devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400 Review – an upgrade for the home network

Test: devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400

Although WiFi 6 was introduced at the end of 2019, the current WiFi standard has not yet arrived in many households. If the router works and will continue to be updated for years to come, many see no reason to switch.

After all, it was released in 2017  AVM FRITZ!Box 7590 (without AX)  still one of the most widespread routers in Germany in 2023. I chose exactly this scenario for the test and asked myself whether it would be worth upgrading the aging home network to WiFi 6 using the devolo WiFi 5400 Repeater 6.

Design, connections and scope of delivery

Repeaters are often plugged directly into the socket, which often leads to space problems in neighboring sockets. The 188 x 231 x 92 mm devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400 is set up instead and supplied with power via an external 12V 1,5A power supply unit. This provides more options when aligning in space.

The white housing is simple and unobtrusive.

The housing is simple and integrates well into different furnishing styles. The repeater can be placed either vertically or horizontally. There are two pull-out feet on one of the shorter sides so that the narrow repeater stands a little more securely. There is no wall mounting option.

Two extendable feet form the base.

On the front we have a 4-level LED status display that shows, among other things, the signal strength to the router. A look at the back reveals the reset button, the add button, two gigabit Ethernet ports and the power socket.

The repeater is equipped with two Gigabit Ethernet ports.

Only the essentials are included in the scope of delivery. Included are the repeater and the power supply. Unfortunately, a LAN cable, which would have been beneficial for use as an access point, is missing. In addition, there is no printed user manual. Instead, a minimalist quick start guide is included. devolo provides the detailed user manual in digital form (Link).

The LED status indicator shows the signal strength and errors.

Furniture

The WiFi 6 Repeater 5400 can be operated either as a repeater or as an access point. In repeater mode, an existing WiFi signal is received and amplified. As an access point, the devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400 is connected to the network (usually to the router) by cable and creates its own WiFi access point.

The devolo Home Network app is a quick and easy way to set up the repeater. The app is available for download for Android and iOS devices in the respective store.

The setup steps are clearly explained via the app and the repeater is up and running in 2 minutes.

devolo cockpit software

As an alternative to the app, there is the devolo Cockpit software for Windows, Mac and Linux, with which all devolo network devices can be managed. However, the software offers only a few functions and serves much more as a shortcut for the web interface. The configuration as a repeater or access point as well as all other setting options are made via the web interface.

Last but not least, there is the "Add button" that adds the repeater to the existing WLAN via WPS. Here is a brief overview of the main functions of the WiFi 6 Repeater 5400:

•  WLAN-ax reception: High speed with up to 5400 Mbit/s
•  Crossband repeating: Parallel use of the 2,4 GHz and 5 GHz WLAN frequencies
•  Beamforming: Focusing the WiFi signal on specific end devices
•  Mesh WLAN: consistent data transfer rates across the board (only with other devolo devices)
•  WPA3 encryption: Increased security through a modern encryption standard
•  Access Point Mode: Parental Controls, Guest WiFi, Scheduling and Config Sync

field test

In order to "upgrade" my existing WiFi 5 network to WiFi 6, I connected the devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400 to one of the LAN ports of my FRITZ!Box 7590 with a cable and set it up as an access point via the web interface.

You can switch between repeater and access point mode via the web interface

Due to the downward compatibility of WiFi 6, you could also integrate the repeater into the existing WiFi 5 network and strengthen it in repeater mode, but you would then not benefit from the advantages of the WiFi 6 standard.

I used the "iPerf" network analysis tool to compare the performance of the FRITZ!Box 7590 with the devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400. The iPerf server was run on the FRITZ!Box and a WiFi 6-capable Google Pixel 7 Pro was used as the iPerf client.

The tests ran for 120 seconds at an interval of 10 seconds. Here are the average measurement results after 3 test runs, broken down by room and WLAN frequency.

The results show that the devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400 can definitely improve network bandwidth. If the end device uses WiFi 6, the transmission speed in the 5 GHz network more than doubles and the signal strength is also higher. The situation is different in the 2,4 GHz network. The FRITZ!Box 7590 has the edge here.

The bandwidth measurement with a WiFi 5 end device in the 5 GHz network also delivers very similar values. The speed of the WiFi 6 Repeater 5400 is on par with the FRITZ!Box 7590.

The power consumption is also worth mentioning. On average, this was 7 watts and thus even below the power consumption specified by devolo. With an electricity price of 0,34 cents per kWh, the annual costs in continuous operation would be around 21 euros.