我住在一个相当大的公寓里,我有几个房间,我的无线网络(wireless network)信号不是很好。这就是为什么我非常好奇地测试无线范围扩展器(wireless range extender),看看它是否可以在那些有问题的房间里提供急需的提升。我们收到了华硕的(ASUS)RP-N14 范围(RP-N14 range)扩展器- 对于想要改善和扩展 2.4GHz无线网络(wireless network)覆盖范围的人们来说,这是一款经济实惠的设备。我们对其进行了大约一周的测试,现在我们准备分享我们的结论。当您需要扩展无线网络的范围时,购买(wireless network)华硕 RP-N14(ASUS RP-N14)是否合适?让(Let)从这篇评论中发现:
华硕 RP-N14 范围扩展器(ASUS RP-N14 Range Extender)拆箱
华硕 RP-N14(ASUS RP-N14)的包装简单明了。这样做是为了让您在购买设备之前可以看到设备,并且可以轻松打开包装。
在包装盒内,您会找到增程器(range extender)本身、保修和快速设置手册。
而已!
(Hardware Specifications)ASUS RP-N14 范围扩展器(ASUS RP-N14 Range Extender)的硬件规格
ASUS RP-N14 范围(ASUS RP-N14 range)扩展器是华硕(ASUS)范围扩展器系列中最实惠的设备。正如您在其包装背面看到的那样,它仅适用于 2.4GHz 无线网络,并且支持 802.11b、802.11g 和 802.11n 无线标准。
当使用它来扩展 802.11n无线网络(wireless network)时,它可以提供高达 300Mbps 的数据传输,至少理论上是这样。如果您仔细检查ASUS RP-N14 范围(ASUS RP-N14 range)扩展器,您会注意到以下元素:
- 一个以太网端口,您可以使用它通过(Ethernet port)网络电缆(network cable)将其连接到路由器。这将有助于范围扩展器(range extender)提供更好的下载和上传速度。然而,使用电缆不是强制性的。
- 一个 3.5 毫米立体声音频端口音频端口(stereo audio port audio port),您可以在其中插入扬声器、立体声系统(stereo system)或耳机。
- 将设备重置为其默认设置的重置按钮。(reset button)
- 电源开/关按钮。
- 用于将扩展器连接到无线网络(wireless network)的WPS 按钮(WPS button)。
- 扩展器底部的夜灯(night light),以便您可以看到设备以及夜间插入的位置。
- 一个触摸控制器。除非您仔细阅读其手册,否则很难弄清楚华硕 RP-N14(ASUS RP-N14)有触摸控制器。这是一个令人惊讶和受欢迎的功能。
- (Led)华硕标志(ASUS logo)正下方的LED指示灯,指示从范围扩展器(range extender)到路由器的连接信号强度以及设备是否开机。
设置ASUS RP-N14 范围扩展器(ASUS RP-N14 Range Extender)
首先(First),我想让你看看我的公寓以及它是如何设置的。这是一间相当大的公寓,尽管我的ASUS RT-N56U是一款很棒的路由器,但它在某些房间和区域的覆盖范围很弱。你可以看到我把它放在我做大部分工作的客厅里。(living room)然而,我的室友大部分工作都是在厨房里做的,那里的信号强度不是很大。这就是为什么我将华硕 RP-N14 范围(ASUS RP-N14 range)扩展器放在靠近厨房的走廊上。
在使用ASUS RP-N14 范围(ASUS RP-N14 range)扩展器之前,您需要在路由器上打开WPS 。由于范围扩展器(range extender)仅适用于 2.4 GHz 频率(GHz frequency),因此我仅在此频率上启用了WPS 。如果您不知道WPS是什么,我们建议您阅读本教程:什么是WPS(Wi-Fi Protected Setup)?。可以从这里(here)下载的快速设置(Quick Setup)指南说,为了配置扩展器,您需要启动一个网络浏览(browser and enter)http://repeater.asus.com并在(192.168.1.1) (address bar)访问范围扩展器的(range extender)地址栏。无需先将范围扩展器(range extender)连接到您的无线网络(wireless network)即可完成此操作。如果您在通过WPS将(WPS)范围扩展器(range extender)连接到路由器后尝试执行此操作,这些说明将不起作用。您需要使用路由器分配的IP 地址(IP address)来连接中继器。该IP 地址(IP address)可以从路由器的配置页面中获知。在路由器上启用 WPS 后,按住增程器上的WPS按钮(WPS)两(range extender)秒钟(WPS)以上,直到系统指示灯(system indicator)灯闪烁。然后转到路由器并按下(router and press)WPS按钮(WPS)几秒钟。ASUS RP-N14将接收连接到无线网络(wireless network)所需的所有详细信息,并开始使用不同的网络名称(network name)( SSID ) 扩展其信号。
