Asus RP-N53 Wireless N600 Range Extender Review

Final Thoughts

For many users, a wireless signal repeater such as the unit I’ve looked at today is going to be a much valued bit of kit to have installed in the home or small business office. With so many devices these days needing to be connected to the internet, we are more and more lost when we don’t have that connectivity where we stand. The RP-N53 is just another example of how simple it now is to extend that range to areas where signal may be weak or non-existent in some cases – giving us that much need signal.

The RP-N53 adores a stylish white design with the textured and glossy face, that I have to say I love. Finished off with the soft glow from the back light, which believe it or not is actually handy to have if you place the plug in a hallway for example. At night, the light is just enough to light the floor so you can see where you’re going without the need to turn on the main lights – not its intended purpose but its one use all the same. Noting features, the inclusion of the media playback capability is something that I was a little on the fence with to start with, but as I’ve been looking over and testing this unit, I’ve been thinking about it and in-fact, its not a bad idea. Not only can you now boost the coverage of the network, but you can also give a stereo wireless playback functionality at the same time if the plug is positioned accordingly – good thinking there from Asus.

On a note with the AiPlayer app, if you look closely in the video, there is one crucial spelling error that crops up all over the place and one that I would have expected Asus to see. This is the word ‘Audios’. On their website, Asus have this spelt with out the S as it should be, but the app (and even the video) has it with the S, which is a major grammatical error on their part and thus is something that needs to be handed back to the app development team for appending in a future update.

Niggles aside, the performance and coverage is what this unit is about and its safe to say that it does this very well. The three bar signal strength indicators on the front of the plug make the job of locating the optimum spot for locating the unit far easier than connecting it up and having to test the signal strength manually, costing far more time to setup. With the plug suitably located in the two test locations, I found that in both situations, the internet speed that I experienced when connected via the extender was slightly faster than that of the main wireless network, when in range. This means that not only can you get connected, but you can expect to see a good internet connection speed at the same time, but don’t forget, this is only a repeater, it won’t boost the speed of your connection.

There is one point with the performance that I will highlight, with the plug setup, make sure you check for any firmware updates as our test sample had one of hte early firmware revisions and there were some issues in getting connected to the internet. There has been an update to fix this problem and by updating to at least the 1.0.1.1j firmware, any plugs should be free of this issue.

Priced at around £65, the RP-N53 certainly isn’t the cheapest option on the market, but it is by no means the most expensive option either. With the addition of the wireless media playback facility alongside the good looks, ease of use and excellent performance for a device of this type, the RP-N53 range expander is one of my top picks for the stocking this year (and yes I have highlighted the festive season already!)

Pros:

• Well known vendor
• Dual-band connectivity
• Wireless media playback
• Stylish white design
• Soft-glow backlight
• One-touch WPS setup
• Boosts wireless coverage and range

Cons:

• Firmware check will be needed on units currently on sale for updates.

“With the need to be connected more of a greater concern to many users, the RP-N53 is just one example of a range extender that not only does exactly what it’s designed to do, but it has packed in a few neat extras as well.”

Thanks to Asus UK for providing this review sample.