Edimax BR-6504N review

Edimax's BR-6504N is the first broadband router we've seen to use draft 2 of the 802.11n standard. This is a minor update, but it should offer better stability and integration with other wireless devices.

The iPod-white casing of the router is attractive. It ships with a stand so you can mount the router vertically rather than horizontally. However, with the router standing vertically, the cables get in the way of the antennas, so they're difficult to adjust.

Configuration is through the same web-based interface we've seen on other Edimax products. While not terrible, it lacks the finesse and ease of use of other manufacturers' CD-based setup wizards. The BR-6504N has a quick-setup wizard, but this only helps you configure the broadband and IP address settings and doesn't help you configure wireless. To turn on security, pick your own network name and choose a wireless channel, you have to adjust the settings manually. Setting a client up should be easier, as the BR-6504N uses Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) to transmit configuration settings to a client automatically. Edimax's wireless client, which is installed with all its network adaptors, supports WPS, but in practice it's no easier than simply selecting a network and typing in the password. The technology could make it easier to join other devices, though.

Our performance testing started well with our Centrino notebook. The throughputs at near and far ranges were excellent, and we even managed to get a throughput of 5.35Mbit/s at 25m. This means that with this router you should be able to browse the internet from anywhere in your home.

Sadly, things weren't quite as simple when we switched to an EW-7728ln PCI network adaptor (£38). It worked brilliantly at near range, and our tests showed very high throughputs. Once we moved to far range, though, the signal became unreliable and we found it hard to receive an IP address, let alone transfer a file. Updating the router's firmware to the latest version helped a little, but in the end we had to change the advanced wireless settings and turn off the 40MHz mode, reverting to the standard 20MHz mode instead. This immediately made things better and our far range test worked well.

However, we couldn't get a reliable signal at 25m and the signal was dropped each time before we completed our throughput tests. Switching the wireless adaptor to 802.11g mode (54Mbit/s) saw the connection problems stop, so it's evidently the Draft-N part of the router that causes the trouble.

The BR-6504N isn't bad value, particularly if you want a quick 802.11g router, but Netgear's RangeMax Next Wireless Router is almost as quick and has more reliable Draft-N performance.