HWM+HardwareZone.com Tech Awards 2019: Editor's Choice - Part 2

Best Mesh Networking System

Best Mesh Networking System

Mesh networking systems are the hottest things in the world of networking in the past year. Essentially, these are systems that are sold in bundles (usually in packs of two or three) that spreads Wi-Fi across homes. The nodes communicate with each other via Wi-Fi and are vastly superior to Wi-Fi range extenders. They also broadcast a single SSID and feature intelligent switching, so there's no need to worry about manually switching networks.

To make the cut for this year’s awards, the nominee must be a mesh networking system that was launched in 2018, supports a true mesh networking topology and offer three wireless bands (tri-band Wi-Fi system).

Nominees:

• D-Link Covr-2202
• Netgear Orbi RBK20
• TP-Link Deco M9 Plus
• Synology MR2200ac

And the winner is...

The D-Link Covr-2202 easily takes this category thanks to its great performance, ease of use, and decent feature set. Its performance was outstanding across all of our tests, whether as a single unit or in a mesh network. Its speeds were higher and also more consistent across all tested ranges when compared to its rivals. And since the nodes are paired right out of the box, setup was a breeze. And although it doesn't have the rich features of some of its rivals, it has all of the basics such as guest networking and parental controls. Overall, this is the mesh networking system to have.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References section at the end.