• SMBs are suffering due to unreliable Wi-Fi connection
• UK small businesses are losing an average of 11 hours a week to Wi-Fi disruption
• Almost half (47%) of business leaders said they would feel more confident if they could improve connectivity reliability

Small businesses are seeinn major productivity issues due to disruption caused by their Wi-Fi connectivity, new research has claimed.

The findings from Zen Internet claim small businesses are losing an average of 11 hours a week due to connection issues.

And this isn't just a minor annoyance or loss of network - nearly 4 in 10 SMBs say the problems are directly costing them revenue.

Wi-Fi causing problems

The scale of the issue was perhaps best reflected by the finding that almost half (47%) of the business leaders surveyed for the report saying they would feel more confident in their company’s success if they could improve connectivity reliability.

Half of senior business decision makers said poor Wi-Fi coverage inside their premises limits the value they get from broadband connectivity, while 39% say connectivity issues are directly causing lost revenue.

“We often talk about productivity in terms of skills, investment and innovation, but digital reliability has become just as fundamental," noted Jon Nowell, managing director of Zen’s business division.

“For many SMEs, poor in-building connectivity is now a hidden operational cost. If businesses are expected to modernise and grow, the technology experience inside offices, retail spaces and hospitality venues has to keep pace too.”

The research also found connectivity problems were affecting day-to-day running of a business, as 23% said connectivity disruption impacts communication with customers or suppliers.

A similar amount (22%) say it directly slows down operations, 21% said it disrupts digital payments, and 22% said it contributes to lost sales or missed opportunities.

“Small businesses are under pressure to operate faster, serve customers seamlessly and rely more heavily on cloud-based systems, digital payments and connected devices than ever before," added Nowell.

“But too many businesses still have a disconnect between the broadband coming into the building and the actual experience staff and customers are getting day to day."

“You can have access to full fibre, but if the WiFi inside the premises isn’t reliable, businesses still lose productivity, sales opportunities and operational efficiency.”

• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gives Netgear a conditional approval to avoid router ban
• It seems Netgear is still using components made outside of the US
• Other router makers are still facing a ban

Update 03/17/2026: A Netgear spokesperson gave us the following statement:
"Netgear is the first retail consumer router company to receive conditional approval from the FCC as a trusted consumer router company, a recognition that provides our customers added peace of mind knowing the network powering their homes meets rigorous standards."

Regarding the conditional approval, a Netgear spokesperson told us: "We reviewed the FCC's public guidelines for conditional approval, submitted an application that followed those guidelines, and received approval on our application. The FCC's guidelines are available here."

While that doesn't answer a lot of our questions about this, the fact that Netgear refers to the FCC guidelines, which mentions as a requirement 'A detailed, time-bound plan to establish or expand manufacturing in the United States for the router for which the applicant is seeking Conditional Approval in order for that device to qualify for FCC authorization."

This suggests that Netgear has committed to expanding manufacturing in the US. The FCC guidelines also say that conditional approvals are valid for 18 months.

Original story continues below...

Last month, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) introduced a ban on routers made outside of the US, and while the official reasoning behind the ban was “an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons,” as I wrote at the time, the ban made little sense, considering how many routers are made (or use parts that have been made) outside of the US.

And my confusion over the ban has turned to anger with the news (as reported by The Verge) that Netgear will be exempt from the ban, with the FCC granting the company a “conditional approval” to import and sell its routers.

Why anger? Well, I wasn’t really sold on the security argument — not because there are no security issues with routers — but because the heavy-handed approach would mean US consumers would end up with a lot less choice when shopping around for a new router.

This looks like a case of special treatment

As I wrote last month, the initial ban meant that if Netgear (and other router makers) wanted to get around the ban, they’d need to move their manufacturing to the US — something that many companies would likely find prohibitively expensive.

With Netgear getting conditional approval to continue selling its routers (which explicitly states that companies need to “establish or expand manufacturing in the United States”), you might think that means Netgear is moving all parts of its manufacturing to the US, but there’s been no indication from the company that this is the case.

So, it feels like Netgear is getting special treatment. As this Reddit thread points out, Netgear was quick to praise the ban, stating “We commend the Administration and the FCC for their action toward a safer digital future for Americans,” while other router makers kept quiet.

Following the ban, Netgear’s stock rose by a not inconsiderable 16.7%, suggesting there was a lot confidence that Netgear would avoid the ban, whilst benefitting from the fact that future products from rivals, especially TP-Link, will be banned.

The reason I mention TP-Link is because not only does it make a lot of the routers found on our best router list; it has been steadily eating away at Netgear’s marketshare in the US, and also provides the free routers that over 300 ISP (Internet Service Providers) in the US offer. Crucially, TP-Link is a company that originally hails from China, which means it’s particularly vulnerable to the US ban.

With its biggest competitor facing a ban of future product sales (existing products will remain on sale), while somehow avoiding the ban itself, Netgear looks set to win big — and that’s where my frustration with this stems from.

Banning some companies while turning a blind eye to others is blatantly anti-consumer, as it could mean US consumers have little choice but to buy Netgear products.

It also undermines the FCC’s claim that this ban is about security. If that really was the case, Netgear wouldn’t be able to get an exemption without moving its entire hardware production line to the US.

It’ll be interesting to see if Netgear does indeed follow through and make all of its routers in the US. If not, will other US router makers who, like Netgear, still use components from outside the US, also get exemptions?

If the answer to both those questions is ‘no’, then this situation could get even messier — and I’ll likely get even angrier.

If you’re in the US and thinking of buying a new router to upgrade your home’s Wi-Fi, your choices could soon be drastically reduced, as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has introduced a ban on routers made outside of the US, claiming that there’s “an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons.”

The move follows recent high-profile cyberattacks, in which the FCC claims that “routers produced abroad were directly implicated”.

While this reasoning is understandable, as routers are an important part of any home or business that sends and receives data from the internet, and that data can contain sensitive information, a cursory glance at our best routers list reveals what could be a major problem for Americans, as not a single router we recommend is made in the US.

In fact, over the many years and 100s of routers I’ve reviewed or helped publish, I can only think of a small handful of routers that were 100% made in the US — and since Apple killed off its AirPort range of routers, that pool of “Made in the USA” routers is now even smaller.

Rooting for routers

Our best routers list is dominated by TP-Link (Chinese), Asus (Taiwanese), and Acer (Taiwanese) routers — all fantastic products, but any new routers made by those companies could now be banned from sale in the US.

There are, however, several excellent routers from Netgear, which is an American company. However, while the company is US-based, most of its manufacturing is done in Asia (mainly Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, after moving from China to avoid Donald Trump’s 25% tarrifs on Chinese imports).

Moreover, its routers, like many of its competitors, run on Realtek chips, which are built in Taiwan. As the FCC specifically mentions that it will no longer authorize foreign-made radios in routers, which handle wireless network transmissions and are a key part of the chip that powers the router, it means that Netgear’s routers could still be banned, despite its stock price rising by almost 20% since the FCC announcement.

If this is the case, then people in the US could have even more trouble finding routers worth buying in the future — it could certainly end with our best routers list being filled with routers that can’t be bought in the US.

What are your options?

There are some potential ways router makers could work around this ban. Netgear, for example, could once again move its hardware manufacturing, this time to the US, which is likely the favored outcome of the US government. However, that would be extremely time-consuming and costly, and would likely result in price rises for Netgear’s routers (many of which are already plenty expensive).

The FCC also said that router makers could apply for "conditional approval", which could allow future routers to be sold in the US; however, it’s not currently clear what this process would entail.

While there’s a lot of confusion about this latest development, one thing I’m pretty certain of is that buying a new router could soon become more expensive for people in the US, especially if budget options dry up.

I worry it could even impact people who aren’t interested in buying a new router. If you use the free router that comes with your broadband service, those routers might also be subject to the ban, which would mean your ISP would have to source new devices. That will likely cost money, and sadly, that cost will probably be passed down to customers, if not in the actual price of the router, which is usually included as part of your subscription, but in higher monthly prices.

With the price of computers and laptops rising thanks to the RAM shortage, I had ended up recommending people upgrade their Wi-Fi routers as the new best value improvements they could make. That could soon be outdated advice (for the US, at least, not the rest of the world, which will still be able to buy these routers). As I told my colleagues when I initially heard the news: “Good luck, Americans, you'll have nice-looking but expensive routers from now on.”

So, what do I now recommend people do? For a start, don’t panic — your router isn’t going to stop working or suddenly become illegal. This ban only affects upcoming routers, so existing ones will continue to work fine.

However, if you’re thinking of upgrading your router, it might be best to act sooner rather than later, before your options dwindle. Having said that, don’t rush any decision, as these routers won’t disappear from store shelves overnight. Our best routers buying guide offers advice and price comparison tools to help you make the right decision.

If you’re also concerned that the FCC’s ban means that your router poses a security threat, I again wouldn’t panic as long as you have standard security measures (making sure you have a Wi-Fi password, secure admin password for the router, and antivirus software). While the FCC ban targets consumer routers, the cyberattacks it cites are targeted at large institutions that can (unfortunately) produce the most damage. A single router used by a family to access the internet isn’t going to be as big a target.

Sure, this ban could lead to a boom in US-made routers, but that could take a long time to kick in as router makers shift product manufacturing, and due to a variety of factors, these routers will be more expensive.

So, my advice to people in the US considering a new router in the future is don’t panic yet, but if you’ve been hesitating on upgrading your home Wi-Fi, now might be the best time to pull that trigger.

• The FCC says foreign-made routers are no longer allowed
• Your existing home router is safe from the ban
• Around 60% of US home routers are made in China

After putting nation-wide blocks on companies such as Huawei and DJI in recent years, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has now placed a blanket ban on new routers that aren't made in America.

The ruling applies to "consumer-grade routers" that are "produced in foreign countries", the FCC says, and approval won't be granted to such devices in the future — though those that are already on sale and in use are safe.

As per the FCC, routers made outside the borders of the US represent both a "supply chain vulnerability" and a "severe cybersecurity risk". In other words, there are suspicions that problems in router supply could disrupt the US economy and infrastructure, and that they could be used by foreign states to spy on the communications of US citizens.

It's part of a wider movement by the US to reduce its reliance on other countries for hardware and software. The FCC's statement pointed to a series of recent cyberattacks – including Volt, Flax, and Salt Typhoon – that involved foreign-made router technology.

What does this mean for my Wi-Fi network?

Finding a router manufactured in the US isn't all that easy — many US companies who sell routers to consumers, including Google and Netgear, have their products made overseas. Reuters estimates that some 60% of home routers in the US are manufactured in China and imported in.

Companies are going to have to change their manufacturing processes or abandon the US market it would seem — although they can apply for "conditional approval" from the FCC for new routers. At the moment it's not clear how easy that would be to get.

However, it's worth emphasizing that nothing is going to happen to your current router or home Wi-Fi network — that will keep working as normal. The FCC ban only applies to new products going forward, not routers that have already been approved or put on sale.

It's possible that router manufacturers based in the US will be treated more favorably than foreign entities in the future – TP-Link is one of the companies that's been accused of having strong connections to the Chinese government – but it's going to take a while before we get the full picture of how this decision will play out.

Asus RT-BE92U: One-minute review

It may not have the built-like-a-tank design and ominous glowing lights that Asus uses in some of its eye-catching gaming routers, but the new RT-BE92U won’t take a backseat to any of its flashier rivals. It’s not much to look at, but beneath that unassuming design the RT-BE92U boasts the latest tri-band Wi-Fi 7, with support for the high-speed 6.0GHz frequency band that is sometimes omitted in less expensive Wi-Fi 7 routers.

It also provides high-speed wired connectivity for home or offices that have fibre broadband, and even provides a USB port that allows you to ‘tether’ the router to a smartphone or mobile device that supports 4G or 5G mobile broadband in case your normal broadband service is interrupted for some reason. And, above all else, it doesn’t constantly pester you to sign up for subscriptions for additional parental controls and security features, as some of its rivals do.

Asus RT-BE92U: Design and features

• Creates Guest, Kids and VPN networks
• USB tethering for 4G/5G mobile broadband
• Free parental controls

The design of the RT-BE92U is purely functional, consisting of little more than an upright slab of black plastic, with four antennae sticking up into the air (and a fifth antenna hidden inside the body of the router as well). It doesn’t cut corners on features, though, boasting tri-band Wi-Fi 7 with a top speed of 9.7Gbps (or 9,678Mbps if you want to be precise), and a super-fast 10 Gigabit Ethernet port that can double up to provide either a broadband (WAN) connection, or a wired connection (LAN) for a computer, games console or TV.

There’s a 2.5 Gigabit port that can also double up for either WAN or LAN connections, and three more 2.5G ports for wired connections only. Even the humble USB port on the back throws in some extra features too. As well as allowing you to connect a hard drive or solid-state drive that can be shared with other people on your network, the USB port can be used to charge a smartphone or other mobile devices, and can even be ‘tethered’ to your smartphone in order to use its 4G or 5G mobile broadband as an emergency backup in case something interrupts your normal broadband service.

The Asus Router app for iOS and Android also provides an impressive array of features, although it’s not always as straightforward to use as it could be. Somewhat oddly, the RT-BE92U initially creates a new network that doesn’t have any password protection, so you need to move through the set-up process quite swiftly in order to add a password and keep your new network safe. Fortunately, the app does allow you to scan a QR code in order to quickly connect to the RT-BE92U, and you are then prompted to create a new name and password for the new network.

Once that’s done you have a variety of useful options available, including QoS – quality of service – that gives priority to specific activities, such as gaming or streaming video, that need maximum performance. Most routers will allow you to create a guest network, but the Router app also allows you to create a ‘Kid’s Network’ with a schedule to limit internet access to specific times, and a ‘VPN Network’ for use with popular VPN apps, such as NordVPN and SurfShark.

It even provides a good set of parental controls free of charge, with no need to sign up for an additional subscription. You can create profiles for children of different ages, which automatically block unsuitable content, such as pornography, violence or gambling. Most of Asus’ rivals charge additional subscriptions for parental controls, so the inclusion of all these features at no extra cost is very welcome. Our only complaint is that the Asus app buries many of these features within a maze of dense menus and sub-menus, so it could take a little while to actually find the features you want to use.

• Features: 5/5

Asus RT-BE92U: Performance

• Tri-band Wi-Fi 7 (9.7Gbps)
• 10 Gigabit Ethernet WAN/LAN
• 4x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet

The Asus app does at least keep things simple by merging its three frequency bands - 2.4GHz, 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz – into a single network and automatically connecting your devices to whichever band provides the best speed in each room or area within your home.

But, in order to test the faster 6.0GHz band separately, I ran our Ookla Speedtest and Steam download test on two different laptops – an older HP laptop that only supports the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands, and a more recent Samsung laptop that supports 6.0GHz.

I began with the two laptops in the same room as the RT-BE92U, and wasn’t really surprised to find that both laptops breezed along at the maximum 150Mbps provided by my office broadband. The real test, though, came when I walked along a hallway – one laptop perched in the palm of each hand – to an office at the back of the building. My normal office router always struggles to reach this back office, but I was pleased to find that both laptops effortlessly maintained their 150Mbps speeds without even the slightest wobble.

Admittedly, that 9.7Gbps top speed will be overkill for many users, but it’s very good value at such a competitive price. And, with additional features such as USB tethering and free parental controls, the RT-BE92U will be an excellent upgrade for home users and office workers alike.

• Performance: 5/5

Should you buy the Asus RT-BE92U?

Buy it if:

Don’t buy it if:

Also consider:

Welcome to our MWC 2026 'Best in Show' awards, where we've chosen our top products being shown off at the big trade event.

MWC used to be all about phones — and there are plenty of those in this list — but now it covers everything from wearables to connected smart devices to home networks. Our awards picks cover this breadth of technology.

Honor Magic V6

Some thing in life are inevitable. Night follows day, the tides rise and fall, Honor reveals the thinnest-ever foldable phone at a big tech show. One of the many impressive things about the Honor Magic V6, though, is that it hasn't skimped on durability in favor of being so slim and stylish — it's IP69 rated against water and dust, which is actually better than almost any other phone, despite being foldable.

It's powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite 8 Gen 5 powerful processor, backing that generous 7.95 internal screen with a 2352x2172 resolution, while the 6.5-inch cover display has a 2420x1080 resolution. There's a 6,600mAh battery squeezed into the small frame too. It's an incredibly impressive piece of engineering, and absolutely worthy of our award.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

The best way to get the full low-down on why this phone has won an award is to read our full Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review, but one quote from it will tell you most of what you need to know: "Of course it's the best Android phone ever."

You've got Samsung's special Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip at the heart, and a beautiful 3120x1440 6.9-inch display – including Samsung's genius and innovative 'Privacy Display', which can hide individual sections of the screen, such as notifications, from snoopers around you. There are wider apertures on the camera to let in more light, lots of advanced AI skills, S Pen support... It's just a powerhouse of a phone for people who want the most capable device on the planet.

Nothing Phone (4a)

If you want super-slick features in an affordable package, we're expecting this to be one of the hottest phones of the year. The Nothing Phone 4(a) keeps the fun techy design that Nothing is known for, including a version of the Glyph Bar on the back.

The 6.8-inch OLED screen has a high 2800x1260 resolution and 120Hz support, with a fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chip inside, and 12GB of RAM even though it's a cheaper phone and memory is pricey now. There's even a triple camera system on the back — it makes the new iPhone 17e look miserly in comparison. And on top of all this, coming in four nice colors doesn't hurt its desirability either.

TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro

TCL's NXTPAPER screens have been turning our heads for a while now. They're basically ereader-like screens with a matte and paper-y finish that's great for avoiding eyestrain, but with full color performance and advanced screen tech such as 120Hz support. The NXTPAPER 70 Pro phone uses the latest version of this tech, and actually has three adjustable paper-like modes: Color Paper Mode, Ink Paper Mode, and Max Ink Mode. You can hit a button to cycle through them.

There's even an included pen for drawing and making notes on the screen, so this works as a hybrid of phone, ereader and digital note-taker — plus all the other things you expect a phone to do, including taking photos. We've seen NXTPAPER phones from TCL before, but this is the first time we're starting to consider ditching a regular smartphone for one.

MemoMind One

These smart glasses stand out due to the smart flexibility that's built into their core concept. The key idea is that they have a display for each eye built-in, and Harman Kardon personal speakers you can hear, so you can get subtle information from AI assistants easily.

What's really interesting is the modular approach, which applies to both the hardware and software. The glasses offer eight frame styles and five temple designs, so you can find a specific style that suits you — along with prescription lenses. And the LLM support isn't one-size-fits-all; instead it analyzes the task you need it to perform and uses OpenAI, Azure or Qwen, depending on what's the best fit. It's a really clever approach to smart glasses, and we're looking forward to seeing more of (and through) them.

Honor Magic Pad4

The stunning tablet almost seems impossible. At just 4.8mm thick, it feels like there's just not enough space for it to contain a load of great tech — but you've got a beautifully bright 12-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 3000x1920, backed by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor, and up to 1TB of storage.

Being so thin and weighing just 450g (slightly less than the 11-inch iPad Air, despite having a larger screen), it feels like the ultimate portable slate. But the finishing touch is that Honor has made it an interesting work companion too, with a desktop windowed mode that seems very slick, plus stylus support. This might be the most impressive-looking tablet in the world.

Soundcore Space 2

Anker's audio brand Soundcore makes a lot of great-value headphones, and its Space One and Space One Pro models went a little more little more premium — with very strong results. The Space 2 look like they'll take that idea into the stratosphere, though.

Soundcore says the headphones will have the brand's most advanced active noise cancellation yet, and reengineered 30mm silk and ceramic drivers to produce "full, rich bass, clear vocals and crystal-clear highs". LDAC higher-res support will help with that, as will the personalized sound feature, which tests your hearing and adjusts the audio frequencies to boost in areas where your hearing struggles. It sounds like an excellent package, especially with 70 hours of battery life, and a launch price of $130 / £130.

Lenovo ThinkBook Modular PC Concept

This might be the "future of laptops", as we said when Lenovo showed it to us along with some other interesting concepts. It's modular in the sense of having an easily changed configuration on the outside. It looks like a normal laptop, though it has a screen on the back of the lid as well as in the normal place you'd expect to find a screen.

This screen can be popped off, and used as a separate external display. Or you can remove the keyboard, and replace it with this second screen, for a dual-display laptop/tablet hybrid. Finally, the range of ports under the keyboard can be swapped out, so you can customize them for what you need most. We love this idea, and while it might remain largely niche even if it comes to a real product, we're thrilled with the possibilities.

Biwin Mini SSD CL100

For creative pros or anyone with a need to carry a huge amount of data around, Biwin's latest Mini SSD looks like a revelation. The small cards (around the size of a coin) contain up to 2TB of flash storage, but these aren't like SD cards — their data transfer speed is at PCIe 4 pro SSD levels.

Using the Biwin Mini SSD Reader RD510, you can transfer data from the CL100 drives at up to 3.7GB/s read speeds, and up to 3.4GB/s write speeds. They're a mind-blowing bit of design, taking elite storage performance and putting it in a package that would enable you to take hundreds of terabytes with you in the same size and weight as a single regular external SSD.

TP-Link Aginet HB810

This is designed to be the ultimate ultra-fast home mesh Wi-Fi system, and it's on this list because it really seems to achieve that goal. Offering tri-band Wi-Fi 7 across its mesh devices, TP-Link says you'll get 19–22Gbps of wireless speed, and if you want to wire in there's a 10 GbE/SFP+ combo WAN/LAN port, plus 10GbE and 2.5GbE ports.

Part of the key promise here is to be able to maintain the fast speeds even when things get busy or complicated. There's support for 12 spatial streams at once, 320MHz channels, and tech such as Multi-Link Operation to ensure the network is rock steady when loads of people are using it across multiple nodes. Throw in the security and parental control options that you'd expect from an elite Wi-Fi system, and you've got a great-looking home network upgrade.

uCloudlink OmniFlex Pro

This is a pro-level Wi-Fi router that's designed for when you need to set up a network in a new place quickly, and it can pull its internet connection over broadband or over a mobile connection. Nothing new there, but what made this stand out is its commitment to fast performance, combined with the fact that you don't need to have a SIM card for the mobile internet.

It's eSIM only, which means that's one less thing you need to worry about before deploying — whether you're using the mobile connection as a backup only (it will auto-switch to cellular internet if the main connection fails), or using it in a new country, either way you don't need to have planned your SIM use in advance.

Just take out a new digital connection when you need it, or manage your provider so much more easily. And with a 5G connection and Wi-Fi 7 for connection to devices, it'll work as quickly as anything in the category can, plus it has mesh options for expanding the network. Comprehensive!

TP-Link Tapo C665G KIT

This comprehensive outdoor security camera is designed to be something you just never have to worry about — unless it sees something you need to worry about. It's built to be super-tough, standing up to any weather conditions, dust blasts or temperature changes. It's battery powered for total flexibility on placement, and uses its own solar panels to charge the battery during the day, so it can run at night.

Crucially, a very sharp 4K sensor with enhanced night vision combines with AI-based recognition of events, so that it not only can see everything it needs to, but it can also differentiate between movement that's just things blowing in the wind, and disruptions that are really worth warning you about. TP-Link emphasizes that the goal is to make sure it can cover a really broad area efficiently and smartly, making it a great investment — especially since it even has 4G support so it doesn't need to be near your router.

TechRadar is on the show floor for this year’s MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona, Spain, and we’ll be covering the latest news from some of the biggest names in mobile, computing, fitness and more.

• Qualcomm has introduced its portfolio of Wi-Fi 8 products
• The new FastConnect 8800 chips pack (up to) twice the performance of their predecessors
• New Dragonwing networking platforms for consumers will bring the many benefits of Wi-Fi 8 to home routers and mesh network systems

While Wi-Fi 8 is still quite a long way off, at least in terms of having it on your laptop or phone, there have been a bunch of announcements around the tech already – and now, over at MWC 2026, Qualcomm has revealed its portfolio of offerings around the next-gen wireless standard.

Qualcomm has announced its FastConnect 8800 chips for providing Wi-Fi 8 to laptops (and of course tablets and phones), as well as Bluetooth 7.0.

The company notes that the FastConnect 8800 is the first mobile solution that has a 4x4 Wi-Fi radio configuration, and that this facilitates new heights in terms of wireless speeds. Indeed, compared to Qualcomm's previous-gen FastConnect chip on Wi-Fi 7, the 8800 is going pack (up to) twice the performance.

That means potential peak speeds of up to 11.6Gbps, as tested in Qualcomm's labs, versus up to 5.8Gbps as seen in the FastConnect 7800 (with a 2x2 radio configuration). The new 8800 chip will also provide three times the Gigabit wireless range.

Qualcomm further notes that Bluetooth speeds are getting a huge boost from 2Mbps to 7.5Mbps with this new chip compared to the previous FastConnect 7800 (thanks to Bluetooth High Data Throughput or HDT).

The new FastConnect chip also boasts Proximity AI and Ultra Wideband 802.15.4ab for pinpointing the location of other devices (or pairing with them automatically).

