Tp-link Re360 Ac1200 Dual-band Wireless Range Extender Review

Verdict

The TP-Link RE365 is a great-value wireless extender. For under £l it does a solid job of boosting Wi-Fi 5 connections, improving operation and coverage in the outlying areas of your home. It's practical, too, with a passthrough mains socket at the forepart and a wired Ethernet connector at the side, plus a WPS button that you can use to go new devices online without having to type in a countersign. The spider web interface doesn't offer much in the way of avant-garde management settings, all the same, and nor is the RE365 as fast every bit some pricier extenders. Only if y'all just want to requite your Wi-Fi network a bit of extra reach, it remains an constructive, affordable solution.

Pros

• Ethernet port
• Passthrough ability socket
• Decent performance
• Great cost

Key Specifications

• Review Toll: £44.49
• Wireless extender
• 125 x lxx x 77mm
• 1x 10/100Mbps Ethernet port
• Wi-Fi 5 (867Mbps 5GHz, 300Mbps 2.4GHz)
• Extender, admission bespeak operating modes

Broadly speaking, the TP-Link RE365 works like whatsoever other wireless repeater. Plug it into a mains socket somewhere in your home and it starts broadcasting its own Wi-Fi signal to which nearby devices tin connect. At the same time, it connects back to your router, and frontwards traffic back and forth to your primary network as needed.

The RE365 supports W-Fi 5 (802.11ac) connections on both the legacy 2.4GHz radio band and the faster 5GHz band, simply (as you'd expect for the price) it only has one 5GHz radio to handle both client and backhaul connections to your main router. That shouldn't be a deal-breaker, merely information technology means there's less bandwidth available than you lot'd become from a high-cease mesh system or a tri-band repeater such every bit the Netgear Nighthawk X4S.

TP-Link RE365 design and features – Cleverly designed, and then y'all don't lose a power socket

The RE365 is a stylish unit, with aqua trim and a hoop-shaped antenna that can be folded downwards for neatness or flipped up for optimum wireless operation. Measuring 77mm beyond, it'southward unlikely to obstruct the detail plugged in next to information technology, and information technology provides a passthrough mains socket, as well – helpful for homes where wall sockets are at a premium.

Another convenience is the WPS push above the socket, which you lot can push to easily connect uniform devices to the extended network. An LED ring around it shines blue when there's a adept connectedness to the router; or red, if the repeater feels information technology'due south too far away for decent performance. Four farther LEDs on the left-manus side indicate network and power status.

Finally, over on the right-paw side, an Ethernet socket that uses the slower 10/100Mbps standard rather than Gigabit lets y'all connect wired clients to the extended network. Or, you can utilise a cable to connect the RE365 to your router, turning the repeater into a general-purpose wireless access point. In this latter mode, y'all're not relying on wireless to connect the RE365 to your router, then you may notice you lot achieve better results and a more than stable connexion in some scenarios and homes.

Overall, the physical design is simple just functional, and the aforementioned can be said for the RE365's web portal. Here, you lot tin set names for your extended 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, or click a push to indistinguishable them from your router. Y'all can also block individual devices from connecting, gear up the extended network to switch off and on co-ordinate to a daily schedule, or just tell it to turn the LEDs off at night. In terms of configuration, that's near it – just to exist fair, it's probably more most customers will be looking for.

TP-Link RE365 performance – A decent heave to speeds and range

The RE365 supports only Wi-Fi 5, so it can't match the very fastest speeds attainable by the latest Wi-Fi 6 hardware – and, equally I've mentioned, its performance is further limited by the dual-band blueprint. Nonetheless, it tin can still provide a stronger, faster point to faraway devices than achievable by connecting direct to the router.

I tested this using the free TamoSoft Throughput Test tool. Before installing the extender, I took my laptop out onto the terrace at the dorsum of my home, connected to my router on the 5GHz band, and measured average upload and download speeds over a 60-second period. These came to 63.6Mbits/sec and 94.3Mbits/sec respectively.

I and then installed the RE365 in a hallway in the middle of my house, connected via the extended network and repeated the test. This fourth dimension, I saw speeds of 129.8Mbits/sec and 136.4Mbits/sec, which is a clear comeback.

A similar benefit was recorded in the bedchamber. When continued straight to the router I saw an boilerplate download speed of 92.4Mbits/sec, while the RE365 accelerated this to a distinctly zippier 151.9Mbits/sec.

The best issue were in the bathroom, where it's usual for plumbing to severely hinder wireless performance. Downloads directly from the router hobbled forth at a mediocre 42.6Mbits/sec; the RE365 was more than than 2 and a half times faster, clocking an average 115.8Mbits/sec.

Those are very creditable numbers. They indicate that, if there'south a room in your abode that's near to the limit of your router's wireless range, this repeater could hands turn a clunky, intermittent online experience into a smooth, swift connection.

Should you buy the TP-Link RE365?

If you're looking for the best speeds effectually and so y'all'll need to move up to a more expensive solution – and the same applies if you desire bells and whistles such as invitee networks and parental controls. Still, that doesn't diminish the charm of the TP-Link RE365: this tasteful picayune repeater nails the basic job of boosting your network coverage for a price that's almost irresistible.

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Source: https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/tp-link-re365-wi-fi-range-extender

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