Doogie S90 Modular Android smartphone review

REVIEW – If you have a job that requires you to be outdoors in the elements, or in harsh environments, a ruggedized smartphone is a necessity. Trouble is that there just doesn’t seem to be many rugged smartphones on the market these days. I do have one to show you today though and it’s built like a tank on steroids. It’s the Doogee S90. Let’s check it out.

What is it?

The Doogee S90 is a ruggedized Android smartphone that isn’t just built to withstand tough environments, it’s also designed to be modular so that the functionality can be expanded.

Hardware specs

Processor: MediaTek Helio P60 octa-core 2Ghz
GPU: Mali G72 MP3 graphics processor running at up to 800MHz.
OS: Android 8.1 Oreo
Display: 6.18″ 1080 x 2246 pixels
Memory: 6GB RAM 128GB storage
Camera: 16 MP (rear) 8 MP (front)
Protection: IP68, IP69K, and MIL-STD-810G
Qi charging capability
Battery: 5050mAh
Height: 3.8 in Width 1.99 in
Weight: 10.8 oz. alone, 15.6 oz. with the extended battery module attached

What’s in the box?

If you opt for the Super bundle, the S90 and modules come packaged in a zippered rigid suitcase which is a nice touch.

Doogee S90 smartphone
Extended 5000mAh battery module (installed on the camera in this photo)
Night vision camera
Walkie talkie module & antenna
USB-C to OTG adapter
USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter
USB-C cable
Power adapter (EU style)
SIM card removal tool

Doogee is also going to offer a gamepad module but one wasn’t included with my review sample.

Design and features

First of all, the Doogee S90 is probably not a phone that a typical person would want to buy because it’s quite heavy at about 11 ounces. The heft comes from the rugged housing. This phone is built like a tank. It has a raised metal frame around the display so that a fall on a flat surface won’t crack the screen.

The back of the S90 is designed to allow for a variety of modules to attach to the back of the phone by using magnets to securely hold the module in place. This feature reminds me of Motorola moto mods for their moto Z series of Android smartphones.

The back of the phone also has dual LEDs that turn the phone into a flashlight. Below the camera lenses is a fingerprint reader.

But the problem is that when you attach the extended battery module, the fingerprint reader is covered making it no longer accessible. This really didn’t bother me because, like many phones I’ve reviewed, the fingerprint reader didn’t work well for me.

By itself without any of the modules attached to the Doogee S90, the phone weighs 10.8 ounces, but add a module like the extended battery and oh boy, it becomes super heavy at 15.6 ounces which is practically a pound.

The left side of the phone has the SIM card and micro SD card tray. The tray is recessed which makes it harder to eject than traditional phones. Included with the phone is a special SIM ejection tool that has a little hook at the end that you can use to pull out the tray.

Be aware that the Doogee S90 is a GSM phone so it will only work with GSM carriers in the US like T-mobile and AT&T (sorry Verizon). I did all my testing with this phone on the T-mobile network.

In addition to the SIM tray on the left side of the phone, there’s a custom key that you can program to perform shortcuts or launch apps. The key can be programmed to do different things based on one press, a double press, or a long press. It’s handy, for example, to program a double press to toggle the flashlight on and off.

The opposite side of the phone has three buttons, the one on the left is a dedicated shutter button to snap a picture when the camera app is open. The middle button is the wake/power button, and the button on the right (which would be the top of the phone) is the up/down volume button.

The ports on the S90 are protected from dirt and dust with covers, like the USB-C port on the bottom edge of the phone. Note in the image above, the extended battery module is attached to the phone.

I find charging port covers to be annoying to use every time I want/need to charge the phone’s battery. Luckily, the S90 can also be charged wirelessly if you have a Qi wireless charger. Note, that you’ll need to remove the extended battery in order to charge the phone on a wireless charger.

Display

The S90’s display is bright, crisp, and has vivid colors. I had no issues with touchscreen sensitivity and I enjoyed watching video, reading text, etc while testing this phone. The display is very nice.

