TP-Link RE220 review: An affordable, compact Wi-Fi extender with great range

TP-Link is well known in the wireless networking game, and its contempo release of the RE220 range extender bolsters its lineup even further. It'due south a big stride upward over the extremely popular (just crumbling) TP-Link N300, which offers unmarried-channel speeds upward to simply 300 Mbps. While the older hardware is still selling, many people with a more than modernistic main router with ii.four GHz and 5 GHz bands can now take advantage of the RE220, which brings a slick redesign and combined speeds up to 750 Mbps. I used the RE220 range extender for about to week to see what it's all about.

Heave your Wi-Fi

TP-Link RE220 range extender

$35

Bottom line: If y'all're looking to extend the signal of your low- or mid-range router, TP-Link's RE220 is a low-cost pick that gets the job washed.

Pros

• Can use 1 band for dedicated backhaul
• Tin exist used equally an Access Point
• Streamlined design
• Easy setup and direction
• Respectable operation and range

Cons

• No automobile switching between bands
• No the best option for utilise with a loftier-functioning router

What you'll honey about TP-Link's RE220 range extender

Instead of the indigestible blueprint with outside antennas that the older N300 extender uses, the RE220 has been refined into a sleek, small package that resembles more than a plug-in air freshener than a range extender. The three antennas are hidden within, the Ethernet port is subconscious on the bottom, and there'south a single WPS button on the forepart along with five condition lights that tell you pretty much everything yous need to know at a glance. It's pocket-size plenty that you can plug information technology in just most anywhere with no chance of tying up both wall plugs.

Category	Spec
Operation	AC750 (300 Mbps + 433 Mbps)
Frequency	2.4 GHz, 5 GHz
Wireless standards	802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Antennas	Three internal
Ports	Ane Ethernet
Dimensions	4.iii inches x ii.6 inches ten 3.0 inches (110 mm ten 65.8 mm 10 75.2 mm)

Setup can be handled with TP-Link's Tether app (available for Android or iOS), with a web browser, or past hitting the WPS push on your primary router and doing the same on the RE220 when it's plugged in. I couldn't seem to become the WPS method to piece of work correctly, but with the app installed — which gives yous access to plenty more than options anyhow — it took only about ii minutes to get prepare. I continued my phone to the extender'due south Wi-Fi betoken, chose a countersign, selected the 2.4 and 5 GHz networks projected by my main router, and entered their corresponding passwords. Once completed, the EXT-appended networks (you tin can modify the names) appeared across my devices.

A status light on the front of the RE220 lets yous know if you lot're within optimal range of your main router, and yous're costless to position the extender elsewhere until you detect an ideal spot. A connection is handled automatically when plugged in once again, so no worries in that location. By default, the RE220 broadcasts and extends both the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands simultaneously, giving you more options to connect your devices. The downside here is that backhaul traffic over those aforementioned radios substantially cuts speeds in two. To solve this problem, TP-Link added a "High-Speed Mode" that lets you cull one radio or the other to handle backhaul traffic. Operation is considerably meliorate, but you'll only be extending either the 2.4 or 5 GHz band with the other reserved for the signal back to your principal router.

To exam how well the TP-Link RE220 extends the range of my dual-band router, I ran some tests first to come across what Wi-Fi speeds I'm getting on a regular basis without an extender. I'1000 using an Isp-provided Hitron router and live in a house that's almost ane,100 square feet.

Hitron (2.4 GHz)

Location	Ping	Down speed	Upwardly speed
Role (30 feet)	12 ms	45.26 Mbps	15.48 Mbps
Basement (forty feet)	11 ms	24.79 Mbps	13.xi Mbps

Hitron (v GHz)

Location	Ping	Down speed	Up speed
Part (30 feet)	10 ms	57.01 Mbps	15.84 Mbps
Basement (forty anxiety)	10 ms	25.88 Mbps	15.46 Mbps

Next, I placed the RE220 well-nigh halfway between the router's spot in the living room and my part on the same floor, then moved the extender to most halfway between the chief router and the dorsum corner of my basement. Nigh people won't want to move the extender once it's found a suitable spot, but for the sake of testing, information technology was necessary. The range extender had both bands active for these tests, significant in that location was no defended backhaul band in play.

TP-Link RE220 range extender (ii.four GHz)

Location	Ping	Down speed	Upwards speed
Office (thirty feet)	10 ms	27.54 Mbps	15.56 Mbps
Basement (40 feet)	xi ms	42.77 Mbps	15.78 Mbps

TP-Link RE220 range extender (5 GHz)

Location	Ping	Downwards speed	Up speed
Function (30 feet)	10 ms	47.89 Mbps	fifteen.83 Mbps
Basement (twoscore feet)	10 ms	35.84 Mbps	15.61 Mbps

While both bands saw a decrease in performance at the relatively close office range, there was a bit of a heave across both bands when testing at the longer basement range. If yous're interested in having both bands in play at all times, you might not run into a worthwhile jump in functioning unless y'all have a far larger domicile with corners that can't be striking with your main router.

