Mercusys Halo H80X review: Focusing on simplicity!

When you ask people what they want from their wireless router or mesh Wi-Fi system, many will tell you they want it to be affordable and simple to set up and use. Mercusys Halo H80X is a dual-band mesh Wi-Fi system that aims to cater to the needs of this specific audience. As a result, its price is one of the lowest I’ve seen for a whole home mesh Wi-Fi system, and configuring it is super easy for anyone, including people without technical skills. But do these characteristics make it the ideal choice for you? Read this review and find out:

Mercusys Halo H80X: Who is it good for?

This mesh Wi-Fi system is a suitable choice for:

• Users who desire an affordable mesh Wi-Fi system
• People with internet connections up to 500 Mbps
• Networks with a moderate number of devices
• Those who don’t need advanced features for their Wi-Fi

Pros and cons

Here are the things I like about the Mercusys Halo H80X:

• Affordable pricing
• Minimalistic design
• Easy to install and configure
• Optimized for the Wi-Fi 6 standard
• Can cover larger locations

Some areas are worth improving, too:

• It has problems handling thick walls on the 2.4 GHz band
• Lacks advanced features and customization options
• No USB port

Verdict

Mercusys Halo H80X has some important strengths: a pleasant design suitable for most homes, a great price that makes it affordable for many, and an obstinate focus on simplicity. While many people will love its user-friendliness, like all things in life, it comes at a cost. The most important being that its performance is not as good as other mesh Wi-Fi systems with similar hardware. Another cost is that its minimalist approach translates into a lack of advanced tools and configuration options, which won’t make it appealing to knowledgeable users who need more than basic Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. Therefore, I recommend Mercusys Halo H80X to people who don’t need advanced networking features, have an internet connection with speeds up to 500 Mbps, and want to provide good wireless coverage for larger living spaces. If you fit into this audience, you will be happy with Mercusys Halo H80X. Other people should look for more expensive alternatives that better fit more complex needs.

Unboxing the Mercusys Halo H80X

The Mercusys Halo H80X is a dual-band mesh Wi-Fi system with Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. It comes in a large red cardboard box with the company name printed on the top and the sides and several pictures of the devices that make up the kit. The company sells the Halo H80X in kits of two or three stations. As you can see, for this review, I received the three-station version, which should provide generous wireless coverage for locations up to 650 square meters or 7000 square feet. The packaging for Mercusys Halo H80X On the back and sides of the box, there’s extensive information about the product, its features, and its characteristics. When you open the box, you see several leaflets on top of the units that make up the mesh Wi-Fi system. Unboxing the Mercusys Halo H80X When you take everything out, you find two or three Halo H80X units (depending on the kit you bought), a short network cable, the power adapters for each unit, the quick installation guide, and other leaflets with warranty, licensing, and troubleshooting information. Everything you find inside the box The unboxing experience takes a bit of time, as you need to unpack quite a few items. However, the process is simple, and Mercusys provides all the basics required to set up your mesh network. I recommend installing the Mercusys app on your smartphone before getting started.

Hardware specifications and design

At the time of writing, there are three hardware versions for Mercusys Halo H80X: V1, V1.20, and V2. Unfortunately, I have received the older V1 version for testing. Therefore, the technical information and performance statistics I share in this review apply only to the V1 models. I can’t comment on how well the newer V1.20 and V2 versions perform. Mercusys Halo H80X is available in multiple hardware versions No matter which version you buy, the size and design of each unit are the same. One Halo H80X is 5 × 3.2 × 3.3 inches or 128 × 81 × 83.7 mm in size, and it weighs about 281 grams or 9.9 ounces. Each Halo H80X is tiny and lightweight On the front of each station, you see the brand name and a small LED. The LED can light up in yellow, blue, white, or red and signal the status of each unit. On the top, discreet ventilation grids help keep things cool. They look rather elegant, don’t you think? The front features the Mercusys logo On the back of each unit, you’ll find the Power jack, the Reset button, and three Gigabit ports. All of them can be used for WAN (connecting the Halo H80X to the internet) or LAN connections (connecting your devices to the network managed by the Halo H80X). You might have noticed that there’s no WPS button. Luckily, the WPS functionality can be controlled from the Mercusys mobile app. The ports on the back On the bottom of each unit, you have four rubber feet for holding the device into place, some ventilation grids, and a sticker with information about your unit, including the MAC address, the web address for accessing it, and the default network name it uses for the Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, there are no holes for mounting the Mercusys Halo H80X on the walls. This mesh Wi-Fi system was designed for home users who want small, discreet devices that are easy to hide around their house. The bottom of each Mercusys Halo H80X Inside each Halo H80X, there’s a dual-core Qualcomm IPQ0518 System on a Chip (SoC) running at 1 GHz, with 512 MB of RAM and 128 MB of storage space. This hardware configuration is similar to the TP-Link Archer AX55 wireless router I tested some time ago. The web interface shows your hardware resource consumption in real time Mercusys Halo H80X is a dual-band mesh Wi-Fi system without a dedicated wireless backhaul. Its total theoretical bandwidth is split as follows: 2402 Mbps on the 5 GHz frequency band and 574 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band when using the Wi-Fi 6 standard. Halo H80X offers wireless transfers using 2x2 MU-MIMO, is capable of using secure WPA3 encryption, and offers 160 MHz channel bandwidth in the 5 GHz band. You can set the channel bandwidth to 160 MHz These are the technical aspects that I consider important for the Mercusys Halo H80X. If you want more technical information about this product, check out its official page: Mercusys Halo H80X.

