I tried a little-known Wi-Fi boosting gadget that worked wonders on dead spots and gave my iPhone a speed surge
FAST and reliable broadband has never been more important to keep all our data-hungry devices fed.
It’s not just smartphones and laptops, big eaters like game consoles, VR headsets and all those work from home calls contribute to our internet needs these days.
And front and centre of all that is Wi-Fi itself, which we’re all too aware can succumb to disruptions from unexpected objects like mirrors and fish tanks (see a full list at the bottom of this page).
Fortunately, the tech in routers is getting better to avoid these sorts of problems.
And for your newest devices it could result in a speed advantage over others in your household.
We tried Vodafone‘s latest Ultra Hub with Super WiFi 6E Booster and 4G back-up, which comes with its Pro II broadband package.
Ultra Hub
Most people would rather not see their router but any expert will tell you that hiding it away can affect the signal.
The Ultra Hub is a bit on the bulky side but fortunately it’s not ugly, with a grey and white design that blends in nicely.
On the back there are a number of ports and buttons.
There are two Gigabit Ethernet ports, which will probably cover most households for things like a TV and a game’s console, but it would be better to have some more on there.
It has others like USB-A and USB-C as well but these probably won’t be much use to the vast majority of people.
Super WiFi 6E Booster
The Super WiFi 6E Booster matches in design but is a lot more compact.
It features two LAN ports on the back which is ideal for a smoother connection to bigger devices in other rooms around the house.
Setting it up was pretty simple – just plug the booster in next to your router so they can pair, press the WPS button on the back of each, and wait for the light to turn white.
You then need to unplug and move the booster to a mid-point location between the main router and the area that suffers with poor connections.
Ultimately you need the right gadgets to fully benefit from it
The booster uses something called Wi-Fi 6E which is a more recent form of Wi-Fi you can get.
In technical terms, it introduces 6GHz spectrum, which essentially means faster wireless speeds and lower latency – however, you’ll need devices that are Wi-Fi 6E capable to feel the benefits.
Speed tests
One device that does support Wi-Fi 6E is the most recently iPhone 15.
So, we tested it alongside the iPhone 14 which supports the previous version, known as Wi-Fi 6.
We used an online speed test website and hit the test button at exactly the same time to get an idea.
Close up to the booster, speeds were pretty much bang on the same at 25Mbps.
But when we moved to a notoriously patchy room upstairs, the results were quite different.
The iPhone 15 managed just over 37Mbps whereas the iPhone 14 only achieved 8.5Mbps.
So it seems the added bonus of Wi-Fi 6E does make a difference.
We also tried downloading a couple of things a few metres from the booster.
The iPhone 15 was only about 10 seconds faster when downloading a 4K movie on Netflix.
But for a large game there was a bigger difference, downloading five minutes faster than on the iPhone 14.
There’s also a 4G back-up that uses Vodafone’s network should the broadband go down – we didn’t get to test this but it’s a nice addition to keep people connected.
Verdict
This is my first foray into Wi-Fi 6E and it does seem to make a difference with Vodafone’s kit.
But ultimately you need the right gadgets to fully benefit from it.
It’s also worth noting that another Wi-Fi standard, known as Wi-Fi 7, is already on the horizon this year – but again, you’ll need devices that actually work with it, of which there aren’t many yet.
Even without Wi-Fi 6E devices – and despite not testing the 4G back-up – the Vodafone Pro II ensemble works wonderfully.
A couple more LAN ports would have been perfect.
Vodafone Pro II broadband is available from £40 per month.
All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.
Always do your own research before making any purchase.
Little-known objects that can disrupt your Wi-Fi
People don't realise how many objects around the home can impact their Wi-Fi signal and slow things down. Here are some you may have missed.
- Microwaves (when they’re running)
- Baby monitors
- Fish tanks
- Mirrors
- Bluetooth devices
- Cordless phones