Boost in wireless signal does not disappoint.
It is amazing how fast technology advances and how connected our devices have become. Would you be surprised to hear that you are dependent upon WiFi? It seems that the Internet has taken over my life, and I know that I cannot be alone in the admission that I am addicted to the Internet. It does not matter if I am checking email, playing WiFi games, browser searching, WiFi is often involved. How many of you have dead spots in your home? My wireless router is in my basement. It is sitting near my desktop computer, attached via Ethernet cable. My home is 2 stories and a basement, and I have Internet signal everywhere except for my room, main floor end of the house. The most frustrating part, the dead zone is specifically around my bed. There is a steel beam supporting this side of the home and it seems to block my signal. My wife asked me if there was a way to check Facebook from bed and I told her about WiFi extenders/repeaters.
I received the dodocool Ac750 Dual Band Wireless AP (access point)/Repeater/Router to review. The product arrived in a plain brown cardboard box with “dodocool” labeled on the top. There are no other markings on the packaging except for the sticker on the bottom. The sticker provides product labeling, a QR code linking to the website, and specifications about the product: 5GHz 433Mbps and 2.4 GHz 300Mbps, 3 modes Router, AP or Repeater. Lifting the lid of the packaging, you see the instruction manual, a 42″ Ethernet cable, and the dodocool device. The device is a clean sterile white color. The front has 4 LED for power, LAN, WAN/LAN, WiFi/WPS. To the left bottom is an on-off toggle. The bottom has 2 Ethernet ports, one for LAN and one for WAN/LAN. It has a Router AP/Repeater toggle a WPS button and a reset button. It also has a large circular type A wall plug.
The instruction manual is a fold-out 7×2 panel, front, and back. The instructions are written in choppy English, but passable. The instruction manual does a good job with the product diagram, with the description of the LED meanings. If you have no wireless network to start, this device will turn a wired network into a wireless one. Simply plug the Ethernet cable from your modem into this device, plug it into a type A wall outlet, set up the network and connect your devices. The manual notes that this is perfect for an office or home, without an existing wireless option. For homes that already have a wireless network, the Wireless repeater mode will take that signal and repeat it, allowing the zone to be extended. It recommends this mode for a large space with potential blind corners (just like my home).Setup:
Setup:
The easiest way to setup the device is the WPS button. Seriously every device should have this option. Set the mode on the device to AP/Repeater mode, plug it into the wall, hold the WPS button on your router for 6 seconds. This gives you 2 minutes to set up your device. Press the WPS button on the dodocool device (on the bottom) for 2 seconds. This automatically connects to your router, learns the key and is ready for setup. You will see under settings of your device Wireless-N and Wireless-AC. I chose Wireless AC then clicked connect. Open a web browser and type in the IP address for the device or http://ap.setup into browser box. My device linked with the WPS option above easily so I did not have to do anything other than the setup. I did not have an issue entering the IP address into my computer, finding the device and setting this up. It was quick. I purposefully held the reset button X 3 seconds to repeat, it was just as quick the second time, resetting all the online steps to the factory default settings.
You will be required to enter username/password and to select the network to connect the device to. You will have to manually enter your security key. You will need to log into the wireless software to change the password. This is a security risk if you leave the default password. Management of the device through the web browser also allows you to upgrade firmware (system software), backup /restore router settings. First, however, you will need to go through the Repeater Wizard and follow the steps. This was quite easy and I was up and running within about 15 minutes total. This includes the running downstairs, holding the WPS button, running back upstairs and pushing the WPS on the device.
Test:
I downloaded SpeedSpot and ran a WiFi Speed test. In the room with my router, the test generated 53.52 Mbps download ad 11.82 Mbps upload. In my bedroom, where WiFi was low, the speed was only 5.88 Mbps download and 1.31 Mbps upload. That is abysmally slow. Moving onto the new Walters2GHz(AC), repeater I was able to retest in the same spot in my room at 51.71 Mbps download and 11.61 upload. This is much better for the download and upload than what I had with my original setup. I moved the repeater device around and was able to get the upload to just about what it was in the room with my router. I am really pleased with this device, the ease of setup and the quality of the repeated signal. I rate the device at 5/5 stars. I had no need for wireless AP mode or Wireless router mode, as I already had a wireless router. I thus skipped these steps. They are easy to follow, however, and the manual will walk you through the setup. I do not think you will be disappointed with this device. I was able to set it up, to modify the password and re-enable the security within about 20 minutes total. The instructions are better than I expected. I really like the device. The shape is favorable as it does not block the entire outlet, it sticks out far enough that a flat prong will fit nicely behind the device. This is yet another feature that the device provides.
Bedroom Internet speed using repeater device. | Office internet speed from router. | Bedroom internet Speed without repeater |
I do not think you will be disappointed with this device. I was able to set it up, to modify the password and re-enable the security within about 20 minutes total. The instructions are better than I expected. I really like the device. The shape is favorable as it does not block the entire outlet, it sticks out far enough that a flat prong will fit nicely behind the device. This is yet another feature that the device provides.
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