一旦您知道范围扩展器的(range extender)IP 地址(IP address),您就可以从网络中的任何设备连接到它。设置它轻而易举,因为用户界面(user interface)提供了您需要的一切。如果您使用的是现代华硕路由器(ASUS router),您会非常欣赏与您的路由器界面非常相似的用户界面。(user interface)
使用华硕 RP-N14 范围扩展器(ASUS RP-N14 Range Extender)
很少有人知道范围扩展器(range extender)的一件事是您可以更改他们的网络名称(network name)( SSID ) 以匹配您的无线网络的(wireless network)SSID。这样做意味着您将在家中的任何地方看到相同的网络名称(network name),并且您的设备将连接到范围扩展器(range extender)或路由器,具体取决于在使用它们的位置具有最佳信号强度的设备。在我的大部分测试中,我为范围扩展器使用了不同的(range extender)网络名称(network name)确保我的测试设备连接到它而不是我的路由器。通过这种方式,我能够了解ASUS RP-N14 范围(ASUS RP-N14 range)扩展器的真正优势和劣势。按照您想要的方式进行设置后,使用ASUS RP-N14就很容易了。(ASUS RP-N14)我的所有设备都能够毫无问题地连接到它,并且在远离路由器的房间中获得更好的互联网接入。(Internet access)我的大多数设备上的所有网络功能都可以使用,但有一个例外:我的Surface Pro 2在连接到范围扩展器(range extender)时拒绝创建家庭组(Homegroup)。Windows 8.1 一直说“只能在专用网络上创建家庭组”("A homegroup can only be created on a private network"). 但是,网络被设置为私有,这个错误没有意义。
我尝试从我的 Windows 8.1 笔记本电脑创建一个家庭组(Homegroup),该笔记本电脑也连接到范围扩展器(range extender)。一切都很(Everything)完美,没有任何问题。此外,Surface Pro 2能够加入该家庭组(Homegroup)并访问它。但是,我确实认为Surface Pro 2(Surface Pro 2)和华硕 RP-N14(ASUS RP-N14)上的无线网卡(wireless network card)驱动程序之间可能存在问题,因为Surface Pro 2每次都无法检测到它加入的家庭组(Homegroup)。用过。在随机时间它说一个家庭组(Homegroup)即使我所有其他网络设备都检测到它并使用Homegroup ,它也不可用。重启后,Surface Pro 2改变心情,检测到Homegroup并能够使用。除了这次事件,Windows 8.1中的所有网络功能在我的所有设备上都运行良好。我可以使用我的无线打印机(wireless printer)、共享文件、通过网络复制它们等。在管理和配置华硕 RP-N14 范围(ASUS RP-N14 range)扩展器时,用户体验(user experience)非常好。首先(First),华硕 RP-N14(ASUS RP-N14)提供多语言界面。它不包括华硕那么多的语言(ASUS)路由器可以,但它仍然是一个很好的列表。
升级华硕 RP-N14上的固件轻而易举,过程与(ASUS RP-N14)华硕(ASUS)路由器使用的过程相同。为了获得最新的体验,我已将其上的固件升级到最新版本(1.0.1.0g),我建议您也这样做。
在配置选项方面,ASUS RP-N14提供您所需的一切:您可以更改无线网络(wireless network)的工作方式及其参数,或中继器分配 IP 地址的方式,您有详细的系统日志来了解正在发生的事情以及您可以控制的其他功能将在本评论的后面部分介绍。
总的来说,我对华硕 RP-N14 范围(ASUS RP-N14 range)扩展器的工作方式感到满意,除了我在Surface Pro 2上提到的问题。
基准表现
为了评估使用ASUS RP-N14 范围扩展器的(ASUS RP-N14 range)性能优势(performance benefit),我使用装有Windows 8.1 Pro的(Pro)Surface Pro 2进行了多项测试。首先(First),我测量了我们使用无线设备的所有房间的无线信号强度。对于这个任务,我使用了一个名为inSSIDer的工具。您可以在下图中看到每个房间中我的路由器和扩展器提供的无线信号强度。该图根据房间与路由器的相对位置列出房间。第一个房间是最靠近路由器的房间,而列表中的最后一个房间是距离路由器最远的房间。
从下图中可以看出,在远离路由器的房间中使用ASUS RP-N14时,无线信号强度提高了 20% 到 36%。(ASUS RP-N14)接下来,我使用了 PingTest(PingTest)。此测试在Internet Explorer 11(Internet Explorer 11)的桌面版本中运行。PingTest是一种评估网络质量(network quality)的测试。它测量数据包丢失(在我所有的测试中都是 0%)、平均 ping 和抖动,这是测量连续 ping 测试的方差。具有低抖动非常好,因为它表明您的网络连接(network connection)是恒定的。为了进行测量,我使用了PingTest中唯一可用的罗马尼亚服务器(PingTest). 下面你可以看到我公寓所有房间的平均 ping 值。请记住(Remember),ping 越低越好。
