Dlink COVR-X1873 AX1800 Mesh Wi-Fi 6
A Wi-Fi 6 system at a reasonable price? Call us interested.
We’ve been somewhat unimpressed with D-Link’s middling Wi-Fi offerings in recent times, but here’s a three-node, Wi-Fi 6 system that costs significantly less than its rivals. Could this be the product to buy?
The three nodes are identical and quite large. They also feel a bit cheap, plasticy and lightweight but from a distance, they’re relatively unobtrusive and would fit well into most stylish living rooms without blighting their appearance. Set-up is very simple: you download the app, scan a QR code in the box and follow the instructions regarding setting-up passwords. After the first node is complete, simply powering on the other two sees them added to the network automatically. You’re then invited to update the firmware and are good to go in about ten minutes.
The D-Link Wi-Fi app is simple and intuitive to use but it might feel a little lightweight in features to advanced users. You can see what’s connected to a network, its MAC address and IP address along with a button to block access to the network. You can also pause internet access to the entire network, connect to Google Assistant and Alexa voice controls, enable guest Wi-Fi and adjust parental controls. The latter allows you to assign different devices to different users and set bedtime or custom internet access schedules in half-hour increments. Accessing additional settings requires the old-school approach of using a web browser. This provides access to the usual consumer-based Wi-Fi features including device-priority-based QoS, port forwarding and better monitoring tools. However, it wouldn’t allow us to access the network via the internet.
In terms of physical features, we were impressed to see that each node has a WPS button, a Gigabit WAN port plus four Gigabit Ethernet ports. That’s very generous.
Despite the dual-band, Wi-Fi 6 AX 1800(Mbps) speed rating we’ve learned to take that with a pinch of salt: Wi-Fi 6 mesh systems usually lose significant velocity at distance, despite boosting coverage. We ran our usual tests in our three-storey Sydney town house which saw us downloading large video files to a Dell XPS 15 OLED laptop from a Synology DS1019+ NAS residing on the ground floor, next to the router. Up close we registered scorching 668Mbps transfer speed which is one of the top five fastest wireless speeds we’ve ever seen. One floor up this dropped to 158Mbps while two floors up it managed 125Mbps. Although the drop-off is significant, the transfer rates are still the best for any regular mesh on the market.
At $549 (RRP) it’s significantly cheaper than its rival TP-Link Deco X60 AX3000 mesh kit which now costs $700 and is slightly slower. However, while it’s nice to have a mesh system that utilises the latest Wi-Fi technology, we’re still concerned about why previous-generation Wi-Fi 5 routers like D-Link’s own EXO DIR-3060 are noticeably faster at distance (and cheaper at $359). Still, this is arguably the best value mesh on the market that will be able to manage multiple devices across large premises, even if speeds aren’t the best at distance.
Potentially fast, decent coverage and a reasonable price tag – everything most people want from a mesh.