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Xiaomi Wi-Fi Extender 2 (300mbps) for US $6.99 (~AU $9.13) Delivered from Zapals

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XMWI0702

Zapals is having a sale on the XiaoMi Wifi Extender 2. It plugs into any USB power, so is quite convenient!

This device works quite well, and can function on the same SSID as your origin Access Point (AP). I purchased 4 of these from Zapals previously before the discount (ie, at AU$10.69), and they work well! It is configured using the Xiaomi Mi Home app.

From my basic testing, where the extender is in the same room as the laptop, my average speedtest results went from around 30Mbps to 42Mbps.

Make sure you are logged in. This is a further US$1.00 cheaper than the previously posted deal.

Don't forget 8% CashRewards :)

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  • +1

    I've got one of these and it works well and is quite simple to set up.
    The worst thing about it is that I don't have a spare USB port that has constant power where I need to use it - so I need to power up a device so it turns on.

    • +16

      You don't have any old Samsung USB phone chargers laying around ? No power boards with spare USB slots ? No TVs or Set Top Boxes with constant USB power? (honest questions… not trying to be snide)

      • Not in that part of the house.
        I have it plugged into my receiver - which I turn off each night when I go to bed.
        The same would be true for both my tv and my set-top.

      • How many amps does it require? I have a charger for a wifi modem, which is 0.5A.

        • +1

          They recommend 1A, but it functions fine on 0.5A (maybe not as long distance, but still works)

    • +2
      • Yeah, been thinking I need one of these for my entertainment unit. The current board doesn't have USB slots.

        • +1

          Don't get one built into a power strip - I'm yet to find one that's decent quality, and when (not if) it goes, you'll have to replace the whole power board. Source: bought two power strips from Catch or some such, threw one out after the USB side emitted a strong burning smell. Keeping a close eye on the other one.

          Grab a Tronsmart or Aukey 4-6 port hub the next time a deal comes up.

        • +2

          @voltagex:
          i bought two from MSY last week. The above Huntkey ($29) and a Belkin ($45). The Belkin provides up to $50,000 insurance and comes with a 2 year warranty. If it goes, your covered. I would recommend the Belkin.
          http://www.msy.com.au/viconline/notebook-acc/16654-belkin-bs…

          Officeworks have the exact same Belkin for $69.99
          https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/belkin-8-o…

        • @Jonski: The Belkin is tempting, if only it had Ethernet protection

        • @Abaddon:
          Hey abaddon. Whats this ethernet protection thing? Ive seen a powerboard previously with ethernet ports. Im not sure what you'd use them for and how.

  • How compatible is it with other modems?

    • +1

      My Wifi Access point is a TP LINK 4320, using WPA-PSK-CCMP / ESS. It connects to that with no issue. On the "client" side, it is advertising WPA-PSK-CCMP+TKIP, WPA2-PSK-CCMP+TKIP, WPS, ESS.

      I imagine it would work with any combination of WPA or WPA2. The app seems to expect to be able to scan and find the SSID, and then enter a password. If your SSID is hidden, you'll probably have to "unhide" it.

      (I have made the assumption that your modem has a in-built WiFi Access Point, this Extender isn't a USB to WiFi ethernet bridge)

  • I'm after one of these but wanting it a little faster than Zapals…. might need to look around

    • Just to say I got mine in 2 weeks. Speed seems to have improved.

  • +18

    Hi, can someone recommend me something similar which supports 5ghz band? Signal is crap trying to stream porn and the prerequisite requirement of door shut.
    Thanks

    • +1

      https://www.fasttech.com/product/7646700-comfast-cf-wr370ac-… supports dual band. I have not tested this device, but at least it has 4% CashRewards. US$14.76
      Or slightly cheaper on AliExpress with 8% CashRewards - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/usb-Wifi-Repeater-COMFAST-2-…. US$13.90

      Edit: Just bought one from AliExpress to compare with the XiaoMi.

    • hahaha definitely need the porn streaming in HD. Damn first world problems right there LGW!

      • +3

        Damn straight! No Beating Around the Bush here (intended) I can't anyone who would want one of these for any other purpose

        Thanks for the recommendations Tusker I'll check them out

    • 4K streaming only need 25 Mbps, well within 2.4Ghz capacity.

      • +3

        Are you saying that it's not my backend that could be causing receival issues but their front end?

        • Not sure what you meant by backend / front end?

          4k streaming need 25Mbps internet speed.
          Even old 2.4Ghz wifi G can provide theoretical speed up to 54Mbps, more than enough for 4K streaming.
          You don't need 5Ghz wifi to stream 4K.

