Verdict
The shockingly affordable Mercusys ME30 extender does a great Book of Job of boosting your wireless signal over a wide area . It ’s not idealistic for bad , high-pitched - traffic networks as it ’s limited to Wi - Fi 5 , but if you ’re more concerned with compass than throughput , it ’ll do just what you call for at a very grim price – and the Ethernet socket is a nice bonus .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
If you ’re looking for an economical way to stretch out your wireless internet , the Mercusys ME30 could be the everlasting solvent . Costing less than £ 30 , it behave as a wireless relay for your router , broadcasting its own Wi - Fi meshwork to areas that do n’t get a well signaling from the chief transmitter .
The cause it ’s so cheap is that it expend last - propagation Wi - Fi 5 , rather than the current Wi - Fi 6 standard . That mean it ca n’t equalize the top speeds of today ’s premium wireless gearing , and it ’s also liable to slacken down if you have stack of devices using the connection at once . But if you desire to ensure a reliable signaling for a few appliances at the far goal of the house , it ’ll do a perfectly in force job .
Design and Features
The Mercusys ME30 plugs into a mains socket , and its 85 mm width means you probably wo n’t be capable to secure anything in next to it . It ’s a pocket-size , functional design : two minuscule swivelly aerials stick up on either side , and the WPS clit is handily located on the bottom .
Next to the button you ’ll also discover an Ethernet socket . That ’s an unexpected kickshaw at this price , but it ’s limited to 100Mbits / sec , rather than the usual gigabit speeds . That wo n’t be a job if you want to use it for a printing machine or a sassy base hub , but it could slow down a desktop PC or a computer memory gismo .
Setting up and managing the extender is straight via an unified web internet browser - based user interface . you could check your mesh status , configure wireless configurations and switch to access code point mode if you require the ME30 to connect to your router via Ethernet rather than Wi - Fi .
you could also set up a schedule to turn the extender off when it ’s not needed – although this is already a very power - effective extender . I measured a draw of just 4.7W from the ME30 , rising to a efflorescence of 6.3W while transferring data back and forth . Most extenders consume more than that even when they ’re wild .
Performance
I test the Mercusys ME30 in partnership with a D - Link R15 Eagle Pro AI router . Without the extender , the router was shin to provide decent multi - room reportage ; the ME30 made a big difference of opinion .
For model , in the living room , I had been getting an average download charge per unit of 122Mbits / sec when connecting directly from my laptop to the router . After I ’d installed the ME30 in the nearby hallway and tie in to its extended web , speed prove to 160Mbits / sec .
I got even better results in other room . In the kitchen , a sluggish 44Mbits / sec connection spring up to 140Mbits / sec , while in the bedroom , I ascertain download speeds go from 41Mbits / sec to 202Mbits / sec . The heavy - to - progress to public utility elbow room at the back of my home is always a challenge , but here , too , the ME30 helped , aim download speeds from 12Mbits / sec to 50Mbits / sec .
While the ME30 is impressive , you should be aware of its limitations . It only has a single 5GHz radio to wield all the traffic between your client equipment and the router . It ’s also rated with a relatively slow maximum speed of 867Mbits / sec – and the Wi - Fi 5 association is likely to suffer more than Wi - Fi 6 when things get back up . For all those reasons , you almost certainly wo n’t get the dependable speeds when mass of devices are all exchanging data at once .
Buy if :
Do n’t buy if :
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
If you desire to deliver a strong Wi - Fi signal to a few gadget that are n’t currently receive a reliable connection , then this extender is a great option .
If you ’re looking for a high - speed gateway to serve a prominent number of computers and devices , then Wi - Fi 6 is well suit for that role .
Final Thoughts
The Mercusys ME30 is extremely cheap and far faster than I would have expect . If you just need to boost a Wi - Fi sign for less demanding devices , then it ’s a heavy choice . If you need a more reliable web that is capable of handling multiple equipment , then a Wi - Fi 6 extender , such as theTP - tie-in RE700X , would be a estimable choice . you could see other alternatives in our guide to thebest Wi - Fi extenders .
Trusted Score
How we test
Unlike other sites , we essay every wireless router we review soundly over an extended period of time . We use industry standard tests to equate features by rights . 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 ourethics policy .
FAQs
It uses the slightly old Wi - Fi 5 banner , which is n’t a problem if you primarily want to extend your internet to less demanding devices .
It can run as a traditional extender or as an accession point .
