TP-Link RE700X Review: The Ultra-Fast WiFi 6 Repeater

TP-Link RE700X is a repeater without external antennas that measures 14.9 cm in height. Because there is no female socket, it condemns the electrical outlet when plugged in. Once placed in the socket, it protrudes 4.5 cm and occupies a width of 7.8 cm.

Its content weight of 262g allows it to be properly maintained despite the use of a Type C (phase neutral) socket. It will at least have the advantage of being oriented either upside down or upside down, depending on your choice.

The RE700X is equipped with an RJ45 jack for the Gigabit standard. In repeater mode, it acts as network access for a device, while in access point mode, it is the network source.

Right at the top, the WPS button lets you pair your devices, while the reset button is still hidden at the top.

The front has four blue LEDs to show the status of the repeater, the connection quality of the signal it is repeating, and the status of the 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency bands.

On the wifi side, TP-Link supports 802.11ax (wifi 6) on two frequency bands, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, at 574 Mbps and 2402 Mbps. In theory, the RE700x should send at a high speed, even if remember that the theoretical number is halved as it connects to both the source (router/internet box) and the connected device.

The TP-Link RE700X Repeater can be installed in two ways. Via the Android/iOS app called Tether, or directly in the repeater’s web interface available at tplinkrepeater.net. In both cases, you must first plug the repeater into an outlet near the box or router whose network you want to extend.

Once the power on light stops blinking, you can connect to your newly created wifi (TP-Link_Extender) and follow the installation guide in the app, which will ask you for the credentials of the network you are extending, and it will create two new SSIDs: 2.4G_EXT network name and 5G_EXT network name. When the configuration is complete, you can separate the repeater to place it halfway between the internet box and the area to be covered, and the app indicates if you have placed the device correctly. It’s helpful to know, if you have a TP-Link router with One Mesh functionality, the repeater will capture the router’s SSIDs and automatically manage your devices roaming.

The application then makes it possible to completely dispense with the web management interface. Thus, it is possible to access all the parameters of the repeater, to configure the illumination of the indicator lights and even set a time period for use.

There is no parental control in the list, because this task is generally located on the router or Internet box; Parental control only on the repeater’s wifi will not make sense. However, it is possible to exclude devices or set time slots for them.

To evaluate the performance of the TP-Link repeater, we repeated the 2.4GHz and 5GHz signals from a Netgear RAX200 router that we connected to a laptop via a 2.5Gb/s adapter. In order to measure speeds, we transferred a 4.73GB file (disk image) from the first laptop to the second with an Intel AX210 wifi 6 chip, but also to a fixed desktop computer upstairs. Connected to PCIe Gigabyte GC – WBAX200 card. The latter is also equipped with an Intel AX210 chip, but with an external antenna.

The router is placed at the corner of the housing, and the repeater is connected approximately in the middle of the latter, on a socket 15 cm from the floor. We make a first measurement using the repeater near the router (point 1), measuring 1 m from the repeater placed in the middle of the housing (point 2), and another in a room about 5 meters from the repeater with a stand. The wall against the router (Point 3), another measurement on the stationary computer upstairs through a concrete floor (Point 4), and the last measurement upstairs as well, but above the first bedroom where router speeds are the lowest (Point 5).

Performance on the 5GHz frequency band is simply the highest we’ve measured on a repeater. Thus, as soon as possible, we reach 610 MB/s in downloading and 531 MB/s in uploads. Once installed in its socket to cover our accommodations, we get approximately 400MB/s, both in download and upload.

Even at the farthest measurement point (point 5), the RE700X outperforms the competition with 323MB/s download and 219MB/s upload.

On the 2.4GHz frequency band, with 574MB/s, the RE700X has nothing to be ashamed of either. He thus happily flirts with 300 MB / s, whatever the point of measurement is in the house, except for the most distant one. On this last point, the RE700X is still showing 225MB/s in download and 142MB/s in upload.

As long as you are already equipped with a wifi 6 internet box or a high performance router capable of providing the bandwidth of the RE700X, the latter will not fail. Thus, a RE700X paired with a good router will perform better than some of the more expensive wifi 6 combos.