- The EAP772-outdoor of TP-Link survives immersion, but the signal will not follow it in the water
- Built to endure hard elements, but not the media threw surrounding underwater wireless capacities
- Users of the company could love it, but it seems exaggerated for your means Wi-Fi
TP-Link has announced a new Wi-Fi 7 access point which supports not only the last wireless standard, but also has an IP68 note which allows it to resist full water immersion.
On paper, this robust Wi-Fi Wi-Fi access point is, with three-band wireless speeds up to 9.3 GB
However, the decision to highlight the complete immersion capacities invites a more skeptical aspect, in particular given the known limits of wireless communication in water.
What is the relevance of the IP68 coast?
The device is equipped with two DBI antennas for the 2.4 GHz band and two 6DBI antennas each for the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands.
It works in the bands at 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz, offering maximum theoretical speeds up to 688 Mbps, 2.88 GB
Thus, while the router could physically survive immersion, the idea of underwater Wi-Fi remains questionable.
Standard Wi-Fi is intrinsically ineffective underwater. Radiofrequencies, in particular at 2.4 GHz and more, are quickly absorbed by water, leaving little room for a practical transmission beyond a few meters.
Water blocks the very signals that the device is designed to emit, increasing doubts about how the LAN port would even be protected from humidity when submerged.
If we momentarily divert the concept of underwater wireless use, practical applications are narrow and not well served by conventional Wi-Fi.
Divers, for example, would benefit from the possibility of sending data or communicating without relying on hand signals or physical advice.
The sharing of images in real time or the readings of sensors of underwater drones to surface computers could be useful in scientific or military operations.
However, these needs are already underway by emerging technologies such as Aqua-Fi, which uses LED, laser or acoustic waves for the transmission of underwater data, none of which involve standard Wi-Fi frequencies.
TP-Link did not suggest any integration with such systems, and he did not indicate that the EAP772-outdoor is intended for a submerged deployment beyond simple survival.
This raises the question of why the waterproof characteristic is underlined. For outdoor places, where rain, dust and heat are threats, weather resistance is logical.
But a complete immersion? Unless the router is accidentally abandoned in a pond or installed in a very prone to floods, it is difficult to see the value.
For users looking for the best Wi-Fi router, the EAP772-outdoor can excel in terms of outdoor reliability.
Business customers needing difficult equipment for outdoor deployment can also have a sense of this device, but for anyone buying a mobile hotspot or a change for use at home or at the office, this may be more like extraction.
TP-LINK EAP772 is expected to sell about $ 565 when it was launched in June 2025.
Via guru3D
