Plume SuperPods Wi-Fi 6 Review: Subscription-based Mesh Wi-Fi

Plume may not be a very acquainted identify in house networking, nevertheless it was one of many first firms to carry out a mesh Wi-Fi package again in 2016.

It has launched improved variations over time and has just lately made its Wi-Fi 6 SuperPods out there within the UK, having been within the US for some time.

The Pods, which look a little bit like they’ve been taken from the set of Star Trek, are smaller than you’d count on and are designed to plug immediately into mains sockets. Not like most mesh Wi-Fi programs, there’s a compulsory subscription service referred to as HomePass, a subscription service which incorporates sensible safety features, an ad-blocker and 24/7 technical assist. Plus, you get many of the common options we’ve come to count on from one of the best mesh Wi-Fi programs. 

The unique SuperPods, which you’ll be able to nonetheless purchase right now, featured the older Wi-Fi 5 commonplace, and a more recent Wi-Fi 6E mannequin is obtainable within the U.S. now. These Wi-Fi 6 variations, also referred to as ‘SuperPods AX’, are what we’re reviewing right here. 

There’s lots on provide right here, however does ‘renting’ your mesh Wi-Fi make sense long run, and the way do the prices stack up in the event you want extra protection? And what kind of efficiency are you able to count on from the Wi-Fi 6 SuperPods anyway? 

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Design & construct

• 96 x 87 x 40mm 
• Two Ethernet ports per machine
• Put money into extension leads if you wish to reposition SuperPods

Plume’s hexagonal SuperPods are fairly curious-looking gadgets. There aren’t any exterior antennas; every part is tucked away into items which plug straight into the wall, very similar to an old style Wi-Fi extender. 

However, whereas they’re small and nifty, they’re additionally somewhat awkwardly formed. The casing followers out from the bottom, which implies that they’ll block adjoining sockets that you just want for different home equipment. 

You may additionally have a dilemma in the event you’re seeking to set up a SuperPod in a room the place you need additional protection, however the place of your mains sockets simply so occurs to be lower than optimum for wi-fi networking functions. 

For one of the best outcomes, wi-fi entry factors have to be positioned someplace out within the open, as distant from bodily objects, which can impede radio frequencies, as attainable. This can be tough in sure rooms, resembling kitchens, the place there are sometimes plenty of pretty RF-impeding steel objects mendacity round, and plug sockets are positioned beneath wall-mounted cupboards.

In excessive circumstances, you would possibly must get an electrician in to put in some new SuperPod-specific mains sockets for you. 

However as a substitute of doing that, you may join an extension result in a mains socket after which plug your Plume SuperPod into that. That is what I needed to do within the first occasion, because it wasn’t sensible for me to have the first SuperPod jostling for place with the modem’s energy provide. 

This considerably spoils the SuperPods’ neat and tidy aesthetic, as you may see under, however at the least there’s no likelihood of your pets knocking the issues over. 

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Setup 

• Trouble-free set up
• Increasing protection is sort of actually a case of plug ‘n’ play

Most fashionable mesh Wi-Fi merchandise are very simple to arrange, however the Plume SuperPods are presumably the simplest I’ve examined to this point. That is all a part of the ‘self-optimising’ and adaptive a part of HomePass – it handles every part for you.

Whether or not you find yourself getting two, three, 4 or extra SuperPods, you’ll want to attach the primary one to your modem/router by way of Ethernet, as you usually would with any mesh system, to behave as the primary node. 

You’ll want Plume’s HomePass app (iOS and Android) to finish the set-up course of, so obtain and set up that first, after which create an account.

You’ll then join the primary SuperPod to your modem by way of Ethernet (Plume features a 150cm Ethernet cable within the field), plug the Pod into the mains, after which restart your modem / router. 

The HomePass app ought to detect the SuperPod and, as soon as an Web connection is established, you may add new Pods to the community. It is a easy case of plugging them in, turning on the ability, and ready just a few seconds for a connection to be established. That’s it. 

There’s no faffing round, pairing gadgets by way of Bluetooth or scanning in QR codes in your telephone so as to add the brand new Pods, you simply plug them in they usually join virtually immediately. 

As soon as carried out, you’ll be prompted to rename the community and create a robust password. Any updates which can be found will probably be put in at this stage. The entire course of took lower than ten minutes to finish. 

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Options and utilizing the HomePass app

• Distant community administration out of your telephone – however not your desktop 
• Visitor Wi-Fi with Web-only mode, port forwarding and risk detection options
• Sense movement detection function is intriguing, however not tremendous helpful

Like many mesh Wi-Fi apps, HomePass provides you a fast overview of every part that’s happening on your own home community. You’ll be able to see which gadgets are related to which SuperPods, and to additionally assign gadgets to private profiles and apply restrictions like blocklists to these profiles and gadgets, if you wish to. That’s just like how Eero Safe on the Eero 6 Professional works. 

