Mercusys MR70X review: Affordable Wi-Fi 6!

Affordable Wi-Fi 6 routers are invading the market, and most of them also include support for WPA3 encryption. That’s a great thing! Gone are the days when you could only buy expensive Wi-Fi 6 routers. One affordable model is Mercusys MR70X. It covers all the basics people need, at an excellent price that most can afford. If you found it in shops, and you want to know more about its real-life performance and what to expect from it, read this review:

Mercusys MR70X: Who is it good for?

This wireless router is a suitable choice for:

• People who want an affordable router with support for Wi-Fi 6
• Small houses, two-bedroom, or three-bedroom apartments
• Users who want a router that works well with older standards too

Pros and cons

Here are the things we like about Mercusys MR70X:

• Affordable price
• Wi-Fi 6 and WPA3 encryption support
• Good performance on all modern standards: Wi-Fi 4, Wi-Fi 5, and Wi-Fi 6
• Easy setup and configuration
• The user interface is available in twenty languages

There are some downsides to consider as well:

• No USB port
• No mobile app for remote control
• The firmware can only be updated manually
• It isn’t a great fit for 1 Gbps internet connections

Verdict

Mercusys MR70X is not a perfect router, but it has many good things going for it: its price is something that most people can afford, it offers Wi-Fi 6 and WPA3 encryption, and firmware that is easy to configure for most people. The speed you get meets your expectations when using older standards, too, not just Wi-Fi 6. However, there are some important weaknesses, like the dated process for handling firmware updates and the lack of a USB port. If these are not deal-breakers for you, Mercusys MR70X may be a great match.

Unboxing the Mercusys MR70X AX1800 dual-band WiFi 6 router

Mercusys MR70X comes in a black and red cardboard box, with a big picture of the router on the top cover. On the sides, you find plenty of information about this router’s specifications and features. As you will read for yourself, this router checks most of the basic expectations people have from a model with Wi-Fi 6. The packaging used for Mercusys MR70X Inside the box, you find the following items: the router itself, its power adapter, a network cable, the quick installation guide, and a troubleshooting guide for Wi-Fi 6 networking issues. Unboxing Mercusys MR70X Mercusys MR70X offers a quick and practical unboxing experience. Inside the box, you find everything you need to get started and set up your network.

Hardware specifications and design

Unfortunately, there’s little information about the hardware inside the Mercusys MR70X router. We couldn’t find out what processor it uses, nor how much RAM it has. However, from our testing, we suspect it to be similar to that of TP-Link Archer AX10 - triple-core processor, 256 MB of RAM, and 16 MB of storage space for the firmware. As you can see, Mercusys MR70X has a rather classic look, with four large non-detachable external antennas. Its body is made of lightweight plastic, and it has a size of 8.2 × 6.8 × 1.6 inches or 208.8 × 171.6 × 41.7 mm in width x depth x height. It also weighs only 12.09 ounces or 343 grams, making it one of the lightest routers we tested recently. Mercusys MR70X has four non-detachable antennas Mercusys MR70X is a dual-band wireless router with support for the latest Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) standard. It also works with older standards, like Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 4. It also has support for 2x2 MU-MIMO transfers on Wi-Fi 6. The maximum theoretical bandwidth is split as follows: 1201 Mbps on the 5 GHz (when using Wi-Fi 6) and 574 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band (when using Wi-Fi 6). Mercusys MR70X has support for WPA3 wireless encryption, but it is not enabled by default. You must turn it on manually after the initial setup. On the back of the router, you find the following items: the power jack, the WPS/Reset jack (see what is WPS), the WAN port for connecting to the internet, and three LAN ports work at 1 Gbps. There is no USB port available to minimize the production cost and keep the price low. The ports on the back of the Mercusys MR70X You find a sticker with the serial number of the device you bought and the default name and password for its Wi-Fi on the bottom of the router. There are also four plastic feet for holding it in place on flat surfaces. While it may seem that it has holes for mounting it on walls, that is not the case. There are only two screws that you can use to open the router’s case and access what’s inside. The sticker on the bottom of the Mercusys MR70X One interesting aspect about the Mercusys MR70X is that it has only one LED on the front, which is barely visible. It tells you whether the router is turned on and connected to the internet, but that’s just about it. You don’t get separate LEDs for Wi-Fi and the Ethernet ports, like on other routers. Mercusys MR70X has only one LED If you would like to learn more about this wireless router’s technical specifications, visit this page: Mercusys MR70X Specifications.