Setting up and using the Mercusys Halo H80X

Setting up the Mercusys Halo H80X is done through the Mercusys app for Android and iOS. Follow the app’s instructions and add a Mercusys account, and you should be done in just a couple of minutes. One aspect that makes things easier is that you only need to configure the main unit from the kit. Once that is done, all the others connect to it automatically and copy its settings. Setting up the Mercusys Halo H80X The quick setup asks you to enter the details for connecting the Mercusys Halo H80X to the internet and then enter the name and password you want to use for your Wi-Fi. The Smart Connect feature is enabled by default, and cannot be turned off. This means you can use only one network name and password for both bands: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. While this is easy for people without technical knowledge, Smart Connect lowers the speed you get over Wi-Fi. It’s also frustrating for technical users who want to set things up their way and are blocked from doing so by Smart Connect being enforced. Setting your Wi-Fi name and password One aspect I appreciated is that the Mercusys app automatically checks for firmware updates and recommends installing them when available. You, too, should install the latest firmware and benefit from bug fixes and performance improvements. Updating the firmware is a good idea The Mercusys app is super easy to use and includes very few settings. People without networking knowledge will love its simplicity. They’ll find only a few things that can be turned on and off, most of which are easy to understand. However, knowledgeable users will feel frustrated. That’s because Mercusys doesn’t offer advanced features and tools like those found on mesh systems from other brands. For example, you don’t get any firewall protection for your network, no antivirus, and no VPN server functionality. The Mercusys app doesn't include many settings and tools Even the Quality of Service feature is rather basic and doesn’t allow for advanced configuration. Or you can enable Guest Wi-Fi, but you can’t set any rules for it, like limiting access to your local network, setting specific bandwidth limits, or setting time limits for how long your guests can access your Wi-Fi. This focus on simplicity is also evident when accessing the web-based administration interface, which has almost no settings you can configure. The only things you can do from it are look for firmware updates, check the system logs, set the time, and check a few system parameters. You can’t change your Wi-Fi settings and choose the protocol you want for each band. You can’t turn off Smart Connect and use different network names and passwords for each frequency band, and you can’t set the specific channels to use for your Wi-Fi. Again, knowledgeable people will dislike this and feel that the manufacturer takes away their autonomy. At the same time, beginners will be happy because they don’t have to fiddle with anything. The mesh Wi-Fi system will do everything for them automatically. The web interface offers few settings While letting the system do its thing may seem like a good idea to many users, using the Mercusys Halo H80X has proved the contrary. One important technical aspect is that this dual-band mesh system doesn’t have a dedicated wireless backhaul. It uses a shared backhaul, which lowers your performance over Wi-Fi. Then comes Smart Connect, which lowers Wi-Fi performance even further. As a result, I didn’t reach the high speeds that I had with wireless routers and mesh systems with a similar configuration. To overcome this issue, the solution is to use a wired Ethernet backhaul between the stations and connect them using network cables. Luckily, as soon as you connect the stations through network cables, Mercusys Halo H80X automatically switches to an Ethernet backhaul, and you don’t have to change any settings. However, most people buy a mesh Wi-Fi system because they want to get rid of cables, so I continued my testing using the default shared wireless backhaul. You can use an Ethernet backhaul to improve performance While the Wi-Fi worked well on the 5 GHz band when using the Wi-Fi 6 standard, my experience with the 2.4 GHz band was sometimes frustrating. Wi-Fi connectivity was good in the room where the main station was placed. However, in the other rooms, where devices were connected to the secondary stations, wireless transfers on the 2.4 GHz band were not always stable. Here's an example of a wireless transfer on my laptop in a room separated by one wall from the main station and connected to a secondary station. As you can see, that wireless transfer had moments when the speed dropped to zero, and the Mercusys Halo H80X had trouble maintaining a consistent throughput. A Wi-Fi transfer on the 2.4 GHz band In contrast, here’s another transfer made on the 5 GHz band, using Wi-Fi 6, in the same room, on the same laptop. The throughput was much faster and steadier, providing a good user experience. A Wi-Fi transfer on the 5 GHz band Another problem I noticed was that uploads were rather slow on the 2.4 GHz band, and in some rooms, they dropped to speeds close to 0. This made me want to investigate more, so don’t hesitate to read the next page of this review, where I present detailed measurements and comparisons.