Audio quality

The S90’s speakers are located on the bottom part of the back of the phone. Even at full volume, audio sounds clear and crisp. I enjoyed listening to video using the built-in speakers. You might be wondering if the modules will block the speakers. I’m happy to report that the extended battery and the camera modules do not block the speakers. However, the walkie talkie module does cover them.

Camera

The Doogee’s camera does a respectable job and I was surprised by how nice the images turned out. I’m not going to trade the S90’s camera for the one in my Huawei P30 Pro, but the shots weren’t bad at all.

Modules

The walkie talkie module turns the phone into an app powered communicator that will let you listen and transmit on a frequency range from 409.75 mhz – 409.9875mhz.

I played around with the module and the app but all the testing was one sided since I didn’t have anyone to talk to.

The night vision module is pretty cool. It’s able to take pictures in total darkness without using a flash. Here are some before and after samples.

The images are super grainy but still cool none the less.

Software and user interface

The S90 runs on Android v8.1.0 (Oreo) so it doesn’t have the latest version of the OS and it’s also not promised that it ever will receive any OS updates or even security updates. That said, the interface is relatively the same as regular Android if you don’t mind the silver, bronze, and black theme / icons.

Using the Doogee S90 for phone calls

I can’t comment on how well the S90 works on other networks like AT&T, but I didn’t have any major issues making and receiving calls on the T-mobile network with this phone except when I’m in my office (basement) of my house. For some reason, this phone seems to have issues holding on to the cell signal down there and on several occasions, people have tried to call me and have gotten my voice mail.

As far as call audio quality, the volume level and clarity on both sides of conversations have been just fine.

Overall performance and battery life using the Doogee S90 for day to day tasks

During a typical day, I don’t do anything too crazy with my phone. I use it to make and receive calls. Make and receive text messages, play a rousing game of Words With Friends, check my email, send emails, read books, surf, and occasionally watch a video on YouTube. For all those tasks, the S90 performed flawlessly. Apps open quickly, webpages load quickly, everything works at the speed I’ve come to expect from a smartphone.

When it comes to battery life, the Doogee S90 feels like it never runs out of juice. This is especially through if you use are using the phone with the extended battery module which adds an extra 5000 mAh to the phone’s built-in 5050 mAh battery. The phone will stay on standby for days and days between charges.

What I like

Affordable
Rugged
Expandable with modules

What needs to be improved

Heavy
Allow the extended battery to charge wirelessly

Final thoughts

Should you buy the Doogee S90? That’s the $400 question. Why $400? That’s the price of this phone. Just going by price alone, the S90 is a decent deal. Especially when you consider how rugged the phone is and the great battery life when using the extended battery module. The issues with the phone come from not knowing if it will be supported with security and software updates. My guess is that it’s very doubtful it will ever get Android v9 (Pie). That means you’ll have to ask yourself if running the latest OS version is as important as an affordable rugged Android smartphone that comes with some interesting modules. I’ll be sticking with my Huawei P30 Pro and later in the year plan to get the latest Pixel. But that’s because I personally always want the latest and greatest. What about you? Would you consider a phone like the Doogee S90? Let us know in the comments below.

Price: $399.99
Where to buy: Doogee
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Doogee.

Filed in categories: Featured Items, Reviews

Tagged: Android, Smartphone

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iMuto S5 Portable Solar Power Station review

REVIEW – Whenever I am out on a photo or video shoot, it is very important that I have a portable power source or power sources for my laptop, USB devices, and for charging and recharging numerous accessories. While there are many USB portable power packs available, many lack the versatility or the charge capacity to handle serving the power and charge needs for multiple devices and for extended periods of time. The iMuto S5 Portable Solar Power Station which just launched on Indiegogo looks like a possible solution and a game changer for me. Let’s see!!

What is it?

The iMuto S5 Portable Solar Power Station is a portable power solution that can power and recharge devices using common methods, such as an AC wall outlet, auto accessory power, or USB-C. It can also be charged and recharged via a solar panel using the power of the sun. It is lightweight and portable enough to be used for outdoor and indoor activities, and as standby emergency power in the case of a power outage or inaccessibility to a power source. Its features include 7 various power outlets for a total of 260W of power, all powered from its 50,000mAh built-in battery. It also has a built-in air cooling system that allows for safe charging, an intelligent Battery Management System to self-monitor, and built-in protection from overheating, overvoltage, and short circuits

What’s in the box

1 x iMuto S5 Portable Solar Power Station
1 x AC Power Supply
1 x USB-C Cable
1 x 12V DC Outlet
1 x 12 Volt Auto Cable
1 x Accessory Cable
1 x User Guide

Design and features

Specifications

On the front of the iMuto, there is the power button that turns on the LED display and all of the ports except for the AC port that has a dedicated switch.

