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When it comes to video, the Nokia X20 tops out at 1080p, with a choice of either 30fps or 60fps recording. The footage looked crisp and stable with the EIS setting engaged, but cheaper phones such as the Redmi Note 9T and Moto G 5G Plus can record at up to 4K resolution. Nokia X20 review: Verdict Each satellite has a status LED (you can disable this if you don’t like seeing it, or just turn the lights off at night), which tells you if the device is connected or not. If you want more detailed information, the app has a signal strength indicator. Its ability to send a strong signal through a wall 20 feet from the router was acceptable at 556.5Mbps available on the far side of the wall. That’s 40 percent off the pace set by the Orbi RBK852 (782.9Mbps). This trend held when we set the test system up a floor above the host router and the Deco X20 yielded 320.5Mbps of throughput versus the Orbi RBK852’s 670.1Mbps. The darker green areas on the map indicate the strongest signal measurements, and lighter green and yellow areas show a weaker signal. The circles represent the location of the router and the satellite node. As shown on the heat map, the Deco AX20 system does a good job of delivering a relatively strong signal to the entire house and the garage. An Affordable Wi-Fi 6 Mesh System
Key specs – Nodes (as reviewed): 2; Claimed coverage: 372m²; Maximum nodes supported: Not stated; 2.4GHz speed: 600Mbits/sec; 5GHz speed: 1,200Mbits/sec; MIMO channels: 2×2; Ethernet ports: 3 x GbE (router), 2 x GbE (satellite); Guest network: Yes; Parental controls: No; Works with Alexa: Yes; IPv6: Not stated; Custom IP range: Not stated; Client IP reservation: Not stated; Port forwarding: Not stated; 2.4GHz/5GHz band splitting: No; Warranty: 1yr Although Wi-Fi 6 routers and mesh systems started out at almost ridiculous prices, recent months have seen prices fall, particularly with the launch of mode budget systems such as this, the TP-Link Deco X20. The Nokia X20 would be a fine phone for its price, if it wasn’t for how competitive the premium-mid-range market segment has become - as it stands, the phone doesn’t have the features or specs to really compete with its rivals. One real benefit to getting the Nokia X20, is that it’s guaranteed to receive three years of software updates, so you’ll definitely be able to run Android 14 on it - this comes from HMD Global itself, as a pledge to support its older devices for longer. Nokia X20 review: early verdict Now for the big issue with the Nokia X20: it’s far weaker than its rivals. It uses the low-end Snapdragon 480 chipset, while the three phones we listed earlier all use Snapdragon 700-series processors (for context Qualcomm has five lines of Snapdragon chipset, from the super low-end and hardly used 200-series, up to the low-end 400-series, then the 600, the 700, then 800, with each line getting more powerful).
So having turned off WiFi for my main firewall router and having inserted a 3-node DECO X20 v4 AP mode system -- I am rebooting network infrastructure about every 4-5 days and sometimes in as little as 6 hours. As with other TP-Link mesh systems, the X20 is controlled via the TP-Link Deco app. This takes you through the initial configuration getting the primary satellite working, before taking you through configuring any other satellites. Charging is far less impressive though, at a measly 18W, which guarantees a several-hour charge time. That’s slow even for a phone at this price, where at least 30W is the norm and some phones go up to 50W or even 65W. As the name suggests, mesh systems are also designed to support multiple nodes, which can be deployed in a “daisy-chain” configuration, rather than each one needing a direct connection to the router. This makes it easy to extend a wireless connection over a huge area by simply placing nodes at regular intervals around your home or workplace. Will a mesh system work with my router?
Acutual 4G downlink speeds vary between households. Factors affecting 4G speeds include the internet service level, real-time network capacity, equipment and client limitations, environmental factors. For performance testing, we connect a NAS appliance to the main mesh unit via Ethernet, and then wirelessly connect to the mesh network from a laptop equipped with an Intel Wi-Fi 6E network card, with support for 2×2 MIMO. We take this laptop to various rooms in the home, copy a series of files to and from the NAS system, and measure read and write speeds to discover the peak performance the mesh system is able to deliver, at different ranges and via different access points. Most mesh Wi-Fi kits come with a smartphone app – for both Android and iOS – that walks you through the setup process. You can then continue to use the smartphone app to monitor and manage your mesh system. A web portal is sometimes available too, but it may not expose all of the available settings. If you really care about getting the newest version of Android as soon as possible, you might be able to ignore that verdict - HMD Global’s three-year promise is really great, as you’ll be receiving software updates far longer than most other phones.
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Depending on your needs, you may not need to invest in the fastest, most expensive kit you can find. Even a low-cost Wi-Fi 5 mesh system should be fast enough to deliver a connection of 40Mbits/sec or more around your home, which is plenty for working, browsing the web and even streaming 4K video. Proper fraction button and Improper fraction button work as pair. When you choose the one the other is switched off. There’s no denying that you’ll get higher speeds and a more expansive feature set from Netgear’s Orbi RBKE963 system but that’s a phenomenally expensive mesh. The Deco XE75 provides a satisfying high-end experience for a much more sensible price. The parental controls are also good, with a full set of filtering, monitoring and time- limiting features – all yours for free, for the lifetime of the product. If you focus solely on performance figures you might consider the TP-Link Deco X20 an also-ran, but it has plenty of other merits that set it apart from the crowd. There are some welcome software features too, including a simple firewall, a QoS setting that lets you prioritise specific devices, and time limits for kids’ devices. It’s a compact, simple and effective wireless solution and, if you shop around, you may well find it for a bargain price.
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