Wi-Fi Range Extender Goes the Distance

The TP-Hyperlink RE505X is a rather reasonable Wi-Fi extender which particularly options toughen for Wi-Fi 6 (aka 802.11ax), the newest Wi-Fi same old. 

Because of this the newest telephones, pills, and laptops will be capable of hook up with this and revel in quicker speeds, extra tough connections, and over a much wider distance – in idea, anyway. 

Priced at round £60, the RE505X is a tad costlier than your standard extender, however stepped forward compatibility with the newest units may make this a extra sexy purchase. Like the TP-Hyperlink RE305, the RE505X helps OneMesh, this means that that it may be paired with a appropriate TP-Hyperlink router, and the ones units will act as a mesh Wi-Fi machine, versus a standard router and Wi-Fi extender. 

Options & Design

The TP-Hyperlink RE505X is a little bit larger than maximum Wi-Fi extenders, which can be moderately small, slightly any greater than a pack of playing cards. The RE505X is ready two times as tall, however a identical width. That is most effective actually one thing to take into account of when you’re considering of plugging it in someplace the place possibly there are numerous different units jostling for some mains socket house. 

Likewise, the gigabit Ethernet port is situated on the left-hand aspect of the RE505X – once more, no giant deal, simply one thing to believe while you’re surroundings it up.

Set up

As with the TP-Hyperlink RE305, putting in place the RE505X is simple, because of the TP-Hyperlink Tether iOS and Android apps.

When you’ve powered the RE505X on for the first time, you’ll make a selection to glue it in your router and set the whole thing up by the use of a browser-based interface, by means of heading to tplinkrepeater.web, however the apps can help you do the identical factor and make it more straightforward. 

Whichever choice you select, it’s a easy case of connecting the RE505X in your major router by the use of Wi-Fi, growing an admin password, after which have it ‘prolong’ the sign of your router, which you’ll choose from an inventory of to be had SSIDs. You’ll then make a selection to rename the RE505X’s community title, or sticking with the default title. 

No longer most effective do the TP-Hyperlink Tether apps make getting up and operating a work of cake, however you’re additionally in a position to peer at a look which units in your house are attached to the RE505X, block and arrange get entry to, in addition to alternate the passwords, and rename the SSIDs out of your telephone. 

You’ll additionally allow TP-Hyperlink OneMesh from right here, which helps you to pair the RE505X to a appropriate TP-Hyperlink router as though it have been a mesh satellite tv for pc, which guarantees to make for a more potent, extra resilient community.

Supported TP-Hyperlink routers come with the Archer AX20 V1, Archer AX90 V1 and Archer GX90 V1, none of which, unfortunately, I needed to hand, so I will’t touch upon how smooth that is to arrange, or how high-quality it’s.

Efficiency

For checking out, the TP-Hyperlink RE505X was once arrange in a spare room one flooring up and one room alongside from the place my major router, a Netgear RBK750, attached to a Virgin Media Tremendous Hub in modem mode, sits. My M200 carrier generally offers me between 180-210Mbps maximum days, and the moderate obtain speeds recorded right here replicate how that adjustments over distance. 

The velocity assessments have been performed on two units – a Huawei Mate 10 Professional and a RealMe X50 Professional – which function Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 radios, respectively. A couple of pace assessments have been taken in two rooms, one at once subsequent to the room the place the RE505X was once put in, and the different, two rooms away, to replicate the forms of speeds you’ll be expecting in numerous other places, on other units. 

The WiFi Velocity Check Android app was once used to file Wi-Fi hyperlink speeds, and obtain and add speeds, and the effects introduced beneath are averages:

Wi-Fi 5 consumer check: One room away

	TP-Hyperlink RE505X (2.4GHz)	TP-Hyperlink RE505X (5GHz)	Major router (2.4GHz)	Major router (5GHz)
Reasonable Wi-Fi hyperlink speeds	138.84Mbps	259.38Mbps	52.97Mbps	187.55Mbps
Reasonable obtain pace	46.68Mbps	122.91Mbps	48.98Mbps	174.71Mbps
Reasonable add pace	18.92Mbps	21.61Mbps	17.58Mbps	21.60Mbps