On one side there are 3 ports. From left to right as shown below there is the DC in charging port, and 2 DC out ports.

On the 3rd side of the device, there is a USB-C input/output port and 3 USB output ports.

On the top of the iMuto, there is the AC port, with a switch and blue LED power indicator above it. There is also the carrying handle.

Below is a detailed picture of the device and its functional parts.

Performance

The first thing that I did when I took the iMuto out of the box was to plug it in to fully charge. While it did arrive with some amount of charge, I wanted it fully charged before I started my testing. Once it was fully charged, for my first test I decided to use it to power my Nebra AnyBeam portable projector which is another device that I am testing, along with a 4K Roku Stick with its power adapter plugged into the AC port. I also plugged in my smartphone to charge while binge-watching NCIS: Los Angeles via the projector. After about 6 hours of the three devices being connected to the iMuto, it seemed to have barely moved off of 100% charge. While it is easily noted that these devices do not require much power, it is exactly these types of devices that I would use this power supply for. I do not own a portable fridge nor would I likely use it for such a device. Rather, my use involves keeping 3 to 4 tablets charged, along with a couple of smartphones, a couple of camera batteries via their respective battery chargers, while powering things like my projector and Roku/Amazon sticks, etc. Occasionally, I would also need to plug in a laptop for extended use for editing or as a slideshow video source either directly connected to a TV or a projector. It may take me some time to really add a formidable stress load to “push” the capabilities of this power supply, but from initial impressions, this device is great.

The iMuto S5 is also very solidly built and is likely to withstand life inside of one of my gear bags. For my use, it is not the device that I would carry in my backpack unless I really had to. It does have some weight to it and would add too much more weight to my already heavy backpack. For this reason, a home in my gear bag will work better for me.

The picture below shows the LED display when the iMuto is fully charged and without any load plugged in. The second picture below shows all of the information that would be displayed depending on what is plugged into the iMuto.

On top of the power station, there is the AC plug and the switch that allows you to control power to it independently. There is also a Blue LED that lights when the switch is turned on.

The chart below provides some information on the approximated/expected charging/powering capabilities of this iMuto Power Station.

At the time when I received this device for testing, iMuto was not yet able to provide the complimentary solar panel for review and testing.

What I like

The build quality
The built-in battery capacity
The Solar Panel charging option
The types and number of outlets
The size

What can be improved

The solar panel should be included

Final thoughts

I have been lucky enough to test a few portable battery packs/devices like this one, and so far, this one is my favorite. The capacity of the built-in battery along with the types of power ports make it a really useful addition to my gear bag. I also love that I am able to plug in my small portable projector and my Roku or Amazon Stick and head outdoors or anywhere else without worrying about power or more importantly the longevity of my power source. The overall build quality is very solid and unlike others that I own that feel like plastic toys. I am giving this one two thumbs up!!

Price: Pledges start at $229 with rewards estimated to ship in August.
Where to buy: Indiegogo
Source: The sample for this review was provided by iMuto

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Crowdfunded, External power supply

iMuto S5 Portable Solar Power Station review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 16, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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GL.iNet GL-AR750S-EXT (Slate) and using a WISP repeater review

REVIEW – For some reason, in a very short time I’ve gone from zero travel routers to three travel routers. If you follow through my reviews, I initially purchased the TP-Link TL-WR802n, then to add further functionality I discovered the GL-iNet GL-300N-V2 and after reading my review, GL.iNet was kind enough to send me their latest model travel router, the GL-AR750S (Slate). It’s worth noting that the Slate was awarded a CES 2019 Innovation Award HONOREE in the Cybersecurity and Personal Privacy product category. As such I’m going to do a review of the AR750S, compare it to their MT300N and then demonstrate some of the advantages of using a travel router. Is this my last attempt to find the “ultimate” travel router? Read on…….

