Cheap and good wifi solution

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The Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi System is a great router for under $100. Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo

I am always wary of suggesting a wifi solution to a friend or family member who needs a better network. WiFi has significantly improved my life since moving into a house, so I feel a responsibility to lead others to take full advantage of the internet. But even an entry-level network device like the Eero 6 costs $280 for a starter package of three, which is pricey for many people, especially those who may already struggle to pay for the broadband they need.

That’s why I was interested in reviewing the Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi system. It’s a mesh wifi router that costs just $20 a unit for similar functionality and performance you’d get from a high-priced Eero or TP-Link Deco. The Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi system doesn’t have much flair, but make no mistake about it being useless. The mesh routing system is impressively capable of a product available in a package of three for under $100.

What is Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi System?

wifi router

price?

$20 for one, $60 for a pack of three

Likes

Simple installation, easy to manage, wide coverage for most situations

Dislike

Future unlocked for WiFi 6, not for complex network settings

small tower

The Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi looks like a shrunken version of the Linksys Velop’s giant towers. Each knot is white, weighs nearly a pound, and is barely three inches high. It’s best to place the units at the end of an open bookshelf or on a table near a flower pot to blend into the background. The logo is at the top of each knot, so there is no distinct branding.

G/O Media may get commission

Each node contains a physical power button and an indicator light. Out of the gate, one of the Vilo’s best features is that it offers three Gigabit Ethernet ports on each device, with two available to connect anything in the home that could benefit from a connected Ethernet cable, such as a printer or game console. Even the second generation of Google WiFi doesn’t provide that many ports per node, nor does the Eero 6.

The Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi system has a dimmable indicator light above the button on each node. Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo Each of the Vilo network nodes has three Ethernet ports, including two for external devices such as game consoles and printers. / Gizmodo

Each Vilo network node is an AC1200 dual band with 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatibility. There are four internal antennas in each device, featuring maximum speeds of 300Mbps on a 2.4GHz connection and 867Mbps on a 5GHz connection. There is also WPA2 encryption, band routing, and MU-MIMO. Each unit can cover up to 1,500 square feet or up to 4,500 square feet when all three nodes are operational. Vilo advertises that it can support up to 120 devices simultaneously, but I haven’t been able to test that claim.

Setting up a Vilo network is basically pain-free. The only active part is connecting the primary node to the internet modem. Then, all I had to do to join the other nodes was connect them, and they configured themselves automatically. Vilo assigns them a name, and they appear almost instantly in the companion app.

The main system dashboard in the Android version of the Vilo app is easy to navigate.

Vilo’s app is totally plain and simple, but that seems intentional. The lack of flash buttons and overt use of colors help me focus on the intended utility of the app (although I wish there was a dark mode). It also makes it easy to choose between the available options.

At the top of the Vilo app’s home page there is a button that takes you to the System Dashboard, where you can check the relative health of each of the different nodes, including the networked devices connected to each of them. You can also use the shortcut button from the home screen to check each device individually and its bandwidth usage. Or swipe right to get a quick read of overall network activity.

There are some extras available with Vilo, including parental controls, temporary guest WiFi, and usage reports. Screenshot: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

Unlike other wifi router manufacturers, there is a little extra flair that is offered with Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi. If you want additional security features like controlling spam or blocking ads, you will have to find a third-party app to make it easier. At the very least, Vilo has the basic “extras” required of wifi routers for an overall friendly user experience. They include built-in parental controls that you can set up for specific networked devices, as well as an option to set up a temporary guest network that expires at the end of the day and ensures guests don’t overstay their welcome. There is also a useful usage report feature to check how much bandwidth goes in and out at any given time. Vilo will update these reports at the end of every hour.

Internet Abundance The Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi system does a solid job of delivering consistent internet speeds throughout the home. Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo

I tested the Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi multiple times around my 1,700-square-foot home using an Ookla Speed ​​Test on a variety of Android devices, as well as a Chromebook and an older Windows 10 laptop. However, my smart home stayed on My primary network, and I set up Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi as a secondary network for my bedroom and home office devices.