Qualcomm further announced new Dragonwing networking platforms, for enterprises and consumers. The mainstream tiers in the latter respect are the Dragonwing N8 and F8, which are platforms that are designed to bring Wi-Fi 8 to home routers and mesh network systems.

Qualcomm says it's sampling all these products with customers now, and anticipates they'll be commercially available late in 2026.

Gautam Sheoran, who is SVP & GM of Connectivity, Broadband and Networking at Qualcomm, stated that: "Next-gen networks and devices not only need to be AI-native, but they need a new breed of intelligent, high-performance connectivity. Qualcomm Technologies' Wi-Fi 8 generation of products is the whole package: faster speeds, higher reliability, longer range, and powerful AI."

Analysis: Wi-Fi 8 strengths

This next-gen wireless standard isn't about speed. In fact, Wi-Fi 8 doesn't carry any speed boost over Wi-Fi 7 at all – although the FastConnect 8800 chip is much speedier than its predecessor, but that's because it has a beefier Wi-Fi radio configuration, as noted. It isn't because the next-gen standard is actually any faster.

What Wi-Fi 8 is designed to do is improve the reliability of your Wi-Fi connection, notably in signal-dense environments where it'll intelligently hop around to avoid getting bogged down by interference.

You'll also get better range with Wi-Fi 8, and better handling for mesh networks in terms of avoiding speed drop-offs when moving around the house (when transitioning from one node – router or satellite – to another can cause glitchy speed hiccups). Performance at the edge of the signal (where it's weakest) will be bolstered, too. On top of that, Wi-Fi 8 offers considerably lower latency than Wi-Fi 7.

There's a whole lot to look forward to, then, as well as the Dragonwing platform having a 'Network AI Engine' for "real-time QoE optimization", meaning fine-tuning everything with AI to ensure you're getting the best and most stable performance – QoE meaning Quality of Experience – from your Wi-Fi 8 router and devices. That's aimed to be of particular benefit for more intense Wi-Fi usage, such as online gaming or streaming, or using VR headsets for example.

However, before you get too excited hearing all this, as I mentioned at the outset, Wi-Fi 8 is still a long way off. While Qualcomm is talking about these Wi-Fi 8 chips being in devices late this year, the reality is that it won't be a mainstream force in many routers plus laptops, tablets and phones until much nearer the end of the decade.

We apparently have a lot to look forward to in terms of wireless performance as the 2020s roll onwards, though.

TechRadar is on the show floor for this year’s MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona, Spain, and we’ll be covering the latest news from some of the biggest names in mobile, computing, fitness and more.

Asus RP-AX58: One minute review

We liked the RP-BE58 range extender from Asus, which provides dual-band Wi-Fi 7 with good performance at a competitive price. However, most people are still using older PCs and mobile devices that don’t support Wi-Fi 7 yet.

There are also many brand-new PCs and laptops now available that don’t have Wi-Fi 7 either (yes, Apple, we’re looking at you). And, of course, there’s no need to buy a range extender with Wi-Fi 7 if you’re still using an old router that only has Wi-Fi 5 or 6. In that case you might want to look at the Asus RP-AX58 range extender instead, which sticks with Wi-Fi 6 and an even more affordable price.

Admittedly, its dual-band Wi-Fi does run at a relatively modest 3.0Gbps, but that should still be more than adequate for streaming video or gaming in most homes, and the RP-AX58 will be a good, affordable option if you just need to boost your Wi-Fi into an upstairs bedroom or other area that suffers from a Wi-Fi deadspot.

Asus RP-AX58: Price And Availability

• How much does it cost? $79.99/£64.99/AU $103.62
• When is it available: Now
• Where can you get it: US, UK, Australia

Sticking with Wi-Fi 6 means that the RP-AX58 is currently available for a very competitive $79.99/£64.99/AU $103.62.

That makes it one of the most affordable range extenders we’ve seen recently, and it’s considerably cheaper than Asus’ RP-BE58 with Wi-Fi 7, as well as rivals such as TP-Link’s BE3600. It’s available in most regions and, as Wi-Fi 6 is a few years old now, you can find it discounted online quite often if you want to shop around.

• Value: 4/5

Asus RP-AX58: Design

• Compact, slimline design
• No cables, plugs directly into mains socket
• 2x internal antennae

The RP-AX58 looks virtually identical to its Wi-Fi 7 stablemate from Asus, with a similar slimline design that hides its two Wi-Fi antennae inside the body of the range extender.

It measures just 150mm high, 72mm wide and 87mm deep and, like most range extenders it’s designed to plug directly into a mains power socket, so its compact design ensures that you can simply plug it into any convenient socket in any room around your home or office.

There’s a Gigabit Ethernet port on the right-hand side of the range extender that can provide a wired connection as well (although the RP-AX58 will still connect to your main broadband router via Wi-Fi).

• Design: 4

Asus RP-AX58: Features

• Supports Asus AiMesh technology
• Compatible with most routers
• App feels a little clumsy

The Asus RP-AX58 provides dual-band Wi-Fi 6, running on the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequency bands, which ensures compatibility with most PCs, consoles, and mobile devices.

Its 3.0Gbps performance isn’t going to break any speed records, but it should be more than adequate for use with most home broadband services, and fast enough to eliminate any Wi-Fi deadspots in rooms or other areas that suffer from poor Wi-Fi. The RP-AX58 will work with broadband routers from most manufacturers, but it also supports Asus’ AiMesh technology, which allows it to act as part of a mesh Wi-Fi network in conjunction with Asus’ own routers or mesh systems.

The Asus Extender app has a few rough edges, though. As I’ve seen before, the opening screen of the app displays some jumbled text on the screen of my iPhone (although that’s not a problem on the larger screen of an iPad).

However, even when the text is clear it’s... well... still a bit unclear. The app tells you to enter the ‘default password’ for the Wi-Fi network created by the range extender, when in fact the network doesn’t initially require a password.

It’s only after connecting the RP-AX58 to your existing Wi-Fi network that the app gives you the opportunity to set a password. You can create an entirely new network name and password just for connecting to the RP-AX58, or if you want to keep things simple you can just tell the app to use the same name and password as your existing Wi-Fi network.

The low price of the RP-AX58 means that there’s not much in the way of additional features, but that’s not a problem as long as it delivers the goods when tackling your Wi-Fi deadspots.

• Features: 3/5

Asus RP-AX58: Performance

• Dual-band Wi-Fi 6
• 3.0Gbps speed
• 1x Gigabit Ethernet port

The use of Wi-Fi 6 and a top speed of 3.0Gbps seems almost quaint when compared to the blazing speeds of the latest Wi-Fi 7 devices. Yet few people really need multi-gig speeds for their home or office Wi-Fi, so the RP-AX58 should still provide all the speed you need for most home broadband services.

It worked well with my own Wi-Fi deadspot, located in an office towards the back of a building that my normal office router struggles to reach. I installed the RP-AX58 in a hallway just outside that office and immediately said goodbye to the dead zone – and to the PowerLine adaptors that I normally use to provide a wired connection in that room.

My office broadband runs at 150Mbps, and the slower 2.4GHz band provided by the RP-AX58 was able to provide a perfectly reliable speed of 120Mbps in the back office for Steam downloads and the Ookla Speed Test.

Admittedly, the RP-BE58 range extender from Asus ran slightly faster on that frequency band, hitting 135Mps, but the RP-BE58 is more expensive because of its up-to-date support for Wi-Fi 7, and 120Mbps will still be enough to handle web browsing and streaming video with no trouble.

And, as expected, the faster 5.0GHz band delivered the full 150Mbps available with our office broadband for both Ookla and Steam. Owners of newer devices that support Wi-Fi 7 might prefer a more up-to-date router or range extender that can deliver the higher performance of Wi-Fi 7, but if you just need to boost the Wi-Fi in one or two rooms around your home then the RP-AX58 will do the trick without breaking the bank.

• Performance: 3/5

Should You Buy The Asus RP-AX58?

Buy it if...

Don’t buy it if...

Also Consider

If you're undecided about the Asus RP-AX58, I've compared its specs with two other options that might be a better fit.

• Xfinity, a Comcast brand, has introduced a new feature dubbed Wi-Fi Motion
• It lets an Xfinity router and up to three Wi-Fi-connected devices create a motion detection system
• The feature isn't available to everyone, but some users already have potential privacy concerns

Having a router that doubles as a motion detector was not on our bingo card for 2025, and yet, here we are. Xfinity by Comcast has introduced Wi-Fi Motion, a feature that lets you turn your printer, your smart fridge, or your TV – among other things – into a motion detector. But is that really a good thing?

Given that we're constantly connected to the internet these days, many of us assume that our devices have some kind of baseline of knowledge about our daily lives and habits.

We've got some of the best smartwatches tracking our sleep, workouts, and heart rate. As another example, Microsoft's Recall, now in preview, will go through our files to make our lives easier. Meanwhile, AI assistants can already read our emails and summarize them for us. Privacy is a commodity that we're running out of at a rapid pace.

In a world like this, having motion detection features in our home, free of charge, doesn't sound so bad. But some users are worried about the potential downsides of Xfinity's Wi-Fi Motion – here's what you need to know.

How does Xfinity's Wi-Fi Motion work?

As Xfinity describes, Wi-Fi Motion connects your compatible Xfinity Gateway (either the XB8 or the Technicolor XB7 CGM4981COM) to up to three eligible, always-on, stationary devices. So, think of things like printers or smart fridges, rather than smartphones and tablets. The feature is in early access and is only available to select customers right now.

The feature is off by default, but once enabled, it turns your router and those three devices into a motion detection system. This creates an oval-shaped area of Wi-Fi coverage, and anything that disrupts those signals may be detected as motion. It's worth noting that the coverage extends from the router and toward each device separately, and the devices themselves don't provide motion detection between each other.

Let's say that this web of Wi-Fi signals detects motion – what then? Xfinity lets you tweak what happens, but the long story short is that you'll get a notification (see below), indicating that motion has been detected. This tech works across various rooms and floors, but it cannot pinpoint where the motion took place, and it'll just tell you which device spotted it.

You can choose the type of motion you'll be notified about. For example, it's possible to ignore pets under 40 pounds, saving you from pointless pings each time your dog crosses the room.

However, as noted by Cybernews, Xfinity can't always tell the difference between a large pet and a small child. You can choose different sensitivity levels to minimize notifications, and you can also set up alerts to go off only during certain times of day.

On paper, this sounds neat – an extra security system for your home at no extra charge. However, some users are understandably concerned about privacy, too.

Why are some users concerned about privacy?

Constantly being tracked in your own home could make you feel uneasy, so for those of you who find this idea a little creepy, you're not alone. But these privacy concerns, shared periodically by users since Wi-Fi Motion was first announced, stem largely from Xfinity's own description of the feature.

While Comcast notes that Wi-Fi Motion "is not a home security service and is not professionally monitored," the company will still generate and store data related to motion detection in your home. Comcast may also freely, without notifying you first, share that data with third parties if requested as part of an investigation, proceeding, or a court order or subpoena.

This implies that Comcast could tell law enforcement whether you were home at a certain time, and some users on the Hacker News forums were not huge fans of that. However, others point out that your ISP already has that sort of information thanks to internet usage and phone pings, even when not in use.

Beyond sharing data with third parties, motion detection could open the door to a whole new host of cybersecurity threats. If the data falls into the wrong hands, a lot of sensitive information could potentially leak out, including data on when you're home and when you're not.

The impact of Wi-Fi Motion is unclear at this time. If you're an Xfinity user, you can just skip the feature and easily avoid any potential risks.

Still, this new feature, while certainly innovative, invites a larger debate on privacy, when exactly enough is enough, and how much data we're all willing to share with third parties. It will definitely leave some people struggling to choose between extra home security and giving up a little bit more privacy, so we're interested to see how it develops from here.

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• A team of Chinese researchers has achieved a 1Gbps data transmission from a satellite
• The satellite operates 22,807 miles above Earth, while Starlink satellites are at around 341 miles
• This kind of speed could be revolutionary for internet connections in remote areas on Earth, but also in space

It's no secret that getting a stable, reasonably fast internet connection in non-urban areas is still a challenge (and even those of us living in cities sometimes struggle). Elon Musk's satellite internet service, Starlink, goes a long way toward making internet more accessible all around the globe – but it just got majorly overshadowed by a small team of Chinese scientists.

This new breakthrough in satellite internet technology (via Interesting Engineering) was achieved by Liu Chao from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Wu Jian of Peking University of Posts and Telecommunications. The scientists developed a new method of combating the biggest hurdle faced by satellite laser connections: atmospheric turbulence.

Combining two already established technologies and using them in synergy resulted in shockingly fast data transmission. But this isn't just about speed (although that's arguably the best part for us, internet users). It's also about the distance to the satellite and the laughably low wattage of the laser used by the Chinese researchers.

Super-fast satellite speeds with a surprisingly low error rate

A key benefit of this method lies in the relatively low error rate during data transmission, increasing the chance of achieving usable signals by nearly 20% (previously 72%, now 91.1%). As we all know, speeds are just one part of the equation when it comes to internet connections, and anyone who's ever had to deal with an unreliable ISP knows that stable is often better than faster.

Still, the Chinese researchers were reportedly able to achieve both through a mix of Adaptive Optics (AO) and Mode Diversity Reception (MDR). The former sharpens distorted light, and the latter captures scattered signals. Only when combined did these two separate methods achieve 1Gbps in data transmission, though, and the scientists praise this method for successfully avoiding drops in communication quality.

They carried out the test at the Lijiang observatory in China, using a 5.9-foot telescope that contains hundreds of tiny mirrors – that's the adaptive optics system in play. These mirrors reshape incoming laser light to account for atmospheric turbulence. Speaking of lasers: the team used a two-watt laser for this experiment, which can be compared to a nightlight. Of course, this refers to laser power and not the satellite’s total energy use.

Once processed and extracted, the light splits into eight base-mode channels, and finally, a special algorithm decides which of these channels is the most promising, in real-time. Choosing the top three signals out of eight gave the researchers a major boost in signal strength, all the while dramatically outpacing Starlink’s downlink speeds – especially impressive given the much greater orbital distance.

This could be good news for internet users worldwide (and beyond)

Comparing this new breakthrough to Starlink reveals a few key differences. First, data transmission speeds reaching up to 1Gbps are not something that Starlink can currently achieve; in our Starlink review, we found that the average for downloads sat at 71Mbps, and Starlink itself promises to deliver between 25 to 100 Mbps on the Standard plan. Second, signal strength and reduced errors in data transmission, despite the massive distance to the satellite, are both promising.

Cutting back on errors and snags in the connection is crucial for users who want to stream videos or send larger files. If this technology is ever made mainstream, we might be able to use the internet even in remote areas without having to compromise on what we can or cannot do. Goodbye, waiting for five minutes for that text to come through – we really wouldn't miss you.

But the implications here are huge, even if you think bigger than just having a reliable connection everywhere. Boosting signal speed, distance, and strength through this method of laser communication could spell great news for satellite navigation. It could even impact the ability to connect with space missions, such as with the ISS, more seamlessly and without delays.

Right now, this is just a proof of concept – an interesting achievement described in the Acta Optica Sinica journal. Let's hope that this picks up and gives Starlink a serious run for its money.

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• What is Starlink? How to get the satellite service for free on your phone with T-Mobile, plus everything you need to know
• Starlink is now offering its satellite internet kit for free on a new plan – but not everyone can get it
• What is Amazon's Project Kuiper? The Starlink rival explained as its first internet satellites launch

Acer Predator Connect W6x: One-Minute Review

Like most manufacturers, Acer has been focusing on the latest Wi-Fi 7 technology in its best routers and mesh systems.

One advantage of Wi-Fi 7 is its use of the high-speed 6.0GHz frequency band, which provides far higher speeds than previous versions of Wi-Fi. However, there are millions of people who are still using older computers and mobile devices that only support the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands used by the previous generations of Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6.

To provide a more affordable option for those users, Acer has also released the Predator Connect W6x, which provides basic dual-band Wi-Fi 6 support using the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands with a top speed of 6.0Gbps (and is also backwards-compatible with older devices that use Wi-Fi 5).

Acer uses the Predator name for its range of gaming PCs and accessories, and while the Predator Connect W6x certainly isn’t the fastest router around it can still provide a fast, affordable option for gaming, streaming and other tasks at a very competitive price.

The only problem is finding the right router with the right model number on Acer’s perpetually unhelpful website.

Acer Predator Connect W6x: Price And Availability

• How much does it cost? $169 / £99 / AU$299
• When is it available? Now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

Your first task is to make sure you find the correct model on Acer’s website, as the company sells a number of routers in the Predator Connect range that look almost identical and have very similar model numbers.

We tested the Predator Connect W6x, which you can spot by counting its array of six external antennae. However, there are also models called the Predator Connect W6 (eight antenna) and W6d (four antenna), which have very similar designs, although they do have slightly different technical specifications.

And Acer’s Australian website carelessly manages to refer to the W6x as being both a tri-band and dual-band router, depending on which web page you look at, so you really do need to take care when ordering online.

Assuming you manage to find the correct model, then the Predator Connect W6x is available directly from Acer in the US and Australia, priced at $169 / AU$299.

That’s a fairly competitive price when compared to similar Wi-Fi 6 routers, but it’s customers in the UK who seem to get the best deal, as the W6x costs just £99. It’s not sold on the Acer website in the UK, though, so you’ll need to shop around online.

• Value: 4.5/5

Acer Predator Connect W6x: Design

• Low-profile design
• Eight external antennae
• Four Ethernet ports for wired connections

The Acer Predator Connect W6x certainly looks like a gaming router, with a sombre black, low-profile design and an intimidating array of dagger-like antennae (that’s six antennae - count ‘em, not four or eight).

The body of the router stands just 50mm high, 270mm wide and 187mm deep, but the adjustable, rotating antennae are 170mm long so you’ll need plenty of room when you’re setting it up to make sure that the antennae can spread out and zap the Wi-Fi signal far and wide.

The affordable W6x doesn’t have the array of glowing lights that you find on some gaming routers, but Acer hasn’t cut too many corners in order to keep the price down.

The back panel of the router provides a 2.5Gb Ethernet port for a high-speed Internet connection, and there are four Gigabit Ethernet ports available for a gaming PC or console if you prefer a lag-free wired connection for your online gaming sessions.

There’s even a USB port for adding a network storage drive as well. This uses a USB-A (3.0) connector, rather than the faster USB-C, but that’s hardly a criticism at this price.

• Design: 4/5

Acer Predator Connect W6x: Features

• Free security from Trend Micro
• Free parental controls
• QoS for gaming and streaming

The Predator Connect app provides a number of useful features, but it’s not as user-friendly as it could be.

The apps provided with many routers keep things simple by automatically combining the different frequency bands to create a single network, while others prefer to create a separate network for each frequency band.

The Predator app does neither of these things – it starts by simply filling the screen with the various network settings and leaves it up to the user to decide which options to choose.

That’s fine for more experienced users, but home users who aren’t familiar with terms such as ‘band-steering’ and ‘SSID’ may be a bit confused at this point.

Once that’s done, the app provides features such as the ability to create a guest network, or to block Internet access for individual devices. There’s also a QoS option – quality of service – that allows you to give priority to devices, such as a gaming PC or console, that require maximum performance.

Some features are made unnecessarily complicated, though. The app does include a number of security features and parental controls, and we were pleased to find that these are provided free of charge, with no need to pay an additional monthly subscription – as is the case with some of Acer’s rivals.

But, it’s strange that these are initially turned off within the Predator app, which simply tells you to leave the app and connect to the router using a web browser interface in order to activate these features.

Again, this is something that will appeal to more experienced users, but it could be confusing for people who have never used a browser interface to connect to their router before.

• Features: 4/5

Acer Predator Connect W6x: Performance

• Dual-band Wi-Fi 6
• Top speed of 6Gbps
• 2.5Gb Ethernet for broadband connection

The Predator Connect W6x isn’t a top-of-the-range router by any means, as it’s based on older Wi-Fi 6 technology.

Even so, its top speed of 6Gbps should be more than fast enough for most home broadband services. Our normal office router can only manage a top speed of around 80Mbps on the 2.4GHz band when running the Ookla speed test with devices in the same room.

That’s far short of the maximum 150Mbps available with our office Internet connection. Steam downloads struggle even more, at around 40Mbps. Switching to 5.0GHz on our office router provides some improvement, with the Ookla test rising to 120Mbp, and 100Mbps for Steam.

But, when connecting to devices that are nearby, the W6x breezed along at the maximum 150Mbps for both tests on both 2.4GHz and 5.0Ghz bands.

I also have an office at the back of my building that suffers from an annoying Wi-Fi ‘deadspot’ as my normal office router can’t provide a reliable signal in that location at all.

The W6x was able to reach that office, although its 2.4GHz band struggled a bit and dipped to 70Mbps for both Ookla and Steam.

Fortunately, the router’s 5.0GHz band stepped up to the plate and quickly boosted both Steam and Ookla tests up to the full 150Mbps once more.

So while the Acer Predator Connect W6x might not be the fastest router around, it does perform pretty well for an affordable Wi-Fi 6 router and could be a good upgrade for owners of older Wi-Fi 5 routers (especially for £99 in the UK).

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Acer Predator Connect W6x: Also consider

• First reviewed: June 2025

Predator Connect T7 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router: One-Minute Review

Acer is well-known for its Predator range of gaming PCs and displays, but the company also makes a number of Wi-Fi routers and mesh systems that are designed for gaming as well. There are several models in the Predator range, including some very affordable Wi-Fi 6 routers, but at the top of the range is the blazing fast Predator Connect T7 Mesh Router, which Acer claims can provide ‘wired-level latency’ for serious gamers with lightning fast reflexes, potentially making it one of the best gaming routers money can buy.

Its rigidly rectangular design may not be much to look at, but the T7 provides state-of-the-art Wi-Fi performance, with tri-band Wi-Fi 7 that offers a top speed of 11Gbps. And, as the name suggests, you can buy additional T7 routers and use them together to create a far-reaching mesh wi-fi system for larger homes.

Admittedly, those features will probably be overkill for many people – especially if you’re still using older computers and mobile devices that don’t have full support for Wi-Fi 7 – but the T7 is competitively priced for a high-end router, and will certainly appeal to the hard-core gaming audience.

Predator Connect T7 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router: Price And Availability

• How much does it cost? $329.99/£236.22/AU$699
• When is it available? Now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

Tracking down Acer products can sometimes be a little tricky, as it often relies on third-party retailers to stock its products. Customers in the US are fortunate as they can buy the T7 direct from Acer’s own website for $329.99, which is a similar price to Netgear’s Nighthawk RS300 that runs at 9.3Gbps.

We were also pleased to find that the T7 doesn’t require an additional subscription for parental controls and security features, so it’s certainly competitively priced for such a high-end model. Customers in the UK, Australia and other regions will have to look around online, with the T7 selling for £236.22/AU$699 on Amazon and other sites.

• Value: 4/5

Predator Connect T7 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router: Design

• Mini-tower design, available in black or white
• 2.5Gb Ethernet for broadband connection
• 2x Gigabit Ethernet for wired (LAN) connections

The T7 has a fairly subdued design for a gaming router. You do get a choice of a black or white for the main casing, and there’s a stylised ‘mask’ LED on the top panel, but this is primarily used to provide status information, and the T7 doesn’t have the over-the-top RGB lighting and effects offered by some of its gaming rivals.

Instead, the T7 opts for a rather staid rectangular obelisk that stands an imposing 212mm high, so you’ll need a shelf or table with quite a bit of room available when you’re setting it up.

One minor oddity is that the On/Off switch is cunningly hidden on the base of the router, while the power connector is more visible on the back panel. The Quickstart guide and the longer PDF manual that we downloaded from Acer’s website both fail to mention this, simply telling you to plug in the power connector and then download the Predator app. That left me wondering why the router wasn’t working when I first plugged it in - until I turned it upside down and found the power switch lurking below.

The back panel isn’t exactly overflowing with other ports and connectors, either. There’s a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port for a high-speed broadband connection, but it’s disappointing that such a high-end router only includes two 1Gb Ethernet ports to provide a wired connection for a PC or games console. There’s a USB-C port on the back as well, which will allow you to connect a hard drive or other storage device to you network. Again, though, this only supports the aging USB 2.0 standard, which is disappointing.

• Design: 3/5

Predator Connect T7 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router: Features

It’s also slightly irritating that you’re forced to create an account with Acer before you can use the Predator Connect app to get started. However, the app does provide a number of useful features that will appeal to gamers and more experienced users. Many routers aimed at a more general audience will try to keep things simply by merging the router’s different frequency bands into a single network, but the T7 creates three separate networks using the 2.4GHz, 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz bands. This allows you to reserve the high-speed 6.0GHz band for gaming, while you connect other devices to the 2.4GHz or 5.0GHz bands.

There’s a QoS option – quality of service – that allows you to prioritise high-bandwidth tasks such as gaming or streaming video for specific devices. The T7 even provides useful security features and parental controls without requiring an additional subscription as some of its rivals do.

