After having let us explain the news of the powerline by the team of devolo and have tested Magic 2 WiFi 6 Multiroom Kit for some time, we are ready to tell you what we think in our review. But before that, we want to help you figure out if you have really need a powerline to amplify your WiFi signal. And take it to every corner of your home using the electrical system.
devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 Multiroom Kit: our review
We had the opportunity to speak with Marcel Schüll from devolo, to fully understand what’s new in the new Magic 2 WiFi 6 before trying it out for this review. This is the very first Powerline adapter to use yours electrical system per broadcast WiFi 6, the fastest standard available, for your entire home.
Having a strong and stable WiFi signal becomes more and more a requirement. 87% of people use it every day at home, with speeds that have increased an average of three times since 2018. Carrying the optical fiber signal throughout the home also serves because, on average, every home connects 9.4 devices. The PC for smart working, the children’s tablet, everyone’s smartphones. And then the robot vacuum cleaner, the speaker for Alexa, the security camera. We could also go on: more and more products are connected.
So you need a solution to cover the whole house (and maybe even the garden) with a strong and stable WiFi signal. A powerline that enables the WiFi 6 signal could be the solution you are looking for.
The most interesting news of WiFi 6
Schull he explained to us what are the most interesting innovations of the new technology. If you’ve already bought a WiFi 6 router, you probably already know them. But if you are deciding whether to invest immediately in new technology and buy this Powerline, you should review them:
- He arrives QAM-1024. A very technical fact, that of transmission OFDMA. But simplifying a lot, it means that with WiFi there is no need to use different channels to transmit data to different devices. One is enough, more efficient and fasteror especially now that we have many devices connected.
- Two-way communication MU–DESPITE. This means that not only the router and the repeaters can communicate with the devices, but also vice versa.
- Then there is the TWT (Target Wake Time): if before the repeaters had to continue to transmit the WiFi signal even in the absence of messages to send (they were Always-On), with WiFi 6 they do it only when needed: they are activated only when needed. One thing that could increase autonomy of WiFi cameras and many other products.
- BSS Coloring, which means being able to distinguish between different WiFi signals, categorizing them and reducing interference.
These are just some of the novelties of the new technology. To which is added the fact that Magic 2 WiFi 6 ensures a 50% increase in speed transmission of the WiFi signal (which goes from 1,200 to 1,800 Mbit / s).
Who Needs a Powerline?
Before we tell you about our experience with devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6, we need to make you familiar: we don’t really need a Powerline. We have connected this multi-room and multi-storey kits in a rather small apartment, which the router covers quite well.
But not everyone is in the same situation as us. Because WiFi has limits. THE thick walls and floors they can block the signal, especially if there are pipes that carry water (such as those of the heating). So if you have one multi-story house or walls blocking the signal, but you have a single electrical system that moves throughout your large house, devolo’s Powerline will transmit the signal to repeaters at 2.400 Mbit/s. The WiFi will then have a maximum speed of 1800 Mbit/s, taking advantage of the + 50% speed guaranteed by the new WiFi 6.
With a declared range of 500 meters, you can cover a large space using devolo’s Powerlines. A repeater can cover an entire floor of a house, bringing the connection to all corners of the building, no matter how big it is. But it could also be used to bring WiFi to the garden for the summer, for example. If there is a lot of space to cover and the walls prevent the WiFi from transmitting data, increasing the repeaters with a powerline can be the winning solution.
Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 review: connection speed
The devolo team admits that the signal can decrease on older or particularly complex systems. But consider that even if the optical fiber arrives directly at your home with the FTTH connection, the speed is around 1000 Mbit/s (or a gigabit). So much lower than the speed with which the devolo kit transmits the signal on the Powerline at 2.4 Gbit / s, with WiFi traveling at 1.8 Gbit / s. This means that the current maximum transmission rate of the fiber is more than supported.
