Rockspace mesh Wi-Fi system review: Connect over 5GHz Review | ZDNet

I liked the ease of setting up the Rockspace mesh system when I reviewed it in 2020, so I was interested to take a look at Rockspace’s tri-and whole-home mesh Wi-FI.

A mesh Wi-Fi is a set of multiple devices, called nodes, that work as one system to blend your home Wi-Fi coverage to ensure even coverage across all areas. Your standard modem router broadcasts its signal from its location — meaning that, in some areas of your home, WI-Fi coverage can be less than optimal. Having a mesh system will ensure that all areas of your home receive a good strong signal.

If you live in a tiny space, your router may cover the whole of your space, but if you have a larger space, or want to ensure you have WI-Fi coverage outside, then consider getting a mesh system to extend your Wi-Fi coverage. Rockspace says its mesh system will support up to 100 devices, but I only managed to connect 43 devices before I ran out of hardware. All devices had no issues when concurrently connected.

Mesh systems work together to give you a single Wi-Fi system across your entire space using the same access point name and password. They give you the optimal speed and strength of Wi-Fi that your device actually needs, communicating with each other and moving your device connection from one mesh point to another as you move around your space.

The Rockspace Wi-Fi system can be installed in just a few minutes. Download the Rockspace app and go through the setup configuration process. Each mesh node is compact at 3.94 x 3.94 x 3.94 inches and in use is silent. Connect your mesh main Wi-Fi node to your modem, and give it a network name. Then, plug your other nodes into a power supply close to areas of poor reception. The nodes will communicate with each other and act as one mesh network.

The Rockspace Tri-Band Wi-Fi mesh will cover over 6,000 square feet both inside and outside of your home. The Wi-Fi mesh system operates at both 2.4GHz and 5 GHz (although you do need to enable smart assistance to enable 2.4GHz Wi-Fi to manage your smart devices).

The third 5.8GHz Wi-Fi band backhauls the Wi-Fi signal across the mesh nodes. Having a dedicated backhaul system means that the other nodes in the mesh do not need to split their wireless bands across all of the clients on the network. The backbone of the mesh network consists of direct connections between the nodes of the network.

I do like that the Rockspace system can enable you to set parental controls so that you can set online time restrictions for some of the devices on your network, and enable a guest network if you need to.

You can also set other settings such as UPnP, configure your DHCP server, tweak your DNS settings, and set a maintenance schedule where the mesh system will reboot itself

The only issue that I had with the Wi-Fi mesh system is the lack of information about its features in the quick start guide.

Only by going through all of the app features did I discover the smart assistance feature for my smart devices, and although the app is easy to use, you do need to look through every setting in the app to uncover all of its features and controls.

Currently on offer for under $205 — thanks to an $80 coupon and an extra 5% with code ZXWHWZRT — the Rockspace Mesh Tri-Band Wi-Fi system is certainly worth trying if you have areas of poor Wi-Fi connection throughout your home.