Mac Format - UK (2019-12)

How

do they

compare?

signal will allow

you to stream 4K

video and provide fast

Wi-Fi to multiple computers

and mobile devices all around

your home. Its app is easy to use too,

but rather limited in terms of features

and parental controls.

The Asus Lyra provides good, mid-range

performance and an easy-to-use app, but seems

a little pricey at nearly £300. If you’ve got some

really thick walls or other obstacles to deal with,

then the Powerline option provided by TP-

Link’s Deco P9 will be very useful and might

well swing the deal for you. However, it’s the

Zyxel Multy U that hits the sweet spot,

providing good performance at a

competitive price, along with a helpful

app that contains useful diagnostic

tools and parental controls.

DECEMBER 2019 | MACFORMAT | 89

A

ll of these mesh networking

systems achieve their primary aim

• which is to provide a reliable
  Wi-Fi signal to more distant areas within
  your home or office.
  If you’re on a tight budget then the low-cost
  D-Link Covr will give you ‘whole-home’ Wi-Fi
  with three routers for around £200. It’s not the
  fastest system in this group, but its speed of
  125Mbps in our Wi-Fi-challenged office is more
  than adequate for web browsing and streaming
  video. At the other end of the spectrum is
  Netgear’s high-performance Orbi. At £400, this
  two-router kit is a lot more expensive than any
  of its three-router rivals, but its 450Mbps Wi-Fi

The Zyxel Multy U hits the

sweet spot, thanks to its good

performance and helpful app

Note: The final verdict scores reflect the overall opinion of a product and are not necessarily an average of the criteria listed in the table.

Fast, affordable, and

easy-to-use Mesh Wi-Fi

> SPECS > Asus Lyra Trio > D-link Covr C1203 > Netgear Orbi RBK50 > TP-Link Deco P9 > Zyxel Multy U WSR30

PRICE £294.99 £217.99 £399.99 £199.99 £199

WEBSITE asus.com/uk eu.dlink.com/uk netgear.co.uk tp-link.com/uk zyxel.com/uk

NUMBER OF ROUTERS 3 3 2 3 3

SPEED AC1750 (dual-band) AC1200 (dual-band) AC3000 (tri-band) AC1200 (dual-band) AC2100 (tri-band)

RANGE 5,400sq ft 5,000sq ft 5,000sq ft 6,000sq ft 6,000sq ft

ANTENNAS 3x3 MU-MIMO 3x3 MU-MIMO 3x3 MU-MIMO 2x2 MU-MIMO 3x3 MU-MIMO

PORTS 2x Ethernet 2x Ethernet 4x Ethernet, 1x USB 2x Ethernet, Powerline 2x Ethernet

DIMENSIONS (HxWxD) 78x135123mm 51x117x109mm 226x170x79mm 190x91x91mm 30x123x123mm

SPEED (lounge) 282Mbps 218Mbps 600Mbps 291Mbps 280Mbps

SPEED (office) 272Mbps 125Mbps 450Mbps 250Mbps 250Mbps

LOOKS & DESIGN HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH

GETTING STARTED HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH

APP ASSISTANCE HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH

PERFORMANCE HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH

> Overall HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH HHHHH

Mesh routers APPLE CHOICE

THE WINNER

Zyxel Multy U

Good performance and an

affordable price combine to

make the Zyxel Multi U stand

out as our winner.