$11 DIGOO DG-R611 WiFi Repeater Comes with Two External Antennas

Low-cost WiFi routers such as A5 V11 mini router have been around for many years. The cheaper ones are usually powered by a USB charger sold separately, and support 2.4 GHz WiFI with a single antenna.

But I’ve just noticed DIGOO DG-R611 WiFi repeater with support for dual-antenna, data rate up to 300 Mbps, and integrated power supply. It is sold for under $11 on Banggood and Aliexpress, and may be worth a closer look.

DIGOO DG-R611 specifications:

• SoC – Realtek RTL8196E RISC processor @ 400 MHz
• System Memory – TBD
• Storage – TBD
• Networking
  • Wired – 10/100M Ethernet port
  • Wireless
    • 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 up to 300 Mbps
    • Two 2dBi antennas
    •  Wireless Transmit Power – 20dBm(MAX EIRP)
    • Repeater, Access Point (AP), or Media bridge modes supported
    •  Wireless Security – 64/128-bit WEP, WPA/WPA2, WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK (TKIP/AES)
• Power Supply – Integrated 110-230V with US, EU, or UK plug
• Dimensions – 7 x 7 x 7.5 cm excluding antennas
• Temperature Range – Operating: -20°C to 70°C 5% to 95% (non-cond.); storage: -40°C to 90°C. Max. 90% (non-cond.)

I had never heard about “Media bridge mode”, but that just means it can be used as a WiFi network card when connected to the Ethernet port of a computer, printer, TV, etc… There’s no much info about the software, but it’s configurable via a web interface with free “web software updates”. I could not find any screenshot at this time,

Based on the processor datasheet, RTL8196E is a 5-Port Fast Ethernet router processor, so there must be a separate WiFi chip connected over USB or PCIe, likely RTL8192ER PCIe WiFi chip since it’s found in combination with the processor in other devices and supports 2.4 GHz 2T2R WiFi 4. At this price point, it’s unlikely to match the recommended minimum memory and storage requirements for the latest version of OpenWrt, but there’s a port on Github.

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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