When deploying a device in repeater mode, here must also be at least a 50 percent cell overlap between the coverage cells so that the repeater and AP can communicate with each other. Repeaters do provide coverage into areas where a cable drop is not possible. However, all frame transmissions must be sent twice, which decreases throughput and increases latency. Because the AP cell and the repeater cell are on the same channel and exist in the same layer 1 domain, all radios must contend for the medium.

Repeater environments add extra medium contention overhead, which also affects performance. EnGenius recommends limiting the use of repeaters to 1 hop. Repeaters should only be used for low bandwidth applications such as with barcode scanners, or low user density (less than 3 wireless clients) environments.

If an repeater is necessary, a dual radio solution is recommended, utilizing 5 GHz as a wireless backbone between APs and 2.4 GHz for wireless access to client devices.

See Article: Can the ENS202EXT be set up as a repeater?