Vilo Mesh WiFi
A $ 20 per node mesh system that is easy to recommend and configure
Fairy Mesh Wireless
The era of routers adorned with ugly insect-like antennas may not be over, but you don’t need to plant a plastic WiFi cactus in the middle of your house to get a good signal. In fact, it is better not to have it. Mesh systems are much better for wrapping your home in a warm Wi-Fi blanket, but they’re generally expensive. A “cheap” system could sell for $ 150. So imagine how awesome it was when Vilo announced the $ 20 Pernode mesh WiFi solution. And after more than 4 months of testing, I can only recommend it.
Design, material, scope of delivery
The Vilos Mesh-WLAN system does not have a product name or a smart design. This is a simple rectangular plastic prism with rounded edges, hidden vents and a logo on the top. It doesn’t have the flashy “extreme” look that high-end routers targeting gamers can’t avoid, but it’s not as chic as Google’s curvy Nest Wifi. Nevertheless, it must be in harmony with the other materials of the desk, table or shelf.
There are no annoying lights on the front, just a single status indicator and a “mesh” button (called in the Vilo documentation) that you won’t touch unless you need to add a new network node. This status light is bright enough during the day and small enough not to distract at night. (If you are working in the dark, there is no annoying blue halo behind your computer.) The LED flashes red if there is a problem and blue if the wireless signal is connected to the master node.
On the back of the is Ethernet and power, plus a reset button. There are two LAN ports and one “WAN / LAN” port for each node. You can also use wireless backhaul by wiring the device through a LAN port or switching to a mesh network. The WAN port is used to connect to a modem, but it also serves as a LAN port for satellite nodes that do not require a modem connection. That is, you can have three Ethernet ports per satellite node and two Ethernet ports on the console. .. (All Vilo units are the same. The main / main router is the router you originally configured or to which this function was assigned.) The lower cylindrical connector provides power. Simply plug in the barrel connector, wire your modem and you’re good to go with a very simple and easy installation process. In an interview with the Setup and Software ad, he pointed out that this was “the fastest setup process I’ve personally seen on a mesh system” and it’s true. It took very little time for all three nodes to be operational. And I didn’t have to do much.
Install and launch the Vilo app, create an account, tap + Add Vilo and follow the hard to bypass steps by following the instructions. That is, you need to connect the main node to the modem and connect to the Vilo_xxxx network. This will throw off the node as soon as it is powered on (the password is on the bottom of the router and you can scan the QR code on your iPhone). side). Specify a name and password for the network (login below). If there is only one vilo, the basic setup process is complete.
If you have more than one from the same package, an additional vilo will be set up automatically. It’s very useful. Literally just plug them where you want. When in range, they automatically connect to other units in the same package without your attention or effort. This is the easiest mesh WiFi setup process ever. If you buy additional nodes later or choose individually packaged units, the process will be a bit more complicated as you will have to manually connect them to the setup, but essentially others Identical to the mesh router. When I started to check the router there were some noticeable issues. I couldn’t even use the SSID space for the network name, which was pretty ridiculous. Wi-Fi calling was not working at all and firmware updates from the pre-release were not possible at all. Fortunately, the company solved all of these issues. The Vilo app handles all configuration settings, firmware updates, parental controls, and device management, but it’s pretty straightforward.
You cannot perform moderately advanced operations such as configuring static / reserved DHCP on your network device. For example, some printers may have problems if they do not always get the same internal network IP. This means that it does not always work correctly on the Vilo network. (Update: Vilo says it’s happening, but it’s not ready yet.) If you are using a static IP address through your ISP, the Vilo setup process may not work, but later. You can change to a static IP. As far as I know I cannot manually assign network channels or channel widths, but 2.4-5GHz band direction is supported. Everything here revolves around simple and basic features. This means that no one who has changed the current router settings in the Advanced tab will be satisfied.