We tried out the new ‘mesh’ WiFi systems to see whether they really can boost your signal strength
Poor WiFi coverage in your own home is downright annoying, but Google and BT now offer a solution
POOR wifi coverage can be worse than just annoying – it can be downright undignified.
Many of us have found ourselves crouching in a cold spot on the stairs with a laptop because the signal, maddeningly, is at its strongest there.
The problem is that sometimes the signal strength and speed of our internet declines when you get too far from the router — for example, upstairs or outside.
But now both Google and BT offer systems that help combat scenarios where weak wifi strikes, delivering a signal that is powerful and effective in every corner.
That means Mum can watch Netflix on her tablet in the bedroom upstairs and Dad can listen to his podcast in the shed — while the kids can keep their social-networking up to date in the bedroom on the second floor.
Both the Google and BT products are “mesh networks”.
They relay internet signals from the main router to small hubs around the house. How does that work? Let’s use the example of kids wanting to use their tablet in the loft, while the router is tied to being in a corner of the living room because that is where the phone line is.
With the new systems, the router sends a signal to a hub in the hallway which will send it to one on the landing — and that speaks to your tablet. And it is relayed back along.
There are plenty of other scenarios where this kind of power matters.
Maybe a group of students decide to rent a big house together.
Or perhaps the walls are so thick that regular wifi struggles to get through.
All-areas coverage also means that somebody working on the car in the garage can follow the steps on a YouTube car-repair video. Very handy.
Here we look at the two wifi super-coverage options.
Google WiFi
£129 single unit, £229 twin pack, £329 triple pack from
EASY to set up and works great with most routers, including Sky, BT and TalkTalk hubs. Small, circular, white devices relay wifi round the home.
Plug the first one into your router, then launch the iPhone or Android app. Place the second and third ones where needed. The app will check how strong the connection is.
They look sleek, with a band of light to show wifi is up and running. The app can tell you how many devices are attached and it is easy to run system tests or give visitors access.
It's full screen ahead
Honor View 20
£499 from
HONOR is yet another brand to come up with a way to make the front of the phone full-screen while still having a selfie camera.
Apple and others have the “notch”. The View 20 instead has a tiny hole punched out of the top-left corner where the camera peeps through.
The back houses dual cameras too, for non-selfie photo opportunities. One is a depth-sensing camera for features like portrait effect, where the person in your snap is crystal clear but the background is blurred.
The other has an amazing 48MP resolution – way higher than most rivals – designed so that it can take great shots in even low light.
Oh, and unlike many high-end phones, it has a proper 3.5mm headphone jack, and it comes at an attractive price.
BT Whole Home WiFi
£79.95 single unit, £149.98 twin pack, £179.98 triple pack from
LOOKS cool. Each slim disc is mounted on a polished metal stand. You needn’t be a BT customer, though you need an existing router, as with Google’s device.
Connect by cable to your router and it creates its own network. It’s so good you may want to switch off your router’s wifi and let this do the work. You monitor connectivity from an app. It works well between floors or thick walls and even knows when you would get a better result by switching from one disc to another.
You can also pause wifi via the app – handy for getting the kids to sleep!
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The most important rivalry
MICROSOFT and Apple are continuing their friendship after years of bitter rivalry.
Office 365, the new web-connected version of Microsoft’s work software, is now on the Mac App Store.
The store is like the App Store on iPhones and Android’s Google Play – but for Mac laptops. Sign up and click on what you want.
Office 365 has just arrived there. The “365” means software is kept up to date automatically.
You pay a monthly fee, starting at £5.99, instead of shelling out more upfront.
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