Professional's Ranking
Execs
- Quick Wi-Fi efficiency
- Extremely straightforward to arrange
- Good app with some helpful options
Cons
- Necessary subscription on prime of {hardware} prices
- SuperPods block adjoining mains sockets
- Costly in comparison with different methods
Our Verdict
The brand new Wi-Fi 6 SuperPods present nice speeds and good protection, however the pricing construction is geared in the direction of consumers with smaller properties. Clients with better networking wants will wish to store round.
Plume may not be a very acquainted title in residence networking, however it was one of many first corporations to carry out a mesh Wi-Fi package again in 2016.
It has launched improved variations through the years and has just lately made its Wi-Fi 6 SuperPods accessible within the UK, having been within the US for some time.
The Pods, which look somewhat like they’ve been taken from the set of Star Trek, are smaller than you’d count on and are designed to plug straight into mains sockets. Not like most mesh Wi-Fi methods, there’s a compulsory subscription service referred to as HomePass, a subscription service which incorporates sensible safety features, an ad-blocker and 24/7 technical help. Plus, you get a lot of the common options we’ve come to count on from the very best mesh Wi-Fi methods.
The unique SuperPods, which you'll nonetheless purchase at the moment, featured the older Wi-Fi 5 commonplace, and a more recent Wi-Fi 6E mannequin is accessible within the U.S. now. These Wi-Fi 6 variations, also referred to as ‘SuperPods AX’, are what we’re reviewing right here.
There’s rather a lot on supply right here, however does ‘renting’ your mesh Wi-Fi make sense long run, and the way do the prices stack up when you want extra protection? And what kind of efficiency are you able to count on from the Wi-Fi 6 SuperPods anyway?
Thomas Newton / Foundry
Design & construct
- 96 x 87 x 40mm
- Two Ethernet ports per gadget
- Put money into extension leads if you wish to reposition SuperPods
Plume’s hexagonal SuperPods are fairly curious-looking gadgets. There are not any exterior antennas; every part is tucked away into items which plug straight into the wall, very similar to an old style Wi-Fi extender.
However, whereas they’re small and nifty, they're additionally reasonably awkwardly formed. The casing followers out from the bottom, which signifies that they'll block adjoining sockets that you just want for different home equipment.
You might also have a dilemma when you’re trying to set up a SuperPod in a room the place you need further protection, however the place of your mains sockets simply so occurs to be lower than optimum for wi-fi networking functions.
For the very best outcomes, wi-fi entry factors must be positioned someplace out within the open, as far-off from bodily objects, which can impede radio frequencies, as potential. This can be difficult in sure rooms, reminiscent of kitchens, the place there are sometimes plenty of beautiful RF-impeding steel objects mendacity round, and plug sockets are positioned beneath wall-mounted cupboards.
In excessive circumstances, you may have to get an electrician in to put in some new SuperPod-specific mains sockets for you.
However as a substitute of doing that, you possibly can join an extension result in a mains socket after which plug your Plume SuperPod into that. That is what I needed to do within the first occasion, because it wasn’t sensible for me to have the first SuperPod jostling for place with the modem’s energy provide.
This considerably spoils the SuperPods’ neat and tidy aesthetic, as you possibly can see beneath, however at the least there’s no likelihood of your pets knocking the issues over.
Thomas Newton / Foundry
Setup
- Trouble-free set up
- Increasing protection is kind of actually a case of plug ‘n’ play
Most trendy mesh Wi-Fi merchandise are very straightforward to arrange, however the Plume SuperPods are probably the best I’ve examined so far. That is all a part of the ‘self-optimising’ and adaptive a part of HomePass – it handles every part for you.
Whether or not you find yourself getting two, three, 4 or extra SuperPods, you’ll want to attach the primary one to your modem/router through Ethernet, as you usually would with any mesh system, to behave as the principle node.