Next, I turned on the RE220's High-Speed Style that lets you choose either the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz radio to human activity every bit a defended backhaul band betwixt the extender and main router. I re-ran the aforementioned tests with the v GHz band providing backhaul to the master router, leaving the two.iv GHz radio open for connecting devices.

TP-Link RE220 range extender (five GHz backhaul)

Location	Ping	Down speed	Up speed
Office (xxx feet)	10 ms	108.04 Mbps	15.80 Mbps
Basement (40 anxiety)	11 ms	98.59 Mbps	15.42 Mbps

Information technology's clear hither that y'all'll become a huge increase in performance by reserving the 5 GHz band for backhaul traffic, but it besides ways you can't connect devices to the 5 GHz ring. Again I ran the tests, this time with the 2.4 GHz band providing backhaul and the 5 GHz band connecting to devices.

TP-Link RE220 range extender (ii.iv GHz backhaul)

Location	Ping	Down speed	Upwards speed
Office (thirty anxiety)	11 ms	53.41 Mbps	fifteen.87 Mbps
Basement (40 feet)	10 ms	100.44 Mbps	xiv.74 Mbps

Using the 2.four GHz band for backhaul traffic doesn't quite deliver the aforementioned performance at the closer range, just information technology performs better at long range. If you take a medium-sized home and are concerned with extending ane band or the other (reserving the other for backhaul), the RE220 should practise an beauteous task. For those with a wired network, at that place's also the option of using the Ethernet port on the extender to gear up an Access Point, which creates a completely new wireless network. That same Ethernet port can also be used to connect a wired device nearby.

TP-Link's RE220 is a versatile, sleek range extender that'due south easy to set and like shooting fish in a barrel to manage.

TP-Link claims the RE220 can extend your router up to virtually 3,200 foursquare feet. It'due south certainly overkill for my 1,100 foursquare-foot home, and I saw a operation drop at a closer range when non using a dedicated backhaul band, so while it might non quite hit the number claimed, it should exist suitable for multi-level homes with plenty of users.

Within the app or browser, yous have admission to quite a few settings, including security protocols, DNS, Ethernet port host network, power schedule (yous tin ready the extender to slumber at sure times), a device blacklist, High-Speed Fashion settings, LED controls, and firmware updates. Everything is laid out well, and there's not much confusion navigating the menus. It might not exist as in-depth equally some networking pros would like, but for most people, the bachelor settings should satisfy.

What you'll dislike most TP-Link'due south RE220 range extender

I didn't come beyond any issues with the RE220 while using it for about a week. The signal didn't driblet, it responded promptly to any changes made in settings, and information technology handled all devices I connected. In that location are, yet, a couple of things to go along in mind.

There's no automatic ring steering here, so yous do have to choose either the 2.four or 5 GHz network on your device and stick with information technology until you manually bandy over. If you're interested in having your devices move between radios as operation dictates, you probably desire to check out a mesh Wi-Fi networking system, specially if y'all're having issues reaching all corners in your domicile.

The RE220's AC750 theoretical speed — 300 Mbps over the 2.4 GHz radio and 433 Mbps over the 5 GHz radio — won't reverberate well with a high-finish main router, and you'll likely simply encounter a drib in performance. The RE220 is best paired with a low- or mid-range router, which is what most people are using.

Should you buy the TP-Link RE220 range extender?

Because the $35 cost tag and the fact that I really had no issues with the RE220, save for the quick WPS connection non working, the RE220 range extender is easy to recommend. It'southward versatile thanks to an Ethernet port and High-Speed Manner that lets you choose a band for defended backhaul, and it will considerably extend your network. Information technology's easy to set and manage, and there's always 24/seven tech support waiting to requite you a hand.

As long as you're non looking for something to pair with your beefy, high-end main router and don't mind not having automatic ring steering, the RE220 is a cost-effective mode to blanket all corners of your dwelling in a Wi-Fi signal. Despite the depression cost, the RE220 comes with a two-year warranty should anything fail, giving you lot a bit of extra peace of heed.

Boost your Wi-Fi

TP-Link RE220 range extender

Affordable networking

TP-Link'southward RE220 is a sleek, versatile range extender that gets the task done without much result. It's easy to fix and manage, it has a High-Speed Fashion that lets you lot cull a band for dedicated backhaul, and the Ethernet port can be used to set up an Access Point for added versatility.

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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/tp-link-re220-review

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