, the publisher of PCMag). This combination generates a heat map that illustrates coverage throughout our test home. The darker green areas on the map indicate the strongest signal measurements, and lighter green and yellow areas show a weaker signal. The circles represent the location of the router and the satellite node.
As indicated on the map, the Gryphon AX system delivered a strong Wi-Fi signal throughout most of our test home. The signal was a bit weaker in the lower left bedroom and in parts of the garage, but that’s forgivable—there are several walls between the nodes and these areas of the house.
Solid Throughput, But No Multi-Gig Ports
If you’re in the market for a Wi-Fi 6 mesh system that offers strong parental controls, put the Gryphon AX on your short list. This two-piece system provided solid throughput performance and good signal range in our tests. It’s a breeze to install and manage thanks to Gryphon’s user-friendly mobile app. That said, if you require multi-gig and USB connectivity, our Editors’ Choice winner, the Asus ZenWiFi AX (XT8), is a better choice and a slightly better performer.