You’ll want Plume’s HomePass app (iOS and Android) to finish the set-up course of, so obtain and set up that first, after which create an account.
You’ll then join the primary SuperPod to your modem through Ethernet (Plume features a 150cm Ethernet cable within the field), plug the Pod into the mains, after which restart your modem / router.
The HomePass app ought to detect the SuperPod and, as soon as an Web connection is established, you possibly can add new Pods to the community. It is a easy case of plugging them in, turning on the ability, and ready a couple of seconds for a connection to be established. That’s it.
There’s no faffing round, pairing gadgets through Bluetooth or scanning in QR codes in your telephone so as to add the brand new Pods, you simply plug them in and so they join virtually immediately.
As soon as achieved, you’ll be prompted to rename the community and create a robust password. Any updates which can be found shall be put in at this stage. The entire course of took lower than ten minutes to finish.
Thomas Newton / Foundry
Options and utilizing the HomePass app
- Distant community administration out of your telephone – however not your desktop
- Visitor Wi-Fi with Web-only mode, port forwarding and risk detection options
- Sense movement detection function is intriguing, however not tremendous helpful
Like many mesh Wi-Fi apps, HomePass offers you a fast overview of every part that’s happening on your private home community. You'll be able to see which gadgets are linked to which SuperPods, and to additionally assign gadgets to non-public profiles and apply restrictions like blocklists to these profiles and gadgets, if you wish to. That’s much like how Eero Safe on the Eero 6 Professional works.
There’s a built-in advert blocker, though I with it turned on, YouTube movies with paid promotion which I attempted to look at on my Pixel 6 had been blacked out. I turned the blocker off, reset the app, and the movies labored as they need to.
There’s additionally risk detection, which notifies you when you’ve visited any web sites which might harbour malware. It’ll additionally block any suspicious incoming visitors, and quarantine IoT gadgets in your community which are behaving suspiciously.
Whereas useful, you’ll wish to lean on a devoted safety software program package deal for extra complete safety in your laptops, PCs and telephones: this doesn’t substitute Norton, McAfee or different antivirus software program.
There’s a Visitor Wi-Fi function, which is not any shock, however Plume has an added twist. You'll be able to choose from a ‘Visitor’ mode, which lets you share entry to issues like set-top bins and sensible audio system through a Visitor Wi-Fi community or, an ‘Web solely’ mode, which is self-explanatory.
There’s additionally a velocity take a look at and a breakdown of which gadgets are consuming probably the most bandwidth in your community.
Extra settings embody port forwarding and first and secondary DNS particulars. You'll be able to’t arrange a VPN on the SuperPods themselves, though you can put the gadgets into bridge mode and permit your present router (with VPN help) to do all of the work of routing knowledge across the community.
Frustratingly, there’s no management over Wi-Fi past setting a community title and password. You'll be able to’t separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, an issue we discover on many mesh methods. This isn’t often a dealbreaker: it’s a bonus most often. However when you've got Wi-Fi gadgets that may solely use 2.4GHz and you may’t power your telephone onto that band, setting them up and utilizing them will be problematic, if not unimaginable.
Thomas Newton / Foundry
There‘s a desktop portal you possibly can log into along with your Plume account settings which supplies you entry to a lot of the knowledge that’s accessible through the cellular app. Nevertheless, you received’t have the ability to configure something from this interface, so it’s extra of a dashboard than a management panel.
As talked about, Plume Sense can be careful for interruptions in Wi-Fi alerts brought on by individuals, pets, and different issues shifting across the residence. It is a form of camera-less residence safety function.
You'll be able to have Sense notify you of movement in your home when no one is at residence, which could possibly be helpful. And like comparable methods in different mesh Wi-Fi kits, there’s an choice to dial down the sensitivity in order that it doesn’t notify you if pets occur to set off the movement.
I discovered Sense to be fairly efficient, however not notably helpful. If you happen to get a movement alert and also you’re not residence, you wish to see what’s occurring. If you happen to can’t, then merely realizing there's movement shouldn't be useful.
