The best signal in an area is always the hard-wired approach, cable / fibre to your door, and then hardwired around your house / office, in an ideal world the lost would be minimal. On occasions when the signal is poor to an attic, outside shed, or thick old walls, a Repeater may be an option. (there are other options e.g. powerline options) Depending on the property type, an old cottage may have extra tick walls, where as a new build may have excellent tin foil type insulation on the stud partitions, both will reduce the signal strength.
This devolo WiFi ac Repeater will not provide good broadband If you have poor internet speed at your router supplied by your Telecoms provider e.g., Virgin, eir BT Vodafone etc. The WiFi ac Repeater will be of little use to you. This can be tested using a variety of speed test sites, e.g. www.fast.com
If its boosted WiFi strength in a home office to make video calls, stream a movie or are simply looking for interruption-free browsing in every room of your house, the WiFi ac Repeater may be your option. Once the WiFi ac Repeater is set you should get similar speed close to the repeater. This will not increase the speed from the router, rather keep it at a similar rate to the router. The further you move from the router / repeater, you will see a loss in the signal.
The specification advised the repeater acts as a WiFi range extender and your entire home can now benefit from buffer-free browsing due to a boosted WiFi signal and increased network speed of an impressive 1200 Mbps. Realistically no one gets this speed, even half the speed, we don’t get 1200 Mbps., possible 25 Mbps to 250Mbps if you’re lucky, Speed test awards advise the top speeds for 2016
http://www.speedtest.net/awards/ie/isp/2016
How to Setup the Repeater:
There was various options, (initially Place the Repeater in the same room as the router)
A: Configuration using WPS button, Press the WPS button on your devolo WiFi Repeater ac and then on your WiFi router within 2 minutes
B: Configuration in the web browser, Open the terminal device ‘s WiFi settings (desktop, laptop, Mac, tablet) and connect to the devolo Wi-Fi Repeater network.
Open your web browser and type http://devolo.wifi into the address bar. Follow the prompts of the installation wizard using your web browser.
When the signal indicator on the devolo WiFi Repeater ac is illuminated a steady white. The connection was successfully established.
I used option B: Configuration in the web browser, as many articles on the web did not have the WPS push-button set-up on their router. This was straight forward allowing options to boost both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, generally a Mac will operate on both frequencies, some other Laptop model operate only on the 2.4GHz frequency, (there is no harm in using both if your router allows). Connection was quick and easy. This setup took less time than it did took to boil the kettle.
I liked the idea of setting up the devolo WiFi ac Repeater once on my network, other laptops, tablets and smart phones automatically connected to the original router, via the repeater, no additional setup was required for these individual units.
These are some of the LED status, if there is an issue holding the WPS for over 10 seconds’ results in a Factory default.
Does it work,
I placed the router in the back of the house. I then turned off mobile data on my phone, walked to the front of the house until I had no Wi-Fi connection. I then connected the devolo WiFi ac Repeater into a socket in the front of the house, again I walked away from the house checking the Wi-Fi signal, on this occasion walking onto an open green the Wi-Fi signal was strong at least 10 meters after I had previously lost the signal without the repeater. To ensure fairness of the test, the same was done with a laptop, walked as far away as possible in the front of the house until I got no signal, I then connected the devolo WiFi ac Repeater in the front of the house and again walked as far away as possible. Again, the range increased (this was in an open area). Speed test done & again walked to a range that would initial have no WiFi. The speed did appear to drop the further I went away from the repeater.
The Manufactures advised Benefits are,
- Instant WiFi ac speed for browsing, HD streaming and chatting.
- Entire home coverage with the WiFi range extender functionality.
- Made possible with WiFi ac technology, up to 1200 Mbps transfer rate for maximum speed.
• Integrated gigabit LAN port for smart TVs, PCs, game consoles, streaming boxes etc.
- Your choice of easy set-up by WPS, PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone.
- Helpful LED signal strength indicator.
- Compact, stylish design – versatile positioning anywhere in the home.
- Compatible with WiFi standards ac/n/g/b/a.
- Features alternative use as an access point for creating a new WiFi ac network.
- 3-year manufacturer’s warranty.
Supported operating systems
Windows 7, from Mac OS X 10.6, from Ubuntu – Linux 14.04 If your using below Windows 7, its not a WiFi ac Repeater you need but a new PC / Laptop.
Box comes with
- 1x devolo WiFi Repeater ac (W/H/D: 59 x 91 x 38 mm)
- 1x installation guide
Costs, is it worth it?
This unit costs under stg 50 with a 3-year warranty, (Typical German efficiency) Many manufactures have a variety of general products costing 100 of euro / pounds with a 1 year warranty. This is not in any way a cheap product with some discount food chains selling similar products ranges for half the price.
How much is good Broadband worth? Ask that to some that can’t get it in an attic, is it worth spending the extra for this Product? I know the Brand for years and feel this is a quality brand, and would expect this be reliable once set up. To me personally reliable broadband is more important than saving an amount on similar products that may/ may not work. If intending on using this product, it may be worth purchasing locally, testing the range in the property and if it works a job well done with the option to return if unsuitable. It may also be worth checking out the DEVOLO WiFi Powerline Adapters as these have other benefits if using a few PC / Laptops in a Property.
More information available at http://www.devolo.co.uk/article/devolo-wifi-repeater-ac/?gclid=CO-G7IrG9NACFc-_7QodIeAFkw devolo WiFi ac Repeater RRP: £ 49.99, or Argos / http://www.maplin.ie/