With Wi-Fi 6, the Buffalo "WSR-3200AX4S" is a bargain at just over 10,000 yen for 4 streams, and the transition to Wi-Fi 6 is not a problem at all!

"Initial B" by Masafumi Shimizu

From Buffalo, a Wi-Fi 6 compatible router "WSR-3200AX4S" that supports up to 2402 Mbps has appeared. This product is a model positioned in the middle range in the company's lineup, but it is highly likely to be a hot seller in terms of price and performance, so in many ways it is a flawless product.

My frank first impression is "not at all stumbling". The replacement, settings, security, speed, and affordable price of over 10,000 yen are all highly complete and practically "upper middle" products from any point of view.

Buffalo "WSR-3200AX4S". A bargain model with a 4-stream compatible Wi-Fi 6 maximum of 2402 Mbps, but a little over 10,000 yen on sale. Considering the ease of use and specs, it can be said that it is a product that can be called a real upper middle class.

Isn't it about time that the devices you are currently using around you are becoming "Wi-Fi 6"?

Nearly two years have passed since Japan's first Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax) compatible router began to be sold. In the 30,000 yen range, a standard model like Buffalo's "WSR-3200AX4S" featured this time is now available in the first half of the 10,000 yen range.

Since that time, improvements have been made in terms of chip and antenna technology, speed and stability have improved, and even the Radio Law has been revised in the last two years, and domestic manufacturers' models have 144ch as a matter of course. Additional channels are now available. In addition, the new security method "WPA3" can also be used as standard.

In short, in the last two years, the number of connected devices has increased, the price has become cheaper, and the standard has become more mature.

Moreover, from the spring of 2020, the frequency of using the Wi-Fi environment at home should increase dramatically due to telework and remote classes. Therefore, a wide communication range and a high-speed Wi-Fi environment even when connecting multiple Wi-Fi cordless handsets are required.

I am often asked, "When is the time to buy Wi-Fi 6 compatible?" Impression.

Among them, the "WSR-3200AX4S" that appeared from Buffalo the other day is for those who are considering introducing Wi-Fi 6 and those who are considering replacing existing Wi-Fi 5 routers. It is a model that I would like to consider as one of the candidates.

Now let's take a look at the actual product.

This product has a relatively compact design with a built-in antenna, and the size is 37.5 mm wide x 160 mm high x 160 mm deep, so it doesn't get in the way.

When you think of a Wi-Fi 6 compatible router, some people may think of flashy external antennas and spaceship-like designs, but this product has a good impression with a design that fits in anywhere.

Front back side

The attached pedestal can be attached to the back of the main unit, and it can also be used on the wall. I tried the black model this time, but if you use it on the wall, the white model may feel less uncomfortable.

By attaching the pedestal to the back, it can also be hung on the wall

The interface is equipped with LAN x 4 and WAN x 1, both compatible with gigabit, on the back, and a mode switching switch is mounted on the top of the main unit. .

switch on the back. If the top is AUTO, the bottom is a kind design that "anything is fine". You don't have to worry about complicated combinations

This switch sets the operation mode by combining "AUTO/MANUAL" on the top and "ROUTER/AP/WB" on the bottom. Time setting)", the lower part can be in any state (!) It is a kind design.

Actually, in the product I used, the lower switch was set to "AP", and I was worried that "Huh? Is it the default AP mode?" Since it is "AUTO", the mode was automatically determined.

This kind of consideration really helps.

Even if you try to meet the needs of curious beginners and give them a recommended Wi-Fi router, you often end up having to tamper with the switches and settings, and have a hard time getting support over the phone.

The design does not get in the way even if the power supply is connected to the tap. I would like other products that come with an AC adapter to follow this trick. Therefore, it is a specification that is kind to both the person who uses it and the people around them who support it.

Furthermore, the included AC adapter can also be inserted sideways into the outlet so that it does not interfere with the adjacent connection port when connected to the power strip.

I am impressed that this kind of ingenuity is really made in Japan.

Buffalo's Wi-Fi router is really easy to understand the first step of setting after installing the product.

The item listed at the beginning of the attached "Setup Guide" is the procedure for "replacing the existing wireless LAN base unit", and the second item when installing a new router.

I have praised this point in the past, but I would like to praise it again. This is evidence that the manufacturer has a firm grasp of the conditions in which people who pick up the product start using it, and what problems they face.

The first step is "move". Just by pressing the switch on the front of the router and this unit that knows the user's situation well, the migration is completed

Moreover, the migration from this existing Wi-Fi router is performed by the "wireless migration function". It can be done almost automatically, and it is completed by simply pressing the button of the device used for AOSS or WPS connection alternately on the source device and this unit.