Vilo Mesh Wifi is not a WiFi 6 solution like the last batch of mesh routers I reviewed. However, I’m still comparing speed tests to get an idea of ​​how the blankets cover my beds and whether they’re as consistent as other devices I’ve brought into my home. Overall, I was impressed with how the relatively cheaper Vilo mesh routers performed, although the setup was not without a few minor glitches.

During business hours, I pulled an average of 475Mbps off my Pixel 5 and OnePlus 9 at my desk, sitting next to my primary Vilo network node. Upstairs in my bedroom, where I also placed the Vilo node, it averaged between 112 Mbps and 80 Mbps, depending on the time of day and overall Internet traffic. Weirdly, my work laptop kept turning into a “sub” node in the bedroom instead of the basic Vilo Mesh tethered directly to my desk, where the computer is. I suspect this is what affected the results in the bedroom, as my work computer is the biggest user of bandwidth. I’ve reached out to Vilo to try to understand the issue.

The numbers fluctuated a bit in the kitchen, too, which is right between one phyllo node attached in the living room, and the one tied up in my office. I saw numbers between 179 and 235 Mbps in a few days. The garage saw similar numbers, between 168 and 272 Mbps download speeds depending on whether I was sitting in my car or waiting for the wash to finish. The closer you are to the common wall with the main router, the higher the numbers.

I’ve seen the slowest download numbers out there in my backyard. Vilo Mesh’s Wi-Fi managed 96Mbps at a farthest point in my yard, which is about 50 feet from my back door. I tested about 94Mbps on the side of the house, about 20 feet away. That’s not bad compared to the mediocre results I noticed with the Eero 6 when I tested it, which barely exceeded 15Mbps at the farthest point in my yard. Eero also exceeded 70 Mbps in the garage.

I experienced some slowdowns with the Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi system, both when streaming video and downloading large amounts of data. At some point during a Skype live call, there was a huge drop in bandwidth, and my video couldn’t stream to the other end. I had to log out and back in to reconnect. From there, the call went smooth, and we talked successfully for about two hours.

If you need to tweak the network or want more control, the Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi app offers limited advanced settings. It lets you split your network into 2.4GHz and 5GHz, which is very useful for smart homes, as touch band routing still works with this class of devices. But it does not have local DNS caching and network file sharing. It also does not have WPA3, which is an exclusive feature for WiFi 6 devices that are still turned on.

Not a bad deal The Vilo Mesh wifi knot looks really good on the mantle. genuinely. Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo

The Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi system provided consistent speeds throughout the corners of my house and outside in my open yard. However, I have gigabit internet, and I’ve never seen speed tests go above 508Mbps, which is technically only half of what I’m paying for. I’m currently using the Linksys Velop AX M10, because it’s the only mesh network router I’ve tested that will save my exorbitantly high monthly bill. However, two of these router units cost $700, which is virtually a different product category at this price point.

Not everyone needs this kind of overrated networking solution, and this is where the Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi system fits in. For as little as $100, you can start a mesh wifi at home, which is becoming a must if you have more people commuting into your home with their own laptops and tablets or if you want to start bringing smart lights and smart screens into the barn. Or, if you have a home where internet isn’t available at the same speed, Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi can ensure everyone gets at least a piece of the bandwidth pie.

The Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi system officially beats Amazon Eero 6 as the most capable network routing solution for those looking to spend less. It’s also for people who pay for low to medium internet speeds. If you’re paying for the fastest broadband in your area, you should look at models like the Netgear Orbi WiFi 6 System or the TP-Link Deco X20 instead. They cost more—$700 and $250 respectively—but both are WiFi 6 capable and full of the bells and whistles you might want if you fancy yourself a novice network administrator.

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