"WEX-733D" which can be improved simply by inserting Wi-Fi, which is weak and difficult to connect, into an outlet

The Wi-Fi that was working in my living room wasn't reaching my bedroom, I had no choice but to catch the 3G/4G radio waves of my mobile phone instead and use the precious transfer amount. It may be difficult to reach due to the difference in The wireless LAN repeater "WEX-733D" can overcome such a wasteful situation that "there are places where you can not connect even though there is a Wi-Fi environment". I decided to try various things to see how much the Wi-Fi environment would improve if I actually used it. Wireless LAN repeater: WEX-733D | BUFFALO Buffalohttp://buffalo.jp/product/wireless-lan/extender/wex-733d/

What is a "wireless LAN repeater" in the first place? As the name suggests, the role of the repeater is to "relay Wi-Fi radio waves and deliver radio waves to a wider area". The details are explained in detail on the BUFFALO special site. Relay and expand the current Wi-Fi area! Repeater Feature | BUFFALO Buffalo There would have been no problem if only one Wi-Fi router was placed in the city, but in addition to the tremendous spread of smartphones and tablets, regular 3G/4G mobile phone networks have monthly communication limits. Therefore, one Wi-Fi router tends to be insufficient to keep connecting to the Internet at high speed from anywhere in the house. Therefore, if you use a wireless LAN repeater, you can extend the area where the wireless LAN can be used comfortably by relaying the radio waves from the existing Wi-Fi router that serves as the base unit, as the name suggests, even on different floors or in remote places. It means that you can use the Internet comfortably.

◆This kind of repeaterThe package of the wireless LAN repeater "WEX-733D" looks like this.

And this is the main body of the wireless LAN repeater "WEX-733D". It is a compact size that fits easily in the palm of your hand, and measures 8.6 cm in length, 6.4 cm in width, and 4 cm in thickness. The operation part has a very simple design with only one round button on the front of the main unit and a power switch on the right side of the main unit.

On the back, the device's address, user name, connection password, MAC address, and device's serial number were written. In addition, since it is a simple setting type that plugs directly into an outlet, the plug for the outlet is attached to the back as it is.

◆One-touch connection with Wi-Fi main unit Now, let's start setting up for Wi-Fi relay. The wireless LAN base unit used this time is WHR-1166DHP, which supports the high-speed Wi-Fi standard "11ac".

Step 1/4:Turn on the power switch by plugging it into the outlet, and wait 1 minute to complete the startup of the main unit.

Step 2/4:Press and hold the WPS button on the front of the main unit

Step 3/4:Press and hold the WPS (AOSS) button on the Wi-Fi router

Step 4/4:After about 2 to 4 minutes, if the power lamp on the main unit and the lamp indicating the signal being received light up, preparation is complete. In the picture below, the "2.4GHz" LED lamp and the "POWER" lamp are lit.

This is the only procedure to complete the connection settings for the main unit. After that, simply place this unit in front of the area where the radio waves are weak and turn on the power switch again to relay the Wi-Fi radio waves. Also, if there is a "WPS" function, it is of course compatible with Wi-Fi routers other than those made by Buffalo. Furthermore, since the SSID of the parent device is inherited as it is, there is no need to reset the SSID and password from a new smartphone or tablet.

◆Actual RelayI used the building where the editorial department is actually located to test how the connection could be improved. Place the main unit on the first floor and measure the strength of the radio wave with the Android application "Wifi Analyzer".

When measured right next to the Wi-Fi base unit, the strength of the 5GHz Wi-Fi was as strong as -35dBm.

We will measure the strength of the signal at the floor on the 2nd floor. There are many steel frames between the 1st and 2nd floors, so it is easy for radio waves to be blocked. Become.

Climb the stairs to the second floor...

Take a 180 degree turn down a narrow passage. This way of bending is the most difficult layout for Wi-Fi radio waves.

It is a layout that makes Wi-Fi cry that the floor is in the back of the future.

When I measured it as it was, the Wi-Fi was completely zero as expected.

At this point, we will slowly turn on the wireless LAN repeater. Insert it into the outlet at your feet and turn on the power. Thanks to the compact design and the design that blends into the interior, you can hardly feel the presence of the repeater.

The LED mounted on the main unit blinks to indicate the radio wave status from the main unit. In order to obtain as good a communication as possible, it is important to install a repeater in an area where the "lighting" state and the "slow blinking" state are switched. If you place it in a "fast blinking" area, even if it picks up radio waves, the communication quality will be low, so be careful.

When I turned it on, two lights came on shortly after and it was ready. I pressed the WPS button during the first setting, but no operation is required other than turning on the power during actual installation.

A few seconds later, the graph on the Android device on the floor changes!

The Wi-Fi radio waves of the main unit, which had no shadow or shape until a while ago, reappeared. You can see that the strength of the radio wave is about -40 dBm, which is almost the same level as the side of the main unit.

Here's a bit of an annoyance. I suspected that "Isn't the master machine connected somehow?", I tried unplugging the repeater from the outlet to see if it was really working.

Stunningly, the signal went back to zero. It seems that the repeater was delivering Wi-Fi properly. The moment I regretted a little that I doubted.

In the Wi-Fi environment at home, there are many people who realize that the Wi-Fi will be weak if they enter the bathroom or toilet in a slightly secluded space. Even in such a case, if there is a repeater, it seems that you can relax while watching movies such as YouTube on the floor and enjoying the net.

Of course, it can also be used on a PC. In addition to being able to connect with Wi-Fi, it is also possible to connect to the net by connecting a cable to the LAN port at the bottom of the main unit.

By connecting a network-compatible TV, recorder, game console, etc. to this LAN port, you can connect devices that are far away from the router or that do not support Wi-Fi to the network. Furthermore, if you connect a hub, you can connect more devices at the same time.

◆Advantages of "dual-band simultaneous connection method" by 5GHz band "11ac" and 2.4GHz band "11n/g/b"The biggest feature of WEX-733D is the 5GHz band. It is a "dual-band simultaneous connection method" that allows you to use 11ac and 11n/g/b in the 2.4GHz band at the same time.

The advantage is that the two types of radio waves can be used properly on the Wi-Fi base unit side and the terminal side, making it possible to fully demonstrate the performance of each.

In the case of models that do not adopt the dual band system, there was a problem that the communication speed was limited to half of the original performance because one radio wave was shared between upstream and downstream. To solve this problem, a dual-band communication system is installed that clearly distinguishes between upstream and downstream radio waves and eliminates the cause of bottlenecks.

As described above, the wireless LAN repeater "WEX-733D" dramatically improves the Wi-Fi environment at home and in the office with just a simple setting, and enables high-speed communication with a dual-band simultaneous connection method. It is a repeater that If you want to enjoy a movie slowly in the bathroom, or if you have a problem that "Wi-Fi was connected in the living room, but it will not connect at all in the bedroom on the second floor", you can quickly introduce it. should be the level. Wireless LAN repeater: WEX-733D | BUFFALO Buffalohttp://buffalo.jp/product/wireless-lan/extender/wex-733d/

The selling price on Amazon at the time of writing the article is around 6000 yen without tax. : BUFFALO Wireless LAN Repeater Air Station 11ac/n/a/g/b 433+300Mbps WEX-733D: Personal Computer/Peripherals