华硕 RP-N14 范围(ASUS RP-N14 range)扩展器表现不佳。当连接到路由器提供的无线网络(wireless network)时,ping 回复更好,在除一个房间外的所有房间中。然后相差只有 1 毫秒,有利于范围扩展器(range extender)。在抖动方面,华硕 RP-N14(ASUS RP-N14)在离它最近的房间中提供了更好的结果(提高了 50%),但在离它更远的房间中没有任何改善,包括我所在的房间。希望看到改进:厨房和中等大小的阳台。
看看这第一组结果,我的结论是华硕 RP-N14 范围(ASUS RP-N14 range)扩展器可以提高您的无线网络(wireless network)的覆盖范围及其在偏远地区的信号强度,但它不会提高您的网络连接的(network connection)质量和持续(quality and constantness)性。但是,这些结果如何转化为提高的下载和上传速度(download and upload speeds)?最后,我们使用范围扩展器(range extender),因为我们希望在家中的那些偏远地区获得更好的吞吐量。为了评估这一点,我使用了SpeedTest。我从我的罗马尼亚互联网提供商处选择了一台服务器(internet provider)而且我在所有测量中都只使用了该服务器。下面你可以看到平均下载速度(download speed)的演变,从一个房间到另一个房间。在这里我们可以看到改进的信号强度和改进的下载速度(download speed)之间的直接相关性。在华硕 RP-N14(ASUS RP-N14)信号比我的路由器更好的房间里,它提供了更快的下载速度(download speed)。
改进幅度在 40% 到 113% 之间。感人的!在上传速度方面,仅在两个房间中发现了改进:距离路由器最远的房间。在这些房间中,上传速度分别提高了 48% 和 70%。在下载速度有所提升的其他房间中,使用(download speed)华硕 RP-N14(ASUS RP-N14)时的上传速度基本保持不变。
进行这些测量后,我们可以得出以下结论:
- ASUS RP-N14 范围(ASUS RP-N14 range)扩展器能够提高 2.4Ghz 无线网络的覆盖范围。信号强度也会更好地进入您家中更偏远的房间。
- 那些删除房间的下载速度(download speed)将显着提高,而上传速度将看到不太显着的改进。
- 在ping 和 jitter(ping and jitter)方面,您不会注意到ASUS RP-N14 范围(ASUS RP-N14 range)扩展器提供的任何显着改进。由于这是一款经济实惠的型号,而且华硕(model and ASUS)有更昂贵的范围扩展器,我很想测试它们,看看它们在这方面的表现如何。
特殊功能
华硕 RP-N14 范围(ASUS RP-N14 range)扩展器包括几个令人惊讶的功能:
- 它有一个 3.5 毫米立体声音频端口音频端口(stereo audio port audio port),您可以在其中插入扬声器、立体声系统(stereo system)或耳机。您可以使用该端口在线收听广播。可以从此设备的配置菜单(configuration menus)中打开此功能。
- 您还可以使用ASUS AiPlayer应用程序将音乐从Android或 iOS 设备传输到范围扩展器。该应用程序(range extender.The app)可以播放许多流行的音乐文件格式:mp3、wav、flac 和 acc(flac and acc)。不幸的是,ASUS AiPlayer不适用于Windows 8.1或Windows Phone。
- 华硕 RP-N14 增程(ASUS RP-N14 range)器上的华硕标志(ASUS logo)所在的区域实际上是一个触控控制器。除非您阅读此设备的用户指南(user guide)或(device or look)仔细查看其配置菜单(configuration menus),否则您甚至不会发现此功能。您可以将此触摸控制器设置为不同事物的On/Off switch网络灯(network light)、设备背光、系统灯或音频流。
判决
对于想要在家中扩展 2.4GHz无线网络的人们来说,(wireless network)华硕 RP-N14(ASUS RP-N14)是一款不错的设备。它不适用于 5GHz 网络,使用此类网络的人将不得不寻找更昂贵的范围扩展器(range extender)。ASUS RP-N14在您家中的偏远地区提供良好的覆盖范围和不错的速度提升。(speed boost)此外,它的价格非常实惠,对于那些没有复杂设置或对家中无线网络覆盖(wireless network coverage)有特殊需求的人来说,它是一个很好的选择。
Reviewing the ASUS RP-N14 Range Extender for Wireless Networks