There’s a built-in advert blocker, though I with it turned on, YouTube movies with paid promotion which I attempted to look at on my Pixel 6 have been blacked out. I turned the blocker off, reset the app, and the movies labored as they need to.

There’s additionally risk detection, which notifies you in the event you’ve visited any web sites which might harbour malware. It’ll additionally block any suspicious incoming visitors, and quarantine IoT gadgets in your community which are behaving suspiciously.

Whereas useful, you’ll wish to lean on a devoted safety software program bundle for extra complete safety in your laptops, PCs and telephones: this doesn’t change Norton, McAfee or different antivirus software program.

There’s a Visitor Wi-Fi function, which is not any shock, however Plume has an added twist. You’ll be able to choose from a ‘Visitor’ mode, which lets you share entry to issues like set-top packing containers and sensible audio system by way of a Visitor Wi-Fi community or, an ‘Web solely’ mode, which is self-explanatory. 

There’s additionally a pace take a look at and a breakdown of which gadgets are consuming essentially the most bandwidth in your community. 

Extra settings embody port forwarding and first and secondary DNS particulars. You’ll be able to’t arrange a VPN on the SuperPods themselves, though you can put the gadgets into bridge mode and permit your present router (with VPN assist) to do all of the work of routing knowledge across the community. 

Frustratingly, there’s no management over Wi-Fi past setting a community identify and password. You’ll be able to’t separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, an issue we discover on many mesh programs. This isn’t normally a dealbreaker: it’s a bonus most often. However when you will have Wi-Fi gadgets that may solely use 2.4GHz and you’ll’t power your telephone onto that band, setting them up and utilizing them will be problematic, if not unimaginable.

Thomas Newton / Foundry

There‘s a desktop portal you may log into along with your Plume account settings which supplies you entry to a lot of the data that’s out there by way of the cell app. Nonetheless, you received’t have the ability to configure something from this interface, so it’s extra of a dashboard than a management panel. 

As talked about, Plume Sense can be careful for interruptions in Wi-Fi alerts brought on by individuals, pets, and different issues shifting across the house. It is a form of camera-less house safety function.

You’ll be able to have Sense notify you of movement in your home when no person is at house, which might be helpful. And like related programs in different mesh Wi-Fi kits, there’s an choice to dial down the sensitivity in order that it doesn’t notify you if pets occur to set off the movement.

I discovered Sense to be fairly efficient, however not significantly helpful. In case you get a movement alert and also you’re not house, you wish to see what’s occurring. In case you can’t, then merely figuring out there’s movement just isn’t useful.

In the meanwhile, Plume’s not saying what else it may need in retailer for Sense. In case you don’t wish to use it, you may merely flip it off.

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Efficiency

• Peak speeds in extra of 1,000Mbps at shut ranges
• Anticipate nearer to 500Mbps in adjoining rooms and on older gadgets
• Protection from three SuperPods is OK, however giant houses will want extra nodes

Speeds recorded in testing have been consistent with expectations –  you’ll have the ability to get above 1,000Mbps on fashionable Wi-Fi 6 gadgets if that machine is near a SuperPod. For essentially the most half, count on to see speeds inside 500-600Mbps. 

These SuperPods are ‘AX6600’ gadgets. Particularly, they’re tri-band that includes a 2×2 MIMO 2.4GHz antenna and a 2×2 MIMO 5GHz antenna. The third band is a 4×4 MIMO 5GHz radio.

Theoretical prime speeds are 574Mbps on the two.4 GHz band, 1201Mbps by way of the two×2 5GHz band, and 4804Mbps on the 4×4 5GHz band. 

It’s unclear which of the 5GHz antennas have been put aside for devoted wi-fi backhaul, or if the 2 antennas routinely change, like on the Eero 6 Professional.

Regardless of repeatedly asking Plume for this info, I by no means received a solution.

Mesh programs with devoted wi-fi backhaul have a separate 5GHz channel that’s reserved for the entry factors to ship community visitors between them, in order to not congest the 5GHz radio bands utilized by your gadgets. Ethernet backhaul can be supported, however I wasn’t capable of take a look at this out. 

Regardless, speeds have been respectable.

I used the WiFi Pace Take a look at Professional app on an previous Huawei Mate 10 Professional (a Wi-Fi 5 machine), a RealMe X50 5G (a Wi-Fi 6 machine), and a Google Pixel 6 (a Wi-Fi 6E machine), to exhibit the vary of speeds you may count on to see on completely different gadgets. 