Once again I’m not going to go into all the technical details as you can get these at the GL-iNet GL-AR750S website.

The slate is nicely packaged in a plain black box with a slip off sleeve.

What’s in the box?

They include the router (funnily enough), a power 5V/2a power supply with appropriate country plug, a micro-USB cable and an ethernet cable, and some quick start guides. Personally while I love the packaging it’s just gonna go in a drawer.

On the front, there are three discrete LEDs; power, 2.4Ghz activity, and 5Ghz activity. They’re very discrete and you can only really see them when you’re looking straight on to them, not like some disco light LEDs on “full size” routers. The unit has 2 x 2 dBi non-detachable (though you can if you disassemble the unit) but fold up/down antennae for better performance.

On the back, there are 3 GB ports that are as standard configured as 1 WAN and 2 LAN but you can make it 3 LAN ports. This is currently the only travel size router that has GB ports, most of the rest only have 10/100. Gigabit ports might be overkill in a hotel/free WiFi situation however if you need to plug in wired devices and shift large files like at a trade show or something, they will be a bonus. There’s a USB 2 port for USB stick or USB 4G MiFi device, and finally a micro-USB port for power. Unlike the small Mango, the Slate takes 5V/2A compared with 5V/1A.

On the left-hand side is a micro-SD/Transflash slot which supports up to a 128GB card. Note you actually put the card in, what I consider, “upside down” (contacts on the top) and there’ s no indication on the unit as to which way to put it. The slot isn’t hot plug either, so if you insert a card you do have to reboot your router. Again note the folding antennas.

On the right-hand side, there’s a switch which can be programmed (normally for VPN on/off) and a reset switch. A short press will attempt to “repair” your network and a long press will reset the router to factory default.

Slate versus Mango:

The Slate is 100mm X 68mm X 24mm and weighs in at 86g compared with the 39g of the Mango. While it’s bigger than the Mango it’s still small enough to throw into your gadget bag or even your pocket. The Slate has the following major differences over the Mango:

Better processor (useful especially when using OpenVPN)
Micro SD slot
2.4Ghz and 5Ghz band
External Antennas
Gigabit ports

Setting up a WISP repeater session:

So here’s a (very non-technical) diagram of what WISP mode does. You connect to a WiFi network via WiFi on your mobile router and it creates a LAN on the other side with a firewall in between and clients on a different subnet. Your client devices are now on their own LAN segment and on a completely different subnet ( 192.168.8.x) from the source WiFi network (10.0.0.x). Only traffic destined for my own LAN will traverse the firewall on the AR750s. You can load things onto the travel router like perhaps an OpenVPN or Wireguard VPN service so all devices go through it, a global ad blocker, share a USB stick of music, movies or photos. Only people attached to the WiFi LAN will have access, especially important if you’re on “free” hotel wifi or similar.

Setting up in WISP mode is easy as…

Login
Go to “Repeater” and hit “Scan”
The router will go off and scan for any available WiFi networks
You can then choose whichever network you need to connect to (note there’s a 5G network as well)

Put in the password to the network you want to connect to
Click “Join”

And away you go.

If there’s a login screen to validate your usage like many hotels or coffee shops have you should only have to do this once with your first attached device. After that, all your attached devices should just attach no problem (including things like Chromecasts, Fire Sticks etc).

Once again, it’s the same overlay over OpenWRT as the Mango, so if you’ve got one GL-Inet device you can easily work out others.

The other nice thing is there’s an option which I didn’t refer to in my last GL-iNet review, to remember your WISP networks, so if you bounce between regularly used ones you shouldn’t have to set up again. Personally, I would only be saving those that you do use frequently and that are a bit more “trustworthy” like at work or home. No need to rescan and set up all the time.

WISP Mode speed:

So what’s the advantage of a dual-band router when traveling and using in WISP repeater mode? In a single band router, you attach to your WISP source and your bandwidth is shared between repeating the source signal and transmitting your LAN. People indicate that you’ll probably lose half your bandwidth to the repeater however, in reality, I’ve seen about 1/3 bandwidth loss. Below are some Speedtest figures that show the advantage of using a dual-band router where you repeat on one band and transmit your LAN on the other.

