We have been testing iliad fiber for over a week now, and after having subjected it to numerous “stress tests” we want to take stock of the situation on what is the speed that can be reached both in Wi-Fi than in Ethernet , and on some tips to improve things (where makes sense). We will also talk about how to manage the iliadbox settings, both from smartphone and PC. In short, make yourself comfortable.
Before starting we leave you a series of useful links to the various iliad offers (we remind you that to get the discount on fiber you must also be an iliad mobile customer), as well as the router and to the dongle that we used in the video to improve the quality of the Wi-Fi network and to make the most of the 2.5 Gbit port of the iliadbox.
- iliad fiber
- GIGA 120
- GIGA 80
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The connection via Wi-Fi is easily the one used by most, and for the greatest number of devices, therefore it is also the one we have dedicated ourselves to the most. The first speed tests, from Pixel 6 Pro and MacBook Pro 14, were not particularly exciting, with download speeds of 500-600 Mbit / sec and above all with an upload that has never exceeded 200 Mbit / s . Moving on to Windows, with a Legion 5 Pro, which has reached 470 Mbit / s in upload, and values similar to the previous devices in download.
Before going on, we need to make a clarification: the iliadbox uses the Wi-Fi 5 , therefore the download values obtained are also quite in line with the possible ones, considering dispersion and interference; however those uploaded were always too low in our tests.
Does this mean that this is the case for everyone? No. There are too many subjective variables already in the connection via ethernet, let alone in the Wi-Fi connection. That said, we can still try to improve things, and that's what we have done and that anyone in a similar situation should do.
Regarding the iliadbox there is an observation: by default the bandwidth of the 5 GHz network is adjusted to 80 MHZ , but if you want you can double it. In this way, however, the range of the signal will also decrease, and the benefits in terms of download / upload are not necessarily so sensitive (we have done several tests and, although a little better, are certainly not comparable to what is described in the next paragraph), moreover not all devices support this bandwidth, so you may have compatibility problems. In short, it is an option to try, but certainly not universal.
The most effective solution is instead to switch to a router with Wi-Fi 6 , solving the problem at the root. Iliad currently only has the configuration files for a couple of models that can completely replace its iliadbox, but neither is Wi-Fi 6. We therefore decided to connect a Fritz! Box 4060 to the ethernet port at 2.5 Gbit of the iliadbox. This AVM router has the particularity of supporting Wi-Fi 6 up to 2,400 mbit , and is therefore able to support two devices connected in Wi-Fi at x 1,200 Mbit each, providing full band to both.
Not only that, but thanks to him we were also able to make better use of the upload, which finally arrived on the 670 Mbit / s of media via wireless, and the download also benefited, going further gli 800 Mbit / s (always on a single device).
Ok but what if we wanted to go at maximum speed, or try to reach the phantom 5 Gbit / s? In this case you will have to take advantage of the 3 ethernet ports . If you don't have a network card that supports at least 2.5 Gbit, you could buy a USB-C dongle like the one we tried. We have chosen it practically at random on Amazon, and we are certainly not ready to guarantee its resistance over the long term , especially if used continuously, but to test the speed of the network it is perfectly fine.
In this case, with 3 devices connected to all 3 ethernet ports, we went around the total 4 Gbit / s in download (the upload bandwidth was clearly saturated and unequally distributed between the three). We did not reach the theoretical maximum 4.5 Gbit / s, but it is still a good value, also because it is linked not only to our fiber but also to the speed test itself (different services gave us higher values) and not least at the doors / cables used. In short, these are values that conform to what one might expect.
A bit more disappointing was the addition of a fourth device, this time in Wi-Fi , which more or less downloaded at 300 Mbit / s . In short, our iliad fiber, even net of dispersions and third-party factors, probably does not get to have all the 5 Gbit it could have, but it is still so close that, especially for this price, it is impossible to complain.
If anything, the only real regret lies in the choice of a Wi-Fi 5 router instead of a Wi-Fi 6 one, which would have allowed much greater flexibility on the wireless network, which is easily the most exploited by the majority of users . Cost reasons? Probably, but it is also useless to launch into too many hypotheses.
Through the app iliadbox connect , available for Android and iOS, or directly via the web, you can easily manage your router. The app in particular is sufficiently simple and intuitive that even a novice will be able to exploit it with satisfaction. It is easy to check the connected devices , create different user profiles (especially useful for limiting access to the network and / or to the various devices of any children ), and manage the most common network settings, including the sharing of the access password via QR code , or the generation of a guest network , which therefore has access to the entire local network.
Through the web app, however, you have access to additional options, in particular relating to port forwarding (iliad limits the number of manageable ports to 16,000 for each user, for reasons of IP address routing), all '' local IP assignment, DNS, DMZ and other options.
We will not go into too much depth now on the “configuration / optimization” topic, on which you will find further information in the video at the beginning of the article, and on which we will come back anyway after having carried out further tests. If you have specific questions on this subject, we invite you to ask them right now in the comments space.
Latest note on costs : fiber billing is monthly . Each month you will be automatically charged for its cost on the selected payment method (IBAN or card, but also bulletin), and if you were an iliad mobile customer, activating the discount to pay only € 15.99 is a matter of a moment. We have already received the first invoice in PDF format and, in case someone had strange doubts, we can confirm that they are actually € 15.99. Revolution?
