Devolo Wifi Repeater Ac Firmware Update

At a Glance

Proficient'southward Rating

Pros

Good 5GHz speeds
Ii Ethernet ports
Mains passthrough

Cons

Slow to set up
Frustrating app
Relatively expensive

Our Verdict

The Devolo WiFi AC Repeater Plus is a solid and speedy Wi-Fi five range extender. Notwithstanding, it'south hindered by a slightly frustrating app and a college price than rivals.

The Devolo WiFi AC Repeater Plus is a dual-band Wi-Fi range extender with Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) antennas. Also as promising to patch up Wi-Fi not-spots in the domicile, it also features two Ethernet ports instead of the usual ane, and mains passthrough, and so you tin can proceed other devices powered upwards while the WiFi AC Repeater Plus is in utilize.

Features & Pattern

The Devolo WiFi Air conditioning Repeater Plus is a rather large Wi-Fi extender with a mains passthrough socket at the front, and two Ethernet ports at the top. In terms of looks, information technology's virtually identical to the nodes from the Devolo Mesh WiFi 2 arrangement with a very similar design and the same dimensions.

There are 2 backlit buttons on the forepart, which act as status lights for active Wi-Fi connections to your devices, and your router, respectively. The push with the Wi-Fi symbol can also be used to pair the WiFi AC Repeater Plus with other compatible Devolo devices to form a mesh network, while the Dwelling button can also be used to pair with your router via WPS, for quick prepare-upwards.

Installation

Setting everything up is straightforward, but takes a fiddling longer than most plug 'northward play Wi-Fi extenders, which tin can exist ready in less than v minutes – the Devolo WiFi AC Repeater Plus took closer to fifteen.

While it's good to know that the process is thorough, waiting for the blood-red LED behind the Dwelling house icon to alter from cherry to white feels like you're waiting for the stars to align. It's definitely worth sticking the kettle on before you start to install this.

Also as pressing the WPS buttons on the extender and your router to pair everything, you tin can utilise the Devolo Domicile Network App for iOS and Android if you lot'd adopt to be guided through the installation process.

The app will tell you if the place y'all're setting the extender up is either also close, or too far away from your router for the signal to be effective, and let you know when information technology thinks you've picked a good spot. Later you've found this, it'due south but a case of waiting for the WiFi Ac Repeater Plus to connect to your phone.

By default, it shares the aforementioned network password equally your router, just you can change this in the settings, not without some difficulty, mind. Twice I tried to change the network password, only for the app to crash both times. On the third attempt, I was able to successfully do it, but information technology took a long time for that small change to exist applied and for the WiFi Air-conditioning Repeater Plus to restart, which took another ten minutes or so before I was back online.

Performance

To see how the Devolo WiFi AC Repeater Plus performed versus using a single router, I used the same testing criteria I did when testing the TP-Link RE505X, Tenda A18, TP-Link RE305 and BrosTrend AC1200.

I set the Wi-Fi extender up in a room one floor upward and one room along from where my main router, a Netgear RBK750, sits. I subscribe to the Virgin Media M200 service, which usually gives me between 180-210Mbps most times of the solar day.

The first set up of tests took place in a room next to the room where the WiFi Air conditioning Repeater Plus was installed, with one brick wall in between, and the 2d, two rooms abroad, with 2 non load-bearing plasterboard walls in between.

I used the WiFi Speed Examination Pro app for Android to tape Wi-Fi link speeds, besides every bit download and upload speeds, when connected to both the WiFi Ac Repeater Plus and the principal router, for comparison's sake. The results below are averages:

Wi-Fi 5 client test: One room away

	Devolo WiFi AC Repeater Ac (2.4GHz)	Devolo WiFi AC Repeater Plus (5GHz)	Main router (2.4GHz)	Master router (5GHz)
Boilerplate Wi-Fi link speeds	92.49Mbps	142.27Mbps	49.58Mbps	185.77Mbps
Average download speed	34.49Mbps	198.46Mbps	27.37Mbps	44.48Mbps
Average upload speed	21.45Mbps	21.62Mbps	13.58Mbps	20.81Mbps

Wi-Fi 5 client test: Two rooms away

	Devolo WiFi AC Repeater Plus (2.4GHz)	Devolo WiFi AC Repeater Plus (5GHz)	Main router (2.4GHz)	Main router (5GHz)
Average Wi-Fi link speeds	58.08Mbps	due north/a	27.91Mbps	north/a
Average download speed	32.20Mbps	n/a	33.96Mbps	n/a
Average upload speed	21.67Mbps	north/a	6.85Mbps	n/a

You tin can meet from the results that the Devolo WiFi AC Repeater Plus makes a definite bear on. Speeds, especially on the 5GHz band, are impressive, although the signal wasn't powerful enough to reach into a Wi-Fi dead zone two rooms away.

That's not a slight on the WiFi Air conditioning Repeater Plus though – with the exception of the TP-Link RE505X, none of the Wi-Fi extenders I've tested recently has been able to do that, and in the RE505X'south case, it's a Wi-Fi 6 range extender, and it was but able to talk to the Wi-Fi six client two rooms away, so that says more than about the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 and the backdrop of 5GHz than anything else.

Having said that, the speeds here, while good, aren't massively improve than what yous can get on Wi-Fi extenders for half the price, which are also far easier to gear up upward and use.

Price & Availability

The Devolo WiFi Air-conditioning Repeater Plus is available to buy now for £59.99.

In the Uk, Amazon sells the WiFi AC Repeater Plus for £56.99, downwardly from £59.99, every bit does Ebuyer. Meanwhile, Box has it for £57.99 and Comet sells it at RRP.

Few other retailers stock this at the moment – if none of the others are available, Quzo is as well selling the WiFi AC Repeater Plus, albeit for £65.05.

At the fourth dimension of writing, no retailers in the U.s.a. or Australia had the Devolo WiFi AC Repeater Plus in stock.

Verdict

The Devolo WiFi Ac Repeater Plus offers proficient speeds, but non significantly meliorate than what you get with a cheaper Wi-Fi extender, and the Devolo Home Network App, which should make things easier to manage and configure, is actually tricky to use and prone to crashing.

At this price, you'd exist meliorate off investing in something like the TP-Link RE505X every bit the master benefits here are similar to a powerline adapter.

Specs

Devolo Air conditioning WiFi Repeater Plus: Specs

802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) on 2.4GHz and 5GHz ii×two dual-ring with MIMO and beamforming
2 x Ethernet
WPS
Repeater Mode
AP Manner
152 x 76 10 forty mm