So here’s my speed connected with my phone directly to the source WiFi router and standing right next to it on the 2.4Ghz band.

Here’s my speed in a remote area of the house connected to directly to the source router on 2.4Ghz. There’s a few walls and doors between the device and the base router and you can see the effect it’s having on my speed.

In the remote area I’ve used a WISP repeater connection to router on the 2.4Ghz band and then connected to the 2.4Ghz LAN network. You’ll see there’s a drop in speed compared with connecting directly to the base router. Remember the 2.4Ghz on the AR750s is now not only servicing my WiFi LAN connection but also “bridging” between the two routers. I normally see about a 1/3 drop in speed approximately. This is around the same speeds I’d expect from the Mango as this only supports the 2.4Ghz band. So the speed might not be there, in fact we’ve taken a drop, but the security as described above is.

So what if you want speed AND security? I’m in the same remote area of the house above however here I’ve got the WISP repeater attached on the 2.4Ghz band and I am attached to my LAN on the 5Ghz bandwidth. The 2.4Ghz WiFi LAN network is turned off. Here the 2.4Ghz band isn’t doing anything except bridging between the two routers. This is the big advantage of a dual-band router when using WISP repeater mode; one band for bridging, the other band for LAN.

Summary:

I’m really impressed by the GL-AR750S. It’s a faster processor, external antennae, micro-SD slot, and dual-band makes this not only useful for traveling but also at home. In fact currently, I’m house sitting and been moving houses quite a bit. The GL-AR750s has been great for this as rather than having to connect all my devices to the house network each time we move I just connect my devices to the GL-AR750s and then WISP to the house network. That way I don’t have to change anything except linking the Slate once to the house network. Between my wife and I that’s probably 8-10 different devices including things like a Chromecast and an Android TV media box. When we move, we just connect the GL-AR750s once to the new house network and away we go. Additionally, I’m using the micro-SD to operate as an SMB media server and ad-blocking all connections on the router itself.

And my Mango? Still a great functional little travel router. It will remain my EDC travel router that’s left in my gadget bag when I’m out and about. It’s smaller size and lower power consumption means it’s easier to carry and will last longer on my powerbank or when attached to the USB port of my Surface Pro. If I’m going on holidays though I’ll be taking the AR750s even though it’s bigger for its added micro-SD slot and better performance.

In my opinion, the Slate (GL-AR750s) is highly recommended especially as a travel router but is also useful for home use either as an access point or repeater or bridge or VPN Server or media server or even as the main router. It’s definitely very flexible and packs functions and features that punch well above its size.

I don’t think I’ll be looking for any more travel routers in the near future, think I might already have my “Goldilocks” pair

Price: $69.99
Where to buy: The GL-AR750S is available direct from GL-iNet and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by GL-iNet

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Routers

GL.iNet GL-AR750S-EXT (Slate) and using a WISP repeater review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 16, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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Akita connected home Wi-Fi security watchdog review

REVIEW – The Internet of Things (IoT). That’s the term applied to essentially all connected devices that bring us the ability to control various items via connected apps on our PCs, tablets, and phones. As soon as we do that, we open potential doors into our networks for bad guys to hack in and do nefarious things. What to do, what to do?

HighIot, an Isreali-based security company, developed Akita to help address that issue.

What is it?

Akita is a small, stylish device that you connect to your network. It then discovers your Wi-Fi IoT devices and watches them for unusual traffic. If Akita detects anything odd, it immediately shuts down the affected device and alerts you.

What’s in the box?

Akita device
Power cord
International power cord adapter
Ethernet cable
User manual
Two cardboard coasters

Hardware specs

Dimensions: 3.6″ L x 3.6″ W x 3.1″ H
Weight: 9 oz
Connectivity:
- 1 RJ45 Ethernet WAN port (not used)
- 1 RJ45 Ethernet LAN port
- IEEE 802.11b/g/n dual-antenna Wi-Fi
Processor: Qualcomm QCA9532 650 MHz
Memory:
- 64MB DDR
- 16MB flash

Design and features

Akita is a hexagonal unit that comes in a semi-matte white or gray. I received the gray version.