I live in a reasonably large apаrtment and I have a few rooms where the signal of my wireless network is not that great. That's why I was very curiouѕ to test a wireless range extender and sеe whether it сan dеliver a much-required boost in those problematic rоoms. Wе have received the RP-N14 range extender from ASUS - an affordable device for people who want to improve and extend the coverage of their 2.4GHz wireleѕs networks. We tested it fоr about а week and now we are ready to share our conclusions. Is the ASUS RP-N14 a good purchase to make when you need to extend thе range of your wireless network? Let's find out from thіs review:
Unboxing the ASUS RP-N14 Range Extender
The packaging of the ASUS RP-N14 is simple and straightforward. It is made so that you can see the device before purchasing it and so that you can unpack it with ease.
Inside the box, you will find the range extender itself, the warranty and a quick-setup manual.
That's it!
Hardware Specifications for the ASUS RP-N14 Range Extender
The ASUS RP-N14 range extender is the most affordable device in ASUS's family of range extenders. As you can see on the back of its packaging, it works only with 2.4GHz wireless networks and it provides support for the 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n wireless standards.
When using it to extend an 802.11n wireless network, it can deliver data transfers up to 300Mbps, at least theoretically. If you closely inspect the ASUS RP-N14 range extender, you will notice the following elements:
- An Ethernet port that you can use to connect it to the router through a network cable. This will help the range extender to provide a better download and upload speeds. However, it is not mandatory to use a cable.
- A 3.5mm stereo audio port audio port where you can plug in a speaker, a stereo system or an earphone.
- A reset button which resets the device to its default settings.
- The Power On/Off button.
- The WPS button for connecting the extender to your wireless network.
- A night light on the bottom of the extender, so that you can see the device and where it is plugged in during the night.
- A touch controller. It is not easy to figure out that the ASUS RP-N14 has a touch controller unless you carefully read its manual. It is a surprising and welcome feature.
- Led indicators just beneath the ASUS logo, indicating the connection signal strength from the range extender to the router and whether the device is powered on.
