Vodafone Super Wi-Fi Modem review: A super start

The networking gear offered by NBN providers has changed a lot in recent times, thanks in no small part to the increasing popularity of WiFi 7 devices. Modem-routers like the Telstra Smart Modem 3 and TP-Link VX420-G2h/v are on the out, while their respective WiFi 7 successors are being offered to NBN customers. That's the case for the Telstra Smart Modem 4, and it's also the case for the Arcadyan HWG2025.

Except, you won't see the HWG2025 advertised by its model. Instead, you'll either see the Vodafone Super Wi-Fi Modem, iiNet Wi-Fi Max, or some variant of TPG Wi-Fi Max Modem when the HWG2025 is available to its customers in 2026. Whatever the name change, it's the same modem-router with the same impressive features.

The Vodafone Super Wi-Fi Modem is one of the first WiFi 7 modem-routers available in Australia. If you buy an NBN plan from Vodafone or iiNet, you can get the Vodafone/iiNet modem-router for $0 if you stick with either respective provider for 24 months. If TPG follows its NBN-compatible modem-router add-on trend, you may have to pay $336 upfront for the HWG2025 when it's available in 2026. Note that Vodafone was also bundling the HWG2025 modem-router with an extender at the time of writing, and that combination was what I used for most of my testing.

Telstra is the only real WiFi 7 modem-router competitor. The Telstra Smart Modem 4 can be purchased outright for $240, or new Telstra NBN customers can get it for $0 if they stick with Big T for 24 months. While that $240 RRP is around $100 cheaper than the HWG2025, the Telstra Smart Modem 4 only has a 1Gbps internet port – supporting everything up to NBN 1000 plans – while the Vodafone Super Wi-Fi Modem has a 2.5Gbps internet port, effectively supporting all NBN plans, including NBN 2000.

If you’re in the market for a new NBN plan, check out the popular picks below.

While a Vodafone representative sent me the Vodafone Super Wi-Fi Modem to review, I'm not a Vodafone customer. If you're grabbing this Vodafone/iiNet/TPG modem-router as an NBN plan add-on, your HWG2025 should arrive preconfigured. That means you can get online by just connecting the necessary cables.

It's a bit trickier if you're not with Vodafone, iiNet or TPG, including if you're moving away from them to another provider in the future. In either instance, I'd advise grabbing a paper clip or SIM tool and pressing in the reset button after powering on the Vodafone Wi-Fi Modem. That way, you'll reset to default settings and have a better shot at getting online without additional tinkering.

I was initially impressed that the My Internet companion app isn't tied to any particular NBN provider, meaning anyone can download it without needing the corresponding account details. But I soon hit a hurdle during setup, which rendered the app guidance useless for initial configuration. Without any internet, I logged in to the web portal and got online by switching the 'WAN mode' from 'AutoWAN' to 'Ethernet WAN'. In my mind, that 'AutoWAN' phrasing suggests it should intuitively differentiate between VDSL homes (FTTB and FTTN) and every other NBN technology, as other networking gear I've tested has done in the past.

I'm with a zero-credentials internet provider, so I don't have to put in a username and password to get online. If you're shifting from Vodafone, iiNet or TPG to another credentials-required NBN provider, you'll want to head into the web portal, click on 'Network', then select 'WAN Setting' from the 'WAN' drop-down menu. Click the edit button, then change your 'WAN Connection Type' to PPPoE to input your username and password. This screen is also where FTTN and FTTB users can switch the Vodafone Super Wi-Fi Modem to bridge mode, relegating the modem-router to a modem, so you can then connect it to a dedicated router or mesh WiFi system.

Outside of the 'AutoWAN' weirdness, my other issues were with the ports. For starters, the Vodafone NBN modem-router doesn't have a USB port, which I assumed would be useful for the hotspot mobile backup, if only to charge your hotspotting device. On the Ethernet front, the Vodafone Super Wi-Fi Modem only has two local area network (LAN) ports, which are capped at 1Gbps speeds. While I appreciate the inclusion of a 2.5Gbps internet port – essential for full-speed NBN 2000 plans – the Ethernet wide area network (WAN, internet) overview suggests the included cable can only hit 1Gbps speeds. That's quite the oversight which, if the included internet Ethernet cable is used, would mean you could only get full speeds in plans up to NBN 1000. Effectively, you need to BYO Ethernet cable (Cat 6A or newer) for full-speed NBN 2000.

I do internet speed tests right after initial configuration to gauge speed potential, not just overall but also relative to wired and wireless performance in different parts of my apartment. While the front part of my apartment typically never has WiFi issues, the back part has issues with any networking equipment that can’t penetrate thick walls. As a WiFi 7 device – albeit one relegated to dual-band instead of tri-band – I was curious to see how the Vodafone Super Wi-Fi Modem would perform in my interference-prone apartment.