The front vertical edge holds the status LEDs that flash green or blue, depending on the operational mode.

The back of the unit has the LAN and WAN ports, power port and power switch.

On the bottom, we find the product label. That label has the serial number needed for setup, the MAC address and a QR code for the serial number, plus all the usual product info. I masked the MAC address, and inadvertently masked the serial number as well.

Setup

Setup starts out pretty standard and as billed as 60-second simple. Install the app (IOS or Android), plug the Ethernet cable into Akita and your router, plug in the power cord, turn on Akita, scan the QR code on the bottom or manually enter the serial number and *BOOM* you’re online and protected. It was at this point that everything came crashing down for me.

I use an eero mesh router for my home network. It has a main router plus two wireless remote routers that connect to each other to blanket my house in strong Wi-Fi. They broadcast on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies, and seamlessly hand supported devices between the two bands depending on signal strength. 2.4GHz is stronger and longer-range yet slower than the shorter range 5GHz. They accomplish this with a single service set identifier (SSID), otherwise known as your wireless network name.

I tried everything, but since my phone automatically connects to the faster 5GHz band, and I have no option to force it to 2.4GHz, I was dead in the water.

After contacting Akita support, I waited. I waited for six days. Then, I finally got a reply asking me for my Akita serial number. I replied with that, and within an hour, I got a reply. They were able to remotely activate my Akita and confirmed that it was my eero that was causing the problem. They asked me to go into the app, click on my network and provide the password to allow Akita to start monitoring the Wi-Fi devices. *BAM* – roadblock #2.

After another back and forth with support, all done very quickly, I was told to click anywhere but on the “Oopps” [sic] window. When I did, it went away and I was able to click on my network and add the password. Then…

My network name disappeared. It was there, but the name was gone. Another e-mail exchange with Akita and they were able to restore it. They said it was expected behavior. Odd.

So, I was finally online. The lights started switching from green to blue and back, indicating that Akita was looking for IoT devices on my Wi-Fi network.

Akita quickly found 21 devices connected to my network – again, I have blurred the MAC addresses.

Unfortunately, right after that, my eero received a firmware update and rebooted. Timing is everything.

Tech support did report that Akita hardware is limited to 2.4Ghz and can’t connect to 5Ghz networks, however, Akita uses 2.4GHz to connect to the network and will monitor 5GHz devices as long as both SSIDs are on the same subnet. They further reported that initially Akita was not designed nor advertised to support mesh networks and 5 GHz bands. They just updated Akita software several days ago to support mesh networks and hidden SSIDs. Again, timing is everything.

Performance

Now that I am online and Akita ultimately discovered 36 devices and has reverted into monitoring mode. Opening the app, we see the status screen.

The visual layout of the screen resembles the hexagonal shape of the Akita itself. Each of the six buttons is clickable. Clicking the top support button brings up the support subscription window.

Akita offers three support options:

Free – Active protection for your Smart Home

$0 / month
Network status report
Vulnerabilities list
Critical alerts
Monthly network security report

Advanced Protection – Human assistance and enhanced protection

$7.99 / month
Now available for only $3.99/month*
*Limited to the first 1,000 subscribers
All Free features plus
- Human assistance to help you solve the security issues discovered by Akita
- Constant monitoring for unusual activity
- Cutting-edge botnet attack protection
- Real-time abnormal behavior alerts
- Router security verification

Full-Service – Fully customized professional support

29.99 / month
All Advanced Protection plan features plus:
- A dedicated network security expert who will solve the security issues discovered by Akita for you

New users get one month of Advanced Protection included. Oddly, the website calls the two paid levels “Advanced Protection” and “Full-Service” but the buttons in the app call them “Standard” and “Pro”. There is no mention of the free level in the app, only the paid levels.

Clicking on the Akita devices button brings up your device.

Here you can add more Akita devices – I think that is more of a business thing than a home user thing. You can also see your Akita and get to the settings screen. The settings screen only shows the network and I showed that screenshot above. The left button is the connected devices button. That brings up the device screen that I also showed above.

