ASCII.jp Wi-Fi router becomes more convenient repeater "WEX-1166DHPS": Xperia peripherals

When using Xperia at home, a Wi-Fi router that is useful in terms of communication speed and data saving. Wi-Fi routers are very convenient, but when you use them in a room on the second floor or in a bathroom away from the router, you may experience slow communication or interrupted YouTube video playback because you are too far away from the router. You can also put it away.

If you use a Wi-Fi repeater, you should be able to enjoy videos and the Internet at a comfortable speed by extending the range of radio waves even at home. Let's connect the company's wireless LAN repeater "WEX-1166DHPS" that plugs directly into an outlet to the Buffalo Wi-Fi router "WSR-2533DHP" introduced earlier.

WEX-1166DHPS is a wireless LAN repeater that supports IEEE802.11a/b/g/n/ac communication and can use 2.4GHz band and 5GHz band simultaneously. It has two built-in transmitting and receiving antennas for each of the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band, and when using the high-speed Wi-Fi standard 11ac, a maximum of 866 Mbps, and even when using the conventional standard 11n, a maximum of 300 Mbps communication is possible.

The body size is 65 x 40 x 95 mm and weighs about 138 g. It is more compact than adding another Wi-Fi router, and since it can be directly plugged into the outlet because it comes directly from the main body of the repeater, it can be installed neatly anywhere there is an outlet.

Isn't it blocking the outlet next to it if you plug it directly? I'm worried about that, but because it's small and the outlet is placed at the very last minute of the main unit, it sticks out from the main unit by about 1 cm. If it is a standard type 2-outlet outlet, it is a well-thought-out design that does not block the upper port.

WEX-1166DHPS also has a wired LAN terminal. It can be used as an Ethernet converter, and you can connect a wired LAN device such as a PC or TV in a remote location with a LAN cable to make it Wi-Fi.

Setting up is very easy. First of all, set up the WEX-1166DHPS near the Wi-Fi router "WSR-2533DHP" that will be the master device. In practice, it will be installed far away, but it is easier to set it closer because it will be easier to set it.

Set the "AUTO/5GHz" switch to "AUTO" and plug the WEX-1166DHPS into an outlet. Next, press and hold the WPS button for about 2 seconds or more, confirm that the WPS lamp blinks, and then press the AOSS/WPS button on the main unit to connect. If the "master unit connection lamp" and "WPS lamp" light up, the setting of the repeater is complete.

All you have to do is place the repeater where you want it. However, the problem here is how long the radio will reach and where to put the repeater. The repeater has an LED that displays the radio wave strength on each of the parent and child devices, and although you can see the radio wave status from the lighting and blinking patterns, it is difficult to see whether it is connected while actually installing it. , is a very laborious task.

Buffalo's smartphone app "StationRadar" is useful in such cases. If you install StationRadar on your Xperia, you can see the communication status of the main unit, repeater, and child unit at a glance.

A message such as "Please bring the repeater closer to the base unit" or "Please bring the repeater closer to the child unit" will be displayed depending on the installation location, so let's adjust the distance. It is OK if "Good" is displayed. It is very convenient to be able to look for the installation location while checking the site with the Xperia.

As for the structure, the relay method is "base unit-relay unit" and "relay unit-slave unit" communication, and two bands of 2.4 GHz band and 5 GHz band can be used at the same time. It has the advantage of suppressing the drop in communication speed that occurs with a method that relays only one band.

WEX-1166DHPS determines the position and distance of the child device and sends it to the child device side from the conventional model where the speed was reduced due to the distance and obstacles when the radio waves were spread evenly over the entire area. It seems that it has the effect of improving transfer speed and stability by having "beam forming" that appropriately delivers radio waves to the target. In order to use beamforming, the Xperia side must also support it.

It also supports "SSID for repeater". For example, even if the base unit with weak radio waves approaches a repeater with strong radio waves, it will not automatically switch! In such a case, you can manually switch the connection to the repeater SSID.

While using the wireless LAN of your Wi-Fi router at home, you may inadvertently consume mobile communication packets because the wireless LAN connection has been canceled at a remote location. So, if there is a place where Wi-Fi is hard to reach at home, installing a repeater may solve that problem.