AmpliFi Instant Whole-Home Wi-Fi Review

Bohs Hansen / 6 years ago

Test Systems, Software, & Methodology

From my point of view, testing a router’s performance is a pretty straightforward process. I will first test the wired network performance with TPC and UDP packets as well as with fixed and variable packet sizes. This part is easy, and it is run with direct connections. Since there is no interference of any kind, the results stay consistent.

The wireless bands will be tested in the same way as the wired connections, but I’ll add another variable to the test. I will adjust the distance between the router and the receiving WiFi connection from short over medium to long distance throughout my apartment. The positions are the same for every piece of network equipment that I’m testing. Where wired networks are easy to control, wireless networks aren’t.

Wireless Environment

While it’s easy to test and give you a comparable view on the wired connections, it is a different story for the wireless bands. With wireless networks, we need to keep environmental factors in mind. These can’t be avoided.

In my previous reviews, my office was located in a big apartment complex where many of the residents have multiple WiFi networks. On an average day, my WiFi picked up over 60 wireless networks. All those wireless networks created a tough situation. My new home isn’t affected as bad and as such, some tests might not be directly comparable.

Mesh Networks

Mesh networks are an exception from the usual test methodology. Due to their design for coverage, the distance variable falls away. The test area is 100 square meters which is a fairly common home size.

Instead I’ll make an objective walk around, testing the signal strength in all corners and other places where the signal could have trouble.

External Storage Testing

Whenever a USB 3.0 or eSATA port with file sharing is present, I’ll also test the possible speed from this. For this, I’ll use an SSD drive in an external docking station and LAN Speed Test. The network connection for this test will always be a wired one.