BIZ TECH: D-Link AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Range Extender tested

We have previously tested some of the D-Link Mesh Wi-Fi systems – which provide two or three Mesh Wi-Fi units to give good Wi-Fi coverage across your house or small office, (see https://nzbusiness.co.nz/article/biz-tech-d-link-mesh-wi-fi-6-cure-home-office-wi-fi-blues ) but what if you already have a modern D-Link router with Mesh capability (pretty much any recent D-Link Router) but still want an option to extend to the furthest reaches?

Well in that case D-Links new Mesh Range Extender may fill the bill. To give it the full name it’s the DAP-X1680 Wireless Mesh Range Extender. It comes in a Plug-in format so can be discretely out of sight plugged into a wall power outlet.

As with all Mesh systems it provides seamless roaming Wi-Fi in the house as it replicates the Wi-Fi Name and credentials of the router for connected devices. It also provides a single One Gigabit ethernet LAN port for any devices that need a wired connection.

There are multiple setup options – the simplest – although probably not the quickest is to use the D-Link Wi-Fi app from your phone, which guides you through setup. You can also use WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) with the push of a button or use the good old fashioned manual setup by connecting it to your PC via the wired network.

Technically it supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 (11AX) bands whilst being backwards compatible with earlier Wi-Fi iterations. It has Dual-Band Wi-Fi with four simultaneous streams and combined speed of 1800Mbps (600Mbps (2.4Ghz) + 1200Mbps (5Ghz)) and supports the latest WPA3 Wi-Fi Security.

We found installation straight forward and performance was rock solid across our house, with the stonking D-Link AX-5400 top end router we use there was no notable speed benefit in our case as the AX-5400 reaches the darkest back waters in our house easily, but we are sure more challenging properties (or those with less strong routers) would definitely benefit.

The DAP-X1860 is available now from www.dlink.co.nz (RRP NZ$249.99) and from all authorised D-Link partners and retailers.