Wi-Fi to Gigabit ethernet adapter
This is where the AX3000 really comes into its own. The device has a 1 gigabit ethernet port. Connect the included ethernet cable from the AX3000’s gigabit port to an ethernet port of a computer or an ethernet switch. The computer will now use the AX3000’s Wi-Fi to connect to the router rather than the device’s own Wi-Fi.
In a first floor room (which is nearer to the router than my home office), I normally get around 170-200 Mbits/sec with devices that have Wi-Fi 5 (such as a Firebat N100 Mini PC), to around 400 MBits/sec with devices that have Wi-Fi 6E. And I also have some computers and devices that don’t have Wi-Fi such as the Orange Pi R2S and the Firefly AIBOX-3588S. With these devices, I can use a powerline adapter which gets around 340 Mbits/sec transfers.
With the AX3000’s ethernet adapter, here’s the speed I’m getting.
That’s a HUGE improvement to what the Firebat with its own Wi-Fi 5 can manage. And that 875 Mbits/sec is about double the bandwidth what I get with computers’ WiFi 6E.
Of course, the BrosTrend AX3000 has a single gigabit ethernet port. I want to connect more than just once device. That’s not an issue. Connect that port via the ethernet cable to an ethernet switch, and I now have the 875 Mbits/sec speed for all devices connected to the switch.
What does this mean? Well, for all devices whether they have WiFi 5 or WiFi 6, transfer speeds are much faster connecting to the AX3000’s access point. Latency is much better too.
For devices that don’t have any Wi-Fi, I can now junk powerline adapters and instead rely solely on the Wi-Fi provided by the AX3000. And it’s great for gaming too which is something you’d never associate with Wi-Fi.
Summary
The Brostrend AX3000 is superb. It’s easy to set up, inexpensive, and will be a great solution for anyone relying on Wi-Fi or powerline adapters.
From my testing the device significantly improves Wi-Fi speeds in all rooms of my house with its powerful Wi-Fi range extender. While it doesn’t offer the flexibility of a mesh network system as it creates a separate SSID for the extender network, it’s a much cheaper solution. For many people who don’t live in a mansion, a mesh network is often overkill.
For my purposes, the gigabit ethernet port transforms the device into a must-have. Getting 875 Mbits/s for devices which are located on a different floor to the router is exceptional. There are other benefits too. The Wi-Fi performance is remarkable with really low latency and not a single drop or micro-lag which means that gaming is now perfect without needing a wired connection direct to the router or via powerline adapters.
Your ISP might provide Wi-Fi boosters. Mine charges £4 per month per Wi-Fi signal booster which is really poor value given that the AX3000 only costs £54, and provides more than just a WiFi extender.
The device has a low power consumption of 4.1 Wh so it’s very cheap to run. It’s rather chunky and it’s likely to obstruct an adjacent plug socket. But that’s a common complaint for this type of device.
Pages in this article:
Page 1 – Introduction and Set up
Page 2 – Dual band Wi-Fi range extender
Page 3 – Wi-Fi to Gigabit ethernet adapter and Summary