Chinese firm Huawei has launched two new mesh Wi-Fi systems: this WiFi Mesh 7 kit and the more affordable WiFi Mesh 3, which we’ll review in our next issue. We’ve chosen to review the Mesh 7 first because it’s faster and more powerful. We’ll reveal which one offers the best value for money once we’ve seen what the Mesh 3 can do. Read our Huawei WiFi Mesh 7 Review.
Table of Contents
This model comes as a pack of two fairly large units that are 221mm tall. They’re easy to connect to, with a WPS button on the front, an NFC pad on the top (for wirelessly connecting Android phones) and four Gigabit Ethernet sockets around the back (pictured below).
Each unit houses three Wi-Fi 6 radios, consisting of one 2.4GHz and two 5GHz transmitters, one rated up to 1.2Gbps and the other 4.8Gbps. This tri-band technology allows the units to send data between themselves over a dedicated channel, without affecting the performance of the main network.
Wireless performance is pretty good. After setting up the two units in suitable locations in our test house, we were able to download files at impressively consistent speeds. We measured an average of 34MB/s in our kitchen, 35MB/s in our living room and bathroom and 38MB/s in our bedroom. In the study, where the main mesh unit was located, the rate leapt up to 59MB/s.
“Offers consistently high speeds across the entire house”
There are faster mesh systems out there. The TP-Link Deco X90 (www.snipca.com/42078, reviewed in Issue 633) provided over 60MB/s in every room, but it’s significantly more expensive at £ We’ve seen similar top speeds from cheaper dual-band mesh routers, such as the Netgear Orbi RBK352 (£ from www.snipca.com/38244, reviewed in Issue 607), but its speeds aren’t as consistent across the entire house.
The WiFi Mesh 7’s network can be managed via an app or a web portal. The web interface is clean and clearly laid out. The app, by contrast, feels thrown together, with inconsistent graphics across different pages and a confusing structure.
One feature of the software that we particularly like is its band-splitting tools. Most mesh systems merge all the radios under a single name, so you can’t choose which network to send devices to. This one lets you give each one a different name, providing more options regarding which network you join.
SPECIFICATIONS
Tri-band 2.4GHz/5GHz • Wi-Fi 6 • 4x Gigabit Ethernet (per unit) • 221x76x150mm • 895g (per unit) • Twoyear warranty
VERDICT
An excellent two-unit mesh router that provides consistent Wi-Fi speeds across your entire house10/10
ALTERNATIVE
TP-Link Deco X90
This two-unit mesh kit can provide faster speeds, but it’s significantly more expensive