TP-Link RE600X AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 Range Extender Review

If your Wi-Fi 6 router is having trouble delivering strong wireless signals to the far corners of your home, the TP-Link RE600X AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 Range Extender can help. Easy to install, this large dual-band extender simply plugs into a wall outlet and connects to your existing router. At $99.99, it offers a fairly inexpensive way to boost Wi-Fi coverage without having to invest in a new router or mesh system, but it doesn’t support 160MHz channels, a key benefit of Wi-Fi 6. For around $20 more, the TP-Link AX3000 Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Extender (RE715X) is a better choice, as it offers improved performance with support for 160MHz channels.

Design: Bigger Than a Night Light

At 5.9 by 3.1 by 1.4 inches (HWD), the RE600X is certainly bulkier than a night light, but not quite as large as the RE715X (6.2 by 4.2 by 1.3 inches). The front of the white enclosure sports LED indicators for power, 2.4GHz and 5GHz band activity, and Wi-Fi connectivity. The right side contains a 1GbE LAN port, a reset button, and a WPS button. Both sides have grilles for airflow. This extender does not offer a pass-through electrical outlet, but the two-pronged plug on the back panel is positioned near the bottom of the enclosure to allow access to the lower receptacle of a two-receptacle outlet.

(Credit: TP-Link)

The RE600X is a dual-band AX1800 extender capable of reaching theoretical data rates of up to 574Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and up to 1,201Mbps on the 5GHz band. It employs Wi-Fi 6 technologies such as WPA3 encryption, MU-MIMO data streaming, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), and beamforming. Unlike the RE715X, it does not support 160MHz channel transmissions, but it shares that model’s flexible configuration options. It can operate as an extender or as an access point (via a wired connection to your router), and can be pressed into service as a mesh node when connected to a TP-Link OneMesh router such as the Archer AX5400 Pro.

The RE600X can be installed and managed using a web-based console, or with your phone using the Tether mobile app. It appears in a panel on the Tether app’s My Devices screen along with a panel for the router to which it is connected. When you tap the extender’s panel, it opens a screen with a network map up top with icons for the main network and the extender. This screen also has an icon that shows you how many clients are connected to the extender.

When you tap the main network icon, you’ll open a screen that displays the network name, the type of encryption, the signal strength, the password, and the MAC address for both radio bands. Tapping the extender icon displays firmware and hardware versions, the IP address, and DHCP settings, and tapping the client icon shows you which devices are connected to the extender.

Below the map you’ll see the names of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz extended networks. Here you can share the network credentials via email or text message by tapping the upload box next to the SSID, edit and hide the SSID, and disable one or both radio bands.

(Credit: TP-Link)

Tap the Tools button at the bottom of the screen to access the RE600X settings screen, where you can edit Wi-Fi, LAN, and DHCP settings; enable OneMesh networking; configure High Speed mode (the extender will shut off one radio band and speed up the other based on its connectivity to the main router); and use the Location Assistant to find the best location for the extender. Additional settings allow you to disable the LED status lights, create a power-off schedule, and switch between extender and access-point modes.

Testing the TP-Link RE600X: Speed Where You Need It

I had the RE600X up and running in a matter of minutes. I plugged the device into an outlet in the same room as the router it would be paired to, tapped the + icon in the upper right corner of the My Devices screen, selected Range Extender from the list, and then selected Standard REs. Following the on-screen instructions, I confirmed that the power LED was solid blue, allowed my phone to join the extender’s network, and waited a few seconds for the extender to connect. I created a management password, selected the SSIDs of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks that I wanted to extend, and entered their passwords. Next, I unplugged the RE600X and plugged it into an outlet that was approximately halfway between the router and the area that needed a signal boost. I verified that the extender had a good connection to the router to complete the installation.

The RE600X turned in solid throughput scores in testing. On the 2.4GHz close proximity test it managed 98Mbps, beating the Netgear EAX15 AX1800 (65Mbps) and the Rock Space AX1800 (62Mbps) but not the TP-Link RE715X (106Mbps). On the 20-foot test, the RE600X’s score of 67Mbps was faster than the the EAX15 (37Mbps) and the Rock Space (35Mbps) but could not keep pace with the RE715X (71Mbps).

At 40 feet, the RE600X matched the RE715X with a score of 14Mbps. The EAX15 led with a score of 15Mbps, and the Rock Space trailed the pack with a score of 9Mbps.

On the 5GHz close proximity test, the RE600X scored 400Mbps, compared with the EAX15 (354Mbps) and the Rock Space (174Mbps), while the RE715X took top honors with a score of 410Mbps. At 20 feet, the RE600X delivered 254Mbps, the EAX15 delivered 171Mbps, and the Rock Space delivered 158Mbps. The RE715X beat them all with a score of 264Mbps.

The RE600X took first place on the 5GHz 40-foot test, with a score of 196Mbps. The RE715X scored 159Mbps, the EAX15 scored 132Mbps, and the Rock Space scored 130Mbps.

In addition to testing throughput, we also measure wireless signal strength using an Ekahau Sidekick 2 Wi-Fi diagnostic device and Ekahau’s Survey mobile app. Together they measure signal strength and generate heat maps that show the extender’s 2.4GHz and 5GHz signal range throughout our test home. (Editors’ Note: Ekahau is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag’s parent company.)

The circles on the maps below indicate the location of the extender. Dark green shading indicates the strongest signal, lighter green and yellow shading indicate a weakening signal, and gray indicates a very weak signal or no measurable signal reception.

A 2.4GHz wifi coverage map for the TP-Link RE600X AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 Range Extender (Credit: Ekahau)

A 5GHz wifi coverage map for the TP-Link RE600X AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 Range Extender (Credit: Ekahau)

As shown on the maps, the RE600X did a good job of providing strong 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi signals to the den, living room, and garage (the target areas), but the signal became weaker in the opposite direction (the back bedrooms).

Verdict: An Affordable Coverage Booster

The TP-Link RE600X AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 Range Extender offers a relatively affordable way to boost Wi-Fi 6 signal strength in your home. You can pair it with any Wi-Fi 6 router or use it as a node in a TP-Link OneMesh mesh network. It’s easy to install and manage, and a solid performer, but you’ll get better performance and support for 160MHz channels with its more powerful sibling, the TP-Link AX3000 Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Extender (RE715X).