Setting Up the ASUS RP-N14 Range Extender
First of all, I would like you to take a look at my apartment and how it is set up. It is a reasonably large apartment and, even though my ASUS RT-N56U is a great router, it's coverage is weak in certain rooms and areas. You can see that I have it placed in the living room where I do most of my work. However, my flat mate does most of his work in the kitchen, where the signal strength is not that great. That's why I have placed the ASUS RP-N14 range extender in the hallway, close to the kitchen.
Before you can use the ASUS RP-N14 range extender, you need to turn on WPS on your router. Since the range extender works only on the 2.4 GHz frequency, I have enabled WPS only on this frequency. If you don't know what WPS is, we recommend that you read this tutorial: What is WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup)?. The Quick Setup guide, which can be downloaded from here, says that, in order to configure the extender, you need to launch a web browser and enter http://repeater.asus.com or 192.168.1.1 in the address bar to access the range extender. This should be done without first connecting the range extender to your wireless network. If you try to do this after connecting the range extender to the router through WPS, these instructions won't work. You will need to use the IP address assigned by the router, for the repeater, in order to connect it. This IP address can be learned from your router's configuration pages. Once WPS is enabled on the router, press the WPS button on the range extender for more than two seconds, until the system indicator light flashes. Then go to the router and press the WPS button for a couple of seconds. The ASUS RP-N14 will receive all the required details to connect to the wireless network and start extending its signal using a different network name (SSID).
Once you know the IP address of the range extender, then you can connect to it from any device in your network. Setting it up is a breeze as the user interface offers everything you need. If you are using a modern ASUS router, you will very much appreciate the user interface which is very similar to your router's interface.
Using the ASUS RP-N14 Range Extender
One of the things few people know about range extenders is that you can change their network name (SSID) to match the SSID of your wireless network. Doing that means that you will see the same network name everywhere in your home and your devices will connect to the range extender or the router, depending on which has the best signal strength in the location where they are used. In most of my testing, I have used a different network name for the range extender to make sure that my test devices were connected to it and not to my router. This way I was able to understand the real benefits and weaknesses of the ASUS RP-N14 range extender. Using the ASUS RP-N14 is easy after you set it up the way you want to. All of my devices were able to connect to it without issues and get better Internet access in the rooms that were further away from the router. All the networking features worked on most of my devices, with one exception: my Surface Pro 2 refused to create a Homegroup when connected to the range extender. Windows 8.1 kept saying that "A homegroup can only be created on a private network". However, the network was set as private and this error just didn't make sense.
I tried creating a Homegroup from my Windows 8.1 laptop, that was also connected to the range extender. Everything worked perfectly, without any issues. Also, the Surface Pro 2 was able to join that Homegroup and access it. However, I do think that there might be a problem between the drivers of the wireless network card found on the Surface Pro 2 and the ASUS RP-N14, because the Surface Pro 2 was not able to detect the Homegroup it joined, every time I used it. At random times it said that a Homegroup was not available even though all of my other network devices were detecting it and using the Homegroup. After a restart, the Surface Pro 2 changed its mood and detected the Homegroup and was able to use it. Except this incident, all the networking features in Windows 8.1 worked well on all of my devices. I was able to use my wireless printer, share files, copy them over the network, etc. When managing and configuring the ASUS RP-N14 range extender, the user experience is really good. First of all, the ASUS RP-N14 offers a multilingual interface. It doesn't include as many languages as ASUS routers do but it's a good list nonetheless.
Upgrading the firmware on the ASUS RP-N14 is a breeze and the process is identical with that used by ASUS routers. In order to get the most up-to-date experience, I have upgraded the firmware on it to the latest version (1.0.1.0g) and I recommend that you do the same.
In terms of configuration options, the ASUS RP-N14 offers everything you need: you can change the way the wireless network works and its parameters, or the way the repeater assigns IP addresses, you have detailed system logs to learn what is going on and you can control is additional features that will be covered later in this review.
Overall I was satisfied with the way the ASUS RP-N14 range extender works, except for the issue I have mentioned on my Surface Pro 2.
