The Swisscom Wi-Fi speed test: is the Internet-Box 3 any good?

Swisscom's Internet-Box 3 offers bandwidths of up to 10 Gbps and Wi-Fi-6. According to the data sheet, the Wi-Fi that's built into the box reaches up to 4.8 Gbps (5 GHz). How good is the signal in a real flat? Read this speed test to find out.

The Swisscom Internet -Box 3 specs:

• Ports: 1 × FC port, 1 × RJ45 WAN, 5 × RJ45 LAN (1 × 2.5 Gigabit, 4 × 1 Gigabit), 2 × USB 3.0 Type-A, 2 × phone connection
• 5 GHz network standards: IEEE 802.11ax/ac/n/a
• 2.4 GHz network standards: IEEE 802.11ax/n/b/g
• Transmission rate 5 GHz: up to 3.8 Gbps
• Transmission rate 2.4 GHz: up to 860 Mbps
• Encryptions: WPA3
• Modes of operation: router
• Dimensions: 21.3 × 3.3 × 23.7 cm
• Operation: WLAN on/off button, WPS/DECT pairing button, reset button
• Features: firewall, Guest WLAN, parental control, DynDNS, VPN Server, DLNA Media Server and more

Apartment floor plan and router location

My apartment is a maisonette with about 140 m². It has 5.5 rooms and several Wi-Fi obstacles. There's underfloor heating and the ceiling between the two floors seems to be made of reinforced concrete. I'm not sure about this, but whenever I try to drill a hole into the ceiling, I hit metal after about 5 millimetres. My Bosch Truvo agrees – the metal detector beeps across the entire ceiling. There's something more than a steel support system in the way. I place the Swisscom-Box on the second floor. This is where my most central cable connection is and where I'll place any routers that I'll test in the future.

Getting set up

The Box can be set up via a smartphone app or via the web interface by entering the IP address 192.168.1.1 in a browser. But this only works properly with a Swisscom subscription and a running Internet connection. My internet provider is UPC. Therefore, my box has already been preconfigured by Swisscom, who have provided me with the test device. All I need to do is plug it in.

If you wanted to connect additional devices to the Internet-Box 3, you can, as it features five RJ45 ports. One offers 2.5 Gbps and all others 1 Gbps. There's also a USB 3.0 Type-A port for an external hard disk or SSD.

Speed, ping and signal strength per room

As I did when I tested the UPC Connect Box with Wi-Fi 5, I use the same AX-capable notebook to measure the new WLAN. I measure the new installation with a Wi-Fi-6-capable notebook and the «LAN Speed Test» app. I upload a 1 GB file to my NAS, which is located in the living room, three times in total. Then I determined the latency of the DOS console by pinging my NAS. For the signal strength, which is specified in decibel milliwatts (dBm), I used the «NetSpot» software. The heat maps further down were also provided by NetSpot.

Results

The Internet-Box 3 performs as follows:

In the 5 GHz frequency band, Internet Box 3 provides an average of 613 Mbps on the entire upper floor. As expected, the signal strength drops considerably on the lower floor, but the box still delivers at least 127 Mbps to all rooms except the balcony. I only have reception on the right side of the balcony and the signal strength is 21.62 Mbps (not displayed in the table). Across the entire apartment, the box boasts a low latency of 3 ms on average and a respectable 398.97 Mbps.

The 2.4 GHz frequency band provides signal where the 5 GHz band failed. I even have reception on the entire balcony, even if it only works at 16.52 Mbps. This is enough stream Netflix at least once in 1080p resolution beside surfing. Online gaming, on the other hand, is a bad idea, as the balcony has an average ping of 12 ms. On average, it offers 100.33 Mbps at a ping of 4 ms.

5 GHz signal level heat map

The heat maps don't only show where the Wi-Fi fails, they also indicate where it might be a good idea to install additional hardware for a mesh Wi-Fi. The best conditions are found in the entrance area. As a reminder, the lower the measured dBm value, the worse the signal strength and the bluer the colour.

2.4 GHz signal level heat map

The higher range of the 2.4 GHz frequency band helps, even if only marginally, to provide the balcony with Internet access.

Comparing with the competition

As this is only the second Wi-Fi speed test in my new apartment, I can only compare the results with one other scenario. And as the UPC Connect Box offers AC-Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5) and the Swisscom Internet Box 3 AX-Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 6), this comparison should be treated with caution. The Internet Box-3 isn't the counterpart of the Connect Box. This would probably be the Internet Box 2.

The 5 GHz comparison:

The 2.4 GHz comparison:

Conclusion: Swisscom's Wi-Fi 6 is decent

The Swisscom Internet-Box 3 takes first place – for now. Compared to the competitors' previous-generation products, the latest Swisscom device allows me to surf at twice the speed in my home. It provides almost 400 Mbps. The only place that’s not covered is my balcony with an average of only 16.52 Mbps.

The Internet-Box 3 offers almost the same signal strength as the UPC Box that I previously tested. Does Wi-Fi 6 make the more recent Swisscom Box perform so much better? I don't think so. In my previous home, I've tested Wi-Fi 5 products that performed better than Wi-Fi 6 products.

My only complaint about the hardware and its WLAN performance is that it's not designed to function as a pure modem. If you want to use your own router in combination with this box, you'll need a bridge mode and a workaround using DMZ. This may not be important for most users, but it would still be nice if future products had this feature.

The second Wi-Fi speed test in my new apartment reveals the roadmap for the coming months. I've now tested both AC and AX Wi-Fi. Next, I'm going to test the potential of a Mesh-Wi-Fi. After that, our shop products will follow. I can't wait to see how they'll perform. I'm also excited to find out if UPC will provide me with their latest Internet Box, so I can stage a battle: «UPC vs. Swisscom».