TP-Link RE300 review: Stretch both your dollar and your Wi-Fi range

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Not your average range extender

TP-Link RE300 review: Stretch both your dollar and your Wi-Fi range

Want to try out mesh networking without investing in an expensive mesh setup? TP-Link'due south RE300 might be the respond.

Mesh Wi-Fi kits have been picking up in popularity, and many people with large spaces to encompass have turned to multi-node systems in gild to create a seamless blanket of wireless connectivity. For those who aren't completely sold on mesh — or who don't want to take on the increased cost of a mesh organisation — TP-Link has created OneMesh, a relatively low-cost solution that sits somewhere between a router with range extender and a legitimate mesh system. I tried out the TP-Link RE300, one of just 2 range extenders with OneMesh capabilities, to see what it's all about and whether or not it's worth your fourth dimension and coin.

Mesh Wi-Fi range extender

TP-Link RE300

Bottom line: The TP-Link RE300 volition significantly heave the range of your router, just don't expect all the perks of a standalone mesh system. Compatibility is also currently limited to only Archer A7, C7, MR600 routers, making it a rather niche production.

Pros

Affordable addition to a router
Does boost speeds at a altitude
Easy setup
No switching between EXT and standard networks

Cons

No wired backhaul options
No LAN ports for wired devices
Doesn't offer the same experience as true mesh
Very limited router compatibility

What you'll honey about TP-Link'southward RE300

TP-Link has made it easy to get the RE300 working with your existing Archer A7, C7, or MR600 router. To get everything set up, all you need to do is plug in the RE300 near your router, connect your telephone to the temporary network that is created, and open up the TP-Link Tether app that is also used with the Archer routers.

TP-Link's RE300 mesh range extender offers quick setup like shooting fish in a barrel enough for networking novices.

From there, select the RE300 from the listing of devices, create a countersign, and select the proper 2.4GHz and 5GHz radios coming from the Archer router. Finally, set names (SSIDs) for the extended radios (they default to _EXT), give it about 30 seconds to configure itself, and from there you're free to unplug the RE300 and find a plug that'southward closer to the middle of your space. The app includes a feature that will help you find optimal placement, but it's not necessary. Don't have a phone? You lot can instead use a web browser or the WPS button on your router to consummate the setup.

Setup complete, the RE300 operates as a standard range extender that is compatible with whatever router. Like other range extenders, this creates two new SSIDs — one each for the 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio — on top of the two SSIDs already handled by the Archer A7. I tested a couple of distances to see how well the RE300 performs as a simple range extender. Note the baseline speeds achieved kickoff by the Archer A7 without the RE300 continued.

TP-Link Archer A7 (2.4GHz)

Location	Ping	Downwardly speed	Upward speed
Living room (10 feet)	26ms	69.17 Mbps	16.10 Mbps
Part (30 feet)	26ms	30.64 Mbps	xvi.20 Mbps
Basement (twoscore feet)	29ms	15.67 Mbps	10.26 Mbps

TP-Link Archer A7 (5GHz)

Location	Ping	Down speed	Up speed
Living room (ten feet)	11ms	211.65 Mbps	14.78 Mbps
Office (30 feet)	11ms	26.54 Mbps	12.79 Mbps
Basement (40 feet)	12ms	14.04 Mbps	8.09 Mbps

Here are the speeds I saw using the RE300 as a standard range extender without OneMesh enabled.

TP-Link RE300 (ii.4GHz extended only)

Location	Ping	Down speed	Up speed
Function (thirty feet)	12ms	43.15 Mbps	xvi.17 Mbps
Basement (forty feet)	12ms	xl.27 Mbps	xvi.41 Mbps

TP-Link RE300 (5GHz extended merely)

Location	Ping	Down speed	Up speed
Office (thirty anxiety)	11ms	98.59 Mbps	16.25 Mbps
Basement (xl feet)	11ms	seventy.64 Mbps	16.21 Mbps

Merely being used equally an extender without OneMesh enabled, the RE300 boosts speeds considerably at range on both 2.4 and v GHz radios. This is expected and you can get the same results from more affordable devices, like TP-Link's RE220. Nevertheless, switching between SSIDs manually when y'all're visiting the far reaches of the principal router's range is a pain, which is what OneMesh engineering aims to eliminate.

To enable OneMesh you must flip a switch in the app or in your browser. Information technology will only plow on if you lot're using a compatible Archer router. Once on, the extended network SSIDs disappear and yous come across only the SSIDs created by your principal router. Your wireless devices should now connect automatically to either the RE300 or the Archer router based on which delivers amend functioning. I ran further speed tests to see how well the OneMesh feature works.

