Swisscom Mesh Wi-Fi speed test: is the WLAN Box 2 any good?

The Internet Box 3 by Swisscom offers solid WLAN performance, but it doesn’t manage to provide fast internet everywhere in my flat. The trickiest area seems to be my balcony. I’ve not been able to get more than 16.52 Mbps. So far.

If you want to expand your WLAN, you can do so with an additional mesh-capable access point or router. Unlike a WLAN repeater, a mesh access point forwards a signal and also creates a second decentralised network that works hand in hand with the first one. You could even set up several extra networks – Swisscom allows up to four additional small boxes.

WiFi repeaters

Swisscom WLAN Box 2

4800 Mbit/s, 600 Mbit/s

444

WiFi repeaters

Swisscom WLAN Box 2

4800 Mbit/s, 600 Mbit/s

444

The WLAN Box 2 specs:

• Ports: 3 × RJ45 LAN (Gigabit)
• 5 GHz network standards: IEEE 802.11ax/ac/n/a
• 2.4 GHz network standards: IEEE 802.11ax/n/b/g
• Transmission rate 5 GHz: up to 4.8 Gbps
• Transmission rate 2.4 GHz: up to 600 Mbps
• Encryptions: WPA3
• Dimensions: 11.8 × 4.7 × 11.8 cm
• Operation: power on/off
• Features: Access Point with mesh support, expandable up to four boxes
• Prerequisite: Swisscom Internet Box 2, 3, Internet Box Standard or Internet Box plus

Apartment floor plan and hardware locations

As I’ve used my 140 m² maisonette flat twice already for Wi-Fi speed tests, I know from the results where the best place is to put the additional box. It’s where the signal of the router, which is installed in the second attic floor at the most central cable connection of the apartment, shows the strongest performance in the first attic floor. This is the entrance area, more precisely the shoe cupboard on the wall to the kitchen. On the apartment floor plan below, the location of the Internet Box 3 is marked in green and that of the mesh extension, WLAN Box 2, in blue.

Getting set up

The additional box is integrated into the existing Wi-Fi network via a smartphone app or via the web interface by entering the IP address 192.168.1.1 in a browser. However, I don’t have Swisscom Internet, which is required for configuration. My box was preconfigured and made available to me by Swisscom’s PR team on request.

Once the WLAN Box 2 is integrated into the existing Wi-Fi network, up to three additional devices can be attached to its RJ45 ports (Gigabit).

Speed, ping and signal strength per room

I use the same AX-capable notebook as always to measure the signal throughout my flat. I measure the speed of the new mesh system with the «LAN Speed Test» app. I upload a 1 GB file to my NAS three times in total. Then I determine the latency of the DOS console by pinging my NAS. For the signal strength, which is specified in decibel milliwatts (dBm), I use the «NetSpot» software. The heat maps further down were also provided by NetSpot.

Results

The Swisscom Mesh-Wi-Fi performs as follows:

The two Swisscom boxes manage to keep the signal level high. Even the balcony shows an acceptable signal strength of -70 and -72 dBm. The low latency of 3 ms in the 5 GHz and 4 ms in the 2.4 GHz frequency range is just as pleasing.

Over both floors, the 5 GHz WLAN achieves an average of 482.14 Mbps – 117.26 Mbps at 2.4 GHz. This corresponds to about the data processing performance of 20 UHD Netflix streams.

5 GHz heat map

For once, there aren’t any deep blue areas on the heat maps. This is good. The deeper and bluer the signal, the weaker the signal. Experience shows that it anything below -80 dBm is poor.

2.4 GHz heat map

The fact that the signal reaches further in the 2.4 GHz range doesn’t matter with the given mesh setup. The areas to be covered aren’t far enough away for this to be effective. Even on the balcony, the 5 GHz band performs 2 dBm better.

Comparison to Wi-Fi with single router

With the 5 GHz band, the Swisscom Internet Box 3 in stand-alone operation reaches 246.07 Mbps on the first attic floor. With the additional box, it achieves 372.47 Mbps. That's a substantial plus of 126.40 Mbps. On the balcony, which my last setup didn't reach, it's even upped the bandwidth by 238.47 Mbps. Viewed over the entire apartment, the data processing performance increases by 83.17 Mbps. My UPC Connect Box can't keep up with that.

With the good 5 GHz coverage by the mesh system, the 2.4 GHz frequency range only plays a minor role. The second box now provides the balcony with acceptable speed and latency. The increase compared to the single box solution is 16.93 Mbps.

The 5 GHz comparison:

The 2.4 GHz comparison:

Conclusion: the Swisscom mesh eliminates my not spots

With its additional box, Swisscom offers a low-priced WLAN extension. At last, I can browse and stream throughout my entire living space. Or let's say I could if I had a Swisscom subscription. I'm impressed with the speed boost, but it's too soon for superlatives. I'm sure there are even stronger mesh solutions.

My future tests will reveal exactly how well the Swisscom mesh system has performed. Next up are two Wi-Fi 6 routers by Asus. I can't wait to see how well they and other devices perform. You too? Then follow me by clicking the «Follow author» button.