The app is a little jargon-heavy at times, and if you don’t know what ‘band steering’ or ‘NAT acceleration’ mean then you might struggle with the app at times. Acer’s manual also makes the rookie mistake of simply listing features without really explaining how they work, so you will need a bit of network know-how to make the most of the Predator app.

• Features: 4/5

Predator Connect T7 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router: Performance

• Tri-band Wi-Fi 7
• Top speed of 11Gbps
• QoS to prioritise gaming

The T7 creates three networks on different frequency bands, but with its top speed of 11Gbps it comes as no surprise to find that it walks all over my aging office router even on the slowest 2.4GHz band.

Our office Internet service provides a top speed of 150Mbps, but my normal router can only manage 80Mbps on the 2.4GHz band when running the Ookla speed test even for devices that are close by in the same room as the router.

Steam downloads are even worse with a sustained speed of only 40Mbps. The 5.0GHz band is slightly better but can still only manage 120Mbps on the Ookla speed test, and 100Mbps for Steam downloads. Even worse is the fact that both frequency bands struggle to reach an office at the back of the building, forcing me to use Ethernet cables to provide a wired connection instead.

Unsurprisingly, the T7 takes this in its stride. Its slower 2.4GHz band hits 125Mbps for both Ookla and Steam downloads in both locations, while the 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz bands simply shrug their shoulders and give us a pitying look as they breeze along at the maximum speed of 150Mbps even in our back office deadzone.

Admittedly, the T7’s top speed of 11Gbps will be massive overkill for many homes, but if you’re a keen gamer who wants fast, lag-free Wi-Fi for competitive gaming, then the Predator T7 is hard to beat. Then again, it's a router that's not strictly going to be for today's gaming (or business) market, but for the near future (or enthusiasts) instead. If you want to be on the cutting edge, you can be for a price.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Predator Connect T7: Also consider

• First reviewed: May 2025

• You can now get Starlink’s setup hardware for free
• This requires a 12-month commitment to the internet service
• There’s plenty of small print, and not everyone can get it

When you subscribe to a Starlink internet package, you normally need to pay for the cost of your new dish and router. That can be pricey, as that tech comes to $349 in the US. But a new plan from Starlink could see you get those items for absolutely nothing, potentially making it one of the best internet deals around.

The change comes as part of Starlink’s 12-month Standard Kit residential plan. You’ll still need to pay the regular monthly fee for your service, but eliminating the cost for the actual hardware could net you some significant savings.

Announcing the change on X, Starlink said that the new option would be available in “select markets.” That means you’ll need to check whether you’re actually eligible for this discount based on where you live. To do so, head to Starlink’s website, enter your address, then select Order Now to see if you’re covered.

A lower barrier to entry

Starlink’s offer might seem like a good deal, but there are some caveats to be aware of. For one thing, you only get the kit for free if you commit to a 12-month plan – you’ll need to pay the full figure if you opt for the company’s month-to-month “no commitment” plan.

As well as that, Starlink charges a ‘Change Fee’ if you change your address, cancel your service, don’t pay your bill on time, try to transfer your service to someone else, or cancel your service during the 30-day trial but don’t return your kit. If any one of those scenarios occurs, you’ll be charged the full $349 for the dish and router, although that figure is pro-rated based on how far through your 12-month commitment you are.

That means you’ll need to think carefully about whether this option is right for you.

Still, if it is, it could save you a heap of cash on the hardware you need for Starlink service. Presumably, Starlink has decided that lowering the cost of entry is worth it in order to increase subscriber numbers – and that’s good news if you were already considering signing up.

You might also like

• What is Starlink? How to get the satellite service for free on your phone with T-Mobile, plus everything you need to know
• Starlink review
• Best broadband and TV deals in April 2025

If you live somewhere that has poor broadband connectivity, Amazon could soon have the answer: the company is launching a constellation of satellites with the goal of making low-cost internet available worldwide. The initiative is called Project Kuiper and it’s coming sooner than you think – with the first batch of satellites blasting into space on April 29.

A competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink, the aim of Project Kuiper is to bring the world online, by offering high-speed connectivity in remote regions. Amazon says it plans to make the service accessible by offering affordable plans and outdoor antennae.

With the first full-scale satellite deployment taking off this week (weather permitting), Amazon is planning to make the service available to customers "later this year".

As the race for satellite internet supremacy heats up, here’s everything you need to know about Project Kuiper.

What is Project Kuiper?

• Project Kuiper is a new satellite internet service from Amazon
• It will use a constellation of thousands of low Earth orbit satellites
• It aims to provide data coverage in remote regions

Project Kuiper is the name for Amazon’s planned satellite internet service. The company intends to offer fast, affordable broadband by launching its own network of thousands of low Earth orbit satellites – the first of which have now been successfully launched.

One of the aims of Project Kuiper is to provide internet service in areas of the world which are beyond the reach of “traditional, ground-based fiber and wireless connectivity solutions”. Amazon plans to address these “coverage gaps” by investing heavily in satellite technology.

Amazon began working on Project Kuiper in 2018. It received a license from the FCC in July 2020 to launch and operate satellites. In 2023, two major developments were announced: a processing facility at Kennedy Space Center and a dedicated satellite production facility in Washington (where Project Kuiper is based).

How does Project Kuiper work?

• Amazon will initially launch a constellation of 3,232 satellites
• These will orbit lower than traditional geostationary satellites
• Customers connect using terminals installed at home

Project Kuper will use a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites to deliver high-speed internet to users on the ground. Like SpaceX’s rival Starlink system, customers will need to install a small outdoor antenna to connect to the service and communicate with the satellites passing overhead.

Amazon initially plans to launch 3,232 satellites. At around 375 miles above the ground, these orbit much closer to the Earth than traditional geostationary satellites. This results in lower latency and faster data transmission. The constellation is designed to provide global coverage by seamlessly handing off connections between satellites as they orbit.

Both the satellites and antennae rely on a single custom chip developed by Amazon, codenamed “Prometheus”, which handles processing, traffic and point-to-point connectivity.

Amazon will also operate a network of stations on the ground to manage data coverage and traffic, communicate with the satellites and keep them operating correctly.

When will Project Kuiper be available?

• Two prototype satellites launched in 2023
• First full-scale deployment planned for April 2025
• Service rollout scheduled for later in the year

To get its satellites into space, Amazon is working with commercial launch providers such as SpaceX and Blue Origin. It has already secured more than 80 heavy-lift launches, enough to put most of its constellation into orbit.

Amazon launched a pair of prototype satellites in 2023. It’s now ready to begin full deployment of its constellation, with the first batch of 27 satellites now sent into space aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket.

Amazon hasn’t confirmed when the service will roll out commercially, but confirmed on April 2 that it expects it to be available “later this year”.

How fast will Project Kuiper be?

• Standard antenna will support 400Mbps connectivity
• Low-cost, compact terminal will offer speeds up to 100Mbps
• Largest antenna gives enterprise users 1Gbps speeds

To begin with, Amazon has developed three “customer terminals”, each of which offers different connectivity speeds.

The standard antenna measures less than 11 inches square and is designed for domestic roof-mounting. Amazon claims it will deliver speeds of up to 400Mbps and cost less than $400 (around £320 / AU$633) to produce.

Amazon has also engineered a cheaper, more compact antenna which measures 7 inches square and weighs just 1lb. Designed as a low-cost, portable option, this will be the most affordable way for customers to access the service. It will offer internet speeds of up to 100Mbps.

For enterprise and power users, as well as telecoms and government use, Amazon has created a larger antenna that can deliver connectivity at up to 1Gbps.

How much will Project Kuiper cost?

• There's no confirmed pricing yet
• Amazon says it's targeting “affordability”
• Production cost of standard terminal is less than $400

Amazon hasn’t confirmed pricing for Project Kuiper yet. However, the company has made clear that “affordability is a key principle”. The company is taking a similar approach to satellite internet as it did with “low-cost devices like Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick”, with the aim of connecting as many customers as possible around the world.

That’s why it has developed a compact, low-cost antenna, as well as keeping the production cost of its standard terminal below $400.

It’s likely that the service will be accessible as part of a monthly subscription. Amazon has confirmed that the offering and its pricing “may vary from country to country”, just as its Prime membership does currently.

To give you an idea, Starlink's residential plan (with unlimited data) currently starts at $120 / £75 / AU$139 per month, with its on-the-go Roam plan (capped at 50GB data) setting you back $50 / £50 / AU$80 per month, with the unlimited Roam plan costing $165 / £96 / AU$195 per month.

Project Kuiper vs Starlink: how do they compare?

• Both services use low Earth orbit satellites
• Starlink is already operational with more than 7,000 satellites
• Project Kuiper is likely to be more affordable once it’s launched

Both Project Kuiper and Starlink, operated by SpaceX, aim to use satellites to provide high-speed internet connectivity to remote corners of the world. Each system relies on low Earth orbit satellites to achieve low-latency data transmission, with users able to connect the services using a range of terminals.

One key difference is that Starlink is several steps ahead of Project Kuiper. It already has more than 7,000 functioning satellites in orbit. Customers can access its services in countless locations right now by purchasing a Starlink antenna and paying for a subscription. Starlink is also trialling smartphone to satellite connectivity with T-Mobile (below).

Because it owns its own rockets, SpaceX has more flexibility to deploy Starlink satellites. Amazon has to rely on third-party launch partners, including SpaceX. On the other hand, Amazon is able to rely on its established cloud service network, AWS, to support the backend infrastructure of its satellite network.

While Project Kuiper is still several months away from offering comparable coverage to consumers, it’s likely to be the less expensive option once it’s up and running. Amazon has made clear that it wants its satellite internet service to be affordable, including both antenna hardware and connectivity packages.

We’ll only know how the performance and value of each service compares once we’ve carried out an in-depth review of Project Kuiper. But competition is certainly no bad thing, even if it is between companies run by two of the world's richest men.

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• They're the first step in its plan to offer a new satellite broadband service
• Project Kuiper will launch "later this year" to take on Starlink

The new space race, where tech giants battle to offer us high-speed internet from low-earth orbit, is heating up – Amazon has just announced that its first Project Kuiper satellites will be launching next week to take on Starlink.

The launch of 27 satellites – the first of around 3,200 that Amazon will blast into space – is scheduled to take place at 12pm ET on April 9, weather permitting. More importantly for anyone who's pinning their hopes on satellite-based broadband solving their dead zones, Amazon says "we expect to begin delivering service to customers later this year".

Like the Starlink satellites launched by SpaceX, Amazon's system will be a worldwide service. The tech giant says Project Kuiper "will deliver high-speed, low-latency internet to virtually any location on the planet". It hasn't revealed how long it'll take to get its 3,200 low-earth orbit satellites into space, but says the process will involve 80 launches – and that its satellite internet will be available before the end of 2025.

Amazon sent two prototype satellites into space in October 2023, but says the new KA-01 (or Kuiper Atlas 1) models that are launching on an Atlas V rocket next week are a "significant upgrade" on those, with better antennas, processors and more. They've also apparently been coated in a unique "dielectric mirror film" to make them less of a visible eyesore to earth-based astronomers.

How fast will its broadband be?

Amazon says the broad aim of Project Kuiper is to "provide fast, affordable broadband to communities around the world that are currently unserved by traditional internet and communications options". That includes the developing world but also regions of countries like the US and UK, where Amazon is hoping to take on Starlink by offering affordable broadband to rural areas.

During Project Kuiper's early days, you'll need to get one of three antennas or "terminals" (above) to connect to Amazon's low-earth orbit satellites. The smallest model will apparently provide speeds of "up to 100Mbps", with the middle option going "up to 400Mbps". The largest one is designed for businesses and government, and will deliver "up to 1Gbps".

Those "up to" qualifiers are obviously important and we'll have to wait until later this year to get an idea of real-world speeds. Our Starlink review, for example, found that it gave us 71Mbps download speeds (and 15Mbps uploads), which did indeed fit into the promised range of 25-100Mbps.

Amazon hasn't yet announced pricing for Project Kuiper, so far only promising that "affordability is a key principle of Project Kuiper" and compared its pricing strategy to that of its Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick. Further down the line, we can expect Amazon to move towards a 'direct-to-device' service that connects its satellites to smartphones and tablets, but a launch for that hasn't yet been confirmed.

For now, Amazon is looking to get its first internet satellites into space – and all things being well, that'll be the case by the end of next week.

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Eero 7: One-Minute Review

The Amazon-owned Eero got off to an early start in the Wi-Fi 7 market when it launched the high-end – and rather expensive - Eero Max 7 in 2023. That was followed by the Eero Pro 7 earlier this year, and now Eero has launched its most affordable Wi-Fi 7 mesh system in the form of the Eero 7.

But, like a number of ‘affordable’ Wi-Fi 7 routers and mesh systems that have been launched in recent months, the Eero 7 has to make one important compromise in order to keep the price down. This means that it lacks support for the high-performance 6.0GHz frequency band and limits itself to basic dual-band Wi-Fi 7 that just uses the older 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands.

That compromise means that the Eero 7 isn’t as fast as its tri-band Wi-Fi 7 rivals that also support the 6.0GHz band. However, it’s worth remembering that the Wi-Fi 7 standard doesn’t just focus on speed. It’s also designed to provide greater reliability when connecting to lots of different devices, such as smart lights and speakers that you may have in your home, as well as your personal computers and mobile devices.

So while the Eero 7 may not be the fastest mesh system around, it still provides an affordable mesh Wi-Fi system for people who need to reliable Wi-Fi that can reach into every corner of their home.

Price & Availability

• How much does it cost? $349.99 / £349.99
• When is it available? Now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US and UK

Eero states that each Eero 7 mesh router can cover an area of 2,000sq.ft, and we like the fact that it allows you to buy one, two or three Eero 7 units as required. This allows you to choose the option that suits you best, and also provides more competitive pricing for the two-pack and three-pack options.

You can also mix and match different Eero models, perhaps buying a single Eero 7 as a low-cost add-on for an existing Eero mesh system.

Prices start at £169.99/$169.99 for a single Eero 7, or £279.99/$279.99 for a two-pack mesh system. However, we tested the three-pack option, which costs £349.99/$349.99.

That’s certainly a lot less expensive than the Eero Pro or Max, which cost £699.99/$699.99 and a whopping £1699.99/$1699.99 respectively for a three-pack – although, of course, their tri-band Wi-Fi is a lot faster than that of the dual-band Eero 7.

The Eero 7 is currently available in the US and UK, but – as often seems to be the case – Australia has to wait for the latest Wi-Fi 7 products to arrive. However, the Eero Max 7 has recently gone on sale in Australia, so hopefully the Eero 7 and Pro 7 will soon be available as well.

Value: 4 / 5

Eero 7: Design

• Compact (and sturdy) design
• Two 2.5Gb Ethernet ports
• Powered via USB-C

Unlike the larger Pro and Max models, the Eero 7 sticks with the now-familiar white plastic and curvy space-pod design that the company has used for several years. The Eero 7 models are slightly larger than their predecessors, but they’re still fairly compact, standing just 64.1mm high, and 130mm wide and deep, so it’s easy to place the routers on any convenient shelf or worktop when you’re setting the system up.

They’re pretty solidly built too – I actually dropped one while unpacking the box, but it worked with no problems as soon as I plugged in the power supply.

Each router has two 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports on the back, and these are ‘auto-sensing’ ports, which means that they can be used either to connect to your existing broadband router or modem, or to provide a wired network connection for devices such as a gaming PC or console.

Each router also has a USB-C port on the back, although this is used for the mains power supply, rather than connecting a shared network drive.

Most of the Eero’s rivals provide more Ethernet ports, but that probably won’t be a problem for most home users, and we like the fact that the Eero’s 2.5Gb ports support high-speed broadband connections. However, we’re a little unhappy with Eero’s description of the routers’ performance.

The Eero 7 is quoted as having a ‘BE5000 speed rating’, which many people might interpret as meaning a Wi-Fi speed of 5000Mbps (or 5.0Gbps). In fact, a closer look at the tech specs for Eero 7 reveals that the dual-band routers only support a far more modest Wi-Fi speed of 1.8Gbps.

To be fair, that’s still more than fast enough for most domestic broadband connections, but we can’t help thinking that Eero is overhyping the speed a bit.

Design: 4 / 5

Eero 7: Features

• Well-designed app
• Quick set-up
• Limited parental controls

The Eero 7 is certainly well designed, but the low price of this dual-band mesh system does mean that it’s a little sparse on features.

Getting started is fairly straightforward – although poor documentation does mean that we noticed one potential hiccup. There’s no manual provided with the Eero 7, and the Eero app (for iOS/Android) starts by telling you to connect an Eero ‘gateway’ – without explaining what the term ‘gateway’ actually means.

In fact, the ‘gateway’ is simply the first Eero router that you connect to your existing broadband modem or router using an Ethernet cable (included in the box), and any of the Eero routers can act as the gateway.

Once that’s out of the way, setting up the new Eero 7 mesh network is a piece of cake.

You’ll need to turn on Bluetooth on your mobile device, and the Eero app then uses Bluetooth to connect to the Eero routers and link them together to create your new mesh network.

It gives tips on where to locate each router, and can even run a test to check the strength of the Wi-Fi signal as you place the routers in different spots around your home.

To keep things simple, the Eero app combines the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequencies into a single network, and also provides an option to create a guest network if required.

However, additional features, such as parental controls and content filters, VPN and malware protection, do require an additional Eero+ subscription. There’s a two-month free trial available for the Eero+ service, but after that it costs £9.99/$9.99 per month or £99.99/$99.99 per year (and renews automatically at the end of the trial period, so watch out for that).

So while the Eero 7 provides impressive ease of use, there are rival routers and mesh systems that provide a wider range of features without charging for an additional subscription.

Features: 3 / 5

Eero 7: Performance

• Good Wi-Fi range and coverage
• 1.8Gbps Wi-Fi 7
• Dual-band only (2.4GHz/5.0GHz)

With no support for the 6.0GHz frequency band, the Eero 7 clearly can’t match the performance of some of its more expensive tri-band rivals. Even so, its 1.8Gbps Wi-Fi speed is more than fast enough to work with most domestic broadband services, and it didn’t have any trouble dealing with an annoying wi-fi deadspot that we have in our building.

Our aging office router falls well short of the maximum 150Mbps provided by our office broadband connection, generally falling to 120Mbps even for devices that are nearby in the same room. Our old router also struggles to reach an office located at the back of the building, leaving us with a Wi-Fi deadspot where we have to rely on a set of PowerLine adaptors to provide a wired connection instead.

The Eero dealt with both scenarios admirably, immediately bumping our Wi-Fi speed right up to 150Mbs for devices in the same room when running the Ookla Speed Test, and also for large file downloads from Steam. It wasn’t bothered by our office deadspot either, effortlessly maintaining that 150Mbs speed as we picked up our laptop and walked along the corridor to that back office. There’s no doubt that the low cost of the Eero 7 means that its features and performance are fairly basic – but at least it gets the basics right, providing respectable performance and welcome ease of use for home users who simply want to upgrade an older router that still has Wi-Fi 5 or 6.

Performance: 3 / 5

Should you buy the Eero 7?

Also Consider

If our Eero 7 review has you considering other options, here are a few good choices.

• Eero's launching two new models, both of which support Wi-Fi 7 and up to multi-gigabit speeds
• The Eero 7 and Eero Pro 7 sit below and next to the Max 7
• It's a 'comprehensive lineup' for Wi-Fi 7, according to CEO Nick Weaver

Amazon’s Eero brand is turning 10, and as it has been since day one, it’s all about making Wi-Fi easy and hassle-free. Now, as Eero CEO Nick Weaver told TechRadar, it’s launching “a comprehensive lineup for customers, all with the latest Wi-Fi technology.” That lineup comprises the new Eero 7 and Eero Pro 7, both of which join Amazon’s existing Wi-Fi powerhouse, the Eero Max 7.

Perhaps most importantly, both the standard Eero 7 and the Pro 7 deliver Wi-Fi 7 support at way more affordable prices. The Eero 7 starts at $169.99 / £169.99 for one, and the Eero Pro 7 is $299.99 / £299.99 – both models will also arrive in Australia at a date and price yet to be confirmed. The launch comes just over a week before Amazon's next devices launch event, at which we expect the brand to show off its new supercharged Alexa experience.

The Eero 7 and Eero Pro 7 fully integrate with Eero’s existing ecosystem and live within the companion Eero app for iOS and Android. There, you can get your network online, monitor which devices are connected, troubleshoot any issues, opt for Eero Plus features if you subscribe, and easily add another access point.

All of this comes together as the secret sauce that’s made Eero so successful, and cemented it as one of the best mesh Wi-Fi systems around – the brand is now 10 years burning down the road after launching on February 3, 2015. Just like the Eero Max 7, the 7 and Pro 7 both support the Wi-Fi 7 standard, but there’s a key difference between the two.

The standard Eero 7 is a dual-band router with 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz channels for your devices to connect to. It’s multi-gigabit capable, with promised speeds of up to 1.8Gbps wirelessly and 2.3Gbps wired. Each Eero 7 gets two 2.5Gb Ethernet ports and a USB-C port for power, and a cable and wall plug are included in the box. A single Eero 7 offers coverage up to 2,000 square feet, making it likely plentiful for an apartment or smaller home with just a few devices.

However, if you want more channels for devices to connect to and to avoid interference, a tri-band router potentially – and therefore network – is likely the route. And that’s where the Eero Pro 7 comes in – it looks like a Max 7, meaning it’s a sort of an oval-like tower design with a fanless design to help keep things cool. Basically, it sucks the heat in at the bottom and back, then pushes it out the top.

Each Pro 7 is tri-band with 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz, and 6GHz channels, giving however many devices you have connected plenty of room on your network. It’s multi-gigabit, and designed to handle even more traffic and offer even better connectivity, as it’s rated for up to 3.9Gbps wireless speeds and up to an impressive 4.7Gbps when wired. The Eero Pro 7 trades the 2.5Gb ports of the standard Eero 7 for two 5Gb Ethernet ports, which makes it better if you have a multi-gigabit connection from your service provider. A single Pro 7 can cover 2,000 square feet like the standard 7, but can handle up to 200 devices connected to a single point.

Beyond the differences between dual-band and tri-band, and the Ethernet ports, the Eero 7 and Pro 7 also pack smart home connectivity in that Matter, Thread, and Zigbee devices can get connected as these also act as border routers or home hubs.

You’ll also get three major benefits from Eero courtesy of dedicated features – TrueChannel, which picks the best channel for your device to connect; TrueRoam, which can pass your connected device from access point to access point without interruption; and TrueMesh, which routes your device via the best possible route. It’s some excellent naming, but really speaks to the technology in these routers, and the Eero OS working to give you the strongest network connection possible and prioritizing the various devices connected to the network.

If you have a Wi-Fi 7-capable device, you can also take advantage of standard features, such as multi-device connections, allowing your device to be on two channels simultaneously. As more devices adopt Wi-Fi 7, you’ll be set for quite some time with the Eero 7 and Pro 7, as they offer plenty of future proofing. And if you need to grow your network, you can also mix and match or expand your Eero system. This means you can start with an Eero Pro 7 as your main router, get one extra Pro 7 to act as an access point somewhere else in your home, and maybe opt for a standard 7 for your garage. It’s all pretty plug-and-play.

I’m particularly excited to see how the Eero Pro 7 pairs with a Max 7 as the main point – Eero’s flagship model has brought new speeds and endurance to my home network, but at $599.99 for one, it never really did tick the ‘affordable’ box. The Pro 7 trickles down the improved design with still really strong network chops for a good chunk of change less. The Max 7, for comparison, covers 2,500 square feet with just one unit, delivers wireless speeds up to 4.3Gbps, and has four Ethernet ports (two of which are 10Gb).

We’ll be testing the new Eero 7 and Eero Pro 7 as soon as we can set them up and connect them. If you’re already sold, Eero is taking orders for the new models right now. Shipments will start on February 26, 2025. The US and UK are the launch countries, and as mentioned they’ll launch in Australia later this year.

Here’s the pricing breakdown, and you can order these at Amazon now.

• Eero 7 single: $169.99 / £169.99
• Eero 7 two-pack: $279.99 / £279.99
• Eero 7 three-pack: $3499.99 / £3499.99

• Eero Pro 7 single: $299.99 / £299.99
• Eero Pro 7 two-pack: $549.99 / £549.99
• Eero Pro 7 three-pack: $699.99 / £699.99

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As I bask in the aftermath of CES 2025, I’ve been taking a bit of time to catch up on other tech sites’ coverage of the event. It’s like the tech journalist equivalent of an athlete watching sports highlights to improve their game next time around. One that really caught my attention was iFixit’s ‘Worst in Show’ awards, which are mostly humorous jabs at tech companies, but also featured one inclusion that suddenly has me a bit concerned about my home Wi-Fi system.

This entry was the new TP-Link Archer BE900, a powerhouse quad-band Wi-Fi 7 router - not a product I plan to buy, but I do already have a TP-Link Deco M9 Plus mesh Wi-Fi system set up in my home. As highlighted by Paul Roberts of SecuRepairs (an iFixit partner site formed by cybersecurity professionals who support right-to-repair), TP-Link is the biggest router brand in the US, but its ties to the Chinese government have resulted in some less-than-consumer-friendly problems with security on its devices.