As you may see, precise speeds you get rely in your proximity to the SuperPods, and bodily objects, like partitions, flooring, and ceilings. 

Sign energy, recorded utilizing the NetSpot software program, was just like that of the Linksys Atlas Professional 6 and the Google Nest WiFi Professional. You’ll be able to see this within the warmth map under the place purple signifies a robust sign, inexperienced is OK, mild blue is okay for basic shopping (i.e. not streaming), and darkish blue areas imply unhealthy or no Wi-Fi in any respect.

Right here’s how one can test your personal Wi-Fi sign energy. 

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Throughout testing, I didn’t encounter any points. I used to be capable of take video calls on Groups upstairs and downstairs on my work laptop computer and on my Pixel 6. The map above exhibits that the first node (arrange close to the underside proper nook of the bottom ground) was capable of simply attain gadgets within the rooms instantly above it.

I might watch YouTube and stream music upstairs and out within the backyard, or a least in most locations – on the prime proper nook of the backyard, Spotify and Bandcamp streams did lag a bit when launching, however that’s the one actual drawback I had.

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Worth & availability

Plume SuperPods can be found within the US and UK.

Within the UK, Plume is operating a promotion with Virgin Media, which incorporates two free Wi-Fi 5 SuperPods (not the Wi-Fi 6 fashions examined right here) and a one-year subscription to HomePass for £8/month, or £96 in complete. Further Wi-Fi 5 SuperPods will be added for £90 every.

That’s not a foul deal in any respect, particularly in the event you don’t have full fibre broadband as they’ll be lots quick sufficient. You don’t must have a Virgin Media broadband service to get the SuperPods; they’re ISP-agnostic. 

If you’d like the Wi-Fi 6 SuperPods, you’ll want to go to Plume’s web site as a substitute. The unhealthy information is that they’re fairly a bit costlier at £159 every.

You’ll want to join that HomePass subscription as nicely. There are alternatives for one-, two- and three-year plans, that are priced at £99, £179, and £249, respectively. There’s at the moment no choice to pay month-to-month, like you may with the Virgin Media deal. 

Likewise, within the US, you may join HomePass subscriptions on a one-, two- or three-year foundation. These are charged yearly, and price $99, $179, and $249, respectively. No month-to-month cost plan is obtainable.

Once more, the {hardware} must be purchased on prime of this. The older Wi-Fi 5 SuperPods price $99 every, the Wi-Fi 6 SuperPods price $159 every, whereas the newer and at the moment US-exclusive Wi-Fi 6E SuperPods are $299 every. 

SuperPods will proceed to work in the event you cease paying for the subscription, however you’ll lose an entire bunch of options. A few of these are apparent: the superior community safety goes away, as does ad-blocking, parental controls and movement sensing. However Plume additionally hobbles the system so you may’t add extra SuperPods, and also you lose the band steering, which appears a bit unfair. You’ll discover extra particulars on Plume’s web site.

Verdict 

Plume’s proposition with the SuperPods and HomePass is an fascinating one. The HomePass app has numerous helpful options, makes it a breeze for even techophobes to arrange the system and the subscription imply you get fast entry to technical assist, do you have to want it.

In case you’re within the UK, the Virgin Media deal might be tempting in the event you suppose you would possibly improve and purchase one other mesh Wi-Fi system in two- or three years’ time.

However most individuals don’t do this, and if you need Wi-Fi 6, SuperPods are merely not good worth. Some HomePass options are good, however others you received’t use or received’t discover helpful.

Even in the event you suppose you’ll want solely two Wi-Fi 6 SuperPods, they’ll set you again £318, plus the subscription. With the most cost effective one-year subscription going (£99), that involves £417 – costs are the identical in {dollars} within the States. Over a few years, the price isn’t far off different tri-band Wi-Fi 6 mesh programs, however after that you just’ll find yourself paying a good bit extra.

The primary rival is Amazon’s Eero 6 Professional which additionally has subscription-based safety features, though you will have the choice of paying month-to-month with that.

If all of it sounds too costly, take into account the Linksys Atlas 6 which affords related efficiency for a lot much less cash. The items even have 4 Ethernet ports, and aren’t tied to the place your mains sockets are within the house.

Specs

• Dimensions: 96 x 87 x 40mm

• 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) tri-band AX6600 (2.4 GHz as much as 574Mbps, 5 GHz as much as 1201Mbps/4804Mbps)

• 1 x Ethernet 100/1000 WAN port

• 1 x Ethernet 100/1000 LAN port

• Distant management and administration with HomePass

• WPA2 Enterprise (coming in a future replace)

• WPA3 (coming in a future replace)