TP-Link RE300 (2.4GHz OneMesh)

Location	Ping	Downward speed	Upwards speed
Living room (10 feet)	13ms	42.07 Mbps	16.10 Mbps
Role (30 anxiety)	12ms	38.fourscore Mbps	sixteen.17 Mbps
Basement (40 anxiety)	12ms	42.36 Mbps	xvi.xx Mbps

TP-Link RE300 (5GHz OneMesh)

Location	Ping	Downward speed	Up speed
Living room (10 feet)	11ms	308.64 Mbps	15.39 Mbps
Role (30 feet)	13ms	67.93 Mbps	14.05 Mbps
Basement (40 feet)	13ms	55.74 Mbps	15.85 Mbps

In that location's a slight delay, but my laptop did connect back to the much closer Archer A7 router when I moved into my living room. Likewise, when I moved to the basement, my laptop switched over to a connectedness with the RE300. In this regard, OneMesh is a success. As yous motility around your firm, your wireless devices will connect to the router or extender that will deliver the all-time performance.

Finally, I tested with OneMesh and the Archer's Smart Connect feature enabled, which delivers the closest thing to a true mesh experience. There'south a single SSID to connect to that encompasses both two.4GHz and 5GHz radios, and your wireless devices should in theory move betwixt radios, also between the RE300 and Archer A7 depending on where you'll get the best functioning.

TP-Link RE300 (OneMesh with Smart Connect)

Location	Ping	Downwards speed	Upwardly speed
Living room (10 feet)	11ms	22.42 Mbps	15.96 Mbps
Part (30 feet)	12ms	35.84 Mbps	13.91 Mbps
Basement (40 anxiety)	11ms	40.79 Mbps	sixteen.17 Mbps

Using the RE300 with OneMesh and Smart Connect enabled together doesn't result in the same experience you'd get from a truthful mesh network setup. I didn't run into my laptop flip over to the 5GHz radio once, even when shut to the master router. Likewise, there didn't seem to be any change in signal strength that would come up from my laptop being switched from a connectedness to the RE300 back to the Archer A7 when I was much closer to the latter device. If you're looking for the full mesh lifestyle, it'southward still all-time to invest in a true mesh network.

In terms of build quality, the RE300 is well put together but simply a bit on the bulky side. Its white plastic body might cause a bit of congestion for other stuff being plugged in, but at to the lowest degree it looks adept doing it. Information technology's vented around the edges and has four white LEDs forth the front bottom edge to let you know its status in terms of power, point, and ring output. On the side is a reset button and WPS button. My simply question is why it'south not black to match the compatible Archer routers.

What you lot'll dislike about TP-Link'due south RE300

Bated from the disparities between a true mesh setup that I explained higher up, there are a few other downsides to make annotation of. The near firsthand outcome is router compatibility. TP-Link has a list of routers that will eventually be uniform with OneMesh, but for now yous're stuck with three Archer routers. The A7 and C7 are both extremely popular, merely if y'all don't own an Archer, the RE300 can't employ OneMesh and thus isn't worth the college price compared to other apparently extenders.

Category	Spec
Functioning	AC1200 (300 Mbps + 867 Mbps)
Frequency	two.4GHz, 5GHz
Wireless standards	802.11a/b/chiliad/n/ac
Ports	None
Dimensions	4.9 x two.7 x ii.0 inches (124mm x 69mm x 52mm)

An of import feature of mesh systems is dedicated backhaul, whether wired or wireless. High-end mesh systems will oftentimes include options for both, thanks to iii radios and LAN ports congenital into each node. The RE300 has only two radios then there's no dedicated wireless backhaul, and yous can't manually pick which of the ii radios is used for backhaul. This means that ane of two bands form the RE300 is going to be used for wireless backhaul, which will cut its throughput past half.

It besides lacks any LAN ports for wired backhaul, simultaneously removing the ability to connect wired devices to the extender in lieu of running an Ethernet cable across your house. With the RE300 acting equally a unproblematic range extender you tin can enable a High Speed mode that dedicates one band to backhaul simply, just this option is removed once OneMesh is turned on.

Finally, while y'all can connect multiple OneMesh range extenders back to a compatible router (or to each other, though this seriously degrades performance), at that place'southward no indication that yous tin use ii routers in the same OneMesh setup. If you decide to buy a new OneMesh-uniform router in the future, it seems the old 1 will have to sit down to the side instead of contributing to the network..

Should you buy the TP-Link RE300?

If you're the owner of an Archer A7, C7, or MR600 and don't want to invest in a true mesh Wi-Fi system, the TP-Link RE300 can act as an affordable stopgap solution. Information technology definitely boosts the range of your main router and volition kick your wireless devices back and forth between router and extender based on all-time performance, but it won't deliver the same seamless experience with single SSID establish with the more expensive mesh alternatives.

If y'all don't own one of those three routers, information technology'due south actually not worth the college cost compared to a standard range extender. As TP-Link expands OneMesh compatibility it will no dubiousness appeal to more people, only for at present if you desire a high-speed mesh network in your domicile, bank check out our roundup of the best systems available now.

Mesh Wi-Fi range extender

TP-Link RE300

An culling to true mesh networking

TP-Link'south RE300 is an affordable alternative to a mesh Wi-Fi arrangement, simply information technology doesn't quite offer the same seamless experience. However, the price will no doubt be attractive to owners of compatible Archer routers who want something more than a standard range extender.

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TP-Link RE300 review: Stretch both your dollar and your Wi-Fi range