Wi-Fi 5 consumer check: Two rooms away

	TP-Hyperlink RE505X (2.4GHz)	TP-Hyperlink RE505X (5GHz)	Major router (2.4GHz)	Major router (5GHz)
Reasonable Wi-Fi hyperlink speeds	100.12Mbps	n/a	27.29Mbps	n/a
Reasonable obtain pace	51.29Mbps	n/a	17.72Mbps	n/a
Reasonable add pace	19.92Mbps	n/a	4.99Mbps	n/a

Wi-Fi 6 consumer check: One room away

	TP-Hyperlink RE505X (2.4GHz)	TP-Hyperlink RE505X (5GHz)	Major router (2.4GHz)	Major router (5GHz)
Reasonable Wi-Fi hyperlink speeds	59.07Mbps	177.27Mbps	32.18Mbps	203.6Mbps
Reasonable obtain pace	58.83Mbps	93.05Mbps	21.52Mbps	198.57Mbps
Reasonable add pace	21.62Mbps	14.51Mbps	24.65Mbps	21.29Mbps

Wi-Fi 6 consumer check: Two rooms away

	TP-Hyperlink RE505X (2.4GHz)	TP-Hyperlink RE505X (5GHz)	Major router (2.4GHz)	Major router (5GHz)
Reasonable Wi-Fi hyperlink speeds	23.73Mbps	18.93Mbps	5.67Mbps	n/a
Reasonable obtain pace	51.29Mbps	42.83Mbps	8.39Mbps	n/a
Reasonable add pace	18.83Mbps	11.17Mbps	7.96Mbps	n/a

Speeds recorded one room away have been just right, reasonably much better than what I may select up in the identical location from my major router.

Impressively, I used to be in a position to handle a 5GHz connection on the Wi-Fi 6 consumer with the RE505X, one thing I’ve no longer been in a position to do with any of the different units I’ve examined just lately. Whilst the speeds listed here are admittedly no longer implausible – slightly any other to what I were given on the 2.4GHz band – the indisputable fact that the RE505X is in a position to hook up with a Wi-Fi 6 telephone two rooms away is very important.

In the case of speeds and vary, the TP-Hyperlink RE505X is one in all the very best Wi-Fi extenders I’ve examined so far, regardless that for the reason that it’s Wi-Fi 6 appropriate, you possibly can hope that’d be the case.

Worth & Availability 

The TP-Hyperlink RE505X is to be had now. The usual value for this, consistent with TP-Hyperlink, is £59.99. At the time of writing, a couple of puts are providing this for a little bit much less. 

The most productive value on be offering is lately from CCL On-line, which provides the RE505X for £49.99, as does Amazon, which has the RE505X on be offering for £49.99 – nevertheless it generally sells it for £59.99. 

You’ll additionally purchase it from Currys PC Global, Scan, Ebuyer and Very – a few of which can be additionally promoting it for £49.99.

Readers in the US can select up the RE505X from Amazon for US$78.17, down from the same old US$89.99 value. 

Absolute best Purchase additionally shares the RE505X for US$79.99, as do Newegg and Goal. 

In Australia, the TP-Hyperlink RE505X is to be had from Amazon for AU$95.68, whilst The Excellent Guys have it for a little bit extra, at AU$149.

Verdict 

The TP-Hyperlink RE505X is an impressive Wi-Fi extender that provides additional achieve for a cheap value, particularly when you’ve were given a brand new Wi-Fi 6 instrument, and you wish to have to have the benefit of that.

For concentrated on particular Wi-Fi not-spots, this can be a very cost-effective purchase with just right speeds, vary and an easy-to-use app with at hand options.

When you’ve were given the proper TP-Hyperlink router, the RE505X may additionally function as a mesh Wi-Fi satellite tv for pc as an advantage.

Specifications

TP-Hyperlink RE505X Wi-Fi Range Extender: Specifications

• 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) on 2.4GHz and 5GHz 2×2 dual-band
• 1 x Ethernet
• WPS
• Repeater Mode
• AP Mode
• Helps TP-Hyperlink OneMesh same old
• 124.8 x 74 x 46mm

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