360 Security Router P1 Review: A Great Killer Under 100 Yuan

After deciding to join hands with the Internet mobile phone brand Dashen to re-enter the smartphone market, just after New Year's Day 2015, 360 announced its cooperation with the well-known router manufacturer Leco in the field of smart hardware. The latest 360 Security Router P1 is the first product jointly launched by the two.

As another smart router product under 360, the Safe Router P1 not only continues 360's product concept of "safety first", but also has greater breakthroughs in product design. With the support of the veteran router manufacturer Leco, it becomes even more exciting.

Unboxing

The first thing you see when you get the 360 ​​Security Router P1 is not the real outer packaging, but a protective box prepared for express delivery. The 360 ​​and Leco logos are printed in a prominent position, and "Thank you, courier brother, for your hard work" has a bit of Tmall's style. It is worth noting that the cost policy of 360 Security Router P1 is 89 yuan product price + free shipping. In comparison, the Xiaomi Router mini, once known as the "king of cost-effectiveness", costs 129 yuan product price + 10 yuan shipping fee when purchased separately on Xiaomi's official website.

Apart from the protective box, the outer packaging of 360 Security Router P1 is quite simple, with some product-related parameters printed on the back, including product model, CPU, memory data, QR code for downloading mobile apps, etc.

After opening the outer packaging, the visual improvement of the metal 360 Security Router P1 is quite obvious.

The packaging contents of 360 Security Router P1 include the router host, power supply and some paper materials. The network cable which costs only a few dollars is not included in the standard package this time.

Design

The use of large areas of aluminum alloy material is the biggest plus point of the 360 ​​Security Router P1 in terms of appearance. If the 360 ​​Security Router P1 and Xiaomi Router mini are suspected of borrowing from Apple Trackpad in their appearance design, then the 360 ​​with a metal panel obviously looks better.

For routers, metal materials have better heat dissipation effect, are not easy to deform due to pressure, and can make the product lighter and thinner. In contrast, the 360 ​​Security Router P1 can make the shell 3mm thick, while the "big plastic" of Xiaomi Router mini is 10mm thick. 360 also frosted the aluminum alloy surface of the product, so that fingerprints will not be left when touching it.

What is more puzzling is that the "marquee" commonly seen on ordinary routers is back this time. Although the information displayed is more complete, if it were made into a breathing light with gentle light like the previous 360 security router products, it would be more suitable for home use scenarios.

A flat tabletop is an ideal place to place the 360 ​​Security Router P1. In addition to the heat dissipation openings at the bottom of the product, there are also openings for wall mounting.

Like the Xiaomi Router mini, the 360 ​​Security Router P1 has two rotatable external antennas. If you are still wondering whether Xiaomi's antenna is made of iron, then this time 360 ​​uses a copper antenna with excellent conductivity combined with PCB spiral technology.

Compared with the 180-degree antenna rotation angle of Xiaomi Router mini, the antenna of 360 Security Router P1 can rotate up to 270 degrees. Although the angles of router antennas we usually use are mostly fixed, the larger adjustable space can naturally make the wireless signal cover a wider range.

In terms of interface settings, the 360 ​​Security Router P1 has 4 output LAN ports. Like the previous router product, it cancels the WPS button that is never used. It is a bit regrettable that there is no USB interface, and its expandability is subject to certain limitations.

Performance

In terms of hardware parameters, the 360 ​​Security Router P1 uses the RTL8196D+8192ER chipset with 64MB of memory + 8MB of Flash memory. Its storage data is not as good as the Xiaomi Router mini's 128MB of memory + 16MB of flash memory, but its processor frequency of 620Mhz is slightly higher than that of the Xiaomi Router mini.

It is also worth noting that the 360 ​​Security Router P1 does not support 5G frequency Wi-Fi, which directly leads to a certain gap between the maximum wireless transmission rate of 300Mbps and its competitors.

Of course, you can only know whether the effect is good after using it. In two test environments, one indoors and the other blocked by two doors including an iron door, the signal strength of 360 Security Router P1 is better than other router products in the same situation, even including 360's previous own products. The actual signal performance of 360 Security Router P1 is still satisfactory.

Software Experience

Routers are gradually becoming intelligent, but most routers still do not have touch screens or other features on the product. This makes the App that matches the router particularly important. It has to be said that 360’s previous mobile security routing App was quite good. How about this time?

The App that matches the 360 ​​Security Router P1 is simply called "Router Guardian", and it changes the green color scheme of previous 360 products to blue, which represents efficiency, as the main color of the software.

When using the router for the first time, you can set up Internet access and password directly through the App without having to use a computer.

General connection device management, Internet fault diagnosis, network speed testing, and signal strength adjustment can also be completed directly on the App.

As an Internet security company, 360's router products also focus on security factors. In the App, we can see the various network firewall mechanisms that exist in the 360 ​​Security Router P1, and it has guest mode and child protection functions.

What’s more interesting is that 360 Security Router P1 also adds an original “frictional Internet access” connection mode. When a mobile phone or other Internet-connected device is close to the router for a few seconds, a hidden password-free Wi-Fi hotspot will appear. No software operation is required, which can be regarded as an upgraded version of the guest mode.

The biggest new feature of the product is the addition of the "Smart Home Management" project. From the operating interface of the App, we can see that we can use a router to connect the mobile phone to terminal products such as smart sockets, smart TVs, network boxes, smart watches, etc. Although the number of products supported at present is not large, this obviously shows that 360 has taken a new step in its product thinking in the field of smart homes.

In addition, 360 has also added the ticket-grabbing function on the 360 ​​mobile browser into this smart router App. By logging into the 360 ​​account, users can still manage the router remotely .

Summarize:

Just like 360's previous security router products, excellent workmanship, stable signal performance, outstanding software design and a tight focus on security are also the core product concepts of the 360 ​​Security Router P1. The eye-catching appearance design style also greatly improves the product's "appearance". Even though it is a router, it looks more pleasing to the eye.

Although some people may have doubts about the lack of support for the trendy 5G band Wi-Fi, for a smart router product priced at 89 yuan and priced under 100 yuan, it is beautiful, safe and reliable, and fully functional, which is enough to make 360 ​​Security Router P1 a very competitive product in the router market.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.