Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 Next Multiroom Kit Review
DISCLOSURE -THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Steven Osborne
I already have a powerline network product that I use at home but it’s a bit dated so was excited when I saw the opportunity to review this product. I work in IT and have a good knowledge of network equipment. The idea behind this type of product is that rather than running network cabling around your home which might mean lifting floorboards or damaging the walls in your home you use the existing power cables in your home.
The product was delivered quickly and came well packaged. The box is in good proportion to its contents, it’s mainly cardboard and unlike a lot of products these days I was happy to see that it didn’t have lots of unnecessary plastic bags.
The box contained the following:-
– Two Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 next adapter
– One Devolo Magic 2 LAN adapter
– One Ethernet cable (2 m, white)
– 3 year warranty
As per the product name, this is the multi room set and will cover a large space in your home with the WiFi 6 mesh but it also gives you 2x 1 Gbit per adapter in two rooms. This allows me to have up to 1 Gbit speeds between devices on my wired network and out to my internet connection which is also 1Gbit. The wired network boasts a maximum of 2400Mbps, which is more than the 2x 1Gbit ports are capable of so more than enough.
The WiFi 6 mesh network boasts a maximum speed of 3000Mbits however this is only the maximum speeds between devices on either that wireless network or the maximum capable bandwidth to multiple wired devices on the network. The connected client devices will also need to be WiFi 6 capable. The Devolo Magic 2 LAN adapter connected to the router only has a single 1Gbit connection to the Gateway breakout so it will only achieve a maximum of 1Gbps.
To setup the adapter I plugged in the Devolo Magic 2 LAN adapter to the mains next to my router and then connected it to one of the free ports on my router connect with the provided Cat5 network cable. I then connected the two Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 next adapter in two other rooms in the house. I pressed the home button on each of the adapters of these adapters and then pressed the sync button the side of the LAN Adapter after a few moments the lights all went to steady white, which confirms that the encryption process between the adapters had completed.
I used the QR code on the back of the box to locate and download the Devolo Home Network App this takes you through the process of adding the devices. Once added you can see any connected clients connected, you can sync the existing SSID using the WiFi cloning feature for use on the mesh. The WiFi supports up to WPA3 authentication for secure connectivity and allows the 802.11r which is an improved standard for faster roaming by speeding up the logins. The devices also use OFDMA and MU-MIMO which improves frequency WiFi frequency handling and the ability for the devices to communicate with devices simultaneously.
The main use for this in our home is to provide a WiFi Mesh and to utilize the wired connections for some CCTV camera’s and access to the NVR their connected to. On reviewing the speeds, the adapters show that the wired connections are achieving the prescribed 1Gbits which considering they use power cables I was pleasantly surprised.
In order to test the speeds of the WiFi I ran tests with Open Speed Test server to test client-to-client transfer speeds with 2 WiFi 6 capable clients and although I wasn’t reaching the speeds I was achieving at least two thirds of the speeds which is more than enough for anything I would do around the home. I can see the SSID from all around the house and you can also purchase additional Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 next adapter’s to extend your reach further if you wish to do so.
All in all the Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 next Multiroom Kit does what it says on the box and as its a bundled wired and WiFi solution in one it will suit many different situations around the home. If you have an outdoors office and the mains power is wired to the main property, if you have a home office upstairs and your router is situated on the ground floor. If you want to add network connectivity for your kids gaming console or for your smart TV or other wired and wireless smart devices around the home. This product will provide connectivity to those devices or extend your reach throughout your property. The price range makes this a great Christmas present idea and something worth a look at in the black Friday deals.
Rating: 4/5
RRP: £409.99
Available to buy from Amazon here