14 DAY TRIAL // Wi-Fi routers may be the foundation of any wireless network in a home or office building, but they can't handle large floors on their own, so range extenders sometimes need to be called in. A range extender is what ASUS just launched.
Range extenders are exactly what the term says: devices that allow a router to reach places far off. Say you have a multi-floor or room house and the router can't reach around every corner? And then there's that pesky signal loss when waves pass through walls.
Range extenders compensate for those limitations. The one that ASUS formally launched is called RP-AC52.
It is a dual-band model, which means that it communicates over both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. The former is the normal one, the latter has been gaining fame in recent years, thanks to its higher speed.
Speaking of which, the ASUS RP-AC52 is capable of a cumulative 733 Mbps, with 300 Mbps over 2.4 GHz and 433 Mbps over 5 Ghz.
Given the number difference in 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz-capable devices, however, it's possible that interference will be higher on the former band, so performance of 5 GHz transfers could turn out better to a greater extent than the technical gap alone would imply.
Users can assign devices to either band as they wish, though, so good administrators should be able to avoid the interference problem altogether. There are multiple antennas inside anyway, for smooth signal waves.
The ASUS RP-AC52 can also act as an access point, and can switch between that role and that of range extender easily.
In AP mode, it can link to a physical local area network (like a hotel's wall socket) and open it to whatever phones, handsets and laptops you brought with you. Also, if you have a router with no built-in Wi-Fi, the AP mode will come to the rescue again.
Moving on, the RP-AC52 has a 3.5 mm audio jack, meaning that you can listen to music from a PC straight from it, whether on your headphones or a speaker system.
The AirpLayer app helps here, and not only delivers on-disk music content but also includes Internet Radio. AirPlayer is supported by PCs, laptops and both Android and iOS phones.
Furthermore, thanks to the WPS (Wi-Fi protected setup) button, you don't need to go through any complicated process to set the thing up. All you need to do is make sure the ASUS RP-AC52 within range of the actual router. Fortunately, LED indicators tell you the strength of the signal.