I’m always learning new things about the tech world - it’s an industry that moves at a shockingly rapid pace - but this was one that took me by surprise. I know that TP-Link was a Chinese company, of course; we’ve featured TP-Link hardware on the site many times, with inclusions in our best router and best mesh Wi-Fi system guides. The brand is a regular fixture at events such as CES. But as iFixit and SecuRepairs point out, Chinese law mandates that any security flaws identified in its products must first be reported to the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) before revealing them to the public. I’ll be honest - that’s a big problem.

Digital distrust

As you’ve probably already figured out, this policy essentially means that any malicious actors within the Chinese state have a window in which to potentially execute cyber-attacks before security vulnerabilities are made public. SecuRepairs points out that “hacks of TP-Link devices have been a common theme in China’s state-sponsored hacking campaigns, which are targeting US businesses, government agencies, and critical infrastructure”. The US Departments of Justice and Commerce commenced investigations into TP-Link in late 2024.

Now, I’m not saying that I think that the CCP wants to specifically invade my privacy so they can read my Twitter drafts crapping on Elon Musk, but compromised Wi-Fi devices can be used as part of a network of affected hardware which is then deployed en masse to perform cyberattacks such as password spraying and DDOS assaults. Unsurprisingly, I don’t like the sound of that.

But global politics aside, it’s also just a seriously anti-consumer practice. I appreciate that TP-Link wasn’t the one to create that law, but at the end of the day, the company is willing to cooperate with the MIIT and effectively leave security holes un-plugged for longer than they need to be - even if China doesn’t enact state-sponsored cyberattacks with that knowledge, leaving a known system vulnerability out of the public eye like that potentially opens the door for independent cybercriminals to conduct attacks against innocent individuals.

So in other words, I think I’ll be looking for a new mesh Wi-Fi system soon. I’ve just bought a new house, so it’s a good opportunity to upgrade my home network anyway. I recall that Asus has some rather nice ones…

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Netgear Nighthawk RS200: One-minute review

Netgear has always been happy to sit up at the more expensive end of the networking market but, following a management shake-up earlier this year, we’re pleased to see that it finally seems to be taking a more competitive approach with its pricing. The new Nighthawk RS200 is certainly the most affordable Wi-Fi 7 router that it’s released so far - although that low price does mean that it lacks some key features that most of its Wi-Fi 7 rivals take for granted.

Most notably, the RS200 is a dual-band router, which transmits a Wi-Fi signal on the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequency bands – whereas most Wi-Fi 7 routers are ‘tri-band’ devices that can also transmit on the 6.0GHz band as well (as do previous generation routers with Wi-Fi 6E too). Some people might argue that this omission means that the RS200 doesn’t even qualify as a true Wi-Fi 7 router at all, but there are other technical features within Wi-Fi 7 that enable the RS200 to squeeze better performance out of the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands. This ensures that it can outperform many of the older dual-band routers that are still in use in many homes, so it may be worth considering as an upgrade for people who are still using an old Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6 router that was provided by their ISP.

Netgear Nighthawk RS200: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $229.99/£199.99/AU$449.00
• When is it available? Now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, Australia

A price of $229.99/£199.99/AU$449.00 means that the RS200 is one of the most affordable Wi-Fi 7 routers we’ve seen so far – although, of course, Netgear had to omit support for the high-speed 6.0GHz band in order to achieve that price. However, its top speed of 6.5Gbps should still be adequate for most domestic broadband services. Netgear also states that it can connect to 80 different devices at the same time, and can cover homes up to 2,500sq.ft in size (although regions outside the US may quote that figure at 2,000sq.ft due to differences in national regulations).

• Value: 3.5/5

Netgear Nighthawk RS200: Specs

Netgear Nighthawk RS200: Design

• Tower design provides 360-degree Wi-Fi
• 4x Ethernet ports for wired connections
• USB for network storage

I still miss the streamlined design of the original Nighthawk routers, with folding wings that made it look like Darth Vader’s shuttle craft. But, like other new Nighthawk models since the introduction of Wi-Fi 7, the Nighthawk RS200 has a more upright design, looking like a tall, black obelisk that stands a full 249mm high. You’ll need to give it plenty of room when first setting it up, but this design does allow the router’s four internal antennae to more effectively transmit the Wi-Fi signal through 360-degrees all around, in order to achieve the high speeds that are provided by Wi-Fi 7.

And, despite the low price, the RS200 provides wired good connectivity too, with a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port for a high-speed fibre or cable broadband connection. There’s another 2.5Gbps port to provide a wired connection for a PC or games console, and three Gigabit Ethernet ports for additional connections. It’s also possible to ‘aggregate’ – or combine – two of those Ethernet ports to provide a faster connection if required. There’s even a USB-A (3.0) port that will allow you to connect a USB storage device to your network, so that you can share files with other people at home or in an office.

• Design: 4/5

Netgear Nighthawk RS200: Features

There’s no getting around the fact that omitting the 6.0GHz frequency band is an odd decision for a Wi-Fi 7 router, as anyone who has a shiny new PC or smartphone that supports Wi-Fi 7 will want all the speed they can get from it. However, a speed of 6.5Gbps is still more than adequate for most home users, and many business users too, and the RS200 does include Wi-Fi 7 features – such as reduced latency – that still give it an edge over older dual-band routers.

The Nighthawk app is well designed too, and makes it easy to set up your new network in just a few minutes. There’s a QR code printed on top of the router, and you can just scan this code and then leave the app to set everything up for you automatically. You can simply use the default network name and password if you want, but the app allows you to create a new name and password for extra security. The only thing that slows you down is the need to create a Netgear account in order to keep using the app after the initial installation.

To keep things as simple as possible, the Nighthawk app combines the two frequency bands into a single network and automatically connects your computers and other devices to the fastest band available in that particular location within your home or office. But while the app is very easy to use, it doesn’t offer many additional features.

You can create a guest network, and there are tools for running a speed check and monitoring network traffic to ensure that everything is working properly. However, the app’s parental controls are very basic, simply allowing you to pause Internet access for individual devices. There are no weekly scheduling controls, or content filters to block web sites that might be unsuitable for children.

If you do want those additional features then you’ll need to pay a subscription fee for Netgear’s Smart Parental Controls service. There’s a 30-day free trial available, but once the trial ends you’ll need to pay $7.99/month or $69.99/year to continue the service. The same thing applies to Netgear’s Armor security service, which also provides a 30-day trial, but then costs $99.99 per year.

As we’ve said – many a time in the past – there are rival routers that provide better parental controls free of charge, so parents that do need these features may want to consider alternative routers.

• Features: 3.5/5

Netgear Nighthawk RS200: Performance

• 6.5Gbps speed
• Dual-band Wi-Fi 7 (2.4GHz/5.0GHz)
• 4 internal antennae

The lack of support for the 6.0GHz frequency band is clearly disappointing – and for some users it may well be a deal-breaker. Even so, the improved performance of the Nighthawk RS200 still allows it to beat the aging dual-band router in our office, which was provided by our ISP.

Our office broadband runs at 150Mbps, but our old router can normally only manage a top speed of 120Mbps even when connecting to devices that are close by in the same room.

We also have an office at the back of the building that our old router struggles to reach at all, forcing us to rely on PowerLine adaptors to provide a wired network connection instead. In contrast, the RS200 immediately hit the full 150Mbps speed that was available when connecting to devices in the same room for both the Ookla Speed Test and for large file downloads on Steam.

That speed did dip slightly as I picked up my laptop and wandered along the hall to the back office, but the RS200 took just a few seconds to roll up its sleeves and bump the speed back up to 150Mbps once more, and eliminate the need for those PowerLine adaptors. If you already own an expensive laptop or iPhone 16 that has full support for tri-band Wi-Fi 7 then it probably doesn’t make much sense to compromise on an entry-level router such as the RS200 that doesn’t support the 6.0GHz band. However, the RS200 can still provide a fast, reliable upgrade for people who are using an older dual-band router that is past its sell-by date.

• Performance: 4/5

Should you buy the Netgear Nighthawk RS200?

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Netgear Orbi 770: One-minute review

We were pleasantly surprised by the Nighthawk RS300 router that Netgear released recently as it marked a move towards slightly more affordable pricing than we’d seen from the company in the past. It looks like that trend is continuing, as Netgear has now launched a new addition to its range of mesh Wi-Fi systems in the form of the Orbi 770, which is considerably less expensive than previous models in the Orbi range.

It’s still not exactly cheap – after all, Wi-Fi 7 is still the current state-of-the-art for Wi-Fi technology – but the Orbi 770 provides tri-band Wi-Fi 7 with a top speed of 11Gbps, which should be more than fast enough for most homes and small businesses. And, more importantly, it’s a lot less expensive than previous Orbi models, and can even compete with mesh systems from rivals such as Linksys and TP-Link as well. The only sting in the tail, as always, is Netgear’s fondness for selling subscription services that provide additional parental controls and security features.

Netgear Orbi 770: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $999.99 / £899.99 / AU$1,499.00
• When is it available?: Available now
• Where can you get it?: Available in the US, EU, UK and Australia

There are two options for the Orbi 770 series, with prices starting at £649.99/$699.99 for a two-piece system that consists of one primary router and one secondary ‘satellite’. Netgear states that this two-piece system is capable of covering areas of up to 5,500sq.ft, although regions such as the UK and EU may quote slightly lower coverage areas due to differences in local regulations. However, we tested the top-of-the-range three-piece system that includes a router and two satellites, covering up to 8,000sq.ft, for a total price of £899.99/$999.99. That three-piece system is the only option currently available in Australia, where it is priced at AU$1499.00.

That’s a fraction of the price of Netgear’s high-end Orbi 9700, but also compares well with rivals such as the Linksys Velop Pro 7, which provides similar speeds and features. However, people who need parental controls or more advanced security features may want to shop around to see how much rival manufacturers charge for those features and services.

Value: 4 / 5

Netgear Orbi 770: Specs

Netgear Orbi 770: Design

• Upright design boosts Wi-Fi signal
• Primary router with two ‘satellite’ units
• 2.5GB Ethernet for WAN/LAN connections

Many mesh Wi-Fi systems simply provide you with two or three routers that are completely identical, but the Orbi 770 – like all of Netgear’s Orbi range – consists of a primary router and two additional ‘satellites’. The router and satellites do look very similar, with a tall, upright design that helps them transmit the Wi-Fi signal through a full 360-degrees all around, but there are a number of differences between them. The primary router – which has a helpful sticker on the front that says ‘ROUTER’ in capital letters – has a 2.5Gb Ethernet port (WAN) port for connecting to your existing broadband router or modem, along with three additional 2.5Gb ports to provide wired (LAN) connections for devices such as a games console or set-top box that might work better with a wired network.

In contrast, the satellite units each have just two 2.5Gb port for wired connections. It’s also a little disappointing that there are no USB ports at all, which would allow you to connect a hard drive or other storage device that you could share with other people on your network. The white plastic casing of all three units also feels a little lighter and less sturdy than it does with some of the more expensive Orbi models, so parents with young children should probably place them out of reach of eager little hands.

Design: 4 / 5

Netgear Orbi 770: Features

• Good app with simple set-up
• Can create guest and IoT networks
• Some features require subscriptions

Netgear’s Orbi app has always been easy to use, so getting started is very straightforward – apart from the fact that the router and satellites take a rather leisurely few minutes to warm up before their status lights announce that they’re ready for action.

The app starts by telling you to set up the main router on its own, and you can simply scan a QR code on the router to connect to the new Orbi network. You can use the default network name and password if you want, but you’re also given the option of creating new login details for improved security. You are then prompted to set up the satellites in different locations around your home, and the app automatically connects the three units together to complete your new network.

The Orbi 770 is a tri-band router that can transmit a Wi-Fi signal on the 2.4GHz, 5.0GHz, and 6.0GHz frequency bands, with a top speed of 11Gbps (strictly speaking it’s actually 10.8Gbps but Netgear’s marketing info tends to round the numbers up).

To keep things simple for home users, the Orbi app combines all three bands to create a single network, but there are other options as well. Like most routers and mesh systems, the Orbi 770 allows you to create an additional guest network, but it also introduces a third ‘IoT’ network – or ‘Internet Of Things’ – that sets aside the 2.4GHz frequency band specifically for use with smart devices such as lights and security cameras.

It also supports Wi-Fi 7 features such as MLO – multi-link operation – that allow it to use the 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz bands together to improve performance (although your computers and other devices will also need to support Wi-Fi 7 in order to use MLO).

But while the Orbi app is easy to use, it’s not exactly overflowing with additional features, and more advanced users might prefer an app that provides more detailed control over your network settings. That rather barebones approach also allows Netgear to try and sell you additional subscriptions that provide more advanced parental controls and security features.

The basic parental controls that are available within the app merely allow you to pause internet access for individual devices, but there are no scheduling features that can limit Internet access to specific times, or content filters for blocking unsuitable websites.

If you want those features then you’ll need to sign up for Netgear’s Smart Parental Controls service, which costs £6.99/$7.99/AU$10.99 per month, or £49.99/$69.99/AU$99.99 per year. You do get a 30-day free trial with Netgear’s Armor security service, but after that you’ll need to pay for an annual subscription starting at £84.99/$99.99/AU$145.00.

As we’ve noted on many occasions in the past, there are rival routers and mesh systems that provide some of these features free of charge, so parents in particular might want to consider some of the alternatives in our list of best mesh systems.

Features: 4 / 5

Netgear Orbi 770: Performance

• 11Gbps, tri-band Wi-Fi 6
• 2.5Gb Ethernet ports
• Supports MLO and other Wi-Fi 7 features

It might be far less expensive than other models in the Orbi range, but the Orbi 770 doesn’t cut any corners when it comes to performance. Its 11Gbps speed is more than fast enough to cope with most domestic broadband services, and even many business networks as well, and it’s not even slightly bothered by the troublesome Wi-Fi ‘deadspot’ that we have in an office located towards the back of our building.

Our normal office router can provide the full 150Mbps provided by our office network when connecting to devices that are close by. However, its Wi-Fi signal struggles to reach that back office, which means that we normally have to rely on a set of PowerLine adaptors to provide a more reliable wired network connection. As expected, the Orbi 770 doesn’t provide any real improvement for devices that are close to its primary router, simply matching the 150Mbps that we normally get when running the Ookla Speed Test or downloading games from Steam.

However, the Orbi satellites do a great job of extending our new Wi-Fi network into that back office, allowing us to maintain that 150Mbps speed for both Ookla and Steam with no trouble at all.

Admittedly, the Orbi 770 may still be overkill if you’re using older devices that only support Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6, but it provides a competitively priced Wi-Fi upgrade for owners of newer devices that have Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7.

Performance: 5 / 5

Should you buy the Netgear Orbi 770?

Buy it if...

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Also Consider

We’ve all been there. You're in the middle of an intense Netflix binge or a crucial video call, and the Wi-Fi drops out or slows to a crawl.

Sometimes, this is due to the broadband speeds from your internet service provider. But if you've tested your internet speed and all seems OK, then it's time to look at your Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi is the middleman between your devices and the internet. While your broadband is the actual internet service coming into your home, Wi-Fi is how that service gets wirelessly distributed to your gadgets. And just like any middleman, sometimes it doesn’t quite get the job done.

But there's no need to panic. This guide gives you twelve different steps to boost your Wi-Fi strength and get the power you need to work, play, and stream your favorite shows.

Final thoughts

As you can see, when it comes to increasing Wi-Fi signal strength, there are a whole host of different things you can try. We advise starting with the simplest and most cost-effective solutions first. There's no point in shelling out for expensive hardware if all you need to do is restart your router and update its firmware.

However, everyone's circumstances are different, and there are many different factors at play. If the simpler solutions don't give you the signal strength you're looking for, then a new router, extender, or mesh system might be just what you need.

It’s difficult for tech writers like myself to get a broad view on a piece of tech within our day-to-day lives. Many of us live in small rental apartments in the inner city, which severely limits our ability to conduct holistic reviews on more fixed things like doorbells and security cameras. In the case of mesh Wi-FI, the tech’s greatest advantage is consistent coverage across a wide area, so it’s tough to get a good view in a small apartment. My solution with this modem-router? Take it to my dad’s big home out in the suburbs, of course.

Netgear sent me the company’s new Orbi 970 Series mesh routers some months ago, which represent the height of the company’s home internet tech (and the most expensive). They’re some of the first mesh modem-routers equipped with Wi-Fi 7, which offers improvements over Wi-Fi 6E, the most impressive of which being a shared SSID for 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands – no more split network names!

The Orbis came to me at a brilliant time – my dad was having Wi-Fi problems in the (much larger) family home. At the time, the smart home devices in his pool area, including the pump, lights and cleaning robot, required a 5GHz connection that my dad’s old modem-router could not extend far enough across the property, especially with so many walls and obstacles in the way. Moreover, the home was plagued by consistently slow speeds.

Exacerbating the issue was the fact that Dad’s modem-router combination was just old (God bless him, he holds onto tech for as long as he can). It was so old that I remember the very same devices being used seven years ago on an ADSL2+ connection when I was still living in the family home. Certainly not ideal for Australia’s fiber-based National Broadband Network (NBN), nor the 250Mbps-capable plan he’s paying for. I’d been telling my dad to consider mesh for a while, but he didn’t see how it would actually improve anything.

So how did the Netgear Orbi 970 mesh routers perform? Perfectly.

Let's get meshy

Netgear quotes the Orbi 970 mesh routers as capable of providing a consistent Wi-Fi experience across 660 square meters with three modules (the standard allocation of devices) placed evenly across a home. My dad’s block of land is 700 square meters in total, but considering only about 200 square meters of that is the physical home, a single module would have also worked a treat as they’re rated at 220 square meters each.

The gateway module was placed in the garage, where the access point is (in this case, the FTTP NBN box – or fiber to the premises for those who aren’t in Australia). Functioning as a modem-router system, this is all we needed to get started, though this may be different for you depending on the technology type used in your home.

We immediately ran into a problem that slowed setup. Netgear encourages users to stick to the app when setting up their mesh Wi-Fi, however as my dad uses a PPPoE connection (where you typically need to enter a username and a password in the back-end of a modem) we needed to login with an ethernet connection to a computer. Thankfully the Netgear Orbi 970 mesh routers have this functionality (the Eero 6 Pros on the other hand do not, as I had previously found). 

After this, pairing the Orbi modules to the gateway was easy. We placed the remaining two modules throughout the home to achieve the greatest quality Wi-Fi.

The same SSID and password as the previous modem-router combination was used, which allowed almost every device in the home to reconnect quickly without needing to sign in individually. Even without a separate SSID for the 5GHz band, devices that required this connection hopped right on the single setup without a problem.

Up and running speedily

Going from a dinghy modem-router setup to the most expensive commercially available mesh system available in Australia absolutely worked well. My dad’s office, which is a fair distance from the garage, would previously report a maximum speed of 30Mbs – but often much less (as low as 2Mbps)  – on the previous modem-router setup, but with these modules, that cranked all the way up to 266Mbps. I noted this same speed across the house, with some of my dad’s older computers recording a maximum speed of 100Mbps. 

The big takeaway wasn’t necessarily that this was some be-all and end-all mesh router to buy, but that you should really give mesh Wi-Fi a shot if you’re looking to drastically improve Wi-Fi quality in your home. My dad’s home isn’t the biggest by any account, despite the measurements listed in this article, but I can still confidently say that this setup would provide a benefit over a single modem-router setup. As the mesh modules use their own specific band to stitch an even blanket of Wi-Fi coverage between themselves, this solution offers a much more consistent experience than, for example, using a Wi-Fi extender or simply using a more powerful modem.

I’m not sure if I would recommend the Netgear Orbi 970 to pull off this Wi-Fi overhaul in your home, however. The mindblowing £2,199.99 / $2,299.99 / AU$4,299 price tag for the three-module kit is enough to turn away a lot of buyers. It might be worth considering this device if you want Wi-Fi 7, but just keep in mind that many devices don’t currently support this standard (the only one in my household of fairly up-to-date tech is the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra).

The bottom line – give mesh a shot. It might be the Wi-Fi upgrade you’ve been waiting for.

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How fast an internet connection do you really want? Well, that probably varies – based on your needs, not to mention your budget for the monthly payment – but odds are you might regard 402Tbps as overkill.

Yes, we didn’t mistype that – 402Tbps, as in Terabytes – and as you might guess, that staggering speed is a new world record for the fastest-ever performance achieved via a standard (commercially available) fiber optic cable.

The 402Tbps speed was hit by a team from Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), as Fudzilla reports. It was realized using a 50km length of fiber and a whole bunch of clever trickery including six signal amplifiers to pep things up (quite considerably).

The NICT explains: “Novel optical gain equalizers also allowed access to new wavelength bands that are not yet utilized in deployed systems.”

402Tbps works out at downloading just over 50TB every second, no less, and easily outguns the previous high speed by around 25%.

The NICT further observes: “These results show the potential of ultra-wideband transmission, enabled by a new amplifier and wideband spectrum-shaping technology to increase the information carrying capability of new and deployed optical fibers.”

Analysis: Downloads in the blink of an eye

Of course, such technology is a million miles away from being deployed on a consumer level. However, what this does show is how fast technology is progressing in yet another respect, and that we might get stupidly speedy downloads along these kinds of lines eventually, topping our rankings of the best broadband lines out there.

This sort of performance would allow for, say, the downloading of a full 4K movie in under a millisecond (or maybe a touch over, if it’s a particularly long film). Or you could grab massive game installs like Baldur’s Gate 3 or Starfield in around 3ms or so.

Snappy doesn’t even begin to cover it, and we’ve certainly come a long way since the days of Quake and playing online via a 56K dial-up modem (when we desperately envied those who were lucky enough to be able to afford 64K ISDN and its comparatively supreme stability, packet loss-wise).

Via PC Gamer

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Knowing how to find your Wi-Fi password on iPhone and Android is an extremely useful skill, not least because passwords for Wi-Fi connections are long, complicated, and difficult to remember.

Your router probably has a sticker on the back or underneath with the lengthy code needed to get connected, but it can be a pain to have to hunt this down whenever you want to connect a device – such as a new laptop – to your network.

Thankfully, you can use your phone to quickly access the password without having to dig out your router from wherever it may be hidden. The process is slightly different depending on whether you have an iPhone or an Android phone, but the good news is that both can be used to find your Wi-Fi password. Here's what you need to know.

Tools and requirements

• A wireless network connection
• An iPhone or Android handset

Quick steps for how to find your WiFi password on iPhone and Android

• On iPhone, head to Settings, tap the Wi-Fi entry in the list, then click the 'i' symbol to reveal your password
• On Android, head to the Settings app, then Network & Internet, then Internet, then tap Share on the Wi-Fi entry

Step by step guide for how to find your WiFi password on Android

Step by step guide for how to find your WiFi password on iPhone

Final thoughts

It is something of a mixed blessing that the default passwords for routers are so long and complex. It means that while they are difficult to guess (thereby preventing unwanted access by random people), they are also very difficult to remember (which can be a pain). But as we've shown, all is not lost as you can easily use your phone to view the password.

This is helpful if your router is difficult to get to, or if you find that the sticker that included the password is missing or damaged. You could opt to change the password to something more memorable if you find even the process of using your phone to retrieve the code to be a hassle, but this is likely to result in a less secure password; it's best to stick with the default, hard-to-remember one and use the method outlined above to find it when you need it in the future.

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Your router login is not something you might need to use very often, but when you do, navigating to it – in order to get into the router and configure or check something – can be a bit of a pain.

However, all that might change in the future due to a planned move from ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) as The Verge reported (and The Register first flagged up).

Currently, with a good many routers, you’ll access its admin login via your web browser by typing in four numbers representing a local address (on your LAN), namely 192.168.x.x (and it’s usually 192.168.1.1, but the latter two numbers can be different in some cases).

This is a bit clunky and archaic, and the mentioned differences can be confusing, though usually your router is labeled with the correct address (or the instructions have this info).

Sometimes, though, you might be flailing around on Google (or your preferred search engine) trying to determine exactly what you need to type into your browser URL bar to access the router’s configuration menus.

All that could change in the future, though, as ICANN is set to make it so that all you need to do is type ‘.internal’ for any router, and you’ll get the login portal in your browser. In other words, no messing about trying to remember sets of numbers, all that needs to be entered is a simple word which is the same for everyone.

Analysis: A happy side-effect?

All that’s in theory – and it sounds like a good theory – but this move hasn’t happened yet.

At the moment, it’s still a proposal from ICANN, and even if the plan for ‘.internal’ goes ahead, it’ll rely on routers supporting it. (Of course, some routers offer configuration via a dedicated app anyway, and so are ahead of the game in that respect, rather than relying on a panel accessed via a browser).

For now, and in the near future, quite a number of routers (without apps) will still be using the traditional 192.168.x.x address to access their device’s settings.

ICANN’s proposal isn't really aimed at consumers, but more broadly, at businesses and their intranets (sprawling internal networks), and ensuring the security and stability of the global domain name system.

The use of ‘.internal’ for consumers will be more of a side-effect that’s helpful than anything else, but it’ll still be very welcome – if this plan comes to fruition, of course.