Setting up and using the Mercusys MR70X router

Few people know that TP-Link owns the Mercusys brand. One technical proof of this is the quick setup wizard on the Mercusys MR70X: it is the same as on the TP-Link Archer AX models that we tested. It only uses a different color (red instead of cyan). Setting up this router can be done only from a web browser. There’s no mobile app that you can use as on the TP-Link routers. The quick setup wizard starts with you setting up the administrator password. Then, you select the time-zone and type of internet connection you are using, enter the necessary connection details (if applicable), and personalize your basic wireless settings. Mercusys MR70X - The quick setup wizard At the end of the wizard, you see a summary of your settings, and you can log into the router and change other settings. The admin interface looks friendly and straightforward. At first, it presents only the basic settings that anyone can understand, even if they are unfamiliar with networking devices and concepts. If you want more, click on Advanced, and you access all the settings available for your router. The basic interface on the Mercusys MR70X The advanced settings are logically organized, and most people should have no problems in configuring what they want. One aspect that helps is that the firmware is available in about twenty languages. To switch between languages, go to “Advanced -> Time & Language -> Language” and choose the language you want. Setting the language on the Mercusys MR70X If there’s a setting you don’t understand, there’s now help documentation available in the firmware, but you can consult the user manual available on the Mercusys support site. Unfortunately, the Mercusys MR70X firmware doesn’t check for firmware updates automatically, so you need to get them from the Mercusys Support site. We recommend that you do that once the initial setup is complete. You will find new firmware versions that improve the performance of this router. Before making any measurements and writing this review, we upgraded to the latest firmware first. Updating the firmware on the Mercusys MR70X is a manual process To check the quality of the Wi-Fi broadcast by Mercusys MR70X, we took our laptop and moved to a room that is separated by one wall from the router. We made a wireless transfer on it, using a specialized app, that measures the average speed and the network transfer variability. When using the 2.4 GHz band and the Wi-Fi 4 standard, the average speed was OK but not impressive, and the variability of the wireless transfer was a bit high. Mercusys MR70X - Wireless transfer on Wi-Fi 4 When switching to the 5 GHz band and the Wi-Fi 5 standard, the average speed was a lot higher, but the variability remained high too, as you can see below. Mercusys MR70X - Wireless transfer on Wi-Fi 5 On the Wi-Fi 6 standard, the average speed was slightly slower than when using Wi-Fi 5, and the variability of the wireless transfer increased even further. In other rooms, Wi-Fi 6 transfers were faster than Wi-Fi 5 ones. Mercusys MR70X - Wireless transfer on Wi-Fi 6 Mercusys MR70X offers good speeds on all modern wireless standards and solid Wi-Fi coverage. However, the variability of wireless transfers may deserve some improvement. If you want to know more about the real-world performance offered by Mercusys MR70X, including comparisons with other wireless routers, go to the next page of this review.

Wireless network performance

First, let’s look at the apartment used in our testing and how it is set up. Mercusys MR70X is placed in the living room. With most wireless routers, the signal strength is not great in places like the Kitchen and the Medium balcony. The apartment in which we tested Mercusys MR70X Our testing was done using a fast 1 Gigabit Internet connection, capable of uploads on the internet of up to 800 Mbps. We evaluated the Wi-Fi emitted by Mercusys MR70X using the following standards: Wi-Fi 4 on the 2.4 GHz band, Wi-Fi 5, and Wi-Fi 6 on the 5 GHz band. To get a better idea of the performance offered by Mercusys MR70X, we compared it with TP-Link Archer AX10 and NETGEAR Nighthawk AX4. We analyzed the 2.4 GHz band first when using the Wi-Fi 4 standard, and we measured the signal strength with NetSpot. You can see its evolution in the graphic below. Mercusys MR70X offered solid signal strength almost everywhere in our apartment. Mercusys MR70X - Signal strength on the 2.4 GHz band Then, we wanted to see how fast the internet connection is when using the Wi-Fi 4 standard. We used SpeedTest on our laptop and made several measurements in each room. Mercusys MR70X was faster than the routers we compared it to in all rooms. Mercusys MR70X - Downloads in SpeedTest on Wi-Fi 4 The same happened when measuring the upload speed too. Mercusys MR70X - Uploads in SpeedTest on Wi-Fi 4 We used the PassMark Performance test to transfer data between two computers connected to the network on the 2.4 GHz band when using Wi-Fi 4. Mercusys MR70X performed well in all rooms, but TP-Link Archer AX10 was slightly faster in some rooms. Mercusys MR70X - Network downloads on Wi-Fi 4 When measuring the upload speed, things were somewhat mixed, with no router being a clear winner in this comparison. Mercusys MR70X - Network uploads on Wi-Fi 4 On the 2.4 GHz band, when using the Wi-Fi 4 standard, Mercusys MR70X performs well, beating the expectations we had, based on its affordable price. For the next set of measurements, we analyzed the performance of the 5GHz wireless band using Wi-Fi 5. We looked at the evolution of the signal strength from room to room. The signal strength offered by Mercusys MR70X was similar to that of other routers. Mercusys MR70X - Signal strength on the 5 GHz band We used SpeedTest to measure the speed of the internet connection when connected to the 5 GHz band when using the Wi-Fi 5 standard. In some rooms, Mercusys MR70X delivered the fastest downloads in our comparison. Mercusys MR70X - Downloads in SpeedTest on Wi-Fi 5 The same happened when measuring the upload speed too. Mercusys MR70X - Uploads in SpeedTest on Wi-Fi 5 We then used the PassMark Performance test to transfer data between two computers connected to the network using Wi-Fi 5. Mercusys MR70X performed well in most rooms. Mercusys MR70X - Network downloads on Wi-Fi 5 Just like with other routers, the uploads were not as fast as the downloads. Mercusys MR70X - Network uploads on Wi-Fi 5 When using the 5 GHz band and the Wi-Fi 5 standard, Mercusys MR70X performs well and delivers the speeds you expect. We remained on the 5 GHz wireless band, but we switched to using the Wi-Fi 6 standard. We first used SpeedTest to see how fast the internet connection is when using this standard. Unfortunately, when reviewing NETGEAR Nighthawk AX4, we did not have the necessary Wi-Fi 6 equipment to make measurements with this standard. Therefore, we compared Mercusys MR70X only with TP-Link Archer AX10. As you can see below, Mercusys MR70X tended to be slightly faster in most rooms. Mercusys MR70X - Downloads in SpeedTest on Wi-Fi 6 When measuring the upload speed, Mercusys MR70X was again faster, in most rooms. Mercusys MR70X - Uploads in SpeedTest on Wi-Fi 6 For the last round of comparisons, we used the PassMark Performance test to transfer data between two computers connected to the network using Wi-Fi 6. Mercusys MR70X delivered super-fast downloads in the room where it was placed. Mercusys MR70X - Network downloads on Wi-Fi 6 Unfortunately, uploads were sometimes on the slow side of things for both routers in our comparison. Mercusys MR70X - Network uploads on Wi-Fi 6 When using Wi-Fi 6, Mercusys MR70X performs well, similar to other routers in the same price range.