          Of course this assuming your internet speed is 25Mbps or higher.

        • @cimot: backend :my setup at home to receive streaming
          Frontend:the server of the content I'm streaming
          The fastest speedtest result on my mobile using my home WiFi is around 17Mbps and average is around 13Mbps using adsl2+. What would the most likely cause be off my streaming issue (constant buffering) using a billion vdpx fwiw.

        • @LGW: Speed wise, presuming no one else saturating your internet connection, and you're in a good proximity to the router, it should be sufficient for streaming standard videos (eg. youtube).

          It also heavily depend on the stability of your connection. Fast download doesn't do much if the connection constantly timed out and streaming need to be cached over and over to catch up (probably during peak hours).

          It also depend on the website you're streaming from. I found even Youtube can be flaky if you watch "less popular" videos. For some reason they assign much less bandwidth to it.

        • @cimot: thanks for taking the time to reply to my questions. Can I reduce the number of timeouts?what is a normal number of timeouts and getting back to the subject, could a wifi extender help (I usually get 1 under max bars in my room with the door shut)

        • @LGW: I've never used wifi extender, but I think wifi extender need to be put in the area where the signal is still fairly strong.

          I think you'll be better off with Ethernet over Power solution rather than wifi extender.

        • @cimot:

          Don't forget the latency on a congested 2.4G band. What real LAN speed do you get from 2.4G right now? Mine drops below 25 megabit depending on device and location in the house. 2.4+5Ghz 802.11AC, please.

        • @LGW:

          That's unfortunately reasonably good for ADSL2+ - but the wifi on those Billions is pretty crap by today's standards. See if you can test streaming when using wired Ethernet.

        • [@voltagex](/compare ment/4871994/redir):
          Should I compare by doing a speedtest on my pc which is wired directly to the modem?

        • @LGW: Yes, but for Netflix specifically use fast.com, for YouTube go to a high quality video and turn on the "Stats for Nerds".

        • @LGW: Try streaming while connected directly on cable.
          If that works without buffering, ethernet over power solution would works for you.

        • @LGW: My wifi router is in living room, when I'm in bedroom upstairs I also get 3 bars, but my internet speed drop by almost 70%, and it's dropping.
          I can feel the lag while playing PvP games.

          I think signal bar only shows how much signal received from router, doesn't means your computer can transmit the same strength back to the router.

      • Agreed - 5ghz is only relevant for copying files across different devices on your wi-fi network. 2.4ghz should be fine for 4k streaming.

        • +2

          My 2.4ghz band stops working completely when the Microwave is turned on.

        • @Gunther: Yes, food and porn don't mix!

        • +1

          @Gunther: Move your router away from microwave

        • @elektron:

          Yes, food and porn don't mix!

          I guess you haven't seen enough.

        • @cimot: Its 2 rooms away (12m+). Microwave has to be in kitchen, router has to be in office.

    • +2

      VR porn or gtfo lol

      • +2

        If you haven't already, try out one of those face sitting VR videos.

        • +1

          Lol I love how you said that so innocently

  • Anyone else getting an error saying the code isn't valid?

    • +2

      Log in

      • Thanks

  • Any idea what distance they can send to? Speed is not important. I just want to listen to Internet Radio on my smartphone down in the back shed. About 70 meters from my dual modem.
    Thanks

    • Line of sight, no issue. Few walls in between, might be pushing it.

  • +3

    For anyone who are interested, this is not so great device.
    Mine often won't reconnect to the router after I restart the router.
    I have both 1 and 2 and they are connect to xiaomi router.

    • +1

      Any alternatives that work better?

    • Hmm I was about to buy a couple but now I’m reluctant.

  • Does it extend WiFi access back to China? ;)

    • +2

      lol
      edit: I'm hesitant to buy one.

  • Kept getting the error even after logging in to the account, so ordered it anyways. Don't really need it, but for the price I will just start using it.

  • +2

    keep getting Coupon code "XMWI0702" is not valid.

    • You need to be logged in for the coupon to work.

      • i am logged in

        • Maybe try using USD as the chosen currency ?

  • Would this introduce latency to the network?
    I'm thinking faster steam-link would be nice.

    • +1

      Of course it's going to introduce latency.

  • +3

    I didn't know I needed one of these until I saw it on OzB and decided it was definitely necessary… Bought one. Thanks OP

  • Coupon code seems to be dead as of now.

  • +6

    I'm a massive Xiaomi fanboi but I really don't like this.
    I think it's fine for some web browsing and stuff, but I get pretty mediocre, unpredictable performance when it comes to streaming something like Youtube or Twitch etc.