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Google’s excellent Google Wifi and Google Nest Wifi have been delisted from the Google Store - with no forthcoming explanation from the tech giant.

Fortunately for Nest fans, the disappearance can likely be explained by an as-of-yet-unannounced new model that will hopefully be arriving soon. As reported last year by 9to5Google, evidence of a new Google router was uncovered back in August, going under the codename ‘Breeza’.

While it’s unusual to completely delist an older product before its replacement has even arrived, it’s not entirely unheard of. The 2022-released Nest Wifi Pro (Google’s Wi-Fi 6E model) is still available on the online storefront, but that’s a $199+ high-end model that won’t be best-suited to most casual at-home users. I would personally recommend anyone hunting for a new router sits and waits until the ‘Breeza’ model arrives.

What can we expect from next-gen Nest?

The regular Google Nest Wifi (which launched back in 2020) is still sitting at the top of our best mesh Wi-Fi systems ranking, because it’s a phenomenal smart home mesh router system with a competitive price point despite now being a few years old. It’s still available from third-party storefronts like Amazon, though again I’d urge you to be patient - the price will likely drop when a new model lands.

So, what will ‘Breeza’ do to impress? Well, given that the Nest Wifi Pro’s main selling point is that it features speedy Wi-Fi 6E functionality, we can reasonably expect that an incoming model will support Wi-Fi 7 for even faster connections. We might also see a soft redesign of the hardware itself, since the physical design has shifted slightly over the years.

A 2024 release would align with Google’s previous non-Pro router releases. The first model was launched in 2016, with the current-gen follow-up released in 2020. The Pro model added some extra features (like Matter smart home support) that we can probably expect to see in a rebooted model. 

As for when exactly the ‘Breeza’ model will land, we can only speculate - but it hopefully won’t be too long, since Google has rid itself of the previous model!

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Wi-Fi 7 is going to be official, by which we mean finalized, before the end of the first quarter of 2024.

Word has come from the Wi-Fi Alliance (sworn enemies of the Bluetooth Empire – or maybe not) that next-gen Wi-Fi, also known as 802.11be, will become a concrete standard by the end of Q1 next year, as opposed to the draft version it has been for some time now.

As Tom’s Hardware reports, the Wi-Fi Alliance tells us: “Wi-Fi Certified 7, based on IEEE 802.11be technology, will be available before the end of Q1 2024. Wi-Fi 7 devices are entering the market today, and Wi-Fi Certified 7 will facilitate worldwide interoperability and bring advanced Wi-Fi performance to the next era of connected devices.”

Never mind all the buzzwords and such, you’re probably thinking – how much faster is Wi-Fi 7? It’ll offer speeds up to 40 Gbit/s and will be the best part of five times quicker than Wi-Fi 6 – so yes, nippy, in short.

Analysis: Drafty business

Clearly, it’s good news to see Wi-Fi 7 is rolling towards the standard being set in stone within the next few months.

You may be a bit confused as to what’s going on with Wi-Fi 7 not quite being officially ‘done’ and yet routers are already out there with support for 802.11be. Well, those routers are built with the existing draft Wi-Fi 7 standard, but when it’s finalized early next year, it will only take a firmware update for that hardware to be brought up to speed (literally).

Wi-Fi 7 will still depend on having client devices support it, though. By which we mean it’s all very well having a Wi-Fi 7 router, but if your phone, tablet, laptop or whatever doesn’t support it as well, then you won’t benefit from the extra speed (though the devices will still be compatible with the router, of course).

Not that many devices come with Wi-Fi 7 support yet – there are some, like the Xiaomi 13 Pro and Oppo Find X6 Pro phones, for example, and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 laptop – but expect the numbers to increase swiftly going forward.

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Apple, Meta and Google have been granted access by the FCC to use the super-fast 6GHz wireless band for Wi-Fi tethering – and this could signal the beginning of the end for many wires.

As The Verge reports, this move follows years of lobbying by the tech giants – and it’s important to note that the FCC has only granted access for very low power (VLP) uses. This means the signals won’t go far, making sure they don’t interfere with other 6GHz devices, though higher power uses can be allowed as long as there are protections in place to avoid interference.

So, what this move means is that these fast 6GHz connections could be used to replace wires for devices such as virtual reality (or augmented reality) headsets, like the upcoming Apple Vision Pro, or for in-car use, such as hooking up your iPhone via CarPlay.

Bye-bye wires?

With faster, more reliable, wireless connections, this could mean we can finally drop some of the most annoying wires in our lives. 

For Apple and Meta, who are both working on VR/AR headsets, the use of 6GHz could really open up the possibilities of these devices, where you’re able to stray further from the device (such as a smartphone or laptop) that’s powering it.

It's an exciting prospect, and we could one day see the end of short cables for tethering. That may not happen just yet, however, as only modern, and usually more expensive, products support 6GHz Wi-Fi. For example, only this year’s MacBook Pros support it, as does the iPhone 15 Pro.

Got an older, or less expensive device, like the iPhone 15 or the MacBook Air (15-inch, 2023)? I’m afraid you’re out of luck.

Still, it’s certainly cool to see each step wireless technology makes, so maybe the end of cables really is nigh.

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Like all technologies, Wi-Fi continues to develop, and the latest version - known as Wi-Fi 6E - provides much better performance, as well as new features that weren’t available with earlier forms of Wi-Fi. Many of the best routers and the best mesh systems that have been released in the last year or so are, therefore, now using this new Wi-Fi standard.

Some people still opt for one of the best Wi-Fi 6 routers that use the earlier Wi-Fi 6 standard (the older Wi-Fi 5 is now being phased out, while the forthcoming Wi-Fi 7 is still about a year away), especially since these Wi-Fi 6E routers are still relatively expensive. However, the trend towards working from home and increased reliance on streaming music and video has led an increasing number of people investing in these new Wi-Fi routers to provide better performance for their home or office networks. 

Each new version of Wi-Fi is backwards-compatible with previous versions, so if you buy a new router with Wi-Fi 6E then you can still use it with older computers and mobile devices that may only have Wi-Fi 5 or 6. However, those older devices won’t get the improved performance and features of the latest routers with Wi-Fi 6E.

That’s where Wi-Fi adapters come in handy. All modern computers and mobile devices have their own Wi-Fi already built-in, but if you’ve just bought an expensive new Wi-Fi router or mesh Wi-Fi system that uses Wi-Fi 6E, then it’s worth considering a Wi-Fi adapter that can upgrade the Wi-Fi on your PC as well.

Why a Wi-Fi adapter

There are many millions of people - including me - who are still using PCs that only support Wi-Fi 5. This was the standard for quite a few years, from 2014 to almost 2020, and it provides a top-speed of 3.5 gigabits per second (Gbps) using the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequency bands. 

That speed leapt to 9.6Gbps with Wi-Fi 6, which arrived in 2019. And while the new Wi-Fi 6E isn’t actually much faster, it has one very important new feature as it introduces a new 6.0GHz frequency band that is both fast and reliable. 

Since there aren’t many PCs or mobile devices that currently support Wi-Fi 6E, that 6.0GHz band doesn’t get clogged with interference from other devices, as can happen when you have lots of them competing for bandwidth on the busy 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands. 

So, if you’ve got a PC that is a few years old, you can really benefit from a Wi-Fi adapter that upgrades the Wi-Fi on your PC so that it gets the best performance from your new router. 

A Wi-Fi adapter can also be a good option for people who travel a lot with their laptop. It will allow you to connect to high-speed Wi-Fi networks in offices, hotels or other public venues that use the latest Wi-Fi tech.

Here’s the catch

The bad news is that most Wi-Fi adapters that are currently available will only work with PCs running Windows 10 or 11. They don’t work with the best Macs and MacBooks or even Linux computers or mobile devices running iOS or Android. And, just to confuse matters even further, the version of Windows that you are using on your PC will also determine which adapters you can use. 

Windows 10 only works with Wi-Fi 6 and won’t work with Wi-Fi 6E at all (ask Microsoft…). But, as mentioned, there are millions of older PCs still in use that only have Wi-Fi 5, so a Wi-Fi 6 adapter such as D-Link’s AX1800 could be a good upgrade for an old PC with Windows 10 that only has Wi-Fi 5.  

What's best for Windows 11 users 

You have more options if your PC is running Windows 11, including new Wi-Fi 6E adapters such as the Netgear A8000, which costs $89.99 / £74.99 / AU$129.95. 

The adapter itself looks rather like a chunky memory stick, measuring 93mm long, 31.4mm wide and 14.5mm thick. However, some of that size is due to a built-in antenna that folds out of the body of the adapter in order to improve transmission of the Wi-Fi signal. Having such a large device sticking out of the side of your PC all the time could be a potential problem - especially with a laptop - as it could easily get caught and snap off accidentally. The adapter is also so large that it blocked an adjacent USB port on my laptop. 

The good thing is that Netgear also includes a separate ‘cradle’ - a small docking unit that can sit on your desk in order to connect the A8000 to your PC via a standard USB cable. That allowed me to use my laptop’s other USB port once more, and you can just unplug the cradle and leave it on your desk when you want to move around with your laptop.

It’s a little odd that the A8000 adapter uses a USB-A interface, as quite a few modern PCs - especially laptops - have now ditched USB-A altogether and only have USB-C ports. We did test the A8000 with a USB-C adapter, and it worked perfectly well with a laptop that only has USB-C, but there’s no USB-C adapter included in the box so you’ll need to provide that yourself. The A8000 will work with any Wi-Fi router, though, so you don’t have to own a Netgear router in order to use it.

Installing the Nighthawk A8000 is very straightforward, and the installer program for the Windows software is included on a small memory stick that’s included with the adapter, so you don’t even have to take time to download it from the web. Once the software is installed it works automatically, with no other app to use, or settings that need to be adjusted.

My office laptop has Wi-Fi 6, and when it’s connected to our normal office router it records download speeds of 130Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 702Mbps on the 5.0GHz band. But, with the Nighthawk A8000 plugged in, my laptop was able to connect to a newer Wi-Fi 6E router and romp away with speeds of 287Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, and 1200Mbps (1.2Gbps) on the 5.0GHz band. And, of course, support for Wi-Fi 6E meant that the A8000 also allowed my laptop to connect to the newer 6.0GHz band as well, again with a speed of 1200Mbps.

Wi-Fi 6E is still fairly new, so an adapter like the Nighthawk A8000 isn’t essential for most people right now. However, the ability to use that new high-speed 6.0GHz frequency will be important in years to come, so it will be a good future-proofing option for your PC if you decide to buy a new router in the near future.

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We’ve all been there; you’re on a train or your data runs out, and you realize you didn’t download your Spotify playlist or forgot to tell you mom you were on your way home from a night out (sorry, mom). 

Connecting to public Wi-Fi isn’t always the safest thing; in fact, having been hacked (likely on hotel Wi-Fi), I would personally recommend not doing it at all. But sometimes, needs must. 

It’s not always a seamless user experience. Login pages don’t always load, or you get stuck in the “Connected without internet” limbo in perpetuity. Well, you’ll be pleased to know that there is an almost obnoxiously simple feature that will revolutionize your browsing and streaming experience.

Looking for a new phone? Our best phones picks should have something on offer, no matter your budget. If you need a portable laptop to use during your long commutes or at cafes, be sure to check out our lists of the best Ultrabooks and the best thin and light laptops.

Force your way in

Firstly, let’s explain where the issue originates. In my experience, this happens most often when I’m on my iPhone and the pop-up login screen doesn’t appear, or when the connection is a little dicey on my laptop or console.

You’ll see that despite being connected to the Wi-Fi network, you’ve got no internet connection. This is because the service provider either requires a form submission or for you to open a landing page before gaining access.

The problem is, certain operating systems and browsers have settings, which means sometimes certain public Wi-Fi login and landing pages don’t appear. The most common reason is that these networks work by trying to latch onto HTTP requests but are being blocked by an HTTPS URL (the S stands for secure, and these security protocols can view login pages as a potential risk). Without doing a full deep dive, it’s basically just down to how those pages and backends are constructed conflicting with the saved data, cache, cookies, and other settings on your device.

Sometimes you can get around the issue by forgetting the network and reconnecting, but this doesn’t always work the first time, if at all. You can also try using incognito, but again, this isn’t entirely foolproof.

A lazy gal’s guide to public Wi-Fi

This neat little trick will work on any device with browser access, whether that’s your laptop, your handheld console or your mobile phone, and it’s also browser agnostic.

A much quicker way to gain access is to instead use one of these clever URLs that basically create a bypass point to enable the public Wi-Fi to redirect you onto its landing page. My personal favorite is fixWiFi.it - it’s super easy to remember and does the job - but other popular sites include example.com, neverssl.com and default manufacturer pages like Apple’s captive.apple.com, www.msftncsi.com/ncsi.txt and google.com/generate_204.

You can also use any HTTP page, but I personally find it easier just to use one of the above links for navigation. Plus, most of them also have some kind of marker to let you know if a connection has been successfully established.

Most of the best VPNs are generally fine with this method too, but some public Wi-Fi generally just don’t play ball with them, which is most definitely worth bearing in mind. Generally, I’ll only connect to public Wi-Fi if I’m in a real bind, but this hidden feature most certainly makes it a more painless experience.

A new, faster Wi-Fi network should be cause for celebration, but while I'm cheering my new all-fiber 300Mbps speeds, every smart home gadget in my home is crying out in horror.

Soon after the installation and upgrade are complete, I get to share in their despair as I realize that roughly 50% of my smart home technology is now offline, fruitlessly pinging a network that no longer exists.

How did we get here?

I made the call to upgrade after the cable company threatened to jack up my monthly bill yet again. Turned out that if I let them replace all my aging and no-longer-supported equipment for new gear, they would actually lower my cable/internet bill.

While swapping out one system for another might seem like an extreme measure, it was for me a calculated move. My all-in-one cable box/router system had been failing for months, dropping all internet access with alarming regularity.

The icing on the cake was that, after years of the fiber connection ending at the pole instead of my house, my cable company now brings fiber optic technology all the way indoors and even does away with classic coaxial cabling (the entire system is wireless).

The cable technician and his apprentice made short work of running the fiber, and setting up and installing three new cable boxes and a new basement-based router. As they were initializing the last box, the tech handed me a sheet of paper with my new Wi-Fi SSID (the name of your Wi-Fi network) and password. I smiled, took the paper, memorized the password (I have a gift for memorizing Wi-Fi passwords and nothing else), and then put the sheet aside.

A house of cards

After they left, I realized that the entire network framework I'd spent years building and formalizing across a disparate collection of smart gadgets was broken. Wandering over to my Nest Learning thermostats, I saw that both were offline. To Google's credit, updating the Wi-Fi settings on a Nest is easy. You simply press the Nest body to access settings, navigate to the Wi-Fi, discover the new network, and then spin the interface to enter all the password characters.

As for the rest of my smart home system, well, it's still kind of a mess. There's a back porch light, for instance, that is now permanently on. I set up this Wi-Fi-enabled bulb ages ago through an app (which one I can scarcely remember, it's not a Wi-Fi password, after all), and control it via Apple Home, where I set up an automation for turning it on at sunset and off at sunrise.

The light still appears in Home, but I can't communicate with it because it's not on the new network. There is no way within Apple's Home App to access the light's Wi-Fi settings and update them.

Same with my Eve accessories and Nanoleaf light. The answer in most of these cases might be to open the manufacturer app for each smart gadget and update the Wi-Fi settings there. But that's annoying, and not helpful for consumers who expect centralized smart home management. Otherwise, what's the purpose of Apple's Home and Google's Nest App? The latter does a better job of giving you access to each device's Wi-Fi settings, though the controls are still too buried for my tastes.

What I really want from these smart home apps is for them to recognize when a Wi-FI network goes offline and a new one appears, or at least to provide a simple system control button that lets you change the Wi-Fi settings for all your gadgets at once. Apple Home can help you move your Apple gadgets, like HomePods, from one Network to another, though the guidance is a bit flakey. I wanted the app to tell me the move was done, but I got no such message.

One would hope that the Matter standard, which Apple, Samsung, Google, Amazon, and hundreds of partners are adopting, would solve this, but that's not the purpose of Matter. The smart home standard primarily improves interoperability, but there's nothing about global network reporting, management, and control.

Instead, in order to gain the full benefit of Matter you still need a house full of Matter-supporting devices and hubs. Considering how long it will take for all smart homes to convert from their current hodgepodge setups to Matter-based ones, it's safe to assume that Matter will, for the foreseeable future, play little to no role in solving our most frustrating smart home issues.

It is, it turns out, far easier to swap in a whole new internet sub-system and Wi-Fi than it is to make the changes necessary to become a Matter home, which is why the companies peddling smart-home management apps, and platforms like Apple, Google, and Amazon, still need to do something to ease a transition as normal as changing internet service providers.

As for me, I realize that I made a crucial error when the cable technician handed me that piece of paper. I should have asked him to rename the SSID and password to match what I was already using. Had he done so, I would've had no work to do at all. I can, I'm sure, go into the router's control settings to make those changes. It's something I feel fairly confident doing, though I'm sure that for most consumers that would be a hard no.

Leave it to smart home technology to make you feel dumb. Next time I'm committing my Wi-Fi info to memory, I'll make sure it's the right one first.

Virgin Media O2 gives children a glimpse into the future with its connected playground experience that utilizes its gigabit broadband network and 5G mobile network to power lights, sound, and interactive equipment.

The Connected Playground is a hybrid of traditional play and technology. This concept was born out of research into parents' perceptions of their children's play habits and the role technology plays in their development.

Research has revealed that nearly two-thirds of British parents (64%) worry their children aren't getting enough outdoor stimulation. Seven in 10 (68%) think their children need more technology-enabled play areas.

Unique outdoor experience

Following the results of this research, Virgin Media O2 took over Kings Square Gardens in Islington to create an outdoor play experience that encourages creativity, smart play, and technology. 

This playground apparatus has been upgraded with sensors and pressure pads to make it interactive. It includes climbing frames, swings, slides, and climbing frames.

Every interaction with the playground equipment changes the pitch and tempo of a piece that can be heard through speakers dotted throughout the play area. Once children complete their course, their music track can be downloaded so they can take it home and listen again later on.

Virgin Media O2 and Dallington Primary have joined forces to give children aged six to nine the opportunity to express their creativity through a musical playtime challenge.

Dr. Sam Wass, child psychologist and expert on Channel 4's Secret Life of 4 & 5-Year-Olds stressed the scientific evidence supporting outdoor play as beneficial for children's mood and concentration. However, as parents, it can be challenging to encourage kids to embrace digital play because children's expectations and experiences are constantly shifting. Wass claimed: “New hybrid environments, such as Virgin Media O2’s Connected Playground, may in future play a vital role in encouraging children to embrace technology in outdoor settings, and help provide children with the tools they need to think and play creatively.”

Gareth Malone (parent and star of The Choir) noted that his children live in a world connected to gadgets and gizmos. “It’s the world they’ve grown up with.” Therefore, it's essential for young people to get outdoors and play with enthusiasm that matches what they enjoy doing. “Virgin Media O2’s Connected Playground is a great example of that. It uses technology, lighting, sounds and musical elements to provide a sense of achievement which all children strive for in play. I am intrigued to see what else can be done with future technologies and connectivity.”

• These are the best mobile hotspots today

Via: Telecom TV

According to the latest data from Ofcom, more than 40% of UK homes can now access full-fibre broadband connections due to the "record pace" of the rollout. 

In its Annual Connected Nations Report, Ofcom revealed that 12.4 million households are now able to access full-fibre connections. This is an increase of 4.3 million from last year. However, although the rollout is continuing at pace, Ofcom also revealed that household adoption remains low. After all, only around 25 per cent of households that are serviced by full-fibre connections are opting to pay for them.

Unsure if your property can receive a full-fibre connection? Take a look at our broadband deals page today. Simply provide us with your postcode and we'll show you exactly which deals are available in your area. 

Average broadband speeds in the UK 

Data has revealed that the average UK home broadband download speed is currently 59.4Mbps. However, although the average speed is increasing, the gap between UK households receiving the fastest and slowest speeds is widening. This has been caused by many customers gaining access to full-fibre services. After all, full-fibre connections (along with upgraded cable networks), have the potential to deliver download speeds of one gigabit per second (Gbit/s) or higher. 

Thankfully, 97% of UK homes can now get superfast broadband. However, on the flip side, nearly 80,000 homes and businesses across the country do not have access to ‘decent’ broadband, defined by the government as offering download speeds of 10Mbps and upload speeds of 1Mbps.

This is the minimum speed that should be available to premises under the Universal Service Obligation (USO), which provides a legal right to request a decent broadband connection, up to a cost threshold of £3,400 per premises.

The good news is that steps are being taken to address this. For example, while 80,000 homes still remain below this threshold, this figure has fallen from 123,000 last year. Ofcom also estimates that a further 15,000 of these premises will be covered in the next 12 months.

Added to this, the rollout of 5G has also rapidly increased in the last year. Ofcom estimates that around 70% UK properties are in areas where 5G is available from at least one mobile network operator. This is up from about 50% last year.

Which broadband deals are available in my area? 

If you're concerned that your current connection is slow or you're searching for a cheaper deal, the head over to our broadband deals page. We can show you the cheapest, fastest and best deals available with each provider in your area. Plus, we also answer a number of popular questions to help you find the best deal for your needs. 

Alternately, if you have a good idea of the type of deal you're searching for, take a look at the widget below. 

Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300: One-minute review

Netgear is always quick to adopt the latest networking technologies, as it should given the price of its products, and has already introduced the latest Wi-Fi 6E technology into its high-end Orbi mesh systems. The Orbi systems are very much designed for larger homes, but if you don’t live in a Silicon Valley mega-mansion you can now get state-of-the-art Wi-Fi 6E from Netgear’s more conventional Nighthawk range of routers.

Things are a little confusing here, as there are four very similar Nighthawk models in the new RAXE range. Look out for that ‘E’ on the end, which denotes the use of Wi-Fi 6E as opposed to the earlier RAX range of routers which stick with straightforward Wi-Fi 6. The new Wi-Fi 6E models look virtually identical, sporting the eye-catching black, winged design used by previous Nighthawk models.

All four models also support tri-band Wi-Fi 6E, which adds the new 6.0GHz frequency to the existing 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands used by Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6. However, the four RAXE models all offer different speeds and prices, ranging from 7.3Gbps up to a colossal 10.8Gbps.

We decided to opt for the mid-range Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300, a Wi-Fi 6 router that sneaks in at just under $400, with a top speed of 7.8Gbps that should be fast enough to stream 8K video or play the latest VR games with headsets. The Nighthawk RAXE300 also provides solid wired connectivity, with multiple Ethernet ports and even USB-C too. The Nighthawk app will get you started quickly and easily but, as we’ve seen before, the app is also a little basic and requires additional paid subscriptions for access to parental controls and other features.

Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $399.99 (£349.99, AU$699.00)
• Where is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, the UK, and Australia

Alternatively, speed demons can go for the top-of-the-range Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500, which reaches a blazing 10.8Gbps and costs $599.99/£549.99/AU$1099.00. But, as mentioned, all the Nighthawk routers look virtually identical, so it’s important to pay close attention to the speeds they offer before buying.

The Nighthawk RAXE300 might seem to be a fairly expensive standalone router, costing $399.99/£349.99/AU$699.00. Even so, that’s still less than rival Wi-Fi 6E routers, such as Asus’ top-of-the-range Rapture GT-AXE11000. Customers in the US can save a little money by opting for the entry-level Nighthawk RAXE290, which is only slightly slower at 7.3Gbps. That model costs around $250 in the US, although it wasn’t available in other regions at the time of this review.

• Value: 3.5 / 5

Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300: Design

• Eye-catching design
• Lots of Ethernet ports
• USB-C for shared storage

The Nighthawk routers are instantly recognizable, with a streamlined, low-profile design and prominent ‘wings’, which make them look like a Cylon battleship from Battlestar Galactica. It’s not just eye-candy, though, as the wings house six internal antennae, holding them up and away from the body of the router to beam the Wi-Fi signal as far as possible.

There are some impressive options for wired connections too, with no less than six Ethernet ports available on the back panel of the router. There are two ports, marked in yellow, that can be used for your Internet (WAN) connection, offering either Gigabit or 2.5 Gigabit speeds, along with four Gigabit Ethernet ports for wired (LAN) connections for devices such as a laptop or games console. It’s also possible to ‘aggregate’ two of these LAN ports, combining them to provide 2Gbps over Ethernet. The Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300 is also the first router we’ve seen that includes a USB-C port to connect a hard drive or other storage device that can be shared with other people on your home network.

Getting started is very straightforward, as the Nighthawk app allows you to simply scan a QR code on the base of the router to connect to its new Wi-Fi network. You can stick with the default network name (SSID) and password printed on the base of the router or create a new name and password for extra security. And, for simplicity, the app also allows the Nighthawk to use the same network name (SSID) and password as the network from your original router, so that you don’t have to change the log-in details on every device in your home.

