TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender review

Our Verdict

It might be big for a plug-in extender, but TP-Link'southward RE650 has the power to extend a network into uncovered areas. But information technology could toll as much as your router and could cake adjacent AC outlets.

For

Good performance
Dual-ring operations
First-class interface
Telephone/tablet app

Against

Expensive
Bulky blueprint
Can cake adjacent outlets

Tom'south Guide Verdict

It might exist big for a plug-in extender, but TP-Link'south RE650 has the power to extend a network into uncovered areas. Merely information technology could toll equally much as your router and could cake next AC outlets.

Pros

+
Good performance
+
Dual-band operations
+
Splendid interface
+
Phone/tablet app

Cons

-
Expensive
-
Bulky design
-
Tin can cake adjacent outlets

The TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi range extender is i of the biggest and most expensive of the plug-in extenders we've reviewed, simply it delivers nifty power and speedy information across longer distances, making information technology the best Wi-Fi extender for even the largest home.

It is large for a plug-in unit of measurement and could block the use of neighboring outlets, but the only range extender offer meliorate operation is the even larger, desktop-bound Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX8000 tri-band Wi-Fi extender. The TP-Link RE650 uses 802.11ac specs to retransmit a strong signal that works with most routers used in homes today, enlarging your router'due south accomplish.

Editor's Note: Nosotros periodically update our reviews to make sure that pricing and information is up to date. The rating and recommendations in our TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender review is unchanged from when information technology originally published in June of 2018.

TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender: Design

The RE650 has a three-prong plug in its dorsum that goes right into an AC outlet, but at 6.three x 3.0 x 1.eight inches, the white and gray extender is four times bigger than the Netgear EX6120 AC1200 Essentials Edition Wi-Fi range extender, which also has a plug-in design. In fact, TP-Link'southward device is so big that information technology can cake nearby wall outlets.

Its four LEDs serve every bit indicator lights for power as well as connections with the host router'south 2.4- and 5-GHz networks. Near the superlative, a circular LED ring glows red when the device is also far from the router and bluish when it'south in its sweet spot. If this ends upwards looking like a lite show, you can turn the LEDs off with a switch on the unit'south side or schedule them to turn on and off.

The RE650 is so big that information technology tin can cake nearby wall outlets.

The RE650 uses TP-Link's Intelligent Processing Engine to pick the most efficient path for the data to travel from router to extender to customer. Unlike the Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX8000 tri-band Wi-Fi extender, the RE650 does this transfer without a dedicated data aqueduct. It moves data on four lanes of traffic and can theoretically deliver ane,733 Mbps over its 5-GHz aqueduct and 800 Mbps over the 2.4-GHz channel for an AC2600 bandwidth rating.

In our mock home network, the RE650 cruel short of the Netgear X6S's ability to move data over thirty feet, through a wall and upwards a floor, delivering 153.1 Mbps for devices to use. This is less than half of the X6S' 338.5 Mbps and well backside the Linksys RE7000's 219.5 Mbps, but information technology's in another class compared to the Coredy E300 Mini Wi-Fi range extender's mere 21.ix Mbps of available bandwidth. When ii walls were added to the setup, the TP-Link's throughput dropped to 215.2 Mbps, about 100 Mbps less than the Netgear X6S' result (316.8 Mbps), but on a par with the Linksys RE7000's production. (Older products, like the one seen in our Super Boost Wireless-N Wi-Fi Repeater review, fared far worse, so it's always worth getting devices that use more than current standards.)

RE650 packs a lot of power and closely trailed the Netgear X6S in almost of our tests.

At my domicile, the RE650 had a range of 75 feet, nigh one-half that of the Netgear X6S. It provided a massive 156 Mbps of bandwidth on an outdoor porch area that'due south 50 feet abroad. It hands played 4K videos and music on my iPad Pro. It ran for a full mean solar day without a problem, never got more than warm to the touch and used 5.four watts of power.

TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender: Features

Featuring axle-forming and MU-MIMO technologies to conform many continued devices at once, TP-Link rates the RE650 to fill xiv,000 square feet. Inside the extender is an 880-MHz dual-core processor that controls the extender'southward operations and streamlines commitment of the data.

Rather than aimable antennas, the RE650 has four paddles that fold out 2.5 inches; i covers the Gigabit Ethernet connection. The extender does without a USB port.

In addition to a power switch, the RE650 has a switch for turning off the lights and a recessed reset push. The circular signal-strength indicator doubles as a switch for using WPS to quickly connect with a router or clients.

TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender: Setup and software

TP-Link gives you the choice of using WPS or a browser-based procedure to connect to the host router. I chose the latter and plugged the RE650 into an Air conditioning outlet near to the host router. Later I continued to its unsecured network (TP-LINK_EXTENDER_2.4GHz) with my iPad Pro and typed, "tplinkrepeater.cyberspace" into the web browser'south address bar, the extender'south setup routine took over.

Afterward picking the networks I wanted to extend, I entered their passcodes so the name and passcode of the extended network. Following a restart, the extender was online.

With the basics done, I unplugged and moved the RE650 nearly 50 anxiety abroad and plugged it in about to where I wanted the Wi-Fi signal to finish up. In almost a minute, the signal strength meter glowed blue and the RE650 pushed Wi-Fi connectivity to the extremes of my home.

The RE650's interface can practise things that others can't, like ability the extender on and off to a schedule and adjust its point strength. My favorite is being able to have the extender turn off its LEDs at nighttime.

TP-Link'due south Tether app (available for iOS and Android) lets yous monitor the extender's operations from a phone or tablet. Information technology let me change the network name and security passcodes and schedule online admission for little ones.

TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender: Warranty and back up

Rather than a 1-yr warranty, TP-Link stands by its device with two years of coverage, twice as long equally the others. The warranty includes 24/seven support, something that Netgear cuts off later on 90 days.

TP-Link's site has everything from videos and firmware downloads to troubleshooting help, plus i nice actress: a software emulator. This shows what the configuration software looks like, so newbies can familiarize themselves with the device's ins and outs before doing annihilation potentially harmful.

TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender: Verdict

It may deliver good throughput and range, while the company's Tether app can keep an eye on the device, just the $125 TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi range extender is expensive so big that it can block an side by side outlet. Nevertheless, it was the top-performing plug-in extender, and it blows away the Linksys RE7000 in all categories except price.

Brian Nadel is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in technology reporting and reviewing. He works out of the suburban New York City surface area and has covered topics from nuclear power plants and Wi-Fi routers to cars and tablets. The former editor-in-chief of Mobile Calculating and Communications, Nadel is the recipient of the TransPacific Writing Award.