Devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 3000 Review
A fast but expensive wireless repeater
Verdict
The Devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 3000 WiFi repeater does what it promises, extending a strong wireless signal over a wide area. It’s unusually versatile too, with a rich management interface. It’s fairly expensive, though, and you can get a faster connection elsewhere for the same price, making it hard to recommend this particular extender.
Pros
- Provides a good Wi-Fi connection across multiple rooms
- Extensive configuration options
Cons
- Not fast enough to justify the price
Availability
- UKRRP: £89.99
Key Features
- Operation modesThis device can work as a repeater, an access point or a mesh satellite.
- Wi-Fi specWi-Fi 6 (2×2 2.4GHz 574Mbps, 2×2 5Ghz 2402Mbps)
- EthernetA single Gigabit Ethernet port is available.
Introduction
If your router isn’t providing a strong wireless signal throughout your home, this Wi-Fi 6 extender could be the answer. It works like a relay transmitter, broadcasting a network of its own that connects back to the router; if you install it a few rooms away from the router, it can provide a strong signal in areas where the existing coverage is weak and patchy.
The Devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 3000 is fairly speedy too: the name represents a total bandwidth of 600Mbits/sec on the 2.4GHz band, plus 2,400Mbits/sec for 5GHz connections. You won’t hit those speeds in your own home – they’re theoretical maximums – but it means there’s potential for fast connections.
Design and features
- Liable to get in the way of nearby plug sockets
- LED signal indicator, and downward-facing Ethernet socket
As is usual for a wireless extender, the Repeater 3000 is a chunky white box that plugs into a mains socket. It’s quite wide, meaning you probably won’t be able to plug anything into an adjacent socket.
That’s especially a problem if you want access to the WPS button on the right-hand side.
Still, the Gigabit Ethernet socket is located on the bottom, so at least that doesn’t get in the way, and I like the four-segment signal strength indicator on the front.
The Repeater 3000 also benefits from an impressive management portal. It’s loaded with technical information about your main and extended networks, plus connected devices and neighbouring networks. A Clone function tells the repeater to replicate the network name and password from your router, so devices can connect automatically without being reconfigured, and there’s also a mesh mode that lets multiple Devolo extenders work together with shared settings.
As well as acting as a repeater, there’s an access point mode, where the Devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 3000 has to be connected via Ethernet to your router. This can be useful if you want to get a wireless signal far from your router, such as in a garden office.
Performance
- Widespread coverage gives improved Wi-Fi performance throughout the house
- Download speeds are good but not on par with TP-Link’s rival repeater
The Repeater 3000 supports both crossband and in-band connections. In crossband mode, it uses the 2.4GHz band to communicate with the router and reserves the 5GHz frequency range for device connections. It’s an elegant idea, but since the 2.4GHz radio is only a quarter as fast as the 5GHz one, it results in a performance bottleneck. You’re better off with in-band mode, which uses the 5GHz radio for both client and router connections.
In this configuration, the Repeater 3000 does a respectable job of shoring up Wi-Fi performance. With my D-Link R15 Eagle Pro AI router on its own, I measured average download speeds of 41Mbits/sec in the bedroom and 44Mbits/sec in the kitchen. Once I’d installed the Devolo Repeater and connected to the extended network, performance leapt to 218Mbits/sec and 102Mbits/sec.
Even at the extremities of my home, the Repeater 3000 was a big help. In the utility room, I’d been getting just 12Mbits/sec from the router, but the extender boosted this to a much more respectable 57Mbits/sec.
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
If you’re looking for a versatile wireless repeater with a rich management interface, this works well.
If you want the fastest performance, there are quicker extenders that cost less.
Final Thoughts
The Repeater 3000 undoubtedly delivers the goods – the only thing that gives us pause is the price. The Netgear EAX12 offers similar performance for £30 less, while the TP-Link RE700X costs the same as the Devolo Repeater but is considerably faster. You can see other alternatives in our guide to the best Wi-Fi extenders.
How we test
Unlike other sites, we test every wireless router we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Used as our main wireless router for the review period.
We throughput test all wireless devices using the same equipment in the same locations so that we have accurate comparisons.
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FAQs
It can be a standard repeater or an access point, or it can work with other Devolo devices in a mesh system.
It uses the current version, Wi-Fi 6.
Full specs
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