But while the Nighthawk app is very easy to use, it is fairly basic, and attempts to sell you additional subscriptions to fill in for some of its missing features. The app’s parental controls are very limited, simply allowing you to pause Internet access to your kids’ devices. There are no scheduling features or content filters to block unsuitable web sites without paying for Netgear’s Smart Parental Controls service.

There’s a 30-day trial available in the app. But, after that, the service costs $7.99 per month (approx. £6.50 or AU$13.00) or $69.99 per year (approx. £57.50 or AU$112.00). That’s disappointing, given the Nighthawk’s high price - especially when some rival routers provide good parental controls at no extra cost. The app also provides a 30-day trial for Netgear’s Armor security service, with subscriptions costing $99.99 per year (approx. £82.00, or AU$160.00).

• Design: 4 / 5

Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300: Performance

• Eye-catching wings do a good job
• Provide fast Wi-Fi

As you’d expect, the state-of-the-art Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300 provides impressive performance, as well as good range that allows it to provide fast Wi-Fi even in the back office of our building, which is normally something of a Wi-Fi dead zone. Devices close by in the same room as the Nighthawk don’t show an obvious improvement, as the Nighthawk records the same speeds as our normal router, at 150Mbps for the Ookla speed test and 19MB/s for Steam downloads.

However, the Nighthawk’s eye-catching wings do a good job of firing its Wi-Fi into that back office, maintaining full speed for both Ookla and Steam as we pick up our laptop and wander along the hall to that back office.

• Performance: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300: Report card

• First reviewed November 2022

How we test

We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.

Read more about how we test

TP-Link RE700X: One-minute review

Mesh Wi-Fi systems are a good way of providing ‘whole home’ Wi-Fi, using two or more routers that link together to create a single network that reaches right across your home. However, mesh systems can be pretty expensive, and if you only need to boost the Wi-Fi in one or two rooms - such as an upstairs bedroom or out in a garden shed – then a simple range extender can provide a much more affordable option.

We liked the TP-Link RE605X range extender from TP-Link that we reviewed last year, but that was a low-cost option that only provided a modest top speed of 1.8Gbps. The new TP-Link RE700X is slightly more expensive, but it provides stronger performance with dual-band Wi-Fi 6 running at 3.0Gbps, which will be more than fast enough to handle gaming or streaming music and video.

While some range extenders can be quite tricky to set up, TP-Link’s Tether app makes it quick and easy to set up the TP-Link RE700X. It also provides several useful features that will help you to get the best speed and range from your Wi-Fi network. And, in these cost-conscious days, it also includes features that can help to reduce power consumption.

TP-Link RE700X: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $119 / £89
• Where is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US and the UK

The TP-Link RE700X isn’t the cheapest range extender you can buy - and its predecessor, the TP-Link RE605X remains on sale for around $99 / £57 if you’re on a budget. However, it’s still well priced for a Wi-FI 6 range extender running at 3.0Gbps, costing $119 / £89. You can’t buy direct from TP-Link’s web site, but it’s available from Amazon and other online retailers in the US and UK. Unfortunately, the TP-Link RE700X isn’t yet available in Australia.

• Value: 5 / 5

TP-Link RE700X: Design

• New, more compact design
• Useful app
• No mains passthrough

It’s easy to tell the new TP-Link RE700X apart from its predecessor, as the two large external antennae of the TP-Link RE605X have now been hidden inside the body of the RE700X, giving it a much more compact design. The range extender plugs directly into a mains power socket, and the lack of external antennae makes it less of an eyesore.

As well as boosting your wi-fi, the TP-Link RE700X also includes one Gigabit Ethernet port for devices such as a laptop or gaming console that might prefer a lag-free wired connection. It’s a shame, though, that it doesn’t provide a passthrough socket for the mains power ­– as some of its rivals do – so that you can still use that power socket for another device.

It’s very easy to set up and use, however, thanks to TP-Link’s Tether app for iOS and Android. You can quickly scan a QR code to download the app, and also view some video Help files on TP-Link’s web site if you want to. We didn’t need those, as the app automatically detected the Wi-Fi signal from the TP-Link RE700X as soon as we plugged it in and guided us through the set-up process with no trouble at all.

The TP-Link RE700X sets up its own network, using both the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequency bands, and you can either create new names and passwords for these or just continue to use the existing network name (SSID) and password from your normal Wi-Fi network. If you choose that option, then the new RE700X network simply has ‘EXT’ – for ‘extended’ – added to the network name. So, if your normal network is called ‘Funky Wifi’ then the TP-Link RE700X creates a new network called ‘Funky Wifi EXT’. 

The Tether app also includes a number of additional features, including a Location Assistant that can monitor the strength of the Wi-Fi signal and help you to find the best location for the RE700X. You can block Internet access for individual devices – when you need to get the kids to come down to dinner, and you can also create a schedule for the RE700X to turn it off and reduce power consumption when it’s not needed.

There’s also an option – which we’ve not seen before on other range extenders – that allows you to boost the range of the Wi-Fi signal by using more power or to reduce power consumption by limiting the Wi-Fi range down to just one or two nearby rooms.

• Design: 4 / 5

TP-Link RE700X: Performance

• Good range and performance
• Location Assistant aids positioning
• App can help to reduce power consumption

TP-Link refers to the TP-Link RE700X as a “dead-zone killer”. And, it certainly did the trick in our back office where the weak Wi-Fi signal normally forces us to rely on PowerLine adaptors to provide a wired connection.

Devices close to our normal router can generally achieve the full speed provided by our office broadband, scoring 100Mbs with the Ookla speed test and 12.5MB/s for Steam downloads. The Location Assistant in the Tether app suggested that we place the TP-Link RE700X in a hallway, about halfway between or main router and the back office. It seems to know what it’s doing as the RE700X was then able to provide the full speed of 100Mbps for Ookla and 12.5MB/s for Steam downloads to devices in the back office with no trouble at all.

• Performance: 5 / 5

Should I buy the TP-Link RE700X?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

TP-Link RE700X: Report card

• First reviewed October 2022

How we test

We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.

Read more about how we test

If you're looking to give your Wi-Fi a much-needed boost then these Google WiFi prices are our most highly-recommended option. Google WiFi is one of the best mesh Wi-Fi systems and is built around catering to the needs of our increasingly smart and data hungry devices. Speaking of which, have you seen the latest Google Home deals?

Using the Google Wi-Fi app, you can also monitor Wi-Fi by device and add parental controls. You can also avoid data throttling automatically to ensure nobody hogs all the bandwidth. We're big fans of being able to do the opposite and ensure key devices are allowed an extra boost too - it's great for online gaming.

Mesh networks allow you to replace any broadband router you already have at home with a specialist networking device like Google WiFi and also set up extra units around your home. This is fantastic for increasing the signal around larger homes, through thicker brick walls, heavy plaster or reaching traditional deadzone areas far from your router like basements and attics.

The best Google WiFi prices

Directly below you'll find our price comparison technology working hard to bring you the latest Google WiFi deals and prices. You can order them as single devices, two packs (UK only) or packs of three. You'll find options for all below.

If you have a large home, perhaps with multiple Wi-Fi deadzones (a basement and an attic maybe?), then the triple pack might be your best option. Take advantage of the latest Google WiFi prices for the set of three below and you could make a significant saving over buying them individually.

The Google WiFi two-pack below (also known as the Twin or Dual packs) is currently only widely available in the UK. If you're luck you'll be able to find a deal below that offers a decent-sized over buying two individual Google WiFi deals.

Choosing between a Wi-Fi extender or a wireless access point (WAP) depends highly on your network demands and issues. If you're not familiar with both products, it can be confusing figuring out which is right for you. But, as soon as you know what each one does, it becomes clearer which network device to go with.

They may appear to fix the same issues and have the same purpose. But, dig a little deeper, and you’ll find that they’re not quite the same. So, it's very crucial to differentiate between Wi-Fi extenders, also known as range extenders, and wireless access points before deciding which works best for you.

A range extender takes your router’s signal and expands it past its current boundaries by rebroadcasting that signal to a new area of coverage. That allows it to eliminate dead spots or expand your network to an area your router couldn't reach. Though there are exceptions, most Wi-Fi extenders often require you to create a new network name, which also means, unfortunately, that you’ll have to sign into the extender, not the router, for internet access.

An access point doesn't take your router's signal and extend it. It actually makes its very own wireless local area network (WLAN), which is much better as it can provide a strong connection as well as extend the original router’s signal. That makes a better option for those with a busier network crowded with users and devices.

It’s not enough to just define these devices. So, let’s figure out where each one excels and which will best improve your network.

Wi-Fi extenders vs access points: Cost

• Both network devices sit at a very similar price range
• Budget extenders and access points cost under $100/£100
• Expensive options can cost over $300/£300

Wi-Fi extenders and access points are similar in cost. That is, there are Wi-FI extenders and access points that are under $100/£100, and there are over $300/£300 options as well. Price wouldn’t be a factor in your decision to go for one over the other anyway as these two types of devices are meant for different network issues.

If you do have your mind set on a Wi-Fi extender, you can enjoy Wi-Fi 6 connectivity with the affordable TP-Link RE605X WiFi 6 or more advanced features like seamless roaming with a pricier option like the Netgear Nighthawk X6S.

If you’ve decided on an access point, on the other hand, you’ll find a great budget performer in the TP-Link TL-WA1201, which comes with MU-MIMO technology. Meanwhile, the Zyxel Nebula WiFi 6 is a premium, more robust option that offers support for six simultaneous streams, four of which are over 5GHz.

Winner: Tie

Wi-Fi extenders vs access points: Setup

• Wi-Fi extenders connect wirelessly to your router
• Access points need an Ethernet connection

One big difference that separates a range extender from an access point is how they connect with the main router. A Wi-Fi extender connects to your existing router wirelessly in order to expand its range. Setting one up is easy, especially since most come with an app that guides you through the process. You just need to make sure that you find a strategic spot for it to make sure that it’s completely covering that dead spot.

Meanwhile, an access point typically uses a wired connection. It connects to a router via an Ethernet cable (or a switch) for a more solid signal then transmits it wirelessly into its area of coverage. This means that you have to strategize its placement so that the Ethernet cable can reach both the router and the access point while running along your walls cleanly, and so that, at the same time, you can maximize its coverage. Depending on your setup, you might even have to run that cable through the ceiling.

Once you’ve taken care of the cable and placement, however, setting up the access point itself is usually easy. Some of them take less than 10 minutes of your time to get up and running.

Winner: Wi-Fi extenders

Wi-Fi extenders vs access points: Performance

• Wi-Fi extender degrades network quality
• An access point serves as a central transmitter

A Wi-Fi extender acts as a bridge between your router and the devices that are outside of its reach, simply retransmitting your router’s signal beyond its range. An access point doesn’t just act as a bridge; it takes your router’s signal via Ethernet connect, creates its own wireless local area network (WLAN), and serves as the central transmitter within its area of coverage.

That allows an access point to deliver a faster and more robust network performance than a range extender. Wi-Fi extenders may have evolved from their humble beginnings, but many of them still only deliver a percentage of that network quality. However, access points tend to deliver the same performance as the main router.

What’s more, even the best Wi-Fi extenders are limited to the number of devices they can support, typically up to 20 simultaneous connections. Access points aren’t as limited, many supporting up to 60 devices at the same time.

Winner: Access points

Wi-Fi extenders vs access points: Which is best for you?

While it’s true that an access point is a much more reliable and solid solution to cover your home or office’s dead spots and coverage-free areas, it’s not always going to be the best solution. Especially since there’s a bit more physical setup involved, it might not be worth it if you’re only trying to cover a small space or a low-traffic area.

For such situations, a range extender should serve you well – although if you live in a big house or have a medium-sized office space, you might want to think about the benefits of Wi-Fi extenders vs mesh routers, as it might be time to upgrade to a mesh router instead.

If you’ve got a larger area that isn't within your network’s range, and it’s a high-traffic one – meaning that it serves more than 20 devices at any given time, like a hotel lobby or the reception area in an office building – it’s wise to invest in a wireless access point instead.

Wi-Fi extenders and mesh routers are both great solutions to improve your network signal and extend its reach. They're both worthy of consideration if your area of coverage is plagued with dead or weak spots or if your existing router just doesn't have enough reach to cover your entire space.

However, these two different network devices go about do so in different ways. So, although either network solution can help you overcome the limitations of your router, one will be a better choice than the other depending on your network demands and area size.

There is some overlap between these two types of devices these days. Plus, a handful of the best Wi-Fi extenders now utilize mesh technology, offer features like seamless roaming that will automatically switch to the strongest Wi-Fi signal in your home or office, and forgo the need for creating a separate network name.

On the other hand, the best mesh Wi-Fi systems, which were popularized by the likes of the Google Wifi, have come down enough in price that you might want to skip getting an extender altogether and replace your router with one of these mesh systems, particularly if your main router is starting to show its age.

The line between these two types of devices may be blurred, but one of them will be ideal for fixing your network blues. Read on as we compare Wi-Fi extenders vs mesh routers to see which one is right for you.

Wi-Fi extenders vs mesh routers: cost

• Premium Wi-Fi extenders cost more than some affordable mesh routers
• You’ll find affordable options from each type

Once upon a time, Wi-Fi extenders were the more affordable option. Back when mesh technology was fairly new, these extenders were generally regarded as the budget-friendly option for expanding your network range.

Now that mesh routers are more common, that’s no longer the case. In fact, as they get more advanced, you’ll just as easily find a premium Wi-Fi extender that costs as much as a mesh router system these days.

Something like the Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX8000 Tri-band WiFi Extender will set you back a lofty $248/£299 without offering Wi-Fi 6 support. That puts it in the same price range as the highly rated Netgear Orbi Pro WiFi 6 Mini Mesh System (SXK30), which costs $269/£259, and the popular Google Nest Wifi router and one node bundle ($269/£239). At that point, it’d be wiser and more cost-effective to get a mesh router instead.

On the budget to mid-range front, something like the Linksys RE7000 Max-Stream AC1900+ extender costs around $129/£98. That's similar to the TP-Link Deco M5 mesh system, which is currently $129/£129.

That’s great news, as it means you no longer have to limit your options to one type if you’re on a budget. On the other hand, if you’re hoping to make your decision solely based on price, you’re gonna have to dig deeper.

Winner: Tie

Wi-Fi extenders vs mesh routers: ease of use and performance

• Traditionally, Wi-Fi extenders create a new network
• Mesh routers use just one network

Wi-Fi extenders connect to your existing network and expand its range, but traditionally, they also have to create a new network name in the process. You see this often in hotels and other establishments with two or three separate network names (for example, HotelWiFiMain, HotelWiFiGuest, etc) with varying degrees of signal strength depending on where you are in the building.

That in and of itself isn’t a problem. But it means you might still experience weak connectivity when moving about the premises. 

To use our example above, you could get a robust signal while connected to the HotelWiFiGuest network in your hotel room. However, if you then take your laptop to the lobby, you might be out of that network’s reach and will have to manually connect to the HotelWiFiMain, which is strongest in the lobby.

There are exceptions to the rule. The Netgear Nighthawk X6S offers seamless roaming, which automatically switches your device to the strongest signal based on its location. The Devolo Magic 2 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh uses mesh technology and gives you the option to create a single network connection. However, getting those privileges typically means coughing up more money.

Proper mesh routers, on the other hand, deliver a more seamless connectivity experience because they simply use a single network. The main router broadcasts its signal within its reach while its respective nodes or access points take care of the areas beyond. All these access points communicate with each other, intelligently directing traffic to the right nodes so you don't have to. 

If you’re moving around your two-story house, for example, and you’ve got the mesh router and nodes strategically placed around your space, you can go from your bedroom upstairs to the kitchen downstairs, and then over to the other side of your home without ever noticing a drop in network performance.

Winner: Mesh routers

Wi-Fi extenders vs mesh routers: setup and management

• Extenders can be annoying to manage
• Mesh systems tend to take care of themselves

If you can get your hands on a Wi-Fi extender from the same brand as your router, you're likely to have an easier time setting it up and managing it. That’s because both devices will likely use the same app or software for setting changes and firmware updates. However, if you have to settle for one from a different manufacturer, setup and maintenance can be a pain since you’ll likely use a different app for it than the one you’re using for your existing router.

The beauty of mesh routers is that they also simplify things from a setup and management standpoint. Not only is this fairly new generation of routers designed to be effortless and intuitive to install, but firmware updates and maintenance are more effortless because the main router and all the nodes connected to it use the same app.

Winner: Mesh routers

Wi-Fi extenders vs mesh routers: which is best for you?

• First, figure out if it’s a booster that you need
• A Wi-Fi extender is great for smaller areas with a dead spot
• A mesh router is best for larger areas that need site-wide coverage

Before spending good money on a Wi-Fi booster, it’s wise to make sure it’s the single range or reach that's the issue. Figuring out if you have poor signal strength issues in your space is easy and free – it does take some walking around, but that just helps you get your steps in! 

A tool like InSSIDer Lite can map out your area’s signal strength. Or, you can use the Ookla Speed Test to figure out if there are spots where your network speeds aren’t up to snuff.

Don’t immediately get a Wi-Fi booster if you do see a dead spot. Try moving your router first to an open and strategic location that allows it to maximize its range. If that doesn’t work, then it’s time to consider one of these two solutions.

As for which you should go for, that depends on your needs and coverage area. Wi-Fi extenders have gotten better and more capable over the years but to truly have a seamless and reliable network experience, you'll have to go for the pricier options that are kitted out with mesh-adjacent features. At that point, you're already spending enough to get a mesh router system, which works much more efficiently, offers a smoother experience, and is future-proof.

Our advice is this: if you're only trying to cover a small dead zone in your small to medium-size space, a Wi-Fi extender will serve you nicely – especially if you're unwilling to set up a new router.

However, if you've got a large area to cover, you're better off investing in a mesh router system.

Let me ask you a question: what does the name “Wi-Fi” mean? Considering how omnipresent Wi-Fi connections are, this should be an easy question to answer; especially if you work in the tech industry.

If your answer is “wireless fidelity”, that is actually incorrect despite what you were lead to believe, so keep guessing. Could it be “wireless fiber”? “Wishful firedrake”? 

Give up? It’s actually a trick question: the name doesn’t mean anything. 

An old 2005 interview with one of the founding members of the Wi-Fi Alliance has been making the rounds again and recounts the origin story of Wi-Fi. According to founding member Phil Belanger, the name was picked from a group of ten names that were created by consultancy firm Interbrand.

The original name for Wi-Fi was “IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence” and the Alliance knew that name couldn’t be used. They needed something catchier if the standard was going to be widely adopted, so "Wi-Fi" was picked.

Mistakes were made

If you sincerely thought Wi-Fi stood for “wireless fidelity”, blame the Wi-Fi Alliance for that one. Belanger recounts that some of his colleagues felt the need to explain what “Wi-Fi” meant as they apparently couldn’t wrap their minds around the fact the name was just some marketing mumbo-jumbo meant to entice people. This led to the Alliance creating the tagline “The Standard for Wireless Fidelity''.

Belanger admits “this was a mistake and only served to confuse people... ” He called it “a clumsy attempt to come up with two words that matched Wi and Fi.” This mistake was exacerbated when the Alliance printed hats and shirts with the tagline. The tagline was so successful you even had people in the US military calling it “wireless fidelity”.

And if you stop to think about it, that name doesn’t make any sense, either. Fidelity, in a technical sense, refers to how well a device can reproduce a signal. High-fidelity (hi-fi) TVs, for example, can reproduce images that could be mistaken for the real thing. But Wi-Fi doesn’t do that; it’s just a way to connect devices to one another. You’re not reproducing anything. 

But why let facts get in the way of a popular misconception? In the nearly two decades since, people have embraced the inaccurate meaning and, if you ask them, would likely argue strenuously that Wi-Fi means “wireless fidelity”. Belanger, though, asks people to do their part and “forget the tagline” and its false meaning.

Wi-Fi accessories

Perhaps it's better to focus less on the meaning of the term, than on what the technology means for us.

Wi-Fi is an integral part of society and it’s hard to imagine life without it. How many times have we asked a friend what's the Wi-Fi password when you go to their house for the first time? And many of us get frustrated when the Wi-Fi suddenly goes out. 

If you frequently experience connection drops, we recommend getting Wi-Fi extenders. Also known as boosters, these devices push the signal beyond its normal reach. You should also look into getting a high-quality router to better deal with multiple devices that demand a large portion of bandwidth.

As for the future, multiple companies are hard at work establishing the Wi-Fi 7 standard. Qualcomm even claims its Wi-Fi 7 compatible chip will be able to achieve speeds of 5.8Gbps and sub-2 millisecond latency. And Mediatek promises its Wi-Fi 7 platform will achieve speeds that are 100 times faster than the current UK broadband standard.

Finding the best Wi-Fi extender can be a challenge, but TechRadar is here to simplify the process.

Thanks to advancements like Wi-Fi 7, modern routers offer better coverage than ever. At the same time, whole-home Mesh Wi-Fi systems have surged in popularity, largely replacing traditional extenders as the go-to solution for eliminating dead zones. Because of this shift, many manufacturers have pivoted to making routers and mesh systems, leaving fewer traditional extenders on the market.

However, an extender remains a fantastic, cost-effective choice for many homes. Unlike mesh systems, which require replacing your entire network setup, a Wi-Fi extender (or repeater) plugs right into your existing network—often working seamlessly even if your router is from a different brand. It's affordable, incredibly easy to set up, and saves you the hassle of starting from scratch.

While many of our top picks below have been on the market for a few years, they remain highly capable, reliable, and widely available.

Dive into our recommendations below, check out our FAQs, or read our Wi-Fi Extenders vs. Mesh Routers comparison to find the one that suits your needs.

The best Wi-Fi extender overall

The TP-Link RE700X is proof that you do not need to spend a lot of money to get great Wi-Fi coverage in every corner of your home. While many Wi-Fi extenders are trying to charge consumers enough money you might as well get a mesh system, this one keeps its price inexpensive by keeping things simple and offering Wi-Fi 6 connectivity on top of it.

Though not loaded up on features, this Wi-Fi 6 support is certainly more than enough when combined with just how effective it is at covering dead spots. Nicknamed the “dead-zone killer," it certainly delivered during testing, covering an area in our space where the weak Wi-Fi signal normally forces us to rely on PowerLine adaptors.

It's also easy and simple to set up, making it a great option for most people, including those who have never even seen a range extender before. You can spend a lot of money on an intimidating range extender, or you can make things easy for yourself and your wallet with the TP-Link RE700X.

Read our full TP-Link RE700X review

The best budget Wi-Fi extender

If you’re looking to extend your Wi-Fi 6 network to all four corners of your home, TP-Link’s RE605X WiFi 6 Range Extender is worth taking a look. It’s as affordable and as easy to set up as the RE650 extender while being backwards compatible with older Wi-Fi 5 routers. If you've got a new Wi-Fi 7 router, then the RE605X will still work, though will only offer Wi-Fi 6 speeds.

We found during testing that TP-Link’s Tether app does a good job of keeping setting up simple, making this a great option for Wi-Fi extender newbies. It isn’t just for the less savvy users, however. The RE605X also provides a web browser interface for more experienced users who want more control over their network settings.

It’s also proven to deliver noticeable improvement in Wi-Fi performance. On test, it boosted our router’s speed to 100Mbps from 34Mbps on the 2.4GHz and from 85Mbps on the 5.0GHz bands in the poorly connected part of our space. Our stream downloads saw a marked improvement as well.

Read the full TP-Link RE605X WiFi 6 Range Extender review

The best Wi-Fi extender for gamers

The Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (EAX80) may be a little older, but with Wi-Fi 6 capabilities and an impressive range, it certainly deserves a spot in this best Wi-Fi extenders list. It's a little on the pricey end, but it's not really for people who are on the budget anyway, as it's more of an investment for those who require top-notch performance and massive coverage.

It boasts some features you typically see in actual routers such as four Gigabit Ethernet ports for connecting a games console and a USB 3.0 port for connecting a hard drive to provide network storage. It also has mesh extender capabilities, which means you can buy additional EAX80 extenders and link them together to create an enormous mesh network.

On test, its performance will blow you away. Performance on the slower 2.4GHz band jumped from our usual 18Mbps to 21Mbps. Meanwhile, the faster 5.0GHz band really got a shake-up, leaping from just 60Mbps to 342Mbps. This isn't going to be the best Wi-Fi extender for most people, but it's amazing for those with massive homes and offices to cover.

Read our full Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (EAX80) review

Get the best deals on Netgear products with our Netgear promo codes.

Frequently asked questions

How we test

TechRadar tests Wi-Fi extenders in a variety of ways, from how easy they are to connect and setup, what apps or software they might come with, and of course, how much increase you get to the range of your wireless internet.

Features will be noted, we check to see if Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 are supported, as well as if they're able to connect to any existing router and if the products are Dual-band or Tri-band compatible. As a Wi-Fi extender is designed to support an existing router, and not act as a dedicated router in itself, you'll likely want to check if your wireless router isn't up to scratch before you spend serious money on an extender.

A series of benchmarks are used to determine how effective a Wi-Fi extender is, using applications like the Ookla Speed test and the Steam game download client to test how many megabytes per second of data is achievable in different locations of a home, such as right beside the extender itself and behind partition walls that could block a signal.