Many people want to improve the performance of their Wi-Fi routers, but find installation and settings to be troublesome. In particular, replacing an existing router will change the SSID and encryption key, so you will have to reconnect all kinds of Wi-Fi devices in your home, such as smartphones, PCs, game consoles, printers, and smart speakers.

However, with this product, you can automatically take over the SSID and encryption key of the conventional base unit by the above "wireless moving function".

SSID and password inherited from existing Wi-Fi. Both the 2.4GHz band and 5GHz band can be easily transferred, so there is no need to reconfigure the devices that have been connected. I will not. The current environment is basically the same. It's really easy because you only need to reconnect your Wi-Fi 6 compatible smartphone, PC, and game console.

Of course, normal settings are easy, and you can change connection settings and router settings using apps for smartphones (QRsetup and StationRadar).

This product supports speeds up to 2402Mbps, but this is the speed for 4-stream communication.

In Wi-Fi 6, the speed is determined by the combination of the number of streams of spatial multiplexing by MIMO and the bandwidth of the radio waves used for communication.

The following are the specifications of this product, but there are two types of speeds of 2402 Mbps: 2 streams x 160 MHz width and 4 streams x 80 MHz width. This product supports the latter, 4 streams.

	WSR-3200AX4S
Actual selling price	11,880 yen
CPU	－
Memory	－
Wi-Fi chip (5GHz)	－
Wi-Fi compatible standard	IEEE 802.11ax/ac/n/a/g/b/
Number of bands	2
Max speed (2.4GHz)	800Mbps
Max speed (5GHz-1)	2402Mbps
Max speed (5GHz-2)	-
Channel (2.4GHz)	1-13
Channel (5GH-1)	W52/W53/W56
Channel (5GH-2)	－
New Radio Law (144ch)	○
Number of streams	4
Antenna	Built-in
WPA3	Yes
IPoE IPv6	Yes
DS-Lite	○
MAP-E	○
Security	Net Threat Blocker Basic (provided in firmware update at a later date)
WAN	1000Mbps×1
LAN	1000Mbps×4
USB	－
Operating mode	Auto/Manual (RT/AP/WB)
Automatic firmware update< /td>	○
Size (width x depth x height)	37.5 x 160 x 160mm

In the case of PCs, some devices support 2402Mbps with 2 streams x 160MHz width, but this product does not support this combination. In the case of such a PC, the upper limit is 1201Mbps connection with 2 streams x 80MHz width.

For this reason, it is not possible to connect a gaming PC that supports 160 MHz width at 2402 Mbps, but in fact, this "4 stream" is "effective" in actual usage scenes such as home and office.

The number of streams is like the number of lanes. In fact, this product supports simultaneous communication with up to four devices, and the more streams (paths that can be multiplexed in space) that can be used in this way, the more comfortable simultaneous communication becomes.

As I mentioned at the beginning, now that telework has become commonplace, someone at home has a video conference (video class) while others use cloud storage or play games in another room. Opportunities for simultaneous communication, such as downloading, are increasing.

Wi-Fi 6 is a standard that was originally devised to allow such simultaneous communication to be performed comfortably by technologies such as OFDMA and MU-MIMO, but this product is, so to speak, preparing four lanes to spread Although it is a product in the price range, it has strong characteristics due to such simultaneous communication.

Product page of WSR-3200AX4S. In addition to being able to perform more precise beamforming with 4 streams, it is appealing that it is possible to simultaneously communicate with up to 4 single-stream clients and up to 2 2-stream clients (general smartphones and PCs).

And one more. Being 4 streams has a big advantage. It is a point that can secure a wide communication area. The secret lies in beamforming.

Beamforming is a technology that can strengthen radio waves in a specific direction by applying MIMO technology. Since the direction of radio waves is adjusted by combining multiple antennas, the more antennas (= number of streams) that can be used, the finer and more accurate this adjustment can be.

In other words, even with the same access point that supports 2402Mbps, this unit, which has 80MHz width x 4 streams, has better adjustment capabilities than 160MHz width x 2 streams. It can be said that it is a specification aimed at improving the average speed when connecting a large number of connections and improving performance over long distances rather than peak performance alone.

Actually, the effective speed in the installation environment is also excellent.

The graph below shows the iPerf3 measured on each floor with this unit installed on the first floor of a three-story wooden house. I was able to communicate at speeds of 160-200 Mbps even at the furthest point on the floor.

Performance is quite excellent, even though it is a popular model with a built-in antenna, probably due to the effect of beamforming by supporting 4 streams. With that much bandwidth, you can afford to have multiple video conferences in your home running at the same time.

iPerf test < td>235

		1F	2F	3F entrance	3F by the window
PC (Intel AX200)	Up	824	489	236	168
Down	874	405	202
iPhone 11	Up	622	246	130	86
Down	751	434	321	161

*Server: Synology DS1517+, 5GHz band ch100 fixed

In addition, this product is also equipped with a function called "Band Steering Lite", and if the same SSID is set for the 2.4GHz band and 5GHz band, the band that can communicate at a higher speed according to the radio wave conditions at the usage location. is automatically selected for connection.

