MikroTik Audience review: Tri-band mesh networking for fast backhaul

MikroTik Audience is more than just a Wi-Fi router. First, it provides tri-band mesh networking, making it a suitable solution for large spaces. Second, it looks stylish. No ugly antennas, no black box and a case mixed with some LEDs. Find out which router is best for you. Android permissions.MikroTik Probability Review.

• Audience MikroTik (RBD25G-5HPacQD2HPnD): 169 dollars / 155 euros

The MikroTik Audience is a Wi-Fi access point with built-in tri-band mesh networking. It has one radio in the 2.4 GHz band and two radios in the 5 GHz band. The other 5 GHz is exclusively used for listener-to-listener communications in mesh setups.

Relationship: The best mesh router to keep your Wi-Fi signal strong

2.4GHz radios support 802.11b/g/n (like Wi-Fi 4) and 5GHz systems support Wi-Fi 5 (like 802.11a/n/ac). Listeners run RouterOS, MikroTik’s professional OS common to all Wi-Fi routers. There are also mobile apps for Android and iOS. You can create a single Wi-Fi network over a larger area by adding more target units to the mesh setup. Syncing new devices is just a button press away.

The theoretical speed of the MikroTik listener is good. The maximum data rate in the 2.4 GHz band is the same as other Wi-Fi 4 routers at 300 Mbit/s. The first 5 GHz radio can handle up to 867 Mbit/s and the second radio has a maximum speed of 1,733 Mbit/s. 2.9 Gbps total. Due to the dual-band radio, the 2.4 GHz range and 5 GHz can be used simultaneously. You can connect your tablet to the 2.4GHz side and then connect your PC or smart TV to the 5GHz radio and use both at the same time without reducing bandwidth.

Theoretical speed is, of course, theoretical. Tested listeners on LAN for real speed. In other words, there was no need to rely on the vagaries of the Internet connection and the tests were reproducible and repeatable. When connected to a listener device at close range above 5 GHz, the maximum throughput was 383 Mbps. As with all Wi-Fi systems, the further you go and move from room to room in the house, the less it will do. The size of the reduction will depend on the distance, the thickness of the house walls, the material used to make the house walls, etc.

See also: What is a mesh network? Here’s what you need to know:

Underneath the listener are two Gigabit Ethernet ports and a power connector. The first Ethernet port on the console is used to connect to the Internet router. The first port can also use Power over Ethernet (PoE). This means you can reduce the number of wires running to your device and provide both power and Ethernet on a single cable.

Audience’s mesh networking technology is a boon for those who need to extend the reach of their Wi-Fi networks. In a mesh network, multiple nodes communicate with each other to first reconnect to a device and then…