WiFi routers and mesh networks

Routers and mesh systems use WiFi to distribute the data you receive from your internet provider to all the devices throughout your home.

When your internet equipment is holding you back, you have a few options to improve it.

You could upgrade to a more powerful router or link together two or more "mesh” units. What’s best for you depends on several factors, including the layout of your home. Then, you have to decide whether to buy the new equipment outright or loan it on contract from a broadband provider.

Wait! Do you actually need a new router?

Before you read on, make sure you’re extracting everything you can from your current router. Your WiFi performance might be suffering for other reasons, so try these things first.

• Put your router in the centre of the house. Don’t tuck it away in a cupboard. Having it in the open will improve speed and reliability.
• Connect your tech devices to the 5GHz network. The 2.4GHz one is much slower.
• Create line of sight where you can. If you can see your router from the spots you usually access the internet, the WiFi waves can reach you with no obstacles.
• Make sure your internet plan is fast enough. If you’re on your telco’s cheapest fibre plan (often called something like “fibre starter”), a basic 4G plan, or any DSL connection, your router might not be the bottleneck.

Loaning a router from your telco

The easiest way to get a new router is to loan or buy one from your broadband provider. Historically, telcos have provided cheap, mediocre hardware, but that’s started to change.

Read our full report on whether it’s better to borrow a router or buy your own.

WiFi basics

Buy a router with WiFi 6 (at least)

WiFi is simply a standard that ensures devices can communicate wirelessly with one another. As time goes on, new versions of the standard are published to take advantage of technological progress.

Which WiFi standard a router uses is perhaps its most important spec.

WiFi 6, also named 802.11ax, is the dominant standard on the market. It’s powerful, but has been around long enough that even cheap, basic routers can support WiFi 6.

Its predecessor WiFi 5 (802.11ac) is now 10 years old, having debuted in 2014. It’s the oldest standard that’s still on the market. While we wouldn’t buy a WiFi 5 router, one WiFi 5 mesh system in our test did surprisingly well, so it’s not all bad.

WiFi 7 (802.11be) is brand new. The standard isn’t technically published yet, but manufacturers are already building it into their products. While WiFi 7 marks a step up from WiFi 6, it’s not a must have if you need a new router quickly. It’s currently expensive and we’ll see price drops over the next year or two. Most phones and computers aren’t yet compatible with WiFi 7 anyway, so you won’t see a benefit straight away.

Know your WiFi bands: 2.4 vs 5 vs 6GHz

WiFi operates in three sections of the radio spectrum.

Most routers on the market today make use of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Some of the most expensive options – those that support the WiFi 6E and WiFi 7 standards – can also access the new 6GHz range.

Avoid using the 2.4GHz band if you can. It’s much slower and more crowded, especially because some appliances, like microwaves, cross over into the same wavelengths, creating interference. The WiFi signal does travel further in the 2.4GHz band, but it doesn’t matter. Our testing has found that, even at a significant distance and with a poor signal, 5GHz performs better.

Our testing suggests the 6GHz band isn’t really any faster than 5GHz, but it does suffer from less interference. If your router supports 6GHz, you might as well use it, but it probably isn’t worth buying a router just for this band with prices as they currently are.

Many modern routers automatically assign devices to bands based on what’s fastest. Called band steering, this feature usually works well, but if you want more control, you can disable it in your router’s settings.

Mesh is great for large homes

A mesh system includes multiple router units all working together to create a unified WiFi network. As you move through a house serviced by mesh, your devices seamlessly switch between units. Unlike a conventional router, mesh lets you sprinkle coverage throughout a space and across multiple storeys to eliminate dead spots in the nooks of your home.

Mesh systems stood out the most in our long-range testing, where WiFi had to travel 16 metres through a wooden wall. However, it’s worth noting that mesh isn’t a silver bullet – some cheaper mesh products, such as D-Link’s M15 system, performed worse over a long distance than several standalone routers.

Mesh networks perform better over long distances

Mesh isn’t necessary for every home. A one-bedroom apartment doesn’t need it, and most single-level open-plan homes can get by with a single good-quality router too.

Most mesh systems are sold with two or three units in the pack, but you can buy more to expand the network. Each unit is the same, but one will connect to the outside world and act as the main router.

You can also wire mesh units together. This setup, called Ethernet backhaul, gives you the best possible performance from your system.

The two main router types

The router market can be cleaved into two halves reasonably cleanly. If you’re struggling to choose what to buy, it might help to consider the pros and cons of each side of the schism to decide which sounds more like you.

Not every router on the market fits neatly into one of these compartments, but it can narrow down your choices to know which side of the fence you prefer.

Some important specs

For best security, look for WPA3 encryption

Every router encrypts outgoing data to keep you and your information secure. However, the quality of the protection is far from equal.

Every router in our test used the WPA2 security standard by default, because it’s compatible with everything. WPA2 is good, but it’s been succeeded by another standard called WPA3, which mends a few imperfections in the earlier version’s armour.

So long as you don’t have a computer or phone from before 2018 that you want to connect to the WiFi, you can get extra protection by upgrading your security standard to WPA3. You can filter our test results based on which routers have WPA3 support.

How important are antennae?

All routers have antennae – some are just smaller and housed inside the router’s case. There isn’t a lot of performance difference between internal and external antennae.

Antenna size is the bigger factor. Don’t expect a tiny router with small antennae to communicate a long way, regardless of whether the antennae are on the inside or outside.

If in doubt, buy something heavy

In a test finding we didn’t expect, a router’s weight appears to correlate with how well it performs. On average, a router scored 1% higher on our performance score for every 50 grams extra that it weighed.

Considering that faster processors and larger antennae weigh more, perhaps it’s a good rule of thumb to aim for a dense device.

Watch out for…

Codes like “AX1800”

Browse through the routers in a shop and you’ll quickly notice a common marketing tactic. Model names often have an extra code attached that follows the pattern of two letters followed by a four or five-digit number.

The letters indicate which WiFi standard the router uses. AC is shorthand for WiFi 5, AX for WiFi 6 (or AXE for WiFi 6E), and BE for WiFi 7.

The number that follows corresponds to the maximum total bandwidth. It’s a theoretical calculation that assumes perfect conditions, so isn’t especially helpful. It’s also summed across all frequency bands, meaning you can’t use all of the available speed on the same device.

A higher number does indicate a more powerful router in some sense. But they can be misleading. For example, a two-pack of AX1800 units might be advertised as AX3600, but each unit will be less capable than a single AX3000 router.

We think so little of this theoretical bandwidth measure that we don’t report on it in our test results. We think you can ignore it too.

WiFi range extenders

A range extender rebroadcasts the signal from your router to make it reach further. You might also see them sold by other names like WiFi repeater or WiFi booster.

An extender usually creates its own WiFi network, which you manually switch to and from on your devices. That’s a key difference from a mesh system, where each node broadcasts the same network.

We don’t recommend using range extenders within a home, because they tend to be slow and unreliable. In general, you’re better off either upgrading to a better router or committing to mesh.

There are situations where a range extender can make sense, such as for a sleepout or granny flat, but these are an exception to the rule.

You can also daisy-chain extenders together to reach the extra mile, but the more additional steps there are, the more speed is lost.

Glossary

You’re not alone in struggling to understand the dense jargon used in networking. Here are some key terms you might need a definition for.