ipTIME AX1500SR Router

 

Perfect for the single foreigner or childless couple living in a small home

It's unfortunate, but there is very little English information about the ipTIME series of routers to be found online.  For more than 12 years, I've had really great luck with the three ipTIME routers I've owned.  In recent years the company has worked hard to provide workable English menus, so I felt it was time an English speaker provided some updated information about one of the best (and dare I say, fast enough) low-cost routers you'll find in Korea.  People who come to live and work from overseas can find routers by other brands like the #1 brand, TP-Link as well, and those provide a bit more basic English app functionality.  My father has used TP-Link in the USA for years, but they are a Chinese company under investigation for their routers being hacked to steal US government information, so I decided to avoid them. There is also a popular cheap brand called Mercusys sold in Korea, and also NETIS.  I am not sure they are as dedicated to updates, and Mercusys is a Chinese company, if that matters.

If you're not afraid of trying the local #1 Korean brand, the ipTIME routers offer a lot of "bang for the buck". Likewise, if you want to play around with free additional features, such as QOS, the ipTIME brand provides a lot more for free compared to some other companies.  They also update their routers often, and seem to support the devices with firmware updates for several years (maybe 5 or 6, if memory serves) to block hackers.  They aren't fully-automatic updates, but there is a button you can press in menus, or a Korean phone app that's easy enough to figure out. 

You can click on the photos to expand, then click on the space to the left or right of the photo to return to this page.  Here is a look at the SK Telecom speed I'm getting from my 500Mbps line, standing 2 meters from the AX1500SR router via Wifi-6 connection with my Samsung S23 Ultra smartphone:

The ipTIME company only seems to serve the Korean market.  From my experience, the company favors providing a high-quality, low-cost product with local customer service over the newest cutting-edge router technology.  In my experience, I would much have reasonably fast and reliable router that doesn't randomly stop or cause me headaches because some company released it before it was ready for prime-time.  When I buy something, I don't want to have to endure being used as a guinea pig or a company tester, just to say I have the newest thing.

All 3 of the ipTIME routers I've purchased have been flawless.  A Korean friend once told me that, many years ago, ipTIME had a problem with a few routers shipping with weak power supplies, but that issue is in the past.  

As you can see from the photos, this current router purchase is the ipTIME AX1500SR model.  This is their entry-level Wifi-6 router, and it is a real bargain.  As of today, this router cost me 35,000 shipped on Coupang (internet prices are far better than in brick-and-mortar stores). I purchased this router for my office, where I needed reliable streaming to a TV that has wifi capability.  I have had excellent luck at home, streaming to an LG TV using my older ipTIME AX3000M router -- a larger and more powerful transmitting older sibling of this one.  I decided to take a chance on buying their cheapest model, and I am just tickled by what I got for the price.  

I was really tempted to purchase one of their newer/smaller AX3000 routers for about 10,000 won more (they have at least 3 different models), but after reading about what numbers like 1500, 1800, 3000, and so forth mean, I decided to save my money and go cheap.  Why?  Because what I learned, and what I have now experienced, is that the little 35,000 won AX1500SR is just as fast as my AX3000M, which cost 4 times as much.  Now, granted, the AX3000M has a printer/NAS port and much more transmission power, but for my 1-room needs the AX1500 is perfect.  In fact, the little monster would be perfectly at home in an 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom villa, as well.  You see, the numbers such as 1500 or 3000 on Wifi 6 routers are related to bandwidth.  A router with a higher number is not necessarily faster -- it will handle more devices (and users) connected to it at once.  Given that I would be the only person in need of wifi in my office, the 1500 model is plenty.  In fact, it seems to handle the needs to two people well enough, based on playing with it at home.  

A router like the AX1500SR is more than enough speed for anyone paying for a 500Mbps connection from their Internet Service Provider, sending well over 450 to 490Mbps via wifi to your phone or computer, consistently.  In fact, I saw tests that showed it worked well for people who have 1 gigabit connections, also. It seemed to max out around 840Mbps of true Wifi speed for downloads in the photos I saw on Coupang reviews.  

If you have more people, a gigabit connection you want every ounce of, or more bandwidth needs (such as for gaming), then you'll probably want to look at something at least AX3000, or above.  Our AX3000 router at home serves our family of 3 with around 15 connected devices just perfectly, and doesn't break a sweat.

If you zoom on the above photo, you can see where I tested the AX1500SR in my 3 bedroom villa. Please forgive me for typing it out in Korean, with the help of Papago, but you can probably make out the numbers comparing 5g AC and AX speeds on my S23 Ultra and an old Galaxy A8Star smartphone.  I found the AX1500SR just as quick as my pricey AX3000M within eyesight from my sofa, but power dropped off considerably, after going through two walls.  Through just one wall, the difference was minor, so the router is fine for smaller Korean homes.

The router comes with four ports meant for plugging-in things like your laptop or PC, a TV, or anything that needs hardwired internet.  The fifth port is the input from your ISP's provided cable modem.  Instructions on set-up paperwork are all in Korean, but I found the new menu system on the ipTIME routers seem to detect English (and can be set that way in the menus, if they don't).  Unfortuantely, the ipTIME apps seem to be entirely in Korean, however you can access the router's English web page by typing 192.168.0.1 into your browser after you've connected to it.  If you don't see English right away, you can usually find it under either the hamburger logo at the top or bottom corner (my older router has it under PC UI at the bottom left). From there, you can go through a guided set-up process, or handle in manually, as I prefer to.  Always remember to change your router adminstrator's Username and Password from the default word that it ships with for both blanks: admin. If you don't, you'll get hacked!  That's in addition to the wifi passwords, of course.

The bottom of the router has plenty of ventilation.  I was a bit disappointed that the top didn't have much, but this isn't a router made to run fast and hot during long gaming sessions while mom is streaming 4k Netflix and dad is checking out Coupang Play, so it's OK.

Here is a look at the adapter.  You can use this in the USA or Japan, provided you have a "pig nose", which is what Korean's call an adapter plug.  The adapter handles voltages anywhere between 100v and 240v, so it's safe to use without a power converter.  It comes with a Korean style wall plug.

Here is a close look at the specs from the box.  Click to expand. Most newer devices will support Wifi 6AX, and that 5g connection is what you should try to connect to, instead of the 2.4 (meant more for IOT devices, these days).

I may add more to this write-up later, but for now, just know that this router is a really inexpensive locally-updated machine that is fast and good for the money.  If your router isn't a Wifi-6 AX router, then you really do need to upgrade.  There are some pretty big improvements over Wifi-5 AC speeds in reliability and connectivity.  There are even Wifi 6e and Wifi 7 routers now, but they're expensive and really overkill for anyone with a 1 gigabit ISP connection, or less.  Save your money and get a Wifi-6 router for the next 3 to 4 years.