I was surprised by the bonus that if you have a TP-Link powerline adapter already in place (I use a set of 1Gbps adapters to provide internet access to a PC that doesn't have WiFi) then this will use powerline networking instead of WiFi to connect to your router. So I can put this wherever I have a power outlet and get about a bandwidth of around 400Mbps via 5Ghz WiFi.
Also because of the powerline adapter, I can use the extender's network port to get around 550-600Mbps with no latency when I connect my laptop. Your mileage will vary on this, it depends on how many "noisy" electronics are plugged into the circuit and whether you have decent electrical wiring in your home.
Setting up the extender is easy. You might have been told you need a TP-Link WiFi router for this extender - you do not (mine is an Asus RT-AX86U). All you need to do is download the TP-Link tether app on your phone, plug in the extender, wait for its lights to turn on then let the app find it and set it up. The app walks you through connecting the extender to your home WiFi network, then syncs it. Once this is done you can move it and plug it in about 1/2 way between your router and the area in your home that you're having connection problems.
If you want seamless connectivity, you'll need to rename the two networks it creates in the tether app. It creates a new set of 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz SSIDs with _EXT - so you can identify whether you're connecting directly to the router or to the extender. Removing that _EXT from each network will create a continuous network throughout your house. Only thing to remember when you do this, is it creates the same problem you get when you give the same SSID (name) to your 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz networks. Mostly everything is fine, but every now and then a device will hiccup and not know which network to connect to.
| Wireless Type | 802.11n, 802.11ax, 802.11b, 802.11ac, 802.11g |
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