    I've 100mbit NBN and this thing gets about 15-20mbit in speedtests in a small apartment… I get a better connection if I just connect directly to my router (which is in a store room next to my apartment) despite the fact this repeater is sitting in my apartment at about the half way mark between me and the router outside.

    And it's not neighboring interference as my WiFi channels don't overlap.

    Or maybe I just got a dud unit… not sure.
    Not really bothered going through RMA process for something this cheap.

    • shouldn't 15-20 mbit be good enough to stream videos in hd as long as there's not multiple people doing it

      • Yeah if it was really stable 15-20mbit, but it isn't unfortunately - especially when it comes to watching a Twitch stream in "source" quality.

        It drops connection maybe once per month'ish as well whereas that doesn't happen for me going direct to router.

        I've regularly been playing a game on main PC and had the same game loaded up beside me on a laptop wirelessly and my ping would start to fluctuate from a stable 50 right up to about 300 on wireless, while my wired main PC isn't affected at all.

  • Does this only support 2.4Ghz wireless n?

    • +1

      It only supports 2.4Ghz, but does supposedly support a/b/g/n, as you can see from the iw scan below.

          Supported rates: 1.0* 2.0* 5.5* 11.0* 9.0 18.0 36.0 54.0
          DS Parameter set: channel 5
          ERP: Barker_Preamble_Mode
          Extended supported rates: 6.0 12.0 24.0 48.0
          HT capabilities:
                  Capabilities: 0x2c
                          HT20
                          SM Power Save disabled
                          RX HT20 SGI
                          No RX STBC
                          Max AMSDU length: 3839 bytes
                          No DSSS/CCK HT40
                  Maximum RX AMPDU length 65535 bytes (exponent: 0x003)
                  Minimum RX AMPDU time spacing: 4 usec (0x05)
                  HT RX MCS rate indexes supported: 0-15
                  HT TX MCS rate indexes are undefined
      

      Also, according to the data sheet of the RT2860 - https://wikidevi.com/files/Ralink/RT2800%20product%20brief.p… :

      11b: 1,2,5.5,11Mbps
      11g: 6,9,12,24,36,48,54Mbps
      11n (20MHz): MCS0-15, 32 with Short Guard Interval Support (up to 144Mbps)
      11n (40MHz): MCS0-15, 32 with Short Guard Interval Support (up to 300Mbps)

  • Weird there is an English version and Chinese version. The difference being the app language and $AUD2

  • The website is seriously annoying how out of stock items still show up and there's no way of filtering them or sorting them to the bottom. Some sections are almost all out of stock. Weird.

  • -1

    Code no longer works.

    • Log in first. (sorry I originally wanted to upvote your comment, then tried logging in - when trying to remove my upvote it went from +1 to -1 not back to zero)

  • Code works fine, just had to create an account first and log in. Just bought one.

  • Is Zapals still on CR? I tried months ago, and CR told me they'd withdrawn.

  • Can you create a new network using this device - can you have a different SSID?

    • +1

      It will automatically create a new SSID, original SSID being HomeWifi, it will create one called HomeWifi_plus.

  • Sorry.. N0ob question here: do I need this if I already have a spare wifi usb dongle lying around.. I presume a standard usb wifi stick isn't a 'repeater', as such, so this is different?

    • The idea behind this is to put it half way between the AP and your client.

      [ AP ] < —- > [ Extender ] < —— > [ Laptop/Smartphone ]

      <- AP Range ——————————-….__
      <———————- Extender Range ——————————-….__

      • If you already have a range extender somewhere further but it has reception issues, can you put a second extender in between the AP and the first extender? Should you get the first extender to extend the second extender, or will that be worse than keeping it how it is (extend the AP)?

        • For each hop, you do introduce a small amount of latency, but if you are 'fixing a blackspot', latency is worth at least getting signal.

          In my tests, I am using the SSID cloning method, with multiple extenders. So far it has worked without causing a loop (there must be some logic to not clone a client).

          They also have detection for range (based on RSSI) and tell you that your extender is too close to the other extender, and to move it further away.

        • @tusker: If you use the same SSID, does the furthermost Extender switch between the two SSIDs as needed?

          It's not that I have blackspots, but the connection is not always stable. Sometimes it works fine, sometimes videos will just load forever.

        • From my tests, it connects to the strongest signal, so yes, it may switch between the AP and the other extender.

          You might want to do some test with the non-clone method, and have AP_plus, and AP_plus_plus, so that you specifically make the second extender only connect to the first extender.

  • Expired. Code is no longer valid.

    • Thanks for letting me know!

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