Arris SBX-AC1200P Surfboard Wi-Fi Hotspot With RipCurrent.
Powerline extenders use your home's existing wiring to bring network connectivity to areas that are beyond the reach of your router's Wi-Fi signal, but most of these devices only provide a wired connection. The Arris SBX-AC1200P Surfboard Wi-Fi Hotspot with RipCurrent ($99.99) is different; not only does it give you a wired LAN port, it also contains dual-band 802.11ac circuitry that serves as a Wi-Fi range extender. It's easy to install and fared well in our file-transfer tests. It also delivers decent wired throughput, but it can't match the overall performance of our top pick for powerline networking adapters, the Tenda P1002P 2-Port Powerline Adapter Kit. Moreover, its wireless performance comes up short compared with our Editors' Choice for plug-in range extenders, the TP-Link AC1750 Wi-Fi Range Extender (RE450).
Design and Features
As with the Arris SBX-1000P Surfboard Wired Network Extender, the SBX-AC1200P is a single powerline Gigabit Home Networking (G.hn) adapter that plugs into a wall outlet and uses your home wiring to communicate with your router. To create a powerline network, it requires another compatible RipCurrent device, such as the Arris SBR-AC1900P Surfboard Wi-Fi Router, the Arris SBX-1000P, or another SBX-AC1200P Hotspot. It comes with an Ethernet cable and a Quick Start Guide.
The SBX-AC1200P looks identical to the Arris SBX-1000P, only larger. The puck-shaped adapter is 5 inches in diameter and 2.25 inches thick and has the same white textured finish. Even with the extra bulk, the three-pronged plug is positioned in such a way that it doesn't block access to the second outlet of a dual-outlet wall receptacle. You don't get a pass-through outlet like you do with the Tenda P1002P adapter, though. The front of the adapter sports an LED status bar that glows green when the device has an excellent signal, amber when it is good, and red when it is fair. The right side holds status indicators for G.hn signal strength, WPS/pairing activity, 2.4GHz activity, and 5GHz activity. The bottom of the adapter contains a Gigabit LAN port, a Reset button, and a WPS/pairing button.
The SBX-AC1900P differs from most powerline adapters in that it offers wired and wireless connectivity rather than just wired connectivity. It contains dual-band 802.11ac circuitry with four internal antennas and can achieve maximum (theoretical) throughput speeds of 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 867Mbps on the 5GHz band. You can adjust a few basic settings for the adapter by accessing the Arris SBR-AC1900P router's management console to change the SSID names, enable or disable a radio band, choose a security protocol, and change passwords. These settings are also available in the Arris Surfboard Manager app for Android and iOS mobile devices.
Installation and Performance
As with the Arris SBX-1000P, the SBX-AC1200P is a snap to install and should be plugged directly into a wall outlet rather than a power strip or extension cord. To connect it to an Arris SBR-AC1900P router, I plugged it into an outlet located in the same room as the router, waited two minutes for it to power up, and pressed the WPS/pairing button on the router. I then pressed the same button on the adapter and waited around 30 seconds for the adapter's pairing LED and status bar to turn green. I unplugged the adapter and plugged it into the wall outlet in my living room where I test all powerline devices.
I tested the SBX-AC1200P as a (wired) powerline device and as a Wi-Fi range extender. Its throughput speed of 60.8Mbps on the powerline test was a bit slower than the Arris SBX-1000P (71.2Mbps) and the TP-Link AV1200 Powerline Starter Kit (TL-PA8030P Kit) (77.6Mbps) and a good deal slower than our leader, the Tenda P1002P (93.2Mbps).
The SBX-AC1200P's file-transfer performance was a bit better; it needed 1 minute 11 seconds to transfer a 500MB folder containing a mix of photos, music, video, and office documents and 3:18 to move a 1.5GB mixed folder. The Tenda P1002P needed 1:04 and 3:03, respectively, while the TP-Link PA8030P needed 1:22 and 4:41. The Arris SBX-1000P holds the record with times of 0:58 and 2:57, respectively.
Wi-Fi performance was decent, but deteriorated as I moved further away. On our 2.4GHz throughput tests, the SBX-AC1200P scored 79.1Mbps on our close-proximity (same-room) test, 62.2Mbps on the 25-foot test, 14.9Mbps on the 50-foot test, and it could not maintain a Wi-Fi signal on the 75-foot test. In comparison, the Actiontec WCB6200Q Wireless Network Extender turned in scores of 50.4Mbps (close proximity), 42.4Mbps (25 feet), 15Mbps (50 feet), and 8.3Mbps (75 feet), while the TP-Link RE450 scored 47.6Mbps, 44.5Mbps, 42.5Mbps, and 32.1Mbps, respectively.
Results were similar on our 5GHz tests. The SBX-AC1200P scored 149Mbps on the close-proximity test, 148Mbps on the 25-foot test, 79Mbps on the 50-foot test, and once again could not maintain a signal on the 75-foot test. The Actiontec WCB6200Q scored 220Mbps (close proximity), 136Mbps (25 feet), 20.1Mbps (50 feet) and 11.5Mbps (75 feet). Our Editors' Choice, the TP-Link RE450, scored 192Mbps, 152Mbps, 86.9Mbps, and 85Mbps, respectively.
Conclusion
The Arris SBX-AC1200P Surfboard Wi-Fi Hotspot with RipCurrent is unique in that it is part powerline adapter and part range extender. It uses your existing home wiring, and it's a breeze to install. Although it will fill those dead spots that your router can't reach, it's not as effective as a top-shelf range extender or powerline adapter. For superior Wi-Fi throughput and range performance, consider our Editors' Choice for plug-in wireless range extenders, the TP-Link AC1750 Wi-Fi Range Extender (RE450). If you simply want to bring wired connectivity to any wall outlet in your home, the Tenda P1002P 2-Port Powerline Adapter Kit is a less-expensive alternative, and it outperforms the SBX-AC1200P across the board.
Source: www.bing.com
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