In the interim, Plume’s not saying what else it may need in retailer for Sense. If you happen to don’t wish to use it, you possibly can merely flip it off.
Thomas Newton / Foundry
Efficiency
- Peak speeds in extra of 1,000Mbps at shut ranges
- Count on nearer to 500Mbps in adjoining rooms and on older gadgets
- Protection from three SuperPods is OK, however giant properties will want extra nodes
Speeds recorded in testing had been according to expectations – you’ll have the ability to get above 1,000Mbps on trendy Wi-Fi 6 gadgets if that gadget is near a SuperPod. For probably the most half, count on to see speeds inside 500-600Mbps.
These SuperPods are ‘AX6600’ gadgets. Particularly, they're tri-band that includes a 2×2 MIMO 2.4GHz antenna and a 2×2 MIMO 5GHz antenna. The third band is a 4×4 MIMO 5GHz radio.
Theoretical prime speeds are 574Mbps on the two.4 GHz band, 1201Mbps through the two×2 5GHz band, and 4804Mbps on the 4×4 5GHz band.
It’s unclear which of the 5GHz antennas have been put aside for devoted wi-fi backhaul, or if the 2 antennas mechanically swap, like on the Eero 6 Professional.
Regardless of repeatedly asking Plume for this info, I by no means received a solution.
Mesh methods with devoted wi-fi backhaul have a separate 5GHz channel that’s reserved for the entry factors to ship community visitors between them, in order to not congest the 5GHz radio bands utilized by your gadgets. Ethernet backhaul can be supported, however I wasn’t in a position to take a look at this out.
Regardless, speeds had been respectable.
I used the WiFi Pace Take a look at Professional app on an previous Huawei Mate 10 Professional (a Wi-Fi 5 gadget), a RealMe X50 5G (a Wi-Fi 6 gadget), and a Google Pixel 6 (a Wi-Fi 6E gadget), to exhibit the vary of speeds you possibly can count on to see on totally different gadgets.
Mate 10 Professional | Virgin Media Tremendous Hub 3 | Plume SuperPods WiFi 6 |
1m | 715Mbps | 658Mbps |
5m with a wall | 122Mbps | 73Mbps |
Upstairs, close to the rear of the home | 19Mbps | 700Mbps |
Backyard | No connection | 266Mbps |
Realme X50 | Virgin Media Tremendous Hub 3 | Plume SuperPods WiFi 6 |
1m | 527Mbps | 754Mbps |
5m with a wall | 147Mbps | 274Mbps |
Upstairs, close to the rear of the home | 23Mbps | 704Mbps |
Backyard | No connection | 55Mbps |
Pixel 6 | Virgin Media Tremendous Hub 3 | Plume SuperPods WiFi 6 |
1m | 619Mbps | 1086Mbps |
5m with a wall | 278Mbps | 336Mbps |
Upstairs, close to the rear of the home | 51Mbps | 499Mbps |
Backyard | No connection | 310Mbps |
As you possibly can see, precise speeds you get rely in your proximity to the SuperPods, and bodily objects, like partitions, flooring, and ceilings.
Sign energy, recorded utilizing the NetSpot software program, was much like that of the Linksys Atlas Professional 6 and the Google Nest WiFi Professional. You'll be able to see this within the warmth map beneath the place pink signifies a robust sign, inexperienced is OK, mild blue is ok for basic shopping (i.e. not streaming), and darkish blue areas imply unhealthy or no Wi-Fi in any respect.
Right here’s how one can examine your individual Wi-Fi sign energy.
Thomas Newton / Foundry
Throughout testing, I didn’t encounter any points. I used to be in a position to take video calls on Groups upstairs and downstairs on my work laptop computer and on my Pixel 6. The map above exhibits that the first node (arrange close to the underside proper nook of the bottom ground) was in a position to simply attain gadgets within the rooms instantly above it.
