TP-Link - BE3600 Wi-Fi 7 Range Extender - White

The TP Link BE3600 can help you get rid of WiFi dead zones. One of the biggest hurdles sometimes with using tech is the setup process especially when using different brands with each other, TP link is one of the best in this area. When setting up the extender you have three options, WPS setup, the TP link Tether app or via the web. I choose the Tether app and it couldn’t have been easier. This didn’t surprise me as I have other Tp Link products from cameras to smart plugs and though it’s a different app, they all were extremely easy to setup. You simply plug the extender in, wait for all the lights to turn solid and then select your network. Once you do that, you can then move the extender to your desired location. The only thing I didn’t know it could do was extend different networks. So I have “two different” networks in my house, one from the fios router and one from a mesh network. I was able to extend the 2.4Ghz from the fios and the 5Ghz from the mesh. This is something I think is really cool and my previous extender couldn’t do. The Tether app makes monitoring the extender extremely easy, it shows you the status of the network and how many devices are connected, even when you’re not connected to it. The front of the extender also shows the status of the connection with four leds. In my experience with TP link products, they’ve been some of the easiest to setup and use and this extender is no different. Highly recommend if you want to get rid of dead zones.

The BE3600 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 7 Range Extender from TP Link has been a great addition to my TP Link router. The router itself works great for the entire house, on the other hand since my garage is also made out of brick, I sometimes get a slow connection, so the extender has made that connection much better. The setup ie easy, plug the extender to an outlet and then pair it up and it works seamlessly, now I can go from the house to the garage and the backyard, and it is flawless. I like how it looks and how fast it works too, and since it does have both 2.4 and 5Ghz other products can be connected to it. Now I have more smart products in the garage, and they all work well too. The wireless camera for one, that needs a good connection, is fine. And the one port that its side is a plus, just in case it is needed. Overall, the 3.6 Gbps speed is more than enough for us, easy mesh compatible is great in case I do change my router in the future. the lights in the front are easy to read and the TP Link tether app makes everything so much easier, we are happy with the extender.

This Wi-Fi extender is easy to set up and performs acceptably, but it has some definite limitations depending on the type of host network and the location where it can be placed. It is the type of extender that plugs directly into a wall outlet and pretty much requires an outlet that is out in the open and does not have anything else plugged into it. To set it up it’s recommended that you initially plug it in fairly close to the router for the network that you are extending. There are some other connection options whereby you can connect to the router with a cable rather than Wi-Fi, but most people will be using the wireless option. Once the extender powers on, it is necessary to get it connected to the existing network. There are a couple of options for doing this, but in my case the best way was to use the "Tether" TP-Link smartphone app to do it all. The app walks you through the entire procedure as it first temporarily connects directly to the extender and then guides you through identifying the network to be extended and logging into it. Depending on the type of network being extended (explained below), the tether may need to have its own network name (SSID) and password assigned. It might also have separate SSIDs for 2.5GHz and 5GHz connections. Once the connection is established and all the LEDs turn blue, the next step is to determine the ideal location for final placement and move the extender there. Again, the app can help with this as you walk around the house and it checks the router’s signal strength. However, even if you determine the best location for the extender, its requirement for an open and unused wall outlet can be a problem. In my case, most candidate outlets either had lamps plugged into them or were inconveniently located behind furniture. Fortunately there is a lot of leeway in determining where to put it and I managed to find a reasonably good spot (see photo). Right away, I ran into an issue that I encountered years ago on a similar device. Unless you have a mesh network where the router and satellites can all use the same network name, in a more conventional network the extender has to have its own name (SSID), meaning that you can only use it if you specifically connect your device to it. For example, if your main network name is “mynet”, the extender defaults to the name “mynet_EXT” (which can be changed). For stationary devices like Smart TVs and other smart home devices this is not a problem; however, when moving around the house with your smartphone or tablet, you have to go into your Wi-Fi settings to connect to the extender if the main router’s signal is weak (and then switch back when in another location). This can be tedious and I think I’d recommend this extender more highly if using it to extend a mesh network where this is not an issue. Our router is on the top floor of a two-story house and covers the main and top floor pretty well. It is the basement where the signal starts getting weak and that’s the area that I hoped to improve with the extender. The signal in the basement was stronger with the extender than from the router, but when I ran a speed test I was a bit disappointed that the overall data throughput was quite a bit less than I had hoped. It is probably sufficient for most of our relatively modest requirements and might just be the nature of extenders where data has to be relayed from the device to the extender to the router. I would give it a 5 for setup and installation and a 3 due to configuration and performance limitations for an overall rating of 4.

Great way to extend your network dead spots... TP Link has the market with affordability and easy to use routers. Setup was super easy. Download the app. Plug in near your main router and walk through the instructions plus firmware update and you are all set. Firmware took a little time. All together took about 15 mins to setup. One word of advice... Since this is only dual band and it will not transmit guest network simultaneously I decided to put my main network on 2.4 and put my guest on the 5 GHz. The reason I put the 2.4 on my main is because 2.4 is used with a lot of older smart devices and 5 can be used by my guests for their smart phones. So 1 wish is for the extenders to have guest broadcast. 1 other topic is if you are running another TP Link extender you need to unplug the older one first and set this one up or be far away from the older one that is already setup so the setup process does not get confused. Ok. Other than that... I have been running this extender for about a week. No issues. It switches between my BE 16000 and my other extender no issues. Up and down is hitting about 500 gbs. Software use is easy. Also easy to monitor who is on my network etc. Also I ended up using access point instead of range extender due to distance issue from my main network. Worked just fine. Good job TP Link.

The TP-Link BE3600 Dual Band WI-FI 7 Range Extender is an effective and easy way to get WI-FI in an area around your house where it is weak. For instance, a distant room or garage or even an outside guest quarters in your backyard. This TP-Link range extender was very easy to set up and add to my network. I added it to my existing TP-Link Mesh Network with three nodes and it works flawlessly. I added it in my garage so that I would have a good WI-FI connection or there and the TP-Link BE3600 has not disappointed. I have not any handoff issues between it and the Mesh nodes either. This is not your old type of WI-FI Range Extender it fully integrates into your existing Mesh system and has all of the features you need suit your needs. There is MLO, AP Mode backwards compatibility with all WI-FI types and 2.5Gig Ethernet port so you can wire in the hardware of your choice like a game console or Smart TV. Personally, I have the BE3600 Dual Band Mesh system and this Extender works perfect with it. However, I would not hesitate to use this with just a router or other brands. This is a very versatile Range extender at a fair price.