Devolo Magic 2 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh: Two-Minute Review

Devolo’s range of Magic adaptors combines PowerLine technology - which can send a wired network connection to other rooms over your existing mains wiring - with a wi-fi range extender, which can be really useful for buildings where thick walls or other obstacles may cause problems with your wi-fi signal.

The Magic 2 WiFi 6 Mesh that we review here is Devolo’s new top-of-the-range option and, as the name suggests, it adds Wi-Fi 6 mesh networking to its PowerLine features, in order to provide an all-in-one combination of wired and wireless networking features that should be able to reach even the trickiest corners of your home or office - making it one of the best wireless routers and among the best mesh Wi-Fi system you can buy right now.

Devolo Magic 2 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh: Price and Availability

• Two-piece Starter Kit for $390/£300
• Three-piece kit is $590/£450

There are two options available, with a Starter Kit that includes two identical adaptors, costing £299.99, which is suitable for buildings with one or two stories (approx. $390/AU$520). For larger buildings with up to three stories, there’s the Whole Home kit that we review here, which includes three adaptors for £449.99 (approx. $590/AU$785).

That’s fairly expensive, but could still be a worthwhile investment if you need that combination of PowerLine and wi-fi to provide reliable networking for your home.

• Price and availability: 3/5

Devolo Magic 2 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh: Design and Features

• Easy to set-up
• PowerLine, Ethernet, and mesh wi-fi
• Chunky design

The three adaptors in the Whole Home kit are fairly chunky - more than twice the size of a normal 3-pin plug. That’s because they also incorporate a mains pass-through socket that allows you to plug other electrical devices into the adaptor. That’s handy as it means that you can set up your new network without losing the use of that electrical socket. There are also two Ethernet ports on each adaptor, to provide a wired network option for a laptop or other devices that prefer a lag-free wired connection. It’s a shame, though, that the Ethernet ports are located right on the top of each adaptor, as that leaves you with Ethernet cables poking up and out of the adaptor, and looking rather untidy.

The Magic 2 WiFi 6 Mesh supports dual-band Wi-Fi 6 with a top speed of 1800Mbps. That’s not particularly fast, but it should still be more than adequate for most home broadband services. It’s also important to remember that the emphasis here is on reliability rather than sheer speed, so 1800Mbps is certainly better than no wi-fi at all. The wired PowerLine connection also supports speeds of up to 2400Mbps, so you can also use the Ethernet ports for a fast wired connection when required.

Getting Started is a piece of cake, as you simply need to plug the three adaptors into nearby power sockets and then use Devolo’s Home Network app to scan a QR code on the box. The app takes just a couple of minutes to automatically link the three adaptors together, then asks if you want to create a new name and password for the Devolo mesh network, or to simply use the same log-in details as your existing network. 

By default, the Devolo app creates a single network that merges the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands, but it does allow you to create separate networks on each band if required. But, while getting started is very easy, the app does have a few rough edges. Its parental controls allow you to create a schedule for your children’s Internet access, but the app assumes that you understand technical details such as MAC addresses, which isn’t very helpful at all. Other features, such as Airtime Fairness - which allows you to prioritize individual devices for maximum performance - are hidden deep within the app and aren’t very easy to find.

• Design and Features: 4/5

Devolo Magic 2 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh: Performance

• Good, reliable wi-fi performance
• 2x Ethernet for wired connections
• Top wi-fi speed is 1800Mbps

Despite those minor complaints, the Magic 2 WiFi 6 Mesh delivers the goods for network performance. We connected one adaptor to our main router in order to use the router’s Internet connection, with another adaptor in our back office - where poor wi-fi means that we normally have to rely on a wired PowerLine connection for our office computers. The third adaptor was located in a hallway, roughly mid-way between the two other adaptors in order to maximize wi-fi coverage. 

With that set-up, the Magic 2 WiFi 6 Mesh had absolutely no trouble breezing along at 110Mbps when using the Ookla Speed Test app, and a rock-steady 12.5MB/s for Steam downloads. Those are the highest speeds supported by our office broadband service, so the Magic 2 WiFi 6 Mesh really does provide a fast and reliable - if rather expensive - solution for homes that suffer from poor wi-fi.

• Performance: 4/5

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider...

Devolo Magic 2 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh: Scorecard

First reviewed July 2022

How We Test

We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.

Read more about how we test

Two-minute review

Motorola was broken up into a number of different divisions about 10 years ago, but the Motorola Mobility division still makes smartphones, as well as smart devices for the home, including its new MH7600 mesh Wi-Fi routers. 

Strictly speaking, though, the MH7600 range is actually produced by another company called Minim, which is licensed to use the Motorola logo and brand name, with its networking products sold directly from the Motorola website and other online retailers.

Despite Motorola’s claims of “blazing fast” Wi-Fi performance, the MH7600 mesh routers are actually fairly modest, offering dual-band Wi-Fi 6 with a top speed of 1800Mbps. 

Even so, that’s fast enough for most domestic broadband services, and the routers are competitively priced and easy to use.

Motorola MH7603 review: Price and availability

• Prices start at $129.99/£110/AU$180
• Available now in the US - TBC in other regions

It’s possible to buy a single mesh router on its own, referred to as the MH7601, for $129.99, or two routers (MH7602) for $189, which should be able to cover homes of up to 3,500 sq.ft in size. 

However, we reviewed the top-of-the-range MH7603, which includes three mesh routers that are capable of covering up to 5,000 sq.ft for $239. 

That works out at approximately £200/AU$335, although the MH7600 routers haven’t yet received regulatory approval in those regions, so it may take a while for the routers to go on sale outside the US.

Motorola MH7603 review: Design

• Compact design
• Sturdily built
• Easy to use app

The three routers included in the MH7603 are identical, with a neat, circular design that looks like a little jewelry box. 

They’re sturdily built, despite the relatively low price, and stand just 66mm high and 127mm in diameter, so they can easily sit on any convenient shelf or table when you set them up. Tucked around the back of each router you’ll find one Gigabit Ethernet port for connecting to your existing broadband router or modem, with a second Ethernet port providing a wired connection for devices such as laptops or games consoles.

Getting started is very straightforward, thanks to the Motosync app - which is also designed by Minim. There are QR codes printed on each of the three routers, so you can simply scan these codes and the app will automatically link the routers together to create your new mesh network for you. 

There are some useful features in the app too, including a speed test that can tell you if your network can handle different types of tasks, such as gaming or streaming 4K video. The app also includes content filters that can block adult web sites and other types of material that might be unsuitable for children - and, thankfully, Motorola/Minim doesn’t charge you any extra for these features, as some of its rivals do. 

However, the simplicity of the app does mean that it has some limitations. The app just creates a single network that merges the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands, so more experienced users might prefer a mesh system that provides greater control over network settings.

Motorola MH7603 review: Performance

• Fast, reliable mesh Wi-Fi
• Routers also support wired connections

We set up the three Motorola mesh routers with the first connected to our normal broadband router, so that it could use our existing broadband connection. 

The second router was placed in a back office where the Wi-Fi is so poor that we normally rely on a set of powerline adapters to provide a reliable wired connection, while the third router was placed in a hallway between the other two.

A top speed of 1.8Gbps is relatively modest for routers that support Wi-Fi 6, but the MH7603 proved perfectly capable of providing a fast, reliable Wi-Fi signal to that back office. 

As expected, devices in the same room as our normal router provided speeds of 100Mbps when running the Ookla Speed Test, and 12.5Mb/s for Steam downloads. Those are the fastest speeds supported by our office broadband service, but the MH7603 didn’t falter at all as I picked up my laptop and wandered along the hall to that back office, maintaining the same speeds for both Ookla and Steam with no trouble at all.

Should you buy the Motorola MH7603 Mesh WiFi 6 System?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider...

First reviewed June 2022.

How We Test

We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.

Read more about how we test

A select number of Starlink customers now have the opportunity to access a new “Portability” feature and take the satellite internet with them.

A user on the Starlink subreddit posted an image of the message they received stating that for an extra $25 a month, you can take your internet connection to a new location.

Service restrictions

There are some restrictions, according to the official support page. You can’t take the connection with you to another continent, but you can take it to a different country. If you decide to take Starlink to another country, you can only stay there for two months. Past that time frame and you’ll have to change your registered address to the new one and then purchase another Starlink service.

The same is true if you stay within one country, but are gone from home for too long. However, the time frame for this scenario is rather vague. Starlink states if you’re away from the registered location for too long, you’ll be forced to change address, but no specific time frame is given.

You also can’t use Starlink while moving as it won’t work and doing so will actually void the warranty. The company’s teams are currently working on making that possible, but no launch date is available. Starlink also warns that a good connection is not guaranteed. They explain that because Starlink prioritizes the registered service address, going somewhere else will degrade the connection to an extent, especially during times of “...peak usage or network congestion,” Starlink clarifies.

Faster and better

That said, the Portability feature appears to be working quite well for some customers. YouTuber Dave Lee posted a picture of his StarLink connection while camping on his Twitter account. He had a download speed of 145 Mbps.

Starlink’s service is getting better as time goes on. According to a recent internet speed report by Ookla, Starlink was the fastest internet satellite provider during Q4 2021. Their service achieved an average download speed of 104.97 Mbps. Second place was Viasat with 21.81 Mbps on average.

Across the continental United States, service is all over the place. The fastest and most consistent speeds are on the West Coast, with large swaths of the country seeing speeds below 60 Mbps, according to the same Ookla report. But even then, Starlink’s slowest speeds are still faster than the FCC’s standard of 25 Mbps. With Starlink’s new premium tier, it looks like they’re making good on their promise of fast speeds everywhere.

There’s something in the air in Louisville, Colorado -- or more specifically, in the wires. Humming along miles of networking cabling, zipping through signal repeaters: It’s the future of the Internet.

On Thursday morning at the home of CableLabs -- which bills itself as “the leading innovation and R&D lab for the cable industry” -- network engineers and representatives from some of the country’s top internet providers came together to showcase some of the fastest speeds they’ve ever transmitted: 8Gbps downloads and 5Gpbs uploads, using the world’s only DOCSIS 4.0 modem and a series of networking technologies that CableLabs calls 10G.

“Besides the people in the labs, nobody has seen this,” said Curtis Knittle, CableLabs vice president of wired technology.

In a closed showroom before a handful of people, engineers and tech experts showed off a demo seemingly worthy of a high-school AV club: gobs of networking cable linking a unique, handmade modem via a series of amplifiers and repeaters. It was a showcase for 10G, the next great leap for broadband internet access, and the blazing, 10-fold increase in speeds promised to homes across America.

Crucially, 10G promises dramatically faster speeds across existing hardware. While you probably subscribe to a 300Mbps or 600Mbps service through your cable provider, your modem can do better - but only so far. Existing connections max out at a theoretical 1.5Gbps. 10G tech will amp it up, and engineers won’t need to dig up the street near you to boost your broadband. In theory, anyway, although the cable companies themselves will need to install an updated amplifier or two along the way to your house and you may need a new modem.

"We’re super excited about what’s coming,” said Stephanie Michko-Beale, EVP and Chief Technology Officer for Charter Communications. “This suite of technologies is transformational.”

“We’re certainly very enthusiastic about what we’ve seen,” said Len Barlik, EVP and Chief Technology Officer for Cox Communications. “From a customer experience perspective, we know there’s a lot of demand for this moving forward.”

In a press release announcing the tests, Elad Nafshi, EVP & Chief Network Officer at Comcast Cable, echoed their comments and touted the advancements. “These 10G technologies represent the fastest, most efficient path to deliver multigigabit symmetrical speeds at scale everywhere, not just in select neighborhoods or towns.”

“The pace of 10G innovation is only accelerating, and Internet users around the world will reap the benefits.”

When asked, none of the company representatives were willing to state a timeline for release of new DOCSIS 4.0 modems or the 10G service, but that’s to be expected: The tech was being shown off for the first time. It's likely years down the road. So what is it exactly?

Knittle from CableLabs called 10G a “holistic umbrella” -- more than just a new modem or better coax cable. There’s DOCSIS 4.0, a new standard for the cable modem. DOCSIS 3 and its 3.1 evolution have been growing and changing for over a decade; TechRadar wrote about its promise back in 2010. DOCSIS 4.0 or full-duplex DOCSIS was officially released in 2017, but good luck finding a modem or a carrier to support it yet.

The 4.0 spec brings those blazing speeds, most notably the upload. You’ve probably noticed that your upload speeds are dramatically slower than your download speeds, and it’s not just your computer. 4.0 doesn’t quite bring parity, but it will significantly increase the theoretical maximums to 6Gbps, by sending uploads and downloads along the same spectrum within the fiber optic cables.

10G technology also brings new technologies to boost reliability and security, CableLabs says, and decreases the latency in connections, which should facilitate gaming, interactive AR (that metaverse thing everyone’s talking about), and other internet activities that rely on precision.

You may have heard of Wi-Fi 6E recently, and that may seem strange since it feels like we all just got Wi-Fi 6 just a few months ago. But it's actually been about two years now since the late 2019 rollout of the last wireless networking standard.

And even though Wi-Fi 6E isn't so big an advance that it represents a whole new generation of wireless networking technology, it's still a pretty big advancement for the users.

Wi-Fi 6E offers better speeds, more connection capacity, and lower latency, especially if you haven't made the jump to Wi-Fi 6 yet.

So what is Wi-Fi 6E? Why is it faster? And how and when can you get it? Read on to find out all you need to know about this exciting new networking standard.

Wi-Fi 6E: cut to the chase

• What is it? Wi-Fi 6E is a wireless technology that boosts Wi-Fi 6 into the 6GHz spectrum
• When is it out? It is currently available now in the US, but still needs regulatory approval in many countries
• What will it cost? The cost will depend on the router you buy, which can range from those provided by your internet service provider to over $1,000/£1,000 for Wi-Fi 6E Mesh routers

Wi-Fi 6E release date

The Wi-Fi Alliance, the organization which drafts new wireless technology standards, won FCC regulatory approval to open up the 6GHz band for unlicensed Wi-Fi broadcasting in 2020, but the process of certifying devices for Wi-Fi 6E started in early 2021.

In 2022, many more Wi-Fi 6E devices are being sold and other regulatory agencies around the world are considering opening up the 6GHz band to Wi-Fi 6E devices, so availability will steadily increase globally. When exactly it will be available though is up to government regulatory bodies, not industry, however.

Wi-Fi 6E routers and pricing

Wi-Fi 6E routers are already available from major manufacturers like Netgear, Orbi, Linksys, and Asus. Their prices range from ISP rental charges around $20/£20 a month to over $1,000/£1,000 to purchase yourself.

The Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500, for example, will cost you about $579/£449/AU$900. The best mesh Wi-Fi routers will obviously me more pricey, depending on how many extenders you get. The Orbi mesh Wi-Fi system, for example, offers a three-pack system that costs $999/£899/AU$1,699.

The Orbi system might be expensive, but its at least cheaper now than it was when it was first released at $1,499/£1,499 (about AU$2,100).

Wi-Fi 6 specs and performance

The underlying technology of Wi-Fi 6E isn't all that different from Wi-Fi 6, but what it does is open up the 6GHz band of the radio spectrum to Wi-Fi signals.

This means more available networking channels for devices to use at Wi-Fi 6 speeds. The biggest drag on Wi-Fi 6 connections isn't that its slower, but that too many connections over the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands (including from neighboring Wi-Fi routers other than your own) leads to interference that can reduce speeds or even drop connections.

With the much wider 6GHz band, the same number of devices each have more bandwidth to work with, which means that they will all be getting much closer to the maximum speeds allowable under Wi-Fi 6.

In most cases, opening up the 6GHz band opens up as many as four times as many channels for Wi-Fi networks to use, meaning better and faster connections for more devices.

This includes greater than 1Gbps connections in the future for many homeowners and businesses, and more connected devices that can achieve those speeds. 

One issue though is that 6GHz signals use a shorter wavelength than the current 5GHz or 2.4GHz signals, and so are more susceptible to actual physical interference from walls and other physical obstructions in your home or office.

As such, mesh network devices will most likely communicate with each other using the lower bands that offer better signal penetration, but broadcast in the 6GHz band to the end users.  

• Check out our picks for the best Wi-Fi 6 routers

Two-minute review

Mesh systems that use the new Wi-Fi 6 standard are still pretty expensive, but D-Link’s Eagle Pro M15 is an attempt to provide a more affordable option for people who want to improve their home Wi-Fi. 

The three-piece kit that we review here is designed for homes up to 5000 sq.ft in size, and costs £155 in the UK, although the US currently only offers a two-piece kit (4000sq.ft) for a bargain basement price of $99.99. But, if you live in Australia, you can take your pick - albeit at rather higher prices - with the two-pack costing AU$279.95, or AU$379.95 for the three-pack.

You’re not going to get record-breaking speeds for that kind of price, and the M15 only provides dual-band Wi-Fi 6 with a top speed of 1.5Gbps. Even so, that’s more than adequate for most domestic broadband services, and the M15 will be a good, affordable option for web browsing, streaming music and video, and the occasional spot of gaming.

Design and features

The three identical M15 mesh routers each consist of a small white plastic cube that measures just 93mm on each side, so they’ll easily sit on any convenient shelf when you’re setting them up. 

The lightweight plastic does feel a little flimsy, though, so parents should probably keep them out of reach of toddlers who might think they look a bit like Lego.

As mentioned, the M15 provides dual-band Wi-Fi on the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands, with a top speed of 1.5Gbps. 

The three routers also have a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports on their back panel, although one of these is reserved for connecting to your existing broadband router, while the other can be used to provide a wired connection for a PC, games console or other devices.

The low price means that the M15 doesn’t go overboard with added extras. As we saw with D-Link’s standalone R15 router, the Eagle Pro app just creates a single Wi-Fi network that merges the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands, although there is an option to create a guest network that only allows guests to connect to the internet, with no access to other devices on the network. 

The app also allows you to prioritize specific devices in order to provide the best performance for data-hungry tasks such as gaming or streaming video. The parental controls are a bit limited though.

You can create a profile for younger children, and set a schedule that limits their Internet use through the week. However, the ‘website filtering’ feature doesn’t actually include any, um, website filtering - it simply leaves you to type in the web addresses of a few million unsuitable web sites by yourself, which isn’t particularly helpful.

Performance and getting started

Fortunately, the M15 gets full marks for performance and ease of use. The Eagle Pro app prompts you to connect one of the M15 routers to your existing broadband router - so that the M15 can use your Internet connection - and then allows you to simply scan a QR code printed on a label so that it can automatically connect to the M15. 

The app then automatically detects the other M15 routers and sets up your new mesh Wi-Fi network for you. All you have to do is decide whether to create a new name (SSID) and password for the new network, or simply use the same name and password as your existing network.

And while a speed of 1.5Gbps is relatively modest compared to more expensive Wi-Fi routers, it’s still perfectly adequate for homes, such as our own, with its 100Mbps broadband service. 

As we expected, devices in the same room as the M15 - which was connected to our ISP’s normal router - simply got the usual 100Mbps from the Ookla Speed Test, and 12.5MB/s for Steam downloads. 

However, our normal router does have trouble getting a Wi-Fi signal into our back office when working from home, so we normally use a set of PowerLine adaptors to provide a wired connection in that room. But, with one of the M15 mesh routers located in that office, and another in the nearby hallway, we were able to maintain stable Wi-Fi speeds of 100Mbs for Ookla and 12.5MB/s for Steam in the back office with no trouble at all.

Some people might prefer a mesh system with a more fully-featured app, while gamers and other power users will probably want a little more raw speed. But, if you simply want an affordable mesh system that provides reliable wi-fi for web browsing and streaming music and video then the M15 delivers the goods at a highly competitive price.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

• These are the best Wi-Fi routers of 2022

It’s time to upgrade to the best Wi-Fi 6 router if you’ve been roughing it on your Wi-Fi connectivity with an older device. Although Wi-Fi 7 devices are slowly trickling in, including some gaming laptops and a few routers, Wi-Fi 6 is still very much the current standard, and it will take a while before most people are going to adopt its successor. And if you haven’t gotten a Wi-Fi 6 router, now’s the time to do it.

With so much of our lives these days relying on being connected online, there’s no excuse for sticking with a slow and aging router. That’s whether you’re working from home and need a fast internet connection or you’ve got a household full of devices. And unless you live in the woods and staying off-grid, the best wireless router for you is the one that allows you to make the most of Wi-Fi 6 technology.

These days, middling internet speeds are inexcusable, especially with all the smartphones, tablets, Ultrabooks, and smart home devices we use at home or in the office. With a reliable and robust Wi-Fi 6 or even Wi-Fi 6E router, your internet signal will experience a boost in speed, which will not mean faster internet but a stronger, uninterrupted signal to every device and computer connected to your network.

We've tested our share of routers, putting them through their paces to help you find the perfect one to cover your space. And, we've gathered our top choices here, including some of the best Asus routers as well as the best mesh Wi-Fi routers that are perfect for larger spaces.  

The best Wi-Fi 6 routers 2024

The Linksys Hydra Pro 6 is an affordable Wi-Fi 6 router that is ideal for regular users who aren't quick tech-savvy. It isn't the most robust option on the market, but it provides strong Wi-Fi performance and good coverage to satisfy the average household. During testing, it allowed us to achieve the maximum 100Mbps available from our broadband service, and up to 12.5MB/s downloads from Steam.

Better yet, it's incredibly easy to setup, thanks in large part to the basic Linksys app that automatically creates a single network that combines the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands and provides an overview of all the connected devices. Because it is more stripped down, there aren't a lot of extra frills or customizations to enjoy here. However, its affordable price more than makes up for that. Besides, most households do not require those anyway.

Read the full Linksys Hydra Pro 6 review

There are some excellent Wi-Fi 6 routers coming to market. Unfortunately, quite a few are just way too much for most homes, not to mention too expensive. Enter the Asus RT-AX58U. It brings Wi-Fi 6 into your home at a fantastic price, with just enough features to keep most small to medium home networks at the top of their game.

The RT-AX58U is way faster than most home broadband services, and will be ideal for gaming, streaming video and music. It delivered impressive performance during our testing. When used in the same room as our existing 802.11ac router, it managed to squeeze a little extra speed, increasing our Wi-Fi speeds from 55Mbps to 59Mbps. So, while it might not have the port selection or gaming features that it’s big brother, the RT-AX86U, has, it does offer the same parental controls as well as excellent Wi-Fi 6 support.

Read the full Asus RT-AX58U review

The Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300 tri-band Wi-Fi 6E delivers impressive speed, making it a fantastic Wi-Fi 6 router to handle large numbers of devices all at the same time. It uses three frequency bands - 2.4GHz, 50GHz, and 60GHz - to provide total speeds of up to 7.8Gbps, which is fast enough for gaming, 4K or 8K video, or prancing around with a VR headset. 

On test, it delivered impressive performance and a good range, providing fast Wi-Fi even in the back office of our building, which is normally something of a Wi-Fi dead zone. Sadly, the app attempts to sell you additional subscriptions to fill in for some of its missing features like parental controls. So, unless you're willing to pay, there are no scheduling features or content filters to block unsuitable web sites. However, it is very easy to use and comes with multiple high-speed Ethernet ports for wired connections.

Read our full Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300 review

A competitively priced Wi-Fi 6 router for gamers, the Asus TUF Gaming AX5400 looks every bit like a gaming router, with a chunky, angular design and an array of six separate antennae. It also comes with four additional Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports to provide a lag-free wired connection for PCs or gaming consoles. One of them is also designated as the ‘gaming port,' taking priority over the other ports for the highest possible speed.

Naturally, you're getting strong wi-fi performance and high-speed wired connections as well. On test, it handled Steam downloads and gaming sessions on our 100Mbps office broadband service effortlessly and comfortably maintaining 100Mbps in the Ookla test and 12.5Mbps on both the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands in typically harder to reach areas of our space. Plus, good parental controls also mean that it’s a good choice for households with kids too.

Read our full Asus TUF Gaming AX5400 review

There may be a few things you might not like about the TP-Link Archer GX90. It’s big, it’s bulky, and it’s expensive. However, those are easy to forgive when you realize that you’re getting a big bang for your buck. Performance-wise, all three bands recorded strong performance with the Ookla speed test, hitting 100Mbps download and 11Mbps upload for devices located in the same room during our testing. 

This is also among the best Wi-Fi 6 routers out there in terms of features, boasting a handful of features for hard-core gamers. That includes a dedicated 5GHz ‘gaming band’ that lets you hog most of your household bandwidth when you need it. Have younger gamers at home? It also provides good parental controls like content filters to block unsuitable material, with pre-set profiles for children of different ages. 

Read the full TP-Link Archer GX90 review

The Asus RT-AX55 fits the bill nicely if need a low-cost Wi-Fi 6 router that can update your network, as it provides a good upgrade for the aging Wi-Fi router in our office. It not only reaches speeds of 100Mbps in the Ookla speed test and 12.5MB/s for Steam downloads, the fastest speeds supported by our office broadband connection during testing. But, it also offers better range, giving you better coverage throughout your space.

