Wavlink AC600 Waterproof WiFi Repeater & Router Claims up to 2 km Range

WiFi is used indoors in most cases, but if you are a service provider, or own property with a park or beach, you may want to extend your WiFi coverage outdoors. The only problem is that more routers are not designed to be placed outdoors, and it’s not always easy to protect them from raining, humidity or even sunlight.

So ideally in those case, you’d want a weatherproof / waterproof WiFi repeater or touter, and one of those is Wavlink AC600 dual band AC repeater / router which I first found on Banggood for $69.99.Wavlink WL-WN570HA1 AC600 router specifications:

• Connectivity
  • WiFI
    • Dual band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi up to ~600 Mbps:  150Mbps @ 2.4 GHz, 433Mbps @ 5 Ghz
    • Encryption mode – WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK
    • Transmission distance – 2km Max
    • Functions – WDS & WPS (No VPN)
    • “Up to 1000 mW of power and enhanced receiver design”
  • Ethernet – Waterproof 10/100Mbps Ethernet port (RJ45)
• Misc – 3x LEDs for signal strength indication
• Power Supply – PoE via Ethernet connector
• Safety – Built-in lightning protection (15kV ESD).
• Ingress Protection Rating – IP65

The device supports both router and repeater modes.

It ships with two antennas, a power adapter,  a PoE converter, an Ethernet cable
a main body holder, screw fitting,  cable ties, and a Quick Installation Guide. So interestingly installation is somewhat similar to the one for MatchX LoRa weatherproof gateway since it relies on PoE, which should be much safer than bringing out cables connected to the mains under the rain.

You’ll need to find a pole or a tree, and secure the router with the provided ties, connect the Ethernet cable between the router and PoE adapter, and finally connect the power supply to the latter.

If the maximum range of 2km is to be believed, you could also easily connect to houses/buildings a few hundred meters away, and share a single broadband connection. Wavlink  WL-WN570HA1 is actually sold on many websites including eBay, Amazon, and Newegg. That also means we already have some user reviews. The main problem appears it does not work well / at all as a WiFi repeater (without Ethernet cable), but for other use cases people who purchased the router seem happy, including for the weatherproofness of the unit.

Negative review first about repeater mode:

After many, many hours of trying, with my company’s network specialist, we determined that this unit WILL NOT wirelessly repeat or extend a wifi network … it does not re-assign it’s IP to match the host router, and therefor will not relay DHCP IP assignments, does not connect with the internet, etc … HUGE waste of time … Unfortunately the “return window” had expired before we had a chance to test .. so into the garbage bin … Strongly advise against buying unless you want a wired repeater/extension unit … which we did not test .. so beware!!

Some information about range from a separate reviewer:

I own a few acres and we have full hook up for a couple campers at the back of the property which is about 600 ft from the main house. I mounted the unit on my old TV tower about 10 feet high. Our internet service is 60 by 5 in the house and our guests and family are seeing 35 by 5 in their campers. Keep in mind what the dbi actually means… At that level you have a directional cone so if your placement and height is correct you should be very happy.

600 feet is almost 200 meters. It’s probably not realistic to expect a usable connection at over 2km with this device.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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