Huawei Q2 Pro (3 Pack) - Performance Review

[Dolby]

I received a Huawei Q2 Pro (AC1200) mesh kit (triple pack) and - although I'm by no means a WiFi professional - want to give my thoughts on the system from a layman point of view.

I'm going to split this review into PERFORMANCE REVIEW and FEATURES, which I'll upload shortly with photos / setup / app control etc. But in this thread, I'm focusing on the performance aspect only.

Some background :

* I have a 50Mbps / 50Mbps fibre line and a small 80sqm house
* The Calix WiFi N router I was given by MFN didn't even cover my little place and my furthest Sonoff devices / camera / irrigation outside couldn't even connect to my network
* I managed to get hold of a pack of AirTies 4920 (AC1600) mesh units a few years ago - and really love the WiFi coverage & performance
* Everything that I needed to be covered, could be covered - although I'd always had issues in location #1 and #2 below
* I've been lucky enough to compare the Huawei vs the AirTies - in the same location, similar times of day and everything on (band steering etc)
* I'm using a Huawei M20P for the connection




So, before I installed the Huawei Q2 Pro - I thought I'd first take readings at the 4 locations (above) first to see any differences between it and my AirTies. Note location #4 is pretty challenging as there is actually a another property/tree's in-between - and it's sitting at 35m away. Regardless, I added it to see what happens at the limits of reception :

AIRTIES :

I've also noted my Rainbird irrigation @ RSSI -58Dbi with the AirTies

Location #1 - Single Strength (Excellent) / Linkspeed (87Mbps) / Frequency (5Ghz) - DL : 48.6Mbps and UL : 33.3Mbps
Location #2 - Single Strength (Good) / Linkspeed (6Mbps) / Frequency (5Ghz) - DL : 48.5Mbps and UL : 21.4Mbps
Location #3 - Single Strength (Excellent) / Linkspeed (87Mbps) / Frequency (5Ghz) - DL : 41.4Mbps and UL : 5.79Mbps
Location #4 - Single Strength (Fair) / Linkspeed (6Mbps) / Frequency (5Ghz) - DL : 0.36Mbps and UL : 0.01Mbps

HUAWEI :

I've also noted my Rainbird irrigation @ RSSI -54Dbi with the Huawei

Location #1 - Single Strength (Fair) / Linkspeed (40Mbps) / Frequency (5Ghz) - DL : 48.6Mbps and UL : 48Mbps
Location #2 - Single Strength (Fair) / Linkspeed (117Mbps) / Frequency (5Ghz) - DL : 40.8Mbps and UL : 39..4Mbps
Location #3 - Single Strength (Good) / Linkspeed (175Mbps) / Frequency (5Ghz) - DL : 48.5Mbps and UL : 28.2Mbps
Location #4 - Single Strength (Fair) / Linkspeed (13Mbps) / Frequency (2.4Ghz) - DL : 6Mbps and UL : 2.81Mbps

OBSERVATIONS

* The Huawei seemed to fair much better at location #4 - whereas the AirTies struggled at the fringe of the network! Ths Huawei HANGS onto a signal!
* The Huawei dropped the phone from 5Ghz to 2.4Ghz at location #4 - where the AirTies remained at the 5Ghz frequency
* The Rainbird irrigation continually reported a better signal when using the Huawei (-54 vs -58)
* The AirTies continually reported a better single strength than the Huawei - but this didn't always reflect the results I saw

 

[SauRoNZA]

Jeez still seems pretty poor as a whole.

I have a single Ubiquiti Unifi Long Range covering a 500sq area without issue, so it’s hilarious to me that you need 3 mesh AP’s to cover 80sq.

Only reason I want a second unit is so I can reboot one without dropping any connections.

 

[Dolby]

Jeez still seems pretty poor as a whole

I'm not sure that is a fair statement to make, with us not knowing your exact environment / signal / throughput either?

WiFi is pretty much black magic and there's very little way to compare systems, other than the exact same environment (which is what I do). Even the time of day could effect results!

I deal with WiFi / mesh / AP testing on a weekly basis, and I'm lucky enough to have access to a fair number of devices and systems. When I started doing this a few years back, I also thought it was straight forward as whatever was tested (for example, they say the MikroTik mesh does 1,800sqm on a single node) - but it really isn't as simple as that with WiFi.

