Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 Review – The fastest powerline WiFi system on the market

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Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 is the latest system from powerline experts.I have reviewed before Devolo Magic 2 grid And found that it is a good choice for anyone who has problems to extend WiFi with a normal mesh WiFi system.

The new Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 and the more expensive Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 Mesh are actually the same as their predecessors, but they upgrade the WiFi function to WiFi 6.

most Recent laptop Both mid-to-high-end mobile phones now have WiFi 6. Through various other adjustments to improve the overall WiFi performance, the speed can be increased by 50%. If you are looking for a new WiFi system, I strongly recommend that you consider a system equipped with WiFi 6.

Specification

• The network kit package includes one (1) main adapter and two (2) additional adapters.
• Powerline technology can reach speeds of up to 2400 Mbps.
• Enabling WiFi 6 will bring you more than 50% WiFi power.
  • 2×2 80Mhz radio for 1200Mbps WiFi 6 on 5Ghz
• Two (2) 1GbE RJ45 LAN ports on the WiFi adapter
• The access point turns.
• OFDMA and MU-MIMO technology.
• Integrated power socket for pass-through.
• The range can reach 500m.

PLC power line backhaul and 5Ghz wireless backhaul

One question that will inevitably arise is whether the powerline backhaul of the system or the dedicated 5Ghz frequency band on an ordinary WiFi mesh system is better.

Unfortunately, this is impossible to answer and will vary depending on the way your house is built, the quality of your home wiring, and the overall size of the house.

Although there is no definite best answer, if you do experience performance or connection issues, power lines represent the most user-friendly alternative to wireless.

Unlike other brands, Devolo’s power lines use G.hn technology, with a theoretical speed of up to 2400 Mbps, which is the fastest option on the market. The HomePlug AV2 used by competing brands has an upper limit of 2000 Mbps.

Devolo Magic 2 WiFi and Devolo Magic 2 Mesh

Devolo has two different styles of systems, WiFi and Mesh. However, both systems can work as mesh systems with one SSID to roam seamlessly between each WiFi plug.

However, the Devolo Magic 2 WiFi system has a LAN plug, you can connect it to the router, and then extend the connection to the WiFi plug via the power cord. With this system, the most likely scenario is that your router will continue to provide its WiFi, and the Devolo WiFi plug will extend the WiFi connection to the periphery of your home.

Magic 2 Mesh is only equipped with a WiFi plug, designed to replace the entire WiFi in your home.

Personally, I find Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6’s way of doing things a bit strange. If you spend £350 on a WiFi system, I assume you want a mesh system that can handle the entire WiFi, instead of using an existing router + Devolo combination.

Mixing the brand with your router WiFi and Devolo will not get the same seamless mesh connection as the all-in-one system.

set up

The setup process was not as smooth as I thought. Using the Devolo home network app, I initially encountered a problem when detecting all the devices on the network, then only one WiFi successfully updated the firmware, and finally, when I tried to update the WiFI SSID, I kept getting a 404 error.

Once I recognize the device on the network, you can log in to one of the WIFI devices through a browser and set the SSID here. I have no problems with the web interface at all.

Once everything is normal, there is no problem with my application. However, its functionality is limited because the Devolo system is only used as an access point and not a mature router.

Performance

In order to find the best WiFi performance, I had to remove the LAN plug and use the WIFI 6 plug that connects directly to the router.

Similar to Devolo Mesh WiFi 2, I had to experiment where I placed the plug to get the best performance. In the common scenarios of my office host and TV room satellite, the overall performance is very poor, far worse than any dual-band or tri-band WiFi system. This will be the result of my old home wiring.

The test was done using my desktop WiFi and the new Acer Helios 500 gaming laptop equipped with Intel WiFi 6E AX210 WiFi module.

WiFi 6 speeds

Using the WiFi 6 plug as the main device plugged into the router, I was able to use iPerf to achieve a throughput of 763 Mbits/sec.

