We tested the latest Powerline and WiFi combination from devolo, this time with WiFi 6 (802.11ax). In modern houses with thick walls, this provides a more stable, faster wireless network connection. Is this correct? How well does this network solution perform? Read it in this Devolo 2 Magic 2 Wifi 6 review.
Devolo 2 Magic 2 WiFi 6
Dimensions 76 x 152 x 40mm (2 x Magic 2 WiFi 6); 66 x 130 x 40mm (Magic 2 Lan)
Tested Firmware Version magic-2-lan-7.12.0.102 (LAN); 5.9.5 (Wi-Fi)
Platform HomeGrid Forum (HGF) G.hn; Powerline OFDM OFDM – 4096/1024/256/64-QAM, QPSK, BPSK (1200/2400 Mbits/s) & Wi-Fi 4/5/6
Standards IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3u, IEEE 802.3ab, IEEE 802.3x, IEEE 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax, k, v, r (2.4 / 5 GHz concurrent), IEEE 802.3az, IEEE 802.1p; Auto MDI/X; Wi-Fi Alliance; HomeGrid Forum (HGF) G.hn
Wifi details ‘574 (2.4 GHz) + 1201 (5 GHz) Mbit/s
Number of mimo streams (send x receive:spatial streams) 2 x 2 : 2
Combined wireless speed AC1800
Security WPA2/3 for WiFi and 128 bit AES encryption for the powerline connection
Coverage No specified coverage, but the powerline plugs have a cable range of up to five hundred meters
Connections 2 x gigabit ethernet lan on the wifi adapters, 1 gigabit ethernet lan on the lan adapter; integrated socket
Consumption 12.4 watts maximum, 8 watts average and 2.5 watts idle
Software Devolo Home Network app for Android and iOS; Cockpit software for Linux, macOS and Windows
Parts included Ethernet cable (round, 2 meters); installation brochure
Website devolo.nl
8 Score 80 
- Pros
- Easy installation
- Safe
- Fast
- Negatives
- Fairly large plugs
The Magic 2 WiFi 6 is the successor to the Magic 2 WiFi Next, which is still available. The products are essentially identical to each other, but this new version has WiFi 6 in addition to WiFi 4 and 5.
In appearance, the white, fairly large plugs do not differ from the previous versions. For example, there is still a built-in socket, so you don’t lose one when you plug in these plugs somewhere in the house.
multi-room
We tested the multiroom kit with two ‘WiFi Powerline’ plugs (with four integrated antennas), one smaller ‘LAN Powerline’ plug and a two meter long round Ethernet cable. That is enough to provide reasonably large homes with an opaque network.
You connect an existing router to the LAN plug, which then extends the local network and internet connections via the existing power network to the powerline plugs, each with two gigabit Ethernet ports and WiFi.
In a smaller home, the starter kit with a powerline and a lan plug may suffice. A separate powerline plug costs 180 euros. By the time you read this, devolo will also have kits with two and three powerline plugs. With these mesh kits you can further expand the network in (very) large buildings, or when obstacles such as extra thick walls hinder the wireless network.
Powerline and Wi-Fi
The powerline plugs work according to the Powerline G.hn standard with a range of up to 500 meters and a maximum throughput of 2.4 Gbit/s over a three-wire power cable.
You cannot combine the new plugs in the same powerline network with older HomePlug adapters, although you can use both systems together on the same power network. This is not recommended as it negatively affects the speed of the newer powerlines. The Wi-Fi plugs theoretically achieve speeds of up to 574 Mbit/s in the 2.4 GHz and up to 1201 Mbit/s in the 5 GHz frequencies.
All WiFi-6 innovations such as wpa3 security, multi-user mimo (with two two channels), band steering (automatically assigning the best frequency and channel) and fast roaming (automatically connecting client devices with the strongest wireless signal ) are supported.
fast roaming
Fast roaming or ieee 802.11r must also be present at the client level. Older equipment does not support this, but Devolo takes care of this with ‘access point steering’. The plugs themselves divide the bandwidth optimally between newer and older wireless equipment. In the absence of this technology, older clients could otherwise cause delays to the new clients.
Thanks to ‘config sync’ it is possible to automatically apply the WiFi settings of the existing router to all Devolo plugs. This is especially interesting in an environment with recent wireless equipment that is smart enough to choose the best signal for itself. It is also possible to split both WiFi frequencies into separate SSIDs and manually select the best connection on the client device.
Installing and commissioning the Devolo adapter
You install and manage everything with the Devolo Home Network app for Android 5.0 and iOS 12.0 and later. The installation procedure is very simple and essentially a matter of plugging in and running. Conveniently, you can simply move the powerline plugs without further actions. In this way you take your network with you everywhere in the house, as it were. The connection is restored within a minute; Pulling out a plug and plugging it in again elsewhere is a no-brainer.
Advanced options such as VPN, parental control and firewall protection can be arranged on your existing router or modem. Magic 2 WiFi 6 itself functions primarily as a network extender and relies on the connected router for most settings.
Performance
The Magic 2 WiFi 6 is in our usual comprehensive iperf3 benchmark, which we run on different devices and with various settings in a realistic environment with neighboring WiFi signals, on average more than 88 percent faster than the previous version. Depending on the location, we note realistic wireless throughput rates between 240 Mbit/s and 677 Mbit/s. The average real wireless network speed of all test locations is 444 Mbit/s.
But an average doesn’t say everything. We test in a large house on different floors. The Magic 2 WiFi 6 delivers approximately the same average throughput on each floor in the iperf3 benchmark. The plugs are also reasonably energy-efficient, even slightly more economical than the older Next version.
Want to know more about improving your Wi-Fi range and speed of your wireless network? Also follow the course Upgrade home network.
Conclusion
Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 outperforms the previous version of this product. It works especially well in buildings where a regular Wi-Fi signal is too weak to get past concrete walls and ceilings. Or in locations that are too far from a Wi-Fi router or access point. In these circumstances, the powerline technology provides stable connections via the power grid between self-configuring Wi-Fi access points and the central router or modem.
This is on the condition that the electricity grid is in order and has three-wire (grounding) everywhere. Once installed and configured, you don’t have to worry about the Magic 2 WiFi 6. Compared to purely wireless WiFi 6 mesh solutions, the price is not exaggerated either.
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