D-Link EAGLE PRO AI AX1500 Mesh System - M15 product reviews

WiFi 6 5GHz is the first full-duplex protocol, which effectively allows for simultaneous 2-way communication between devices. Prior to this WiFi was half-duplex, allowing data to only travel in one direction at a time. This, if nothing else, makes upgrading to WiFi 6 an important item on any tech-user's to-do list. Combining this performance boost with the reliability and physical expandability of a mesh network and you have the makings of a blazingly fast home network at a price-point that won't cost you a vital organ or two. That said, it is important to note that because this kit is backwardly compatible, it has both the perks of WiFi 6 and the limitations of lower protocols. It supports 2.4Ghz 300Mbps half-duplex, 5Ghz 433/866 Mbps half-duplex and 1200Mbps full-duplex for Wi-Fi 6 clients and communication between the Router and Satellites. It also supports 1-gigabit cable connection through the ethernet ports on each unit, which you can use to connect the nodes and provide a dedicated backhaul channel, freeing up all the WiFi resources for mobile devices. However, this does mean that the nodes will flip from 'mesh' to 'access point' mode - which may or may not suit your needs, but it's worth exploring.

With the WiFi 6 'ax' protocols reaching speeds of up to 11,000, this kit with a 1,500 rating is at the lower end of the range and as such will suit those who have low wireless needs, such as a small home with a couple of smartphones and maybe some smart home devices such as an Alexa or Google Assistant smart-speaker. If your home is a gamerzone that runs 7th-generation or higher gaming consoles over wireless, you'll find this unit is underpowered for your needs and you should be looking at some of the gruntier options out there. D-Link have a number of units that will suit you better.

At first glance, you could be forgiven for wondering if these three little white boxes are going to perform - they will, because physical size is not really related to digital performance. The biggest benefit these have is their small size, making them easy to tuck away on a bookcase or shelf to provide room-wide coverage without being in-your-face or a huge blocky grey blob sitting in the middle of your coffee table. Being subtle and discrete should be the prime consideration, and these certainly fit the bill there. All you need, at the bare minimum, is access to a power socket close by. If your power socket is a fair way away from where you want to place a node, be aware you'll need to get an extension lead since the adaptor's cable is just under 1m long - about half the length I would have expected to see considering how cheap 2-core cable is.

Setup is simple enough: power up the prime node - marked with a '1' on it - and wait for the LED to start flashing orange, then plug it into your modem using the supplied ethernet cable. Once the LED glows a steady white, power up the satellite nodes and wait for them to start flashing orange. At that point, press the WPS button on each satellite unit and your router to let them talk it out between them. Once all the LEDs are all glowing solid-white, your network is up and running. Log into the network using the SSID and password printed on the sticker, or use a web browser to visit 192.168.0.1 to manually configure the settings and create a new password.

There is an Eagle Pro app you can download which has many basic features you can explore and play with, and the web interface reveals that the hardware has very similar software to D-Link's bigger routers, meaning it has all the bells and whistles you could expect, and likely more than all but the most techno-savvy would ever want to play with. Follow the golden rule of "if it works, don't mess with it" and you will likely see problem-free performance right out of the box.

For testing, I kept Node 1 right by the router to ensure it had a solid connection, I placed Node 2 in line of sight down the hallway in the lounge about 10m away and Node 3 was placed in the crafting room which was only 5m away but had a fairly solid wall and a display cabinet in between it and the primary node. Checking the signal strength, both nodes were registering as 'good' which means that they had a solid connection but it was at the limit of tolerable. I think if I moved them any further from the main node, the signal would have dropped out a lot. Using an app on my phone to test the signal off the main node at each location, I was seeing between -46 and -50dB which is certainly at the limit of usefulness. I was able to move Node 3 a bit closer and got -42dB which did make some difference, but not a major one. Ideally, I would have liked to have seen nothing worse than -25dB.

I saw good data throughput - I was able to watch 2k movies from my NAS without any buffering or dropouts, I had no trouble moving large files between my phone and my workstation in an acceptable amount of time, and streaming music proved seamless... all of which was as expected. Not being a gamer, I don't have huge data throughput needs and it also means I don't have the hardware to test that. Not that I would even bother to test ultra-high-throughput on a rig rated at only 1500ax. I feel it is very important to reiterate the point that this is NOT gamer-grade gear. It is aimed at, and will suit the needs of, a low-data household.

Overall, this is a good kit for those who have a small apartment or unit and want to ensure the WiFi reaches into both the bedroom and bathroom so that they are always able to check their instasocialbook at a moment's notice. For larger dwellings, a larger kit would be better suited - aim for something with at least 4000ax on the box. I can highly recommend the D-Link EXO AX AX5400 Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Router - DIR-X5460 as a far more gamer-friendly bit of kit. The way it flips from Mesh to Extender when you connect them with ethernet cables is a bit of a let-down because it effectively becomes a new network with its own SSID and login required, but there are situations where that would be a practical compromise. It's perfect if you want to set it up in the sleepout that you maybe rent out as an Airbnb now and then, and don't want guests knowing your main login or having access to your internal network of devices. It's a tolerable starter kit for those who may want a small mesh network without all the hassle, but still carrying some high-end features that are only available with WiFi 6.