Mercku M2 Wi-Fi review: Modular mesh system with modest performance

Mercku is a Canadian visitor that took to Indiegogo to secure funding for its vision of a modular Wi-Fi setup, which concluded upward receiving more than 450 percentage of its original monetary goal. There are a few versions of the M2 at present available, including a Hive arrangement with an M2 router and M2 Bee nodes, a Swarm arrangement with three M2 routers, and what I have hither; dual M2 routers that nevertheless work as a mesh system suitable for a relatively large household. I used this setup for about a week in my dwelling to determine whether or non its worth your money.

Mesh-capable router

Mercku M2 Wi-Fi router

$119

Bottom line: They're relatively expensive, but Mercku's M2 routers together in a mesh setup provide great range and throughput.

Pros

• Simple browser or app setup
• Can add together or remove routers and nodes
• Range and throughput for medium to large homes
• Minimalist design

Cons

• USB-A port doesn't do anything
• Asks for phone number to use app
• Missing some mutual mesh features

Mercku M2 Wi-Fi router hardware and specs

Category	Spec
Performance	AC1200 (300 Mbps + 867 Mbps)
Frequency	2.four GHz, five GHz
Wireless standards	802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Antennas	Unmarried WHEMS antenna
Processor	1 GHz
Retentiveness	i GB Flash 128 MB RAM
Ports	Ane USB-A 2.0
Ethernet	Ane WAN One LAN
Dimensions	3.94 inches x 3.94 inches 10 4.94 inches (100 mm ten 100 mm x 125.5 mm)

Mercku M2 Wi-Fi router pattern and features

Mercku's M2 routers stick with a black finish instead of the mesh Wi-Fi trend of white routers and nodes, which makes it a flake easier to hibernate away wherever you choose to prepare it upwardly. There's no screen for status updates and on the forepart there's just a single LED that lights up red or green to allow you know whether or non the router is operation properly. The top panel of the router is raised slightly to a higher place the residuum for a bit of venting and for a bit of extra style, just information technology'due south really cipher that moves it abroad from an overall elementary pattern.

Ports — including ability adapter, unmarried WAN, single LAN, and a USB-A that doesn't seem to be functional — are hidden on the bottom of the router. A cutout along the base leaves room for your cables to get under and in, keeping everything cracking, though I did find that my usual thick Ethernet cable had a tough fourth dimension not tipping the router upwards when connected. Each router does come with a relatively curt ribbon Ethernet cable for connecting back to a modem, which solves this outcome.

Mercku M2 Wi-Fi router setup and direction

Like most worthwhile mesh Wi-Fi systems, the Mercku M2 is easy to set up. You plug in the beginning router to power and back to your modem with the provided cable, and from there you can use an Android or iOS app or a web browser to consummate the setup. I thing I found odd was the requirement of your mobile telephone number in society to get the app to work. If you're non comfortable handing that over, you can e'er use a spider web browser, which in the finish gives y'all broader access to settings though doesn't permit y'all check on your network when you're not at home.

In whatsoever case, both the app and browser are relatively easy to navigate for setup and management thereafter. Once I'd chosen a name and password for the network there was a quick firmware update, and from there I was free to add together a second M2 router every bit a node. I plugged information technology in, hit the Reset button, and waited for it to be recognized and to connect wirelessly with the original router (there's no option for wired backhaul). In all, information technology took about x minutes to take an operational mesh network. If you're a networking beginner, you shouldn't accept any issues getting it running.

Within the app — yeah, I provided my phone number — is a healthy amount of settings, giving you admission to a Smart Connect toggle for splitting SSIDs between radios, a blacklist for blocking websites or unabridged devices, a speedtest, DNS settings, a DDNS toggle, DHCP settings, a DMZ host toggle, port forwarding, and a list of connected devices also equally a status report of the router and node. A spider web browser provides some extra features, like a firewall toggle, system log, and network diagnosis, making information technology the preferred method to configure your network for any avant-garde users. Beginners tin can mostly ignore all the actress settings and still have a fully operational network that requires well-nigh no management.

Mercku M2 Wi-Fi router operation

Setup was uncomplicated and I was able to become a network humming in virtually x minutes, but the theoretical AC1200 cap had me slightly worried almost mesh performance despite Mercku's accent on its WHEMS loftier-operation antenna and transceiver arrangement that it claims boosts speeds. I ran some baseline tests on my Internet service provider-provided Hitron router using Ookla's Speedtest before running the same tests with the Mercku M2 setup. My cyberspace is rated at 300 Mbps downwardly and 25 Mbps up.

In that location's no indication of which router your devices are connected to (a common characteristic in most other mesh systems), and so I first ran tests with the secondary node disabled to see how well a unmarried router works. The router is in a front corner of my i,000 square-pes house which isn't optimal (information technology's where the modem is located), but it makes for decent testing when it comes to theoretically covering larger areas.