I might watch YouTube and stream music upstairs and out within the backyard, or a least in most locations – on the prime proper nook of the backyard, Spotify and Bandcamp streams did lag a bit when launching, however that’s the one actual downside I had.
Thomas Newton / Foundry
Worth & availability
Plume SuperPods can be found within the US and UK.
Within the UK, Plume is working a promotion with Virgin Media, which incorporates two free Wi-Fi 5 SuperPods (not the Wi-Fi 6 fashions examined right here) and a one-year subscription to HomePass for £8/month, or £96 in complete. Further Wi-Fi 5 SuperPods will be added for £90 every.
That’s not a foul deal in any respect, particularly when you don’t have full fibre broadband as they’ll be a lot quick sufficient. You don’t have to have a Virgin Media broadband service to get the SuperPods; they’re ISP-agnostic.
In order for you the Wi-Fi 6 SuperPods, you’ll want to go to Plume’s web site as a substitute. The unhealthy information is that they're fairly a bit dearer at £159 every.
You’ll want to enroll in that HomePass subscription as effectively. There are alternatives for one-, two- and three-year plans, that are priced at £99, £179, and £249, respectively. There’s at the moment no choice to pay month-to-month, like you possibly can with the Virgin Media deal.
Likewise, within the US, you possibly can join HomePass subscriptions on a one-, two- or three-year foundation. These are charged yearly, and price $99, $179, and $249, respectively. No month-to-month fee plan is accessible.
Once more, the {hardware} must be purchased on prime of this. The older Wi-Fi 5 SuperPods price $99 every, the Wi-Fi 6 SuperPods price $159 every, whereas the newer and at the moment US-exclusive Wi-Fi 6E SuperPods are $299 every.
SuperPods will proceed to work when you cease paying for the subscription, however you’ll lose a complete bunch of options. A few of these are apparent: the superior community safety goes away, as does ad-blocking, parental controls and movement sensing. However Plume additionally hobbles the system so you possibly can’t add extra SuperPods, and also you lose the band steering, which appears a bit unfair. You’ll discover extra particulars on Plume’s web site.
Verdict
Plume’s proposition with the SuperPods and HomePass is an fascinating one. The HomePass app has quite a lot of helpful options, makes it a breeze for even techophobes to arrange the system and the subscription imply you get fast entry to technical help, do you have to want it.
If you happen to’re within the UK, the Virgin Media deal could possibly be tempting when you assume you may improve and purchase one other mesh Wi-Fi system in two- or three years’ time.
However most individuals don’t try this, and in order for you Wi-Fi 6, SuperPods are merely not good worth. Some HomePass options are good, however others you received’t use or received’t discover helpful.
Even when you assume you’ll want solely two Wi-Fi 6 SuperPods, they’ll set you again £318, plus the subscription. With the most affordable one-year subscription going (£99), that involves £417 – costs are the identical in {dollars} within the States. Over a few years, the fee isn’t far off different tri-band Wi-Fi 6 mesh methods, however after that you just’ll find yourself paying a good bit extra.
The principle rival is Amazon’s Eero 6 Professional which additionally has subscription-based safety features, though you've got the choice of paying month-to-month with that.
If all of it sounds too costly, think about the Linksys Atlas 6 which provides comparable efficiency for a lot much less cash. The items even have 4 Ethernet ports, and aren’t tied to the place your mains sockets are within the residence.
Specs
- Dimensions: 96 x 87 x 40mm
- 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) tri-band AX6600 (2.4 GHz as much as 574Mbps, 5 GHz as much as 1201Mbps/4804Mbps)
- 1 x Ethernet 100/1000 WAN port
- 1 x Ethernet 100/1000 LAN port
- Distant management and administration with HomePass
- WPA2 Enterprise (coming in a future replace)
- WPA3 (coming in a future replace)