Devolo Mesh WiFi 2

An all-in-one powerline and mesh networking kit

- Cliff Joseph

£299.99 (Multiroom Kit) FROM Devolo, devolo.co.uk FEATURES 802.11ac Wi-Fi on 2.4 or 5GHz bands, powerline connectivity, 2x2 MIMO; 3 adapters, 2m Ethernet cable

Devolo’s new Mesh WiFi 2 products combine powerline connectivity with far-reaching mesh Wi-Fi that can penetrate brick walls and cover your entire home. That versatility comes at a price though, and the three-adapter Multiroom Kit here costs £299.99. (There’s also a two-piece Starter Kit for smaller homes for £199.99.)

The chunky adapters are designed to plug directly into a mains power socket so that their 2,400Mbps powerline connectivity can send data to other rooms over your mains electrical wiring. They also include a pass-through socket, so that you can use that for other devices.

Unfortunately, Devolo’s documentation is rather vague. Devolo claims that the system provides ‘tri-band’ connectivity – most people would assume this to mean ‘tri-band Wi-Fi’. In fact, the Mesh WiFi 2 adapters only provide dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, with the powerline wired connection being counted as the ‘third band’.