Clicking on the Risks button brings up the risks screen.

It’s pretty boring and that’s a good thing! If there were risks to report, for paid customers, it would have alerts like this:

The Account button brings up a screen where you can change your user name, subscription level and enable app notifications.

The Loyalty button brings you to their loyalty screen where you can earn points or use points. Both options take you to Akita’s website with no further information. This looks like a future feature.

The Support button brings up a pop-up window with a link to call support.

Other items of note:

From Akita’s website:
Akita protects WiFi devices only. It does not operate on Zigbee or Z-Wave, but it will protect any WiFi-connected hubs/controllers associated with those systems.

So, if you have any of those devices as I do, those will remain unprotected. Lutron Caseta switches are a great example.

Akita has two types of reporting – a network status report and a monthly network security report.

For paid subscribers, the initial and monthly reports are being delivered via email. In the mobile app, customers receive notifications(alerts) which explain what kind of vulnerabilities were found. Each alert has a “Learn” button which leads to the page with resolving procedures for each of vulnerabilities. Full-Service customers may give Akita experts access to their network, so they could resolve their issues remotely. Advanced Protection subscribers have human assistance via email. Paid subscribers will continue receiving emails from support until the vulnerabilities are solved.

Free subscribers get:

Network status report – I have a copy of that below
- It shows the number of problems found, however, for free subscribers the report doesn’t point on exact problem and device affected
Vulnerabilities list – Possible vulnerabilities list and ways to resolve them
Critical alerts in mobile app
Monthly network security report – Similar to the initial report, but this report contains information about the number of problems found in last two month with a comparison table, so customers can learn if they resolved the issues on their own correctly

Report

I received my first network status report and have copied below. I replaced the MAC addresses of my three eero routers with a description.

Akita Initial Report

Dear Garry Kolb

This is your initial home network security and vulnerabilities report from Akita.

AKITA is protecting your home since 5/7/2019

Please ﬁnd bellow initial report to provide a record of what work your Akita has done by far and the status of your home network.

Akita (SN: 2018041822943) workstream:

Routers (<mac addr1>, <MAC addr2>, <MAC addr3>) security verification

Problems found *

* See below problems description

Network traffic monitoring

Blacklisted IP Addresses	N/A
Blacklisted ports	N/A

Network performance

WAN connectivity	Good
WIFI connectivity	Good

How to interpret your report

	Parameters	Good	Bad
Router security verification	WiFi password	Strong	Empty
	Using default credentials	No	Yes
	and more than 5 others …
Cyber Threat intelligence	Third party#1 Scan result	0/0	> 0/0
	Third party#2 Risk Level	1	> 3
	Third party#3 Risk Level	Not detected	Detected
	Third party#4 Risk Level	Not detected	Detected
WAN connectivity	Average connection timeout	< 300 ms	> 300 ms
WAN connectivity	Average number of network errors per minute	< 5	> 5
WIFI connectivity	Signal strength	> -67 dBm	< -67 dBm

As you can see, it reported one issue but gives me no indication of what that issue is. It provides good and bad ranges for a variety of network parameters but provides no indication of what those values are for my network. To me, this report is essentially useless. Given that I was given a paid subscription for my first month, I am pretty disappointed with this report. Based on this report alone, the reporting is essentially useless. I know I have a problem, but don’t know what it is or how to deal with it.

The next day, I received a separate email with the following information:

We want to notify you regarding compromises in your network security. AKITA found several vulnerabilities on your eero router (<mac addr1>, <MAC addr2>, <MAC addr3>):

Enabled UPNP – Some models of routers have bad implementation of UPnP. This makes your router vulnerable. Such vulnerability can help hackers change DNS setting on router. After that all devices on a LAN can be routed to a phishing site, a ransom demanding page or even encrypt your files.
The malware located on any device on the LAN can initiate as many outgoing connections to its server as it wants. If the router has UPnP enabled it means that it would trust any outgoing connections and allow to forward a port. Thus the malware would be able to bypass the router, establish a connection with malicious server and as a result provide a permanent access to your computer.

In eero routers UPNP enabled by default. If you’d like to turn it off, toggle the slider so it’s no longer green.

