When it comes to home Wi-Fi, most of us just want a reliable connection in every room without having to think too much about it. Unfortunately, that isn't always how things work out. Thick walls, awkward layouts and distant rooms can all create frustrating dead spots, particularly in larger homes. The devolo BE6500 WiFi 7 Mesh 2-pack aims to solve these problems, while bringing the benefits of the latest Wi-Fi technology into the mix.
The system consists of two compact white units that work together to spread wireless coverage around the home. Rather than relying on a single router to reach every corner, we can position the second unit where it's needed to help extend the network. The idea is simple, and for anyone who regularly struggles with patchy Wi-Fi upstairs, in a home office or at the far end of the house, it's an appealing proposition.
Design-wise, devolo has kept things straightforward. The units are relatively compact, measuring around 175 x 118 x 72mm, so they're easy enough to accommodate on a shelf or side table without becoming an eyesore. They're not particularly exciting to look at, but networking equipment doesn't need to win any design awards as long as it does its job. The clean white finish should blend into most home environments reasonably well.
Of course, the headline feature is Wi-Fi 7, which offers improvements in speed, efficiency and handling multiple connected devices compared with older wireless standards. The BE6500 supports theoretical combined wireless data rates of up to 6.5Gbps, although real-world performance will depend on our broadband connection, home layout and the devices we're using. We shouldn't expect Wi-Fi 7 alone to make a slow broadband package suddenly faster, but it can help us get more out of a capable connection.
One interesting feature is the choice of wireless bands. We can configure the system to use either 2.4GHz and 5GHz or 2.4GHz and 6GHz. The latter offers plenty of potential for compatible newer devices, although the dual-band design means we can't use all three frequencies simultaneously. That's worth bearing in mind if our household contains a mixture of older equipment and newer Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 devices.
Connectivity is another positive. Each unit includes one 2.5Gbps Ethernet port alongside three standard Gigabit Ethernet ports. That gives us useful flexibility for connecting equipment such as desktop PCs, games consoles and smart TVs directly, rather than relying on wireless connections for everything. There's also support for features including Multi-Link Operation, which can improve throughput and connection stability with compatible devices.
The mesh approach should make it easier to achieve more consistent coverage across the house, and the system can be expanded with additional compatible devolo units if two devices aren't enough. Setup and management are handled through the devolo Home Network app, with a browser-based interface available for additional configuration. However, the software isn't quite as straightforward as we'd like. Some settings can be confusing to locate, and changing wireless bands may require more patience than expected. It's not necessarily a deal-breaker, but newcomers to mesh networking might find the process a little frustrating.
Price is another consideration. The two-pack sits in the £250 region, so this isn't an impulse purchase. However, for anyone dealing with persistent Wi-Fi dead spots, investing in a mesh system can be more worthwhile than repeatedly trying cheaper extenders that don't adequately address the problem.
Overall, the devolo BE6500 WiFi 7 Mesh 2-pack is a capable and flexible option for improving home wireless coverage. We like the compact design, useful Ethernet connections and support for the latest Wi-Fi standard. The dual-band limitation and slightly awkward software stop it from being an entirely effortless recommendation, but there's plenty to like here. If reliable coverage throughout the home is the priority, and we'd like to prepare our network for newer devices, the BE6500 is well worth considering.