Use the wired plug in my upstairs office and the power cord to connect to the living room. The WiFi speed of the power line connection drops to 30Mbit/s. For whatever reason, when I use plugs on different floors, the speed is very poor.

Changing things to use a wired plug in the living room in front of the house and a power line in the kitchen, the WiFi speed of the power line connection jumped to more than 250Mbit/s.

Move the power cord plug to the living room in the center of my house, and the speed jumped to more than 300Mbit/s again.

Wireless 5

For WiFi 5, the speed achieved by the WiFi plug connected via Ethernet is 550Mbit/s.

Then use the power line plug, the speed is 253Mbit/s.

Scope

I found that one area where Powerline excels is the distance between the connecting plugs. With WiFi backhaul, if you place the satellite device too far, you will notice a significant drop in performance or no connection at all.

The power line still has a significant drop, but it can extend WiFi in other hard-to-reach places. For example, I have been unable to get reliable WiFi in the gym rebuilt in the garage for a long time, and due to frequent drops when using the mesh system, I ended up running an Ethernet cable in my back garden. Using Devolo, I can successfully establish a connection with one of the plugs and get a speed of 70Mbps.

Prices and alternatives

The Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 Multiroom Kit has one LAN adapter and two WiFi adapters, and it costs £350. A starter kit with a single LAN and WiFi adapter is 200 pounds, and a single WiFi adapter is 160 pounds.

It seems that they have just launched the Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 Mesh system. The product page is online, but you cannot purchase it. It seems that the price of a 3-piece system is 450 pounds.

The previous generation using WiFi 5 is:

• Devolo Magic 2 WiFi next Multiroom Kit @ £275
• Devolo Mesh WiFi 2 Multi-Room Kit @ 300 GBP

Currently, there are no other WiFi 6 powerline adapters, so Devolo temporarily pushes the market into a desperate situation.

If you have not tried a traditional mesh WiFi system, then I suggest you try at least one of them from a website that is easy to return.

This Netgear Orbi RBK752 Probably the best choice. Although it only has two devices, they both provide WiFi, so they will provide the same coverage as Magic 2 WiFi 6. It is a tri-band system, so it will provide the best possible speed.

If you choose Netgear Orbi RBK753, it is a 3-pack system that can compete with Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 Mesh and the price is £500. 50 pounds more than Devolo.

or, TP-Link Deco X60 It is a dual-frequency system, but there are 3 devices, so it will provide a wider coverage, but the satellite device is slower.

comprehensive

Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 is a bit difficult to generalize, because there are many things to consider.

Most importantly, Devolo has the most advanced power line technology, and its rated speed is 20% higher than the best option offered by competing brands. This is also the only powerline system with WiFi 6. Therefore, this is the fastest option on the market.

In my scenario, there is a problem with the wires in my old house. If I put all the devices in my usual location, the result is not as good as a normal mesh WiFi system. However, I should point out that I doubt that an ordinary mesh system will work properly with the router in my front room and the satellite in the kitchen. There are too many walls and too far away.

If you live in a home with better wiring quality, or you have encountered serious problems when using a common mesh system, then Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 may be your best choice for the fastest speed, unless you are willing to You worry about the wiring of the house with Ethernet.

For me, I don’t fully believe why you want Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6, which uses a WiFi-free LAN plug. This may be useful if you spend a fortune on a top WiFi 6 router and want to extend WiFi to black spots in your home, but I expect most people will want a complete WiFi 6 mesh system. Of course, you can use this system to do this, but you need to pay extra for redundant powerline LAN plugs.

I think most people might want the Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 Mesh system. The price of a three-piece system is £450, which will be able to provide reliable WiFi around a very large home. I think it will be available soon.

So in general, Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 is the best product on the market, but you need to consider whether its features are what you want.

Last updated on 2022-01-01 / Affiliate link / Image from Amazon Product Advertising API