Devolo GigaGate

Mesh Wi-Fi is becoming increasingly popular, but not everything that appears to be mesh networking is the real thing. Take the Devolo GigaGate, for instance.

It’s designed with more of a focus on wired clients than wireless ones. The satellite unit offers five Ethernet sockets, but only broadcasts 802.11n Wi-Fi on the 2.4GHz band: the 5GHz band is entirely reserved for the backhaul connection. 

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As a result, while the GigaGate certainly managed to extend wireless coverage all over my home, it was far slower than the 802.11ac networks provided by other mesh kits. Indeed, if your internet connection is rated at 40Mbits/sec or above, it’s likely that a 2.4GHz connection won’t be able to keep up. In my home, I only got my full 4MB/sec download speeds in two locations – neither of them ones where I do much work.

For wired devices, the GigaGate does a much more satisfactory job, thanks to its heavy-duty 1,733Mbits/sec backhaul. Installed in a room adjacent to the router, it gave me an excellent 60MB/sec downstream over Gigabit Ethernet. Even when moved to the far end of the house it kept up a very respectable 27.6MB/sec.

Unfortunately, there’s a catch here too. Only one of the GigaGate’s five sockets is capable of Gigabit speeds; the rest are rated for 100Mbits/sec, which means download speeds top out at 11MB/sec. That’s fine for a smart TV or a printer, but if you want to connect several desktop computers, you’ll get a faster connection from – for example – the Zyxel Multy X.

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Devolo GigaGate review: Verdict

There is a niche market for the Devolo GigaGate. It could be ideal for a small office, or for wiring up a home entertainment centre if your modem is located in another room.

The fact that it’s cheap doesn’t hurt either. But if you’ve any interest in upgrading your wireless network, it’s impossible to recommend a 2.4GHz-only device like this: any other system will give you a much faster connection.