In our pursuit to offer the best choice of Wi-Fi routers with built-in VPN functionality, we’ve launched a new version of AircoveOS that is set to give users an improved experience—no hardware upgrades needed.
We have our users to thank for providing feedback on ways we can improve; our updates frequently reflect those suggestions. Here’s what’s in store with AircoveOS v5.
Faster VPN speeds
Speeds are always top of mind when it comes to VPNs. By applying VPN encryption, some loss in internet speed can be expected—but in the best case, the difference should be so small that the user does not notice.
We’ve continued to optimize for speeds on AircoveOS and are excited that we can say the VPN speeds on v5 reach up to 330 Mbps when using Lightway TCP protocol. That’s up to seven times faster than older VPN-compatible routers like the Netgear R7000 and almost double the speeds that AircoveOS v4 could achieve!
Improved speeds mean less buffering while streaming, faster downloads, and smoother video calls—all while secured by best-in-class encryption.
Guest Wi-Fi to isolate untrusted devices
Devices on the same Wi-Fi network are often able to communicate with each other directly. For instance, your phone can tell your printer to print a document when they are both connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
While this can be convenient, the ease of communication between devices introduces risk if you allow an unfamiliar person or device to use your network.
To enhance your security when sharing your Wi-Fi, we’ve added a new guest Wi-Fi device group option, which is available in addition to the five device groups you can create. We’ve applied restrictions to guest Wi-Fi devices that prevent them from communicating with any other device on the network. Guest Wi-Fi devices also cannot be dragged and dropped into a different group, ensuring they remain isolated from the rest of the devices.
But just like other device groups, guest Wi-Fi lets you set a VPN location and toggle on Advanced Protection features like ad blocker and adult-site blocker.
You’ll first have to turn on the guest Wi-Fi network within the Aircove dashboard and give it a separate name (such as “Aircove Guest”) and password. When connecting to Wi-Fi, the user will simply choose the guest network rather than your usual Aircove network.
ML-KEM for post-quantum security
Our engineers have upgraded our pioneering Lightway VPN protocol to using ML-KEM, the newly finalized NIST standard for post-quantum encryption.
As computing power advances, so too does the ability of computers to crack encryption that’s currently considered uncrackable. With post-quantum protections, your traffic is encrypted in a way that can withstand decryption technology that emerges in the future.
Until now, Lightway relied on Kyber, the frontrunner in the race to find the best mechanism to secure the post-quantum world. NIST spent eight years analyzing hundreds of options before it landed on its choice of ML-KEM late last year. We reacted quickly to integrate it into Lightway, ensuring our protocol is at the cutting edge of industry standards. This Lightway upgrade has been applied to AircoveOS, fortifying your household against threats of the future.
AircoveOS has also benefited from Lightway’s being rewritten in Rust, a modern programming language that enhances the security and performance of the protocol.
Independent audit for your assurance
We are the only consumer VPN router provider to commission security audits of our product, validating for users the accuracy of our claims. In an effort to ensure our users’ protections, we recently commissioned Cure53, a cybersecurity firm, to conduct an audit of AircoveOS v5.
We are pleased that the feedback on its security stance was very positive. Read the full report.
Haven’t tried Aircove?
Aircove and Aircove Go, our family of powerful Wi-Fi 6 routers with ExpressVPN functionality, make it easy to set up VPN security in your home. All devices connected to Aircove Wi-Fi network are protected by ExpressVPN, including ones that normally cannot use VPN apps, such as smart doorbells and smart TVs. And the portable version, Aircove Go, protects all your devices on your travels.
Aircove is available for sale on Amazon and the ExpressVPN Store. Note: An active ExpressVPN subscription is required for VPN functionality.