The Asus app is also easy to use, whilst also providing more advanced features for users who want more control over their network configuration. But, if you want more options to control, it also has a web browser interface will appeal to more experienced users who need more than the basic features provided by the app. It also boasts a sleek, with a streamlined black casing and go-faster red stripes that makes it look pricier than it is.

Read our full Asus RT-AX55 review

A top-of-the-range Wi-Fi 6E mesh system for larger homes and offices, the Asus ZenWiFi Pro ET12 may be a massive overkill for the majority of router users. However, it's exactly what a handful of users need if they're covering a large space and need top-of-the-line performance. 

A single ET1 router can cover homes of up to 3,000 sq. ft, while the two-piece system covers 6,000 sq. ft. As well as supporting tri-band Wi-Fi 6E, it also provides a top speed of 11Gbps. On test, the second ET12 allowed us to maintain maximum speeds and eliminate our Wi-Fi dead spots in our space.

Not everyone will need that sort of speed or wide coverage for their home broadband. However, if you’ve got your eye on a new smartphone or laptop that supports Wi-Fi 6E and a massive area to cover, it makes sense to opt for this future-proof mesh system. 

To save money on Asus products, check out our Asus voucher codes. 

Read our full Asus ZenWiFi Pro ET12 review

The Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 Mesh combines PowerLine wired connectivity with a mesh system so that no thick brick walls and amount of space can limit your network access. It's not particularly fast – only supporting dual-band Wi-Fi 6 with a top speed of 1800Mbps. However, it should more than adequate for most home broadband needs, especially if your focus is on reliability rather than sheer speed. During our testing, it breezed along at 110Mbps when using the Ookla Speed Test app, and a rock-steady 12.5MB/s for Steam downloads.

The three adaptors in the Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 Mesh's home kit are fairly chunky, more than twice the size of a normal 3-pin plug, but since they're designed to be plugged into sockets, they should stay out of the way. If you've got thick walls or other obstructions that can block the Wi-Fi signal or a larger home with bedrooms spread over two or three stories, this might be the best Wi-Fi 6 router for you.

Read our full Devolo Magic 2 review

Larger homes need more robust solutions, and while the Netgear Nighthawk MK63 might be an overkill for smaller homes, it’s just the ticket if you have a space of up to 3500 sq.ft and need an extremely reliable network for gaming and 4K video. On test, it easily handled the full speed of our 50Mbps Internet connection, nudging it up to 58.9Mbps for download speeds, and maintained a steady download speed of 58.4Mbps in our back office where the wifi is normally unreliable.

There are some neat features you’re getting here as well, including the ability to create a guest network and a network map for monitoring all devices connected to your network. There are no parental controls, however, and as long as you can live with that and the high price tag, this might be the best Wi-Fi 6 router for you.

Read the full Netgear Nighthawk MK63 review

The Netgear Orbi Quad-Band WiFi 6E may only be suitable for very large homes with 6E supporting devices. It's very expensive, which means you absolutely do need to fully utilize all that speed and Wi-Fi prowess. However, it's well worth the money if it's exactly what your space needs, providing incredible performance, giving us maximum Wi-Fi speeds throughout our space during testing.

Surprisingly, the Orbi app does at least deserve credit for being easy to use. However, if you want Netgear’s Smart Parental Controls and Armour security services, to name a few special features, you'll have to pay additional subscription fees, making the whole thing all the more expensive.

If it wasn't for the price, the Netgear Orbi Quad-Band WiFi 6E would be higher up our list. But, if you can afford it, this is certainly one of the most powerful Wi-Fi 6 routers on the market today.

Read our full Netgear Orbi Quad-Band WiFi 6E review

Get the best deals on Netgear products with our Netgear promo codes.

How we test Wi-Fi 6 routers

Because Wi-Fi 6 is a new wireless technology, we have to do things a bit differently. Still, doing so is very similar to testing non-Wi-Fi 6 routers, and we take it just as seriously as we do the other.

We take a look at the design first, naturally. We make sure that there are enough ports for wired connectivity, see just how easy (or hard) initial setup is, and check that the overall look doesn’t turn off the target market. 

Because some Wi-Fi 6 routers are mesh routers, we determine whether or not they have the type of aesthetic that will blend well into any space. Having several routers spread around your home or office, after all, isn’t exactly something to easily miss. 

We then move on to performance. We check the range and strength of coverage, perform the usual Ookla speed and file download tests, and of course, test them against real-world scenarios like having multiple devices connected at once. 

We then take all that information we’ve collected from each router we test and set it against the price to determine whether or not the router is a great value to consumers. That’s when we finally decide whether or not it’s worth our recommendation.

If you play a lot of competitive multiplayer games, getting the best gaming router can be just as important as investing in the best gaming PC, gaming monitor, gaming keyboard or gaming mouse.

For online games, having a fast and reliable internet connection is essential - you don't want a network dropout just before you win a match. Keeping your ping rate (the time it takes for data to travel from your gaming PC or console to the game's servers, measured in milliseconds) as low as possible can also be the difference between winning and losing - as the higher the ping, the bigger the gap between you performing an action and your character responding.

But why pick a gaming router rather than an all-purpose one from our best Wi-Fi routers guide? The best gaming routers don't just come with fancy gamer asthetics - they also come with dedicated features aimed at giving you the best possible online gaming experience.

We’ve gathered the best gaming routers – including some of the best Asus routers – for you, digging into all their respective features, including support for the latest wireless standard - blazing-fast Wi-Fi 7. If you have a large area of coverage, however, you should take a look at our best mesh Wi-Fi system picks instead.

The best gaming routers 2025

The Acer Predator Connect T7 is the best gaming router you can buy in 2025. It can be bought as a single unit to act as a regular router, or you can buy it in packs with additional units that turns it into a powerful mesh Wi-Fi system that will ensure that every device in your house gets rock-solid Wi-Fi.

As it's an Acer Predator product, the Connect T7 features cutting-edge technology to give gamers the very best experience and performance, with the company claiming that this gaming router boasts ‘wired-level latency.’

So, if you're a competitive online gamer that is sick of trailing network cables throughout your home, the Acer Predator Connect T7 could be the answer, finally allowing you to go wireless without sacrificing your competitive advantage.

Game-centric features include a QoS option – quality of service – that allows you to prioritise high-bandwidth tasks such as gaming or streaming video for specific devices, plus security and parental control features, and two Gigabit Ethernet ports for wired connections.

In our tests, we found that the Acer Predator Connect T7 gave us fast and dependable Wi-Fi speeds across the entire building. The T7's top speed of 11Gbps is incredibly fast, and will be overkill for most people. However, if you have lots of devices on the network for playing local multiplayer games, then this is a fantastic investment.

Read our full Acer Predator Connect T7 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router review

If you don't need cutting-edge Wi-Fi 7 (and many devices still don't support it), then the Acer Predator Connect W6x is an excellent affordable gaming router. It sticks with dual-band Wi-Fi 6, which while not the fastest, should still be plenty for most people.

The design is unobtrusive, though there's definitely a hint of gamer asthetic to its sharp corners and angles, and you get a 2.5Gb Ethernet port for a high-speed Internet connection, plus four Gigabit Ethernet ports for a gaming PC or console if you prefer a lag-free wired connection for your online gaming sessions.

It also comes with some useful features including free security and parental controls, something its rivals sometimes charge extra for. It also has a QoS option to prioritize gaming network traffic for the very best performance.

During our review, we were impressed with how the Acer Predator Connect W6x performed with nearby devices, and it managed to expand our test Wi-Fi network to areas of the building that were usually out of reach. However, speeds did drop noticeably when you start going too far. So, this isn't the fastest gaming router in the world, but it's affordable and dependable, making it a great budget pick.

Read our full Acer Predator Connect W6x review

If you want the fastest possible performance, based on cutting-edge Wi-Fi 7, then look no further than this Asus gaming router – but be warned, you’ll pay a heavy price for it.

Before we come to that price tag, let’s explore the specs here which are nothing short of staggering for wireless performance. The Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE98 boasts quad-band Wi-Fi 7 with a top speed of 24.4Gbps, and if you want great wired performance, that’s on hand too – with 10Gb and 2.5Gb Ethernet ports at your disposal. There are two 10Gb Ethernet connectors, in fact, one of which is a dedicated ‘gaming port’ into which you can plug your gaming PC to ensure it gets priority over all other ports.

Not only is the ROG Rapture GT-BE98 jaw-droppingly fast, but it’s also well-featured – incorporating the likes of parental controls even – and this is a standout router for features and performance. Of course, then we come to that price tag, which at launch is around the same as the cost of a cheap gaming PC – it goes beyond eye-watering for a router.

In short, the GT-BE98 won’t make sense to any gamer but those with deep wallets, and also the matching hardware with Wi-Fi 7 support, plus a very speedy broadband connection to feed to the GT-BE98 to make the most of it. If you want the absolute pinnacle of gaming router performance, though, this is it – but in the value stakes, a Wi-Fi 6 or 6E model makes a lot more sense currently.

To save money on Asus products, check out our Asus promo codes.

Read our full Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE98 review

Netgear used to be known for making some of the most expensive routers on the market, and while it still does (check out the Orbi 970 if you want to see just how expensive Wi-Fi mesh systems can get), it's also been releasing a steady stream of affordable Wi-Fi 7 routers, and the Netgear Nighthawk RS100 is an excellent example of this, and one of the best gaming routers you can currently buy.

As with many other affordable Wi-Fi 7 routers we're seeing these days, the Netgear Nighthawk RS100 sticks to dual-band, supporting both 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands, but not the faster 6.0GHz band that more expensive Wi-Fi 7 routers offer.

So, this isn't a gaming router to get if all you care about is speed, but the benefits Wi-Fi 7 offers are more than just about raw bandwidth. Being able to handle far more devices accessing your home network at once, while also offering a wider and more stable wireless network means that even dual-band routers like the Netgear Nighthawk RS100 can offer a big upgrade over your current setup, especially if you're using the free modem/router that your ISP (Internet Service Provider) gave you.

For households with plenty of gamers with PCs, laptops and consoles (plus various mobile devices) all vying for your internet connection, the Netgear Nighthawk RS100 is an excellent option that is a lot more affordable than its competitors, while still featuring solid build quality and an easy setup that we've come to expect from Netgear's more expensive routers.

In our tests the Netgear Nighthawk RS100 did an excellent job of maxing out our broadband connection, while also reaching areas a Wi-Fi signal usually struggles to get to. While high-end gaming routers like the Acer Predator Connect T7 are overkill for many households, the Netgear Nighthawk RS100 offers an ideal balance of cutting-edge Wi-Fi 7 performance with an affordable price tag, and some handy gaming features as well.

Read our full Netgear Nighthawk RS100 review

FAQs

How we test gaming routers

Gaming routers are just as important as gaming PCs and peripherals, especially for online gaming, so of course we take our job seriously when testing them. Before recommending one in this buying guide, we make sure that each one not only performs as promised, but is also a cut above the rest. After all, although there are a lot of options out there, only a few stand out.

We start with the design. We test its build, physical features, and look – although a whole lot of them are going to have that gamer aesthetic. We make sure that it has enough ports for that all-important wired connection, is effortless to set up, has support for such technologies as QoS, and has features like parental controls (in case you have young ones at home).

Naturally, we test its performance as well, seeing how it measures up against our file download test as well as the Ookla speed test – especially in comparison to its rivals. And, because you need to know how exactly it performs in real world scenarios, we take it for a spin by playing a few of the most demanding and popular online titles out there. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.

When all is said and gamed, we take all the information we’ve collected and compare it to the unit’s price tag. At the end of the day, what matters is that the gaming router delivers robust performance, an excellent feature set, and a solid build that is worthy of its price – even if that means paying a little more.

Two-minute review

There’s a saying in the tech industry: “the good thing about standards is that there’s so many of them”. And, having only recently gotten used to all the jargon surrounding the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology, we now have to contend with the new state-of-the-art, called Wi-Fi 6E. The ‘E’ bit stands for ‘extended’, as Wi-Fi 6E adds a new 6GHz frequency band, in addition to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands already used by Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 5.

Netgear was one of the first companies to introduce Wi-Fi 6 into its range of routers and mesh networking systems, and it’s been equally quick off the mark with the new Orbi Quad-Band WiFi 6E, which is the first mesh Wi-Fi system we’ve seen that supports the new 6E technology. Mind you, Wi-Fi 6 products are still pretty expensive, and stepping up to 6E means that this new three-piece Orbi system weighs in at a whopping $1,499.99 (£1,499.99, around AU$2,100).

Hopefully, at some point, Netgear will launch a two-piece system for smaller homes, although that’s still likely to cost around £1,000/$1,000/AU$1,400, which is far more than most of us can afford. 

Even so, it’s worth taking a look at the new Orbi to get an idea of the new features and performance that are available with Wi-Fi 6E. This review is based on the UK edition of the Orbi, but it’s worth noting that governmental regulations on the use of the new 6.0GHz band do vary from country to country. This means that the specifications and performance of any Wi-Fi 6E router or mesh system may vary in different regions, so it’s important to check the specifications quoted for the Orbi in your own country.

Design and features

This latest version of the Orbi sticks with Netgear’s familiar white obelisk design, although Netgear says that it has now added a black option as well, in response to customer demand. 

The Orbi 6E is larger too, measuring 280mm high, 190mm wide and 84mm deep, reflecting the fact that this new Wi-Fi tech requires each Orbi to squeeze in no less than 12 internal antennae to provide extended range and speed.

The use of Wi-Fi 6E also means that this top-of-the-range mesh system can now offer quad-band Wi-Fi, using the 2.4GHz band, two 5.0GHz bands, and the new 6.0GHz band. This allows the Orbi to provide a top speed of 10.8Gbps, and a range of 7,500 sq.ft - compared to 4.2Gbps and 6,000 sq.ft for the standard Wi-Fi 6 version of the Orbi. 

Just remember that while the Orbi 6E is compatible with older devices that use Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6, you will need newer devices that support Wi-Fi 6E in order to get the full benefit of the Orbi’s high-end performance.

Most mesh systems from other manufacturers simply provide two or three identical routers, but Netgear’s approach with the Orbi systems is to provide one primary router - which needs to be connected to your existing broadband modem/router - and two ‘satellites’, which can be placed in other rooms or locations around your home. 

To avoid confusion, the primary Orbi router has a large ‘Router’ label on the front, but tucked around the back you’ll also find a bright yellow Ethernet port that connects to your existing broadband router, and which supports high-speed Internet connections of up to 10Gbps. 

That’s far faster than most home broadband services, of course, but if you can afford the Orbi WiFi 6E then you can probably afford super-fast fibre broadband as well.

The primary router also has three additional Gigabit Ethernet ports, and one 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, to provide wired connections for your computers, or for devices such as a smart TV or games console that work best with a lag-free wired connection (this reviewer lost a L70 Witch Doctor in Diablo’s hard-core mode last week due to a Wi-Fi glitch, so wired connections are definitely a good idea for gaming). The two satellites also have three Gigabit Ethernet ports of their own, along with one 2.5 Gigabit port, so you’ve got plenty of options for wired connections if you need them.

We do have some qualms about the Orbi app, though - especially as the information on the Orbi’s packaging seems to indicate that the app includes Netgear’s Smart Parental Controls and Armour security services. 

In fact, these services are only provided as a 30-day free trial, but then require additional subscription fees for both services. The Smart Parental Controls cost £6.99/US$7.99/AU$10.99 per month or £49.99/US$69.99/AU$99.99 per year, while UK users currently get a half-price offer for the Armour service, costing £42.50 for the first year, and then £84.99/US$99.99/AU$140 after that.

Performance and getting started

To be fair, the Orbi app does at least deserve credit for being easy to use. The app allows you to simply scan a QR code on the primary router, and will then automatically connect your smartphone or tablet to the new Orbi network, and also connect the primary router to its two satellites as well.

The app isn’t awash with additional features, though. It simply creates a single network that merges the 2.4GHz, 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz networks together, and automatically connects your computers and mobile devices to the fastest frequency band that is available. 

The network name (SSID) and password are printed on the same label as the QR code, so all we needed to do was to plug the three Orbi units into mains power and we had the new mesh network up and running in around 10 minutes.

Needless to say, this high-end mesh system took our network speed tests in its stride. We didn’t expect devices located in the same room as our existing broadband router to improve Wi-Fi performance with the Orbi, simply registering 100Mbps with the Ookla Speed Test, and 12.5MB/s for Steam downloads, which are the best speeds we can normally expect from our 100Mbps broadband service.

However, we have a back office that suffers with poor Wi-Fi, where we normally rely on a set of Powerline adaptors to provide a wired connection for our office computers. We placed one of the Orbi satellites in this office, and the other satellite in a nearby hallway, and this set-up gave us our maximum Wi-Fi speeds right off the bat, maintaining 100Mbps for the Ookla test, and 12.5MB/s with no trouble at all.

The price of the Orbi Quad-Band WiFi 6 obviously means that it’s very much at the luxury end of the market at the moment. But, as we’ve seen with Wi-Fi 6 in recent months, prices will soon start to come down, especially as new computers and mobile devices also start to adopt Wi-Fi 6E later this year.

Buy it if...

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• Check out the best Wi-Fi 6 routers

 As Virgin Media O2 celebrates its superfast Gig1 broadband going into its 15 millionth UK home, it showed us just how speedy it is with high-quality PORTL hologram technology.   

We get a glimpse into how the future of gaming is going to evolve, as they surprise a handful of lucky superfans with the hologram gaming experience and fastest-man-alive Usain Bolt to demonstrate the clear difference in speed with Gig1 broadband.  

Holograms: the future of Gaming?

How hologram tech is changing the future for Gaming Influencers 

Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt and Alex, a 16 year old up-and-coming British 100 metre sprinter from London—who happens to be a Bolt mega-fan—played online games with a twist as the Jamaican Olympic Gold medallist appeared virtually as a 4K hologram, giving the illusion that he was in the same room.

We asked Alex how he thought having hologram tech at home would change his gaming experience in the future:

“It would make the experience feel more real, as if my friends were really there with me in the room. I believe instead of speaking over the mic, speaking and seeing your friends through the PORTL will make the whole gaming experience much more enjoyable and sociable.”

Holograms: Public opinion

Survey: more than 60% cite gaming as favourite way to communicate

Today most gamers rely on headsets as their main means of communication while playing, but the PORTL hologram technology, powered by hyper-fast broadband from Virgin Media, allowed for improved teamwork as the lack of latency and the quality of the hologram was apparent.

New research from Virgin Media's hologram gaming campaign found that out of the 700 British people surveyed, more than half (60%) cite gaming as their new favourite way of communicating, with 40% preferring to game against friends via hologram than in person.

As a self-proclaimed gamer, Bolt told TechRadar from the hologram gaming room: “To see myself in 4K as a hologram was mind blowing and I think Virgin Media is doing a great job moving forward with their broadband.

“This hologram is breaking barriers and the possibilities are endless. I have a feeling that people are going to use it a lot in the near future.”

Bolt also revealed that while he uses Virgin Media broadband in his home in the UK, he would very much like to see the broadband service provider in his hometown in Jamaica.

Premium broadband for hologram gaming

Fancy a future in Hologram tech? You'll need superfast internet

With all the glitz and glam that comes with hologram technology, it’s easy to be less concerned with what makes it all possible.

The three-dimensional image generated by interfering beams of light that reflect real, physical objects, is reliant on fast broadband to aid with the media and audio being transmitted. 

The hologram gaming experience marked the completion of Virgin Media O2’s Gig1 broadband rollout to its entire network. Bringing to life the future of hyperfast broadband, 94% of gaming Brits are reliant on a good quality broadband connection, according to Virgin. 

Speaking to Oliver Kibblewhite, founder of The 5Gs, he explains, “Gig1 enables superfast update speed so we don't have to spend literal time compressing that video down. If you are doing Zoom at home, your computer spends a lot of time compressing the video down to be as small as possible so it can fit up the sub-par internet quality you may have at home."

Holograms: changing how we connect

Holograms will allow us to connect and communicate differently

Bolt’s gaming opponent, Alex, said the hologram technology could help people connect in a more realistic and sociable way, especially during the pandemic.

“It would help businesses, organizations and people who use social media, to communicate in such a realistic way without travelling to see them, saving time and increasing productivity to a certain extent. Hologram tech is the future,” he added.

We’ve already seen injections of hologram technology in the past, including holographic maps of “battle-spaces” for the US army, as well as hologram gaming arcades.

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “This incredible hologram technology, brought to life by the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt, shows just how far we have come in how we can engage, communicate and socialise in a virtual world. 

“Our gigabit broadband speeds can power the British homes of today and the future which will continue to consume more cutting-edge technology over the coming years as we find new and innovative ways to stay connected to the people that mean the most."

Holograms: the future of business

Hologram tech is quietly becoming the standard of business communication 

How often is your life grounded in an offline reality? It’s not a trick question, it’s a very normal one we could all be asking sooner than expected, thanks to advances in communications tech—especially in the workplace, and at home. 

With all the recent fuss around the Metaverse, NFT popularization and a ramping up of remote working that has seen the majority of us shift to living more of our lives online, the notion of a second, virtual life is becoming ever more commonplace. 

At the Facebook Connect October 2021 event Mark Zuckerberg happily shared his vision of the metaverse as one where we all engage “across different layers of reality.” Supporting his point, as of June 2021 over 70 million users across 200 countries had registered on the website of virtual world, Second Life. 

In fact, at the peak of the pandemic in March 2020, Forbes found COVID-19 had raised American’s “internet use 70% and streaming more than 12%.” Meanwhile in the UK, the BBC reported that broadband use had doubled nationally in December 2020.

In response shortly afterward, multiple tech giants including YouTube and Facebook significantly lowered the quality of video streaming to reduce network strain in Europe. So the question for 2021 quickly became: as we increasingly live our lives online, how will network speeds bear the strain? 

After all, network strain will continue to be a public challenge that affects the speed with which we can call colleagues, communicate with loved ones over FaceTime or simply send a WhatsApp message. To combat this, broadband provider Virgin Media is stepping up its network offering with superfast Gig1 Broadband. 

To test the speed and quality of Gig1, we met up with Virgin Media and its brand ambassador eight time gold-medal winning sprinter Usain Bolt. Bolt and Virgin Media are currently celebrating Gig1 broadband being installed in the 15 millionth home in the UK.

To demonstrate just how fast the Gig1 broadband is, they were kind enough to invite us to try out hologram streaming tech PORTL. 

As Greg Furber, the Creative Director of Creative Agency The 5Gs explains to us, “Today we are here to use Virgin’s Gig1 to show the speed and the latency [of the superfast broadband] and to do that, we are using PORTL [made by a company with the same namesake], which is essentially a hologram box. It’s a 4K 60 screen, the only one in the UK and one of very few in Europe.

"It's a new technology that came out pre-pandemic and is slowly rolling out in two phases. The guy who did the famous Tupac Coachella (2012) hologram is the guy that went on to found PORTL, so it’s very much a progression of that kind of technology. The plan for the hologram is to have it everywhere, and it would also do well in the retail industry.”

We were set up in two separate rooms to play video games, with one of us being projected into the PORTL hologram box that stood right next to the other player in the corresponding room. Thanks to the superfast Gig1 broadband we were able to see each other with crystal clarity as a hologram and hold a conversation whilst playing a video game in real-time. 

Greg explains what’s happening behind the scene to us, “The power of the [broadband] connection lets it run 200 milliseconds latency rather than a second or two where you get things like Zoom. 

"This allows you to send a much less compressed signal, which gets out of the building a lot quicker, which means there is less latency on the line when it’s going where it needs to."

How holograms work

How hologram technology works

How exactly does the hologram technology work? Using the PORTL hologram tech and high end broadcast equipment The 5Gs team were able to transmit real-time “video signals and reduce latency on the encode and stream” of Usain Bolt to mega-fan Alex.

Businesses are already using holography

Holography tech as a business communication tool

Using hologram tech is nothing new, but the technological advances that have come from hologram development in recent years are allowing us to use the technology more everyday. 

In our professional lives we are already seeing the impacts of hologram tech. The Microsoft HoloLens 2 is described as  an “ergonomic, untethered self-contained holographic device with enterprise-ready applications to increase user accuracy and output.” 

It has many potential uses, including training medical staff remotely for quicker onboarding of junior doctors, encouraging remotely-based office teams to collaborate more visually using hologram tech, as well as being another means of accessibility for those who have mobility impairments. 

In October of 2021, Cisco also released plans for their own augmented reality headset tech, namely Webex Hologram. Of course they’re still trialling the software, and hologram tech can take a while to get right as we saw with the flop of the RED Hydrogen One mobile phone in 2018. So for now, it’ll still be the same standard VoIP-based business telecommunications as usual. 

But as gamification becomes ever more favoured in employee training, and Gaming Influencers grow in popularity, hologram tech could be a part of our daily lives sooner than we think—just look at PORTL. 

The 5Gs Creative Director, Greg Furber explains the benefits of Holography best, “with Virtual Reality (VR) and other shared space tech, they overlook the fact you need a headset on so there’s that barrier. This hologram is the closest you’ll get to ‘in person’.”

Usain Bolt: full interview

Listen to the full interview with TechRadar and Usain Bolt