Mercku M2 single router (2.4 GHz)

Location	Ping	Down speed	Upwards speed
Living room (ten anxiety)	10 ms	139.98 Mbps	16.26 Mbps
Office (xxx feet)	11 ms	65.60 Mbps	15.62 Mbps
Basement (40 anxiety)	11 ms	49.29 Mbps	16.19 Mbps

Mercku M2 unmarried router (v GHz)

Location	Ping	Down speed	Up speed
Living room (10 feet)	xi ms	183.09 Mbps	16.19 Mbps
Office (30 feet)	11 ms	71.35 Mbps	15.89 Mbps
Basement (xl feet)	eleven Mbps	30.05 Mbps	10.51 Mbps

The two.iv GHz radio has respectable range and provides decent speeds even in the back corner of my basement, no incertitude aided by beamforming capabilities. The v GHz radio had some difficulty reaching into the back corner, though when I ran the same tests without Smart Connect disabled (which puts the radios on the same SSID), the router kept me on the band that offered the best performance thanks to snappy bandsteering.

I re-ran the same tests, this time with both routers running in a mesh setup with the node in the middle of my basement. Since in that location's no manner to tell in the app or browser if you're continued to the node or the principal router, nosotros tin look at the performance results to see whether or not devices are connecting to the advisable hardware.

Mercku M2 mesh setup (ii.4 GHz)

Location	Ping	Down speed	Up speed
Office (30 anxiety)	11 ms	93.ten Mbps	xv.82 Mbps
Basement (40 feet)	11 ms	118.02 Mbps	16.25 Mbps

Mercku M2 mesh setup (5 GHz)

Location	Ping	Downwards speed	Up speed
Role (30 anxiety)	xi ms	fourscore.77 Mbps	xvi.26 Mbps
Basement (40 feet)	12 ms	111.66 Mbps	16.19 Mbps

Judging by the above results, a mesh setup operates every bit information technology should, moving your devices between the router and node depending on where you lot're located. Speed at long range on the ii.4 GHz ring more than doubled compared to single-router speed, and five GHz speed at long range was about quadrupled.

A lack of wired Ethernet backhaul is e'er concerning when it comes to a mesh system. You'll often see speeds cutting in one-half on whichever band is being used for backhaul, but here the affect isn't quite every bit severe as I thought it would be. Judging by the in a higher place results, the five GHz band is used for backhaul, which is why speeds don't beat out those on the 2.4 GHz band fifty-fifty when at shut range to the mesh node.

Hitron (two.four GHz)

Location	Ping	Down speed	Up speed
Living room (10 feet)	24 ms	94.80 Mbps	16.22 Mbps
Function (30 feet)	27 ms	29.38 Mbps	xvi.15 Mbps
Basement (xl feet)	25 ms	17.10 Mbps	15.22 Mbps

Hitron (5 GHz)

Location	Ping	Downwardly speed	Upward speed
Living room (10 feet)	11 ms	162.00 Mbps	16.34 Mbps
Office (thirty feet)	10 ms	83.46 Mbps	16.thirty Mbps
Basement (xl anxiety)	11 ms	60.11 Mbps	16.twenty Mbps

The Hitron router was mostly beat out by the Mercku M2 on the 2.iv GHz radio, though its 5 GHz speeds were still superior when using a single M2 router instead of a mesh setup.

Should you buy Mercku's M2 router?

After using the Mercku M2 mesh setup for about a calendar week, I came away impressed with operation and stability. There were minimal connection drops, I didn't notice dips in performance when streaming, and I really didn't take to touch the settings one time I'd gone through and tweaked stuff on the initial setup. A single M2 router would likely be enough for a small house like mine, and the ability to add more standalone routers as nodes or add together the smaller Bee nodes gives you lot some wiggle room as your network needs grow.

The cost, still, sort of kills the enthusiasm, peculiarly when compared to some of the other mesh systems on the market. A unmarried Mercku M2 router demands a relatively high cost at $119, bringing the total cost of the setup I tested here to near $238. That'due south more expensive than the similar dual-ring Linksys Velop nosotros also reviewed, which now sits at nigh $130 for a two-piece mesh arrangement.

The Mercku M2 doesn't exactly offering whatever unique features over other mesh systems, so the final decision actually comes downward to cost and functioning. The M2 does offering great throughput and the mesh range was more than than enough for my small home — and would no dubiety fit far better in something twice the size — but you should exist able to find plenty of other systems that can do the same for a similar or cheaper price.

Mesh-capable router

Mercku M2 Wi-Fi router

Modular mesh networking.

Information technology'south relatively expensive, but Mercku'south M2 routers together provide a reliable and fast mesh network with snappy bandsteering capabilities. If y'all accept a big home to encompass it will do the trick, though you should be able to find similarly-priced or cheaper alternatives that can offering almost of the same features.

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