Asus RP-N14 Wireless Range Extender Review

Caporegime
Joined
4 Jun 2009
Posts
30,916
Once again, thanks to ASUS for providing me with this sample to review! :)

This is very similar to the last wireless range extender that I received, the ASUS RP-N53. The extender that I am about to review is more budget orientated and ASUS have achieved this by removing 5GHz support.

Packaging:

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And this is everything you get inside the box.

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Features:

  • 2 x on-board PCB antenna
  • 3.5mm Audio Jack
  • Wireless media playback with ASUS AiPlayer app
  • One-press setup and worry-free connectivity via WPS button
  • Back light
  • Internet radio
  • Hands-on control for music and lighting

For more information on this wireless range extender, vist here.

Installation:

Just like the installation process for the ASUS NP-N53, this is exactly the same, straight forward and simple. At first everything was very slow to the point I thought the control panel had stopped responding but after cancelling everything and waiting for a few minutes and attempting the setup process again, applying settings etc. happened very quickly, much quicker than when setting up the ASUS RP-N53 back in December.

There are two ways to install this range extender;

Option 1:

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Option 2:

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Build Quality & Aesthetics:

This is exactly the same as the ASUS RP-N53, minimal, light and very compact.

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Measures in at 4.5 x 3.1 x 8.5 cm (WxDxH)

The front of the device has a cross diagonal checkered textured gloss finish.

At the bottom of the device, you have a blue LED strip, this is the signal strength and power indicator, the more lit up indicators there are, the stronger the signal is.

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Above the blue LED strip, there is a touch sensitive panel, which can be used to turn the;

  • back light on/off
  • 2.4GHz light on/off
  • system light on/off
  • audio mute/unmute

You will find all the above options in the control panel.

On the right hand side there is a 10/100 Ethernet port and a 3.5mm audio jack.

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On the left hand side there is a reset button, on/off switch and the WPS button.

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On the lower back side, we have a small frosted piece of plastic which is the back light. The light is very subtle. My opinion about this "feature" is still the same, a pointless addition.

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Software:

In order to access the control panel, you have to type this URL http://repeater.asus.com/ in your browser.

As usual with ASUS networking products, the UI is very nicely laid out and overall is easy to navigate around and use.

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Performance:

I am running the latest firmware from here

My connection line is 60MB/s download and 3MB/s upload.

Once again bear in mind that I am using Virgin's terrible superhub V1 so wireless performance isn't the best, at least according to speedtest.net

This time I have used 3 devices to carry out speed and signal strength tests, my PC, HTC one S and Nexus 7 2013. I ran each test 3 times to ensure that the results weren't fluctuating thus a fair test.

PC before:

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PC after (using the repeater):

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Mobile before:

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Mobile after (using the repeater):

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Tablet before:

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Tablet after (using the repeater):

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Similar results to the ASUS RP-N53 model, signal strength increased significantly with download speed increase on my mobile and tablet.

As for the PC download speed decrease, the same happened with the RP-N53 model, I imagine that this down to my internet setup and not the extender since other reviewers didn't have speed decreases with the RP-N53 (no other reviews are out for the RP-N14 yet)

As for stability, so far it seems to be very good, no drop outs yet....streaming, downloading, browsing and gaming is working fine.

I have noticed that this extender doesn't seem to get as hot to touch as the ASUS RP-N53.

And on to a unique feature, the wireless media playback function. I don't have any speakers with a 3.5mm connection so was only able to give this a try via earphones, it works well but again, I still don't see the point of having this feature, been using the ASUS RP-N53 since December and not once have I ever felt the need to use this feature, I would much prefer ASUS to exclude this feature in order to make the extender even cheaper, smaller or/and include something else to improve signal strength even further.

Below is a video demonstration from ASUS:


Unfortunately the android app still has the same dreadful UI and lack of features/options.

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The app is available on the Apple store as well.

Conclusion:

Essentially we have the exact same device as the ASUS RP-N53 except with the RP-N14, we don't get 5GHz support, however, it is a decent bit cheaper coming in at £35 as opposed to the price tag of £55 (back in December, this was around £70).

Pros:

  • Very compact and nicely designed
  • Simple installation procedure
  • 3 year warranty
  • Extends wireless range significantly

Cons:

  • Android app still has a poor UI and lack of features
 
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Joined
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Posts
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Can you get me a discount? I need one of these as I have thick walls and my printer in my office is wifi enabled but keeps dropping out due to 1 bar signal.
 
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