Devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400 Review
A very fast, high-end repeater
Verdict
The Devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400 can transform the performance of your home network. In some of my tests, it delivered more than a sixfold improvement in Wi-Fi speeds. It’s well featured too, with a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports and an extensive web portal providing plenty of information and settings. The Repeater 5400 is expensive for a wireless extender, but it’s highly effective and still simpler and cheaper than a mesh.
Pros
- Excellent wireless speeds
- Practical design with twin Ethernet ports
- Informative management interface
Cons
- You may be fine with a much cheaper alternative
Availability
- UKRRP: £127.99
Key Features
- Operating modesThis model can operate as an extender, an access point or a mesh satellite.
- Wi-Fi 6 standard
- Ethernet portsTwo Gigabit Ethernet ports
Introduction
The Devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400 aims to give you faster, wider-reaching Wi-Fi. It does this by transmitting a high-speed network of its own, which connects back to your existing router. To ensure top performance, Devolo has equipped this extender with 4×4 MIMO on the 5GHz radio band. That means it can send and receive data at a massive 4,800Mbits/sec – the maximum possible within the Wi-Fi 6 standard.
It also works with devices that use the older 2.4GHz band, at speeds up to 574Mbits/sec. A pair of Ethernet sockets at the back let you connect wired devices as well.
Design and Features
- Can be conveniently located wherever you want it
- Loaded with configuration options and technical detail
Most wireless repeaters plug directly into a mains socket, but this limits where they can be located and often obstructs adjoining sockets.
That’s not a problem with the Devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400. It comes with a metre-long mains cable, so you can stand it conveniently on a desk or shelf to avoid obstructions and get the best signal strength. You can also easily access the twin Gigabit Ethernet ports on the rear and see the light-up signal strength indicator on the front.
The Repeater 5400 can be deployed by simply pressing the WPS button on your router, then hitting the ADD button on the extender. This tells the repeater to capture your existing network settings and start retransmitting them, so your devices can automatically connect to the stronger signal.
Alternatively, the web-based management interface lets you choose your own names and security settings for the extended 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks and explore plenty of technical settings. If you have multiple Devolo extenders, you can activate mesh mode to have them all synchronise their settings – although I found that one Repeater 5400 unit provided ample coverage for a three-bedroom maisonette.
Performance
- Eradicates “not-spots” and areas of unreliable coverage
- Big speed gains can transform your online experience
I’ve mentioned that the Devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400 supports the maximum 4,800Mbits/sec connection speed. Your connected devices won’t get the full benefit of all this bandwidth, as some of it will be eaten up by the downstream connection to your router. Even so, the extender can have a big effect on the overall performance of your network.
For example, in my living room, I measured an average download speed of 122Mbits/sec from my D-Link R15 Eagle Pro AI router. After I’d installed the Repeater 5400, that increased by more than 50%, to 186bits/sec.
I saw even better results in other rooms. In the kitchen, this extender boosted my download speeds from 44Mbits/sec to 202Mbits/sec. In the bedroom, a measly 41Mbits/sec was transformed to a superfast 279Mbits/sec – an improvement of 680%.
In the utility room at the back of the house, I had been getting just 12Mbits/sec directly from the router. With the Repeater 5400 in place, I measured 94Mbits/sec. That’s enough bandwidth for video calls and movie streaming, which would previously have been distinctly touch-and-go.
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Should you buy it?
If you want excellent Wi-Fi speeds with strong software support, only a few extenders can match this one.
If you’re on a tight budget, there are much cheaper repeaters that will be good enough for most homes.
Final Thoughts
Not everyone needs this sort of performance. For everyday web duties, something like the Mercusys ME30 will do a satisfactory job for a much lower price. Another option to consider is the TP-Link RE700X – this provides performance in the same league as the Devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400 but for a cheaper price of £89.99.
However, neither the Mercusys nor the TP-Link extender can match the versatile feature set of the Repeater 5400 or its convenient self-contained design with twin Ethernet ports.
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 used as a repeater, an extender, or – with other Devolo devices – a mesh system.
It has two Gigabit Ethernet ports.
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.