This unit has Wi-Fi 6 in the 5 GHz band and 11n in the 2.4 GHz band (this also supports 4 streams!), So personally, I would like to use Wi-Fi 6 compatible devices such as iPhone and PS5 in the 5 GHz band, We recommend that you explicitly use the 2.4GHz band for old PCs and home appliances, but in environments where the 5GHz band is disadvantageous, such as larger homes and condominiums, using the 2.4GHz band with Band Steering Lite can reduce the speed. decline may be suppressed.

Of course, not only Wi-Fi, but also the function as a router is not troubled.

Due to congestion due to the spread of telework, more and more people are subscribing to Internet connection services that use high-speed IPoE IPv6, but this product is a major IPv6 Internet connection service in Japan (see here for details). corresponds to

@@link|https://www.buffalo.jp/support/other/network-ipv6.html|IPv6 (IPoE/IPv4 over IPv6) supported list|Bn@. Supports a wide variety of services

Moreover, the line settings are automatically determined, so simply by connecting the line side cable to the WAN port at the time of installation, the settings are automatically completed. As a test, I tried connecting to the transix (DS-Lite system) line that I use at my house, and it configured the Internet connection without any problems.

Measurement results at fast.com. IPv6 has been fast for a long time, so the impression is that it's already taken for granted

In addition, the actual communication speed in the transix environment is as follows.

Unlike other companies' products, this product is a modest product that does not particularly appeal to IPv6 high-speed functions.

This is because Buffalo products had already been equipped with similar technology before other companies started working on IPv6 speedup, and for the company, IPv6 speed was a "natural" specification. .

Of course, it would be possible to follow other companies and post a new name on the package that emphasizes the speed of IPv6. However, I would like to personally appreciate the modesty of not doing it.

Purchasing the latest Wi-Fi 6 compatible router is also effective as a security measure.

This is because the latest Wi-Fi 6 routers support the latest wireless communication encryption standard called WPA3, which makes it possible to use Wi-Fi more securely than the conventional WPA2. It has become.

In addition, this product has two SSIDs for WPA2 connection and WPA3 connection as standard, and WPA2 compatible devices such as old smartphones and IoT devices are WPA3 compatible devices such as 10, Android and iOS can use the latter SSID and connection destination properly.

Not only does it support WPA3, but it is also expected that the actual connection and the presence of unsupported devices in the home are properly assumed.

Of course it supports WPA3. WPA3 and WPA2 environments are prepared, and consideration is given to being able to connect to either

Furthermore, it is equipped with an automatic firmware update function, and important updates are scheduled every day from 4:00 to 4:59. automatically downloaded and applied.

While older routers with vulnerabilities have been hijacked and used in large-scale DDoS attacks, updates to router firmware are often overlooked. This product, which can automatically repair vulnerabilities that are likely to be targeted, can ensure the minimum security without bothering the user, so you can use it with confidence.

Important firmware is applied by automatic update. You can always use it in a safe state

In addition, although it was not supported at the time of writing this article, a firmware update will support a security function called "Net Threat Blocker Basic" that uses security threat information provided by Kaspersky. It is scheduled.

The product comes with a one-year license that allows you to block access to phishing sites and prevent information leaks.

Of course, you can also use functions such as "i-filter" and "kids timer" that have been provided, but the fact that you can use these plus security functions is a big attraction.

"Net Threat Blocker Basic" provided by Kaspersky will be available at a later date, but "i-Filter" and "Kids Timer" are still available

Above, I checked the newly released "WSR-3200AX4S" from Buffalo. . This product can be said to be a product that has been carefully considered, as Buffalo has been watching the domestic market since the dawn of wireless LAN.

Among the Wi-Fi 6 compatible routers that have become available in terms of price as the number of compatible child devices has increased, it is a product that is particularly focused on "performance" and "ease of use", and can be said to be a product that can be recommended to anyone.

In particular, although it is a middle-range product, the point is that it supports 4 streams.

Even if you are currently using a Wi-Fi 5 high-end model (1733Mbps compatible 4-stream model), you can switch to the same 4-stream compatible machine, so even though it is in the middle range, there is no downgrade in terms of specifications. happy.

In addition to replacing the existing Wi-Fi router at home, it is also a powerful option when you are consulted about migrating a Wi-Fi router at your parents' house or a friend's house. You don't have to worry about complicated inquiries because you don't have to worry about installation and settings.

(Cooperation: Buffalo Co., Ltd.)

Although he writes a wide range of product reviews, he has actually worked as a network administrator at a major company, so he is good at Windows networks in general. He is the author of many other books, including the latest publication "He Can Use Windows 10".

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