In our house, where the copper connection arrives from the fiber well outside the house, the signal comes strong around the 100 Mbit/s, more than enough to stream and live on Twitch (by the way, have you visited our channel?). But still much less than the maximum speeds promised by devolo. We therefore expected a speed of 100 Mbit / s also from WiFi repeaters.
We connected the adapter Magic Lan with the LAN cable included in the package next to our router, and then connect the two adapters Magic WiFi in two sockets (one in the bedroom and one in our study). Small warning: the sockets are “pass-through“, Then you can use an already occupied socket and reattach it to the Magic WiFi as you see in the photograph. But both inbound and outbound it uses prese shuko. The use of adapters is not recommended, it would slow down the connection (or in some cases it would prevent it at all).
The installation Plug-and-play it seemed very fast. Once the first adapter is plugged in, it automatically connects the other adapters inserted in the next two minutes without having to press any buttons. At this point you just have to connect the Magic LAN to the router with an Ethernet cable. We also used the app devolo Home Network for a guided installation. Furthermore, we have carried out the first firmware update which took a few minutes to complete. Alternatively you can use the software devolo Cockpit from Windows, Linux and Mac, or directly the Web UI dal browser.
Once the short installation process was finished, we could already see the connection speed from the devolo app statistics, close to the promised 100 Mbit / s. But we also carried out some independent tests to evaluate the actual speed on our smartphone. The data varied slightly, but the signal remained around 100 Mbit / s. We did the same with the PC, which we usually keep connected directly to the router with the LAN cable. The speed remains practically the same. Although the connection with the cable varies less in detections, proving to be more stable. But not with a really significant difference.
Finally, we also used the two LAN sockets adapters to connect the laptop. Again, fast and stable connection, as expected.
WiFi connection everywhere
We can therefore say that the speed of devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 satisfied us: We did not find any differences with respect to the connection of the main router. This could certainly vary depending on the connection and electrical system in your home, but in our experience the devolo product has proven to deliver the speeds promised.
The speech does not change for the connection stability. We found a strong signal in the house. If usually in the bedroom the smartphone reached one or two WiFi “notches”, with the devolo adapter the signal was at full power.
Excellent stability also in switch from one repeater to another. devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 uses the mesh technology, which allows you to switch from one repeater to another without any disconnection. We made several video calls while walking in our hallway, so that the connection went from the main router to one of the adapters. No connection problems: we have not lost even a second of the call.
During the presentation with the devolo team, it was also explained to us that the repeater automatically performs the “steering“, Following the connected device and routing the connection. This should ensure an even stronger connection when you are on the go.
Functionality and safety
Whether you use the smartphone app, the PC software or the web interface, there are many interesting functions that you can enable. For example you can create a guest access in a moment: just show the QR code to your friends so that they can access the WiFi in your home as a guest, without having to enter a password. Also, you can set the parental control, blocking content not suitable for your children. And then there is the option to set programs e precise times. Also, from here you can manage updates free software.
Finally, security is ensured by the protocol WPA3, with enhanced 128-bit encryption, the safest at the moment. In case the clients do not support this protocol, WPA2 remains available. A protected and future-proof network.
Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 review
The new devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 comes in two versions:
- It Starter Kit contains the Magic LAN to connect to the router and an adapter Magic WiFi. Costa 239,90 euro.
- The Multiroom Kit (subject of this review) contains Magic LAN e due Magic WiFi. Costa 399,90 euro.
- Finally, you can buy a single Magic WiFi for the price of 179,90 euro.
At this price, in addition to the fully functional devolo technology, you will get well three years warranty. The device works well, is super easy to install and offers a fast and stable connection. So they are recommended, although the price is quite high. But also keep in mind that this is the top product in the devolo line. So, if for example you are willing to give up the new functions of WiFi 6, you can save money by taking a product like Magic 2 WiFi Next, whose who Multiroom costs 299.90 euros, for example.
The point is to understand if you actually need this device. If you have thick walls, which make it difficult to use a simple WiFi amplifier, the Powerline from devolo can be the solution …