Wired network performance

Our internet connection offers a maximum of 1 Gbps for the download speed and 800 Mbps for the upload. Testing networking performance on Ethernet ports rarely provides any surprises. Most routers can easily match these maximum speeds or get very close to them. However, we always perform these measurements because, for some routers, we might notice some interesting facts. This was also the case with Mercusys MR70X. We first used SpeedTest to see if this router can reach the maximum potential of our connection. As you can see below, Mercusys MR70X reached a maximum of 826.35 Mbps for the download speed, which is a bit underwhelming. This proves the fact that this router isn’t the best option for 1 Gbps internet connections. However, most people don’t have more than 500 Mbps available, which makes this a non-issue for them. Mercusys MR70X - SpeedTest on Ethernet connections One thing to note is that both TP-Link Archer AX10 and NETGEAR Nighthawk AX4 offered a lower upload speed because, when we reviewed them, our internet connection was capped at 500 Mbps for the upload. Then, we ran a network transfer between two computers using the PassMark Performance test. This time, Mercusys MR70X had no problems getting close to the 1 Gbps promised in its specifications. Mercusys MR70X - Network transfers on Ethernet connections Our testing on Ethernet connections showed that Mercusys MR70X could not fully utilize 1 Gbps internet connections. It is a good match, though, for internet connections up to 850 Mbps.

Extra features

The firmware on the Mercusys MR70X includes plenty of useful configuration options, but it doesn’t have many advanced features. However, considering that it is an affordable router, this isn’t surprising at all. Here are the more advanced features available on the Mercusys MR70X AX1800 dual-band Wi-Fi 6 router:

• Dynamic DNS - allows you to connect to the router from the internet, even if your internet provider assigns you a dynamic public IP address. Mercusys MR70X works using the NO-IP and DynDNS services.
• Guest Network - you can enable guest Wi-Fi networks with individual security and access settings, one on each band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz).
• Wireless schedule - you can set when you want the Wi-Fi to be turned off. Maybe you don’t want it on when you sleep or on the days you are not home.
• WDS Bridging - enables you to use two Mercusys wireless routers to extend your Wi-Fi network’s coverage area.
• Parental Controls - a simple set of parental controls that need plenty of manual configuration. With them, you can block all websites that contain a specific keyword, set daily time limits for the total time spent online by your children, or block a person's internet access between certain times.
• QoS - a basic Quality of Service feature that helps you control how the total bandwidth is split between devices and allows you to set which devices get priority.
• VPN Server - you can set your Mercusys router to work as a VPN server using the OpenVPN and PPTP protocols.
• IPv6 - support for IPv6 addresses that are going to replace IPv4. Our internet connection works with IPv6, and the router handled it well.

Partental controls on Mercusys MR70X Mercusys MR70X covers the basics casual users need from their wireless router. However, one feature we would have loved it to have is automatic firmware updates. Unfortunately, you must manually download the new firmware from Mercusys’s support site and manually upload it to your router. This is a cumbersome process, and most users won’t do it, meaning that they don’t get the latest improvements and the best security for their router.

What is your opinion about the Mercusys MR70X AX1800 dual-band WiFi 6 router?

Now you know our opinion about the Mercusys MR70X0 dual-band Wi-Fi 6 router and how it performed in our testing. Before closing this review, tell us your opinion about this model. If you have it already, what is your experience so far? Comment below, and let’s discuss.