When it comes to mesh systems, AirTies are pretty much the Rolls Royce ... and I've had people replace their Ubiquity with an AirTies. They're in 30 million homes globally and they're preferred choice to increase WiFi range for most the operators ... Orange , AT&T, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom , Singhtel, Swisscom, Vox, Telkom and most operators around the world have selected them over the competition after extensive tests.

These operators generally get given a number of mesh kits to test ... and almost everyone has selected the AirTies. Locally, they've been tested against Google WiFi, TP Link Deco and plenty of other mesh systems and in the exact same environment, they can outclass the rest (even Ubiquity)

Why am I raving about AirTies , when the review is about the Huawei?

I didn't think much could defeat the AirTies and was skeptical initially. The fact that at 35m there was still signal and still throughput in the challenging environment , it's pretty damn amazing. I'd love to get hold of a Ubiquity and show you it isn't quite like you put it.

500sqm is roughly only 22m x 22m anyhow ...

 

[SauRoNZA]

I don’t know where you get that Airties are the Rolls Royce of mesh systems.

Maybe in SA where they hit the market quite early at almost reasonable pricing.

Globally they are basically unheard of.

Where are these 30 million homes? You do a search for wireless mesh best options right now and they don’t make a single list I found.

Regardless it is somewhat unfair to compare enterprise grade product with consumer stuff, but then they do compare relatively in price.

****

Oh I see that’s their marketing, smells like bullshit.

I suspect they are referring to mesh systems as whole and camouflaging it as their own technology.

 

[SauRoNZA]

I see they are very rarely sold at retail.

Their numbers come from being rolled out by service providers where users probably don’t have much in the way of choice.

Reviews are neither here nor there.

Very far from Rolls Royce material I’m afraid.

 

[Dolby]

Very far from Rolls Royce material I’m afraid.

... from someone that hadn't heard of them a few minutes ago?!
... someone that thought the numbers and the clients were all fake / marketing?
... thought they were an SA brand and didn't even know they were global?

They have more mesh networks in homes globally than any other manufacturer :/

I see they are very rarely sold at retail

... they don't want to be in retail?
... you know the DSTV WiFi adapter is AirTies too?
... and chosen by all the major operators?
... they sell millions and millions of devices every year

Their numbers come from being rolled out by service providers where users probably don’t have much in the way of choice

... you realize that these operators test thoroughly for months before adopting a product into their portfolio?
... and all the competition submit their solutions on a tender, in order to get their products tested so they can get in?

You can spin in anyway you want, but at the end of the day, AirTies is the Rolls Royce and is the benchmark

The Huawei offered similar performance in many areas - and bettered it in others.

I'll get hold of a Ubquiti to test - any model in particular ?
Maybe you have a spare you can lend out?

 

[Dolby]

Regardless it is somewhat unfair to compare enterprise grade product with consumer stuff, but then they do compare relatively in price.

so it’s hilarious to me that you need 3 mesh AP’s to cover 80sq.

You started the comparison ... but I'm happy to take it further and get a Ubquiti to test and compare them

I think it'l be - er - hilarious to see how a consumer grade mesh kit really does stack up to your enterprise class AP

 

[SauRoNZA]

... from someone that hadn't heard of them a few minutes ago?!
... someone that thought the numbers and the clients were all fake / marketing?
... thought they were an SA brand and didn't even know they were global?

They have more mesh networks in homes globally than any other manufacturer :/



... they don't want to be in retail?
... you know the DSTV WiFi adapter is AirTies too?
... and chosen by AT&T, Vodafone, Orange, Swisscom, Deutsche Telekom, Singtel, Turk Telecom and others?
... they sell millions and millions of devices every year



... you realise that these guys test thoroughly for months before adopting a product on their?
... and all the competition submit their tenders to get their products tested so they can get in?

You can spin in anyway you want, but at the end of the day, AirTies is the Rolls Royce and is the benchmark

The Huawei offered similar performance - and bettered it at certain metrics.

I'll get hold of a Ubquiti to test - any model in particular ?
Maybe you have a spare you can lend out?

