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This overview first appeared in subject 349 of PC Pro.
The place TP-Hyperlink’s Deco XE200 reverse takes a maximalist strategy, the Asus ZenWiFi XD5 goes within the different path. Relatively than the quickest attainable efficiency, it provides an honest Wi-Fi 6 community at a sexy worth, by way of two or three boxy little stations which can be sufficiently small to cover away round your property.
That’s to not say the XD5 models are disagreeable to have a look at. The rounded cuboid design is clear and fashionable, with a refined spiral sample on high. The bottom of every station homes a multicolored standing LED, though this could’t be seen from all angles because it’s unhelpfully tucked away beneath the primary physique.
Internally, the XD5 is an easy dual-band mesh, with a single 5GHz radio connection for each shopper and backhaul communications. It’s rated at an inexpensive 2.4Gbits/sec, nonetheless, with 2×2 MIMO and help for 160MHz channels, so there’s an honest quantity of bandwidth available. The two.4GHz radio is rated at 574Mbits/sec, which needs to be tremendous for the varieties of system that also use the slower band.
I arrange one station within the examine of my dwelling and the opposite within the adjoining bed room. Asus means that two XD5 models will cowl an space of as much as 325m2, whereas including a 3rd extends claimed protection to 465m2 – though efficiency will naturally rely upon the structure and construct of your property.
With my models in place, I took a laptop computer to varied places round the home, copied a number of information to and from a NAS equipment linked to the first XD5 unit by way of Ethernet, and measured the efficient speeds. Regardless of the XD5’s small measurement and modest {hardware}, two stations proved ample to offer sturdy, constant efficiency throughout my dwelling, with obtain charges between 34 and 40MB/sec. That’s nowhere close to the speeds you’ll see from the costliest meshes, however greater than sufficient to deal with Zoom calls, Disney Plus, internet searching and no matter else you’re prone to wish to do, whether or not you’re enjoyable on the couch or working a enterprise from dwelling.
On the software program aspect of issues there’s no compromise in any respect: the ZenWiFi XD5 system makes use of the identical full-fat firmware as discovered on Asus’ most costly meshes and routers, with administration by way of both the Asus Router cell app or the normal internet portal. The 2 interfaces are fully completely different, which generally is a little disorienting when you hop backwards and forwards between them, however they’re each clear and accessible, contemplating the vary of settings and options on supply. These embody not solely intensive management over the essential configuration of your community, however an entire slew of superior options, similar to intensive traffic-management and QoS choices, plus a configurable built-in firewall.
As if that weren’t sufficient, the XD5 additionally provides per-device parental controls, with customizable internet filtering for teenagers’ gadgets, plus community safety scanning powered by Development Micro. These instruments are all free to make use of eternally – an amazing bonus, as most competing meshes demand an annual payment to completely unlock such capabilities.
Lastly, it’s all the time good to see Asus’ trademark VPN module. In addition to allowing safe inbound connections over the web, this allows you to configure as much as 16 third-party outbound VPN servers and bind every one to any variety of MAC addresses – enabling you to route your site visitors everywhere in the world, when you so need.
The one factor that’s notably lacking is USB help. Older, chunkier ZenWiFi fashions provided the power to share USB storage gadgets and printers over the community, and even to plug in a 4G or 5G cell web adapter ought to your major broadband line go down. The smaller XD5 models don’t have USB ports, so all that’s off the desk.
It’s additionally value mentioning that every ZenWiFi unit has solely two Ethernet sockets, each restricted to gigabit speeds. It’s a serviceable minimal, but when your community makes use of a mix of wireless and wired connections you may desire a mesh with a number of extra ports, and maybe a multi-gigabit possibility. Whereas the ZenWiFi XD5 in all fairness priced, there are actually cheaper mesh choices. The Huawei Mesh 3 can at present be had for £180 inc VAT, whereas the Mercusys Halo H80X prices solely £135 for 3 models, or £95 for 2. That’s a wonderful deal, because the Mercusys mesh offers general related efficiency to the ZenWiFi XD5, with an additional increase for same-room connections. Nonetheless, it’s a much more primary system, with not one of the XD5’s refined software program options.
If you’d like extra hands-on management, then, the Asus ZenWiFi XD5 is likely one of the most interesting meshes round. It doesn’t max out the efficiency of Wi-Fi 6, however it’s speedy sufficient that only a few folks might want to pay extra – and its sheer versatility and configurability put cheaper programs to disgrace.