STEALTH AND POWER

If you think all WiFi routers are pretty much the same, you need to think about how often you've been frustrated by dodgy connections, slow downloads and streaming issues.

It's possible your ISP has sent you a premium device to keep your whole household connected, but if they sent it to you for free, it's probably not that premium.

You don't actually have to spend your life rebooting your router or accidentally using up your mobile data because you've disconnected from your WiFi without realising...

The EXO AC2600 router from D-Link is one of the quickest and easiest ways you can supe up your WiFi. I'm not going to bog you down with too many techie stats and figures, but I can tell you the AC2600 is one of D-Link's range of MU-MIMO devices. Not only is that fun to say, but it's good news if you have multiple people trying to stream multiple things on multiple devices all at once. Those antennae that are so long they don't even fit in my photo, enable the AC2600 to separate out different streams for different devices, meaning everybody gets the most efficient use of the available WiFi without getting all clogged up fighting over one access point.

The sheer brute power of the AC2600 is a real boon too. Although the unit itself is very compact and easily concealed, I found the area covered to be as big, if not bigger than any other router I've tried. However, if like me, you have a house that seems to be specifically designed to defeat any attempts at comprehensive and consistent WiFi coverage, the good news is D-Link has a range of extenders that are not only easier to set up than ever, but are genuinely powerful enough to really fill up those WiFi dead spots.

One such device is the AC1200...

I'll happily endorse this as the easiest-to-set-up extender I've ever plugged in. By simply pushing the quick-connect buttons on both the AC2600 router and AC1200 extender, they pair themselves in about 60 seconds and you're good to go. The AC1200 adopts the name of your existing network, adds an "EXT" to the end of it and keeps the same password to make connecting easy.

Again there are external antennae providing excellent reception and even though it's a mere extender, you still get the choice of both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands to split up the traffic.

That all works brilliantly - as long as you keep it simple.

However, D-Link claims both these devices are "Whole Home WiFi Ready." This apparently is D-Link's version of MESH WiFi - the idea being you have just one network name (SSID) all over your home and your devices just grab hold of the most powerful signal.

Sounds good... trouble is, I couldn't figure out how to do it. Now, I'm used to setting up gadgets. I'm a nerd. Setting up gadgets is my jam. But this had me stumped. What's really bizarre is I can't find any instructions on how to do it anywhere. Not in the box. Not online. Not on the D-Link website. And what's really weird is, nobody else in the world seems to have tried to do it either. I keep thinking I've imagined that "Whole Home WiFi Ready" is a thing. But no, it's definitely on the website, there's a logo on the boxes so... how do you do it???

I tried simply naming the extender's network the same name as the base unit. (You can make more advanced adjustments like this using D-Link's QRS app) This looked like it was working, as only one name then appeared in the list of available networks. I was able to connect my Galaxy Note8 to this new, super network and it did indeed seem to provide me with comprehensive coverage wherever I roamed around the homestead.

Other, older phones experienced uncharacteristic dropouts though and as for my Chromecast, it got totally confused and refused to stay connected at all, no matter how many times I told it which network to join. So, either this isn't how "Whole Home WiFi Ready" networks are supposed to be set up, or older devices just aren't up to it.

So yeah... as for "Whole Home WiFi Ready" sadly I'm still none the wiser.

On the plus side, as I've already mentioned, the AC2600 is a lot more slimline, compact and subtle than some of its brightly coloured modem router cousins. This makes it a lot easier to hide away behind cabinets or on top shelves. In spite of its smaller size, you still get four LAN ports for direct connection and 2 USB ports, including a USB-3 which makes for a great media server interface.

The AC1200 extender is weirdly less easy to tuck away than some other similar devices. It actually sticks out from the wall socket quite some way and takes up more than its fair share of socket space making it impossible to plug something else in if you're using a double socket, either side-by-side or in a vertical configuration.

And yet, it definitely provides a strong, stable signal and also includes an ethernet port so in effect you can use the AC1200 as a wireless access point for devices that don't have their own WiFi capability.

In concert, the AC2600 router and AC1200 extender are certainly capable of covering every inch of most New Zealand homes, reliably and at great speeds.

If only we could get that "Whole Home WiFi" up and running, then we'd really be cooking.


Click here for more information and pricing on the D-Link EXO AC2600 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi Router

Click here for more information and pricing on the D-Link AC1200 Wi-Fi Range Extender