Do you have impaired selective reading?

Read my posts again.

I’m deeply familiar with the product, I never said I hadn’t heard of them or that they were a local product.

Also just because Service Providers choose them doesn’t mean they are necessarily good for consumers, it means they are first cheap and secondly very simple to manage remotely.

So in light of that I’ll repeat my statement again as it still rings true.

Where there is consumer CHOICE involved they don’t make a single recommended list.

And even when it’s forced on them or given to them the reviews are neither here nor there, although granted end users can be idiots.

 

[SauRoNZA]

You started the comparison ... but I'm happy to take it further and get a Ubquiti to test and compare them

I think it'l be - er - hilarious to see how a consumer grade mesh kit really does stack up.

Two Ubiquities would be a fair comparison to the 3 x Airties cost wise.

 

[Dolby]

Two Ubiquities would be a fair comparison to the 3 x Airties cost wise.

I don't know the models though - you'll need to help ?
Two would compare price-wise - and performance wise ?
You reckon they'd be three times as good the AirTes?

 

[Dolby]

Also just because Service Providers choose them doesn’t mean they are necessarily good for consumers, it means they are first cheap and secondly very simple to manage remotely

That's really not true either

 

[SauRoNZA]

That's really not true either

Having purchased many of these kind of units for roll out it’s almost certainly true.

Or who can grease palms the best.

Actual consumer performance is the last thing on the list anyone worries about.

 

[powermzii]

@Dolby back to the devices functionality etc

Would you be able to do a mini write up / overview on the ease of setup, configurability and other features the Huawei devices have. Would you also be able to draw parallels to the Airties?

 

[Dolby]

@Dolby back to the devices functionality etc

Would you be able to do a mini write up / overview on the ease of setup, configurability and other features the Huawei devices have. Would you also be able to draw parallels to the Airties?

Yup - putting it together now.

Wanted to run it 2 weeks or so first.

I'll compare it the AirTies, but the AirTies is seriously basic - but I'll do it

 

[powermzii]

Yup - putting it together now.

Wanted to run it 2 weeks or so first.

I'll compare it the AirTies, but the AirTies is seriously basic - but I'll do it

Thank you so much... Much appreciated. I currently am running Airties and am always on the lookout for similar / better devices at that price point

 

[Anthraxitus]

restarting this thread.... Seems my old ADSL Router (Asus DSL-AC52U) Ethernet WAN port went so looking at extending the Rain 5G with decent stuff at an affordable price. How is the Huawei still going>?

 

[X-Gamer]

restarting this thread.... Seems my old ADSL Router (Asus DSL-AC52U) Ethernet WAN port went so looking at extending the Rain 5G with decent stuff at an affordable price. How is the Huawei still going>?

Currently on sale at the new Huawei online store, R3099. A bit less if you get the "launch coupons".

 

[Debtcollector]

Question: I see Takeallot and Huawei themselves sells the 3 pack. The website says it cannot be used without the base. Does this mean I need more than just this pack to get it working? Also being hybrid will it use wifi backhaul if the power lines are of poor quality?

 

[powermzii]

Question: I see Takeallot and Huawei themselves sells the 3 pack. The website says it cannot be used without the base. Does this mean I need more than just this pack to get it working? Also being hybrid will it use wifi backhaul if the power lines are of poor quality?

The base is one of the 3 in the pack so you won't need anything extra - aside from the fibre ONT though but that's standard with every fibre installation

 

[Debtcollector]

Thanks, so this is all I need.

Maybe I did not word the second part of my question properly. I want this for my elderly parents, so it needs to be simple to setup. They use a Telkom 4g router with ethernet.

Their house is funny, there is wall that blocks 99% wifi signals. I could not get clients to reliability connect through it using a 500mw Mikrotik router with a 11db omni.
I've had some bad experience with plc at my house, some wall sockets would not connect at all. It turns out the live and neutral wires were reversed inside the plug. Other plugs worked, but not stable due to old rusty wiring. Other plugs worked perfectly fine. I suspect similar wiring issues at my parents house.

Being a hybrid system, does it only use plc for backhaul between the units or can it fail over to wifi for backhaul? I want the best possible chance of success.