Based on that email, I did disable UPnP. Since my issue count was “1”, my expectation is that this resolves all identified issues with my network. So, the combination of the report and the email does add value, but they came a day apart.

Akita does state that for paid customers, they will continue to reach out to them on critical issues until they are resolved.

What I like

Nice visual design
Easy physical connectivity
Easy setup process, although it didn’t work for me
It did identify a potential vulnerability in my network

What needs to be improved

Inability to connect to 5GHz networks
Support for more than Wi-Fi devices
Better support for mesh networks with single SSIDs
More responsive tech support – waiting six days was pretty bad
- Once they made contact, further contacts did come quickly
Reporting alone conveys almost no information at all and requires a separate, follow-up email to be useful

Final thoughts

Akita is an interesting device. For users with a more straightforward network than mine, setup should be really simple. Akita does monitor and find vulnerabilities, as it did on my network. The amount of information you receive about those is determined by whether you opt for the free subscription or pay $3.99 (if you’re in the first 1,000 subscribers) or $7.99 per month, or more for the full-service support option.

Is it worth it? That’s up to you. Is insurance worth it? That all depends on how much risk you want to take on yourself. And that’s what Akita essentially is – insurance. If nothing ever happens to your network, then Akita is a total waste of money. Kind of like fire insurance is a waste of money if your house never burns down. But, we carry insurance to ease the pain of a catastrophic loss. Akita goes one step further by working to prevent that kind of loss on your network by proactively identifying vulnerabilities and also by turning off access to compromised devices.

Price: $99
Where to buy: Ingiegogo
Source: The sample of this product was provided by HighIoT.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Network, Security

Akita connected home Wi-Fi security watchdog review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 15, 2019 at 11:00 am.

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Satechi Aluminum Type-C PD & QC Wireless Charger review

REVIEW – It’s been a while since I had a smartphone with wireless charging capabilities but having recently splurged on a Huawei P30 Pro, I’ve been on the lookout for a Qi charger worthy of taking up space on my desk. The first one up for testing is the Satechi Aluminum Type-C PD & QC Wireless Charger. PD stands for power delivery and QC stands for quick charge. Let’s take a look.

What is it?

The Aluminum Type-C PD & QC Wireless Charger from Satechi is a flat desktop charger capable of charging phones and even Apple’s new AirPods.

What’s in the box?

Satechi Aluminum Type-C PD & QC Wireless Charger
USB-C cable

Design and features

The charger is circular-shaped with a diameter of 4 inches. The top surface has a black rubber mat with a large + in the center and the Satechi logo below it.

The bottom of the charger is made of brushed aluminum (hence the product name) in either space grey (which is the one I have) or silver. Four small rubber feet are attached to the bottom of the charger to keep it from sliding around on your desk.

The back of the wireless charger has a USB-C connector that you will obviously use to connect it to power. Note that an AC adapter is NOT included with this charger and it will not work with computer USB ports. That means it’s up to you to supple the power adapter. Just be aware that you will want to use a QC or PD capable adapter in order to take advantage of quick charging speeds of up to 7.5W/10W on compatible smartphone devices.

On the front edge of the Satechi charger is a small LED that glows green while it is charging a device, blinks blue if you place a non-compatible device on it, and turns off when the charging is not in use.

There really isn’t a whole lot more to say about this charger other than it looks nice and does a great job charging any Qi capable device on it quickly and safely.

There’s almost no lag to when it detects the device and it either starts charging or lets you know it’s not a compatible device.

What I like

Looks nice
Simple to use

What needs to be improved

Need to include a power adapter

Final thoughts

I forgot how much I enjoyed the convenience of wireless charging after not being able to use one for the last couple of years. It’s funny how satisfying it feels to be able to drop my phone on the Satechi charger to charge it instead of needing to plug in a cable. I know that plugging a cable into a phone is not a difficult task, but the Satechi charger looks so much nicer on my desk than a stray cable. This charger has earned a permanent spot on my desk.

Price: $44.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Satechi.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Batteries and Chargers, Qi

Satechi Aluminum Type-C PD & QC Wireless Charger review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 15, 2019 at 9:11 am.

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