Wireless network performance

I tested Mercusys Halo H80X in my two-bedroom apartment, which is quite small for a mesh Wi-Fi system. The diagram below shows how I placed the three stations in the kit. The apartment in which I tested Merkusys Halo H80X I evaluated the quality of the wireless network managed by the mesh system through measurements made in three different places:

• Room 0 - I recorded the maximum speeds when no walls absorbed the wireless signal in the room where the main node was placed.
• Room 1 - is separated by one wall from the main station.
• Room 2 - is separated from the main station by two walls that absorb the wireless signal. The wall between Room 1 and Room 2 is twice as thick as that between Room 0 and Room 1. As a result, Room 2 can be a difficult challenge for some routers and mesh Wi-Fi systems.

I’ve made all my measurements using a laptop with Wi-Fi 6, running Windows 11 with the latest drivers and operating system updates. I compared Mercusys Halo H80X with HUAWEI Wi-Fi Mesh 3 (a competing mesh Wi-Fi system powered by the same chipset) and TP-Link Archer AX55 (a wireless router powered by the same Qualcomm chipset).

How does the Mercusys Halo H80X perform on the 2.4 GHz band?

I started by measuring the signal strength using NetSpot. Unfortunately, Mercusys Halo H80X broadcasts its signal using only Wi-Fi 6. You can’t set it manually to use Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) instead. The signal strength delivered by Mercusys Halo H80X was good but not as good as that delivered by HUAWEI Wi-Fi Mesh 3. Signal strength on Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz band) Next, I used the SpeedTest app to measure the maximum speed you get when transferring data to and from the internet on the 2.4 GHz band. I first set my laptop to connect to the network using Wi-Fi 4. Download speeds were reasonably fast everywhere in my apartment. SpeedTest - The download speed on Wi-Fi 4 (2.4 GHz) Unfortunately, uploads were slow everywhere in my apartment. Things were especially problematic in Room 2, which has a very thick wall separating it from the others. I don’t know why, but this room is problematic for all routers and mesh Wi-Fi systems that I tested with Qualcomm chipsets, and Halo H80X makes no exception. SpeedTest - The upload speed on Wi-Fi 4 (2.4 GHz) I then switched to Wi-Fi 6 on the 2.4 GHz band and repeated the same measurements. The download speed increased quite a bit, which is great. However, Mercusys Halo H80X was not the best performer in this comparison. SpeedTest - The download speed on Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz) The upload speed also increased, but the situation in Room 2 remained problematic. SpeedTest - The upload speed on Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz) For the next set of measurements, I used the PassMark Performance test to transfer data between two computers connected to the network. This benchmark tells me the average speed I get when transferring data only inside the network and not on the internet. At first, I was connected to the 2.4 GHz band using the Wi-Fi 4 standard. The download speed delivered by Mercusys Halo H80X was pretty good everywhere in my apartment. Network downloads on Wi-Fi 4 (2.4 GHz) Again, uploads were a lot slower and downright frustrating in Room 2. Network uploads on Wi-Fi 4 (2.4 GHz) I switched to Wi-Fi 6 and repeated the same measurements. As you can see in the comparison below, the download speed increased in most rooms. Network downloads on Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz) Uploads were slower and became problematic in Room 2. Network uploads on Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz) Mercusys Halo H80X is designed to work well using the Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) standard on the 2.4 GHz band. When you switch to Wi-Fi 4 on this frequency band, the quality of your Wi-Fi can decrease by quite a bit. While the download speeds offered by Mercusys Halo H80X on the 2.4 GHz band are satisfactory, the upload speed can get quite low. And, if you have a location with very thick walls, the wireless signal will get easily absorbed by those walls, resulting in upload speeds that can get frustrating.

How does the Mercusys Halo H80X perform on the 5 GHz band?