Performance in Benchmarks
To evaluate the performance benefit of using the ASUS RP-N14 range extender, I have performed several tests using my Surface Pro 2 with Windows 8.1 Pro. First, I have measured the wireless signal strength in all the rooms where we use our wireless devices. For this task I have used a tool named inSSIDer. You can see the wireless signal strength provided by my router and the extender, in each room, in the graph below. The graph lists the rooms according to their relative position to the router. The first rooms are those closest to the router, while the last room in the list is the one that's at the greatest distance from it.
As you can see from the graph below, the wireless signal strength was 20% to 36% better when using the ASUS RP-N14 in the rooms that are further away from the router. Next, I have used PingTest. This test was run in the desktop version of Internet Explorer 11. PingTest is a test that evaluates the network quality. It measures packet loss (which was 0% in all of my tests), the average ping and the jitter, which is the variance in measuring successive ping tests. Having a jitter that's low is great as it signals that your network connection is constant. In order to make my measurements, I have used the only Romanian server available in PingTest. Below you can see the average ping measured in all of the rooms in my apartment. Remember that the lower the ping, the better.
The ASUS RP-N14 range extender did not do a great job. The ping reply was better when connecting to the wireless network provided by the router, in all the rooms except one. And then the difference of only 1 ms in favor of the range extender. When it comes to the jitter, the ASUS RP-N14 delivered better results in those rooms that were closest to it (up to 50% better) but it did not improve anything in those that were further away from it, including the rooms where I wanted to see improvements: the kitchen and the medium sized balcony.
Looking at this first set of results, my conclusion is that the ASUS RP-N14 range extender can improve the coverage of your wireless network and its signal strength in remote areas but it doesn't improve the quality and constantness of your network connection. But, how do these results translate into improved download and upload speeds? In the end, we use a range extender because we want better throughput in those remote areas of our homes. To evaluate this, I have used SpeedTest. I have chosen a server from my Romanian internet provider and I have used only that server in all of my measurements. Below you can see the evolution of the average download speed, from room to room. Here we can see a direct correlation between the improved signal strength and the improved download speed. In the rooms where the ASUS RP-N14 had a better signal than my router, it delivered greater download speeds.
The improvements were anywhere between 40% and 113%. Impressive! In terms of upload speeds, improvements were noticed only in two rooms: those which are at the greatest distance from the router. In these rooms, the upload speed was improved by 48% and 70%, respectively. In other rooms where improvements to the download speed were noticed, the upload speed remained about the same when using the ASUS RP-N14.
After making these measurements, we can conclude the following:
- The ASUS RP-N14 range extender is capable of improving the coverage of your 2.4Ghz wireless networks. The signal strength will also get better into the more remote rooms of your home.
- The download speed will be sensibly improved in those remove rooms while the upload speed will see less notable improvements.
- In terms of ping and jitter, you won't notice any notable improvements being delivered by the ASUS RP-N14 range extender. Since this is an affordable model and ASUS has more expensive range extenders, I am curios to test them and see how they fare in this regard.
Special Features
The ASUS RP-N14 range extender includes a couple of surprising features:
- It has a 3.5mm stereo audio port audio port where you can plug in a speaker, a stereo system or an earphone. You can use that port to listen to radio online. This feature can be turned on from this device's configuration menus.
- You can also use the ASUS AiPlayer app to perform music streaming from an Android or iOS device to the range extender.The app can play many popular formats for music files: mp3, wav, flac and acc. Unfortunately, ASUS AiPlayer is not available for Windows 8.1 or Windows Phone.
- The area where the ASUS logo is found on the ASUS RP-N14 range extender is actually a touch controller. Unless you read the user guide for this device or look carefully through its configuration menus, you won't even discover this feature. You can set this touch controller as an On/Off switch for different things: the network light, the backlight on the device, the system light or for the audio stream.
Verdict
The ASUS RP-N14 is a good device for people that want to extend the 2.4GHz wireless network in their homes. It doesn't work with 5GHz networks and people using this type of network will have to look for a more expensive range extender. ASUS RP-N14 provides good coverage and a nice speed boost in those remote areas of your home. Also, its price is very affordable making it a great choice for people who do not have complex setups or very special needs regarding the wireless network coverage in their home.