All of my router internet speed tests are conducted with an Exetel NBN 100/20 FTTC apartment connection, using Ethernet for the first test then a Google Pixel 7 Pro (WiFi 6E) for the WiFi tests (via WiFi 6). This time, I also conducted speed tests with a Google Pixel 10 Pro XL (WiFi 7). All of the tests below were done in the afternoon. Lower numbers are best for latency (measured in milliseconds), while larger numbers are better for download and upload speeds (both measured in megabits-per-second). Use the top line of results in the tables as an idea of best-case speeds at that time of day, then every line below as comparative. Signal strength according to Google is ranked from best to worst as excellent, good, fair and poor.

For comparison, let's check out the speed test results for the Asus RT-BE58U dual-band WiFi 7 router.

And here’s how the speed tests look for the Vodafone Super WiFi Modem testing in the same spots with the same Pixel 7 Pro (just the modem-router, then the same tests with a connected mesh extender).

While similarly priced, there are some interesting performance differences between the Asus RT-BE58U router and the HWG2025 modem-router. The RT-BE58U has a stronger 5GHz network – which you want for anything beyond NBN 50 download speeds – but the HWG2025 has a stronger 2.4GHz network. Overall, I was disappointed with how quickly the HWG2025 switches to the 2.4GHz network, even with an extender connected in some test areas, but I like that it was able to complete speed tests in interference-prone areas like the study and garage locations.

With the extender connected, outside of the garage and fence tests, the HWG2025 otherwise offered great speeds inside my apartment, even on the slower 2.4GHz band. If you live in a larger home or one prone to interference, I strongly recommend getting the compatible mesh extender. That said, if you have WiFi 7 devices, that recommendation changes. You should be able to just use the Vodafone Super Wi-Fi Modem by itself. That's because WiFi 7 has a neat new feature called multi-link operation (MLO), which lets WiFi 7 devices simultaneously connect to multiple available wireless bands for better speeds and reliability.

Here's how the Vodafone Super Wi-Fi Modem performed in my wireless tests with a Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: a WiFi 7 device on a WiFi 7 network.

Sure, the garage speeds are still slow, but that's to be expected with multiple thick walls/floors to contend with. But for everywhere else, the Pixel 10 Pro XL recorded incredible results, piggybacking on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless bands for low latency and fast speeds. I had to leave the property to even get the Pixel 10 Pro XL to use a single wireless band and, even then, that shift to one band was only when I added the mesh extender.

The Vodafone Super Wi-Fi Modem comfortably tackled every internet task I threw at it, including streaming, video calls and online gaming. Mercifully, Quality of Service (QoS) – a user-friendly feature for intuitively handling finite internet bandwidth – is enabled by default. In my tests, it was at its best after the network was live for a while. The HWG2025 then correctly identified devices across gaming and streaming categories. You can augment the QoS with scheduling and/or custom tweaks.

More impressive is the option to add a home phone line (with a participating provider) and a better solution for mobile internet backup when the internet goes out. Providers like Optus and Telstra have mobile backup for NBN outages, but you need to be a customer with either of them to access the perk. The HWG2025 simplifies that by supporting up to three mobile hotspots. While I'd prefer plug-and-play USB hotspotting – which is a fantastic feature in the Synology RT6600ax router – it effectively means you can use any mobile plan for internet backup, and not just one from Vodafone, iiNet or TPG.

That's the kind of feature I would've loved to have had when a Sydney downpour took my FTTC connection out for a couple of days. Mobile backup can be added via the web portal and, technically, the My Internet app, but I found the latter sluggish and buggy (a provided firmware update did fix the app bug for mobile backup).. That's a general criticism of the companion app, which is why I did most of my tweaking via the web portal, which was mostly straightforward once I dug up the appropriate sub-menu. You can't just stick with the web portal, though, as certain settings like parental controls are relegated to the app only. It's odd in my experience, because usually companion apps have fewer settings and web portals are the best way to see everything.

Users in larger houses or those in homes prone to WiFi dead spots will likely be tempted by the mesh expansion. This is where the companion app is helpful, and I had the extender online in under five minutes by following the app guidance. Even though I'd already updated the network name and password, the extender didn't have any issues syncing with the HWG2025, which is exactly what you want from straightforward mesh expansion.

The Vodafone Super Wi-Fi Modem isn't a perfect device, but nor does it need to be. Given the lack of competition, it's great to see a provider-championed modem-router that supports up to NBN 2000 speeds. It's also refreshing to see out-of-the-box support for mesh expansion, and the impressive inclusion of mobile backup via wireless hotspot. You'll likely get the most out of the HWG2025 as a Vodafone, iiNet or TPG customer – if only for preconfigured setup – but this is also a modem-router that can happily travel with you. It helps that the HWG2025 has enough futureproofed features to support your 'net needs for at least the next few years.