WiFi magic

[5U4GB]

Someone just sent me a link to this magic WiFi device on Kickstarter, whose big selling point is that it uses an "RPU" to make your WiFi 3-10x faster.

What's an RPU?  I'm glad you asked, it's a radio processing unit that has "state-of-the-art closed-loop training and real-time calibration architecture. Equipped with a high-performance hybrid analog-to-digital-to-analog predistortion algorithm, it significantly improves RF system performance through cutting-edge digital compensation technology".  This was back in January 2025 and the Kickstarter campaign is running now so possibly they had problems starting their "turbocharged engine".

It's exceeded its funding goal by a factor of 100 so it looks like people are falling for it.

[Xena E]

Better than putting on a balaclava and going into a bank with a sawn-off shotgun I suppose.

[Whales]

It is well known that a single AP with strong marketing will outperform armfuls of individual APs spread around the house.

Just make sure your house isn't bigger than the square footage number they provide, otherwise the reception will get thin.  If this product does not work in your house then it may be because you are not measuring the area of your walls, common mistake.

[Haenk]

I do not think a Kickstarter team would be able to pull that one out of thin air. Sounds more like something Broadcom e.g. might be able to develop in a year or ten.

[unikeyname]

...be able to develop in a year or ten.

[MrMobodies]

It is well known that a single AP with strong marketing will outperform armfuls of individual APs spread around the house.

Just like how Seagate created this USM interface (Universal Storage Module) for their NAS where they'd sell these USM storage modules for it but it's just a SATA port in there and nothing about it in the literature about it being a SATA interface.



https://www.sourcesecurity.com/seagate-stbu1000410-storage-technical-details.html

The Seagate STBU1000410 is a backup plus USM module. Use Seagate® Backup Plus drive with Seagate Business NAS built-in Universal Storage Module (USM™) slot, which lets users transfer files to and from their Backup Plus USM-compatible portable drives at speeds up to 3× faster than USB 2.0 - all at the touch of a button.

They compare it to USB 2 But they leave out the SATA.

[Ranayna]

Maybe they are misusing a SATA connector for their own thing?

Comparing SATA to USB 2 makes little sense to me with their numbers. A SATA-III interface is theoretically about 12 times as fast as USB 2. It's 6.000 Mbit/s for SATA-III, 480 Mbit/s for USB 2, not considering protocol overhead, which is large for USB.

[tszaboo]

One of the core values ​​of the RPU chip is to reduce the operating pressure on the radio frequency system at high power levels,

I typically check out from any conversation where pressure is mentioned in an electrical environment. It means that whoever is talking about it doesn't understand electricity (voltage or current) or wants to obfuscate the information by using the wrong jargon.
Either way there is nothing left to discuss.
Also, changing one device in a bidirectional radio protocol, unless you make it directional, is going to do nothing.
So standard router with s bit of bullshit marketing.

[Randy222]

I know using bend beam Rf can make things seems faster, just not sure it actually is.