I moved on to the 5 GHz band and repeated the same measurements. Again, the Mercusys Halo H80X did not allow me to change the standard for emitting the wireless signal, so I was stuck using only Wi-Fi 6. First, I fired up NetSpot to analyze the signal strength. Mercusys Halo H80X performed well everywhere in my apartment. Signal strength on Wi-Fi 6 (5 GHz band) Moving on, I used the SpeedTest app to see how fast the internet connection is on the 5 GHz band. I first set my laptop to connect to the network using the Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) standard. The download speed was OK but not impressive. Surprisingly, the TP-Link Archer AX55 was much faster than the mesh systems I compared it to, including the Mercusys Halo H80X. SpeedTest - The download speed on Wi-Fi 5 (5 GHz) Uploads were fast and offered a much better experience than on the 2.4 GHz band. This time, the Halo H80X outperformed its direct competitor, the HUAWEI Wi-Fi Mesh 3. SpeedTest - The upload speed on Wi-Fi 5 (5 GHz) I switched to the Wi-Fi 6 standard on the same 5 GHz frequency band and repeated the same measurements. The download speed improved a bit in some rooms, while in others, it didn’t. SpeedTest - The download speed on Wi-Fi 6 (5 GHz) I was surprised to see how the upload speed was much faster than the download speed everywhere in my home. This is not something you often encounter when testing mesh Wi-Fi systems. SpeedTest - The upload speed on Wi-Fi 6 (5 GHz) I switched to the PassMark Performance test and transferred data between two computers connected to the network. When using the 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) standard, the download speed was great in the room where the main station was placed and decreased quite a lot in the others. However, I was satisfied with the performance offered by the Mercusys Halo H80X. Network downloads on Wi-Fi 5 (5 GHz) Upload speeds were slower but still good. Network uploads on Wi-Fi 5 (5 GHz) Switching to the Wi-Fi 6 standard meant that downloads got faster, especially in the rooms furthest from the main station, which is great. 🙂 Network downloads on Wi-Fi 6 (5 GHz) The uploads were not necessarily faster than when using Wi-Fi 5. Still, their speeds provided a good Wi-Fi experience. Network uploads on Wi-Fi 6 (5 GHz) Mercusys Halo H80X is optimized to provide the best Wi-Fi experience on the 5 GHz band. While it doesn’t break any speed records, the speeds you get are pretty good, and the problems with the upload speeds that plague the 2.4 GHz band are not present.

Wired network performance

My internet connection offers a maximum download speed of 1 Gbps and an upload speed of 800 Mbps. When I connected a PC to the main station using an Ethernet cable and ran SpeedTest, Mercusys Halo H80X delivered speeds relatively close to my connection’s maximum potential. However, the upload speed could have been better. SpeedTest on Ethernet connections The three LAN ports on the back of each Mercusys Halo H80X work well and can deliver fast network connectivity at speeds that get close to 1 Gbps.

Advanced features

As I mentioned earlier in this review, the firmware on the Mercusys Halo H80X is rather basic and has few configuration options and features. Here’s what it has to offer: Setting up Parental Controls in the Mercusys app

• Network optimization - a tool that scans your network and its settings and improves them when necessary.
• Deny List - allows you to select which devices are blocked from accessing your network. It does this based on their MAC address.
• DDNS - a free service offered by Mercusys that allows you to create a domain name that can be used to access your Halo over the internet. It’s very useful, specifically when using internet connections that assign public IP addresses dynamically.
• Guest Wi-Fi - you can enable a separate network name and password for your guests. Unfortunately, you cannot set any advanced rules for it.
• IPv6 - you can enable or disable IPv6 for your network and internet connection and choose which IPv6 DNS servers to use.
• Port Forwarding - you can set rules that allow your networked devices to be accessible from the internet.
• Parental Controls - you can use them to block your children’s access to websites unsuited for their age, to set daily limits for the total time your children spend online, or block a person’s internet access between certain times.
• QoS - helps you control how the total bandwidth is split between devices and allows you to set which devices get priority.
• Managers - you can add others to manage your network and change its settings, alongside your Mercusys account.
• Monthly Report - you get a report that tells you how your children have been using the internet, how many devices are connected to the network on a daily basis, how many times your network optimization scan was performed, and so on.

Your Monthly Reports The feature list offered by Mercusys Halo H80X is quite short and sticks mostly to basic settings and tools. There’s no VPN functionality, firewall protection, or antivirus protection, like on mesh Wi-Fi systems from other brands.

What is your opinion about the Mercusys Halo H80X?

Thanks for reading this far. It was a lengthy review, and I hope you now have a good perspective on Mercusys Halo H80X, what this mesh Wi-Fi system can offer, and its strengths and weaknesses. Before closing, let me know your thoughts: do you like the Mercusys Halo H80X? Are you considering buying it? Or are you looking for a more advanced mesh Wi-Fi system? Comment using the options below, and let me know. 🙂