Linksys - AC1200 Dual-Band Wi-Fi Range Extender - Black

I have owned a lot of different wireless router/modems and an enormous amount of wifi extenders as my two story house is 3600 sq. ft. Unless I was on the second floor and less then 30ft away from the original wireless modem/router, my coverage was pretty much non existent everywhere else (choppy at best). Until I found my current configuration that is! I have Comcast and pay for the 50Mbps package. I now have the Comcast "Technicolor" brand wireless router/modem #which is the best one I've leased from them hands down!!!!#, and use this extender downstairs. This is by far the best combination of modem/extender I've used to date!! ANYWHERE upstairs, I am now getting 50-60Mbps, and ANYWHERE downstairs #feeding off the extender# I get between 32-58Mbps CONSISTENTLY!! The keyword is consistently!!!! Even my worst dead spot downstairs where I was usually getting around 2-6Mbps is now getting 27-38Mbps consistently! I am now in HEAVEN! I was getting so angry paying for 50Mbps and only getting a fraction of that! I was going crazy!!!!! But I wouldn't give up, I kept trying modem after modem, extender after extender. And now I finally have the killer combo! Another great thing about this extender is the communication/connectivity with the wireless modem/router upstairs. It communicates quickly, consistently, and it doesn't use the "Ext" network name forcing you to manually switch between using the main signal or the extender signal. It's all the same name and your device will pick up the stronger signal automatically no matter where you are in the house! Finally, it's a good looking box. It's small, light, and modern looking #almost stylish# so your wife, mom, or whoever is particular or OCD won't freak out about having a big ugly box in the middle of their "beautiful room." Get this extender and get the Comcast "Technicolor" brand wireless modem/router #insist on this brand from Comcast or they'll try to give you one of their less reliable brands...yes, they have multiple makers supplying their modems#. You won't be disappointed. FINALLY!! AFTER 2 YEARS AND SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY ON DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS, I NOW HAVE A FAST FAST FAST AND RELIABLE INTERNET SERVICE!!!!!

I have a workshop that is adjacent to my house. I wished to have internet access there in order to run a computer and other streaming media. I currently use a Linksys 2700 router as my primary router. After reading several reviews I chose the Ac1200 Dual-band Wi-fi Range Extender. The quick start instructions were too basic and were missing several steps required to marry your extender with your router. After going to several sites on line I was able to determine that I would need to do the following; connecting a Ethernet Cat5E cable to the computer and the extender, ensuring that the range extender was by a window for optimal reception, go to address "http://extender.linsys.com", select your router's wireless SSID, enter passwords for each band displayed, reboot the computer, and then go back to your primary router and accept the range extender as a device. Once all this was completed the extender ran great. In all the distance from the router in my house and the range extender is about 185 feet. It connects just fine and data streams just fine to my workshop's computer. I can recommend this extender with confidence. The only drawback is that some experienced IT documentation person wrote the instructions assuming that consumers are as equally experienced in guessing the missing steps. This forced me to go online and do some set up and installation research on my part. This is the only reason why this gets a 4 out of 5 stars.

I selected this model based on a tomsguide.com #1 rating of lower cost extenders. With my Comcast Gateway I was able to get a 45 Mbps to 90 Mbps wireless signal on the first floor where the Gateway is located and a 0 to 25 Mbps signal on the upper level floor depending on location. After installation/setup which took about 6 minutes, my 2nd floor signal ranges from 45 Mbps to 85 Mbps depending on distance from extender and whether the 2.4 GB or the 5 GB network is selected. The 5 GB yields higher bit rates on the 2nd floor but the Gateway still provides higher rates on the 1st floor. What I find interesting is that the 2.4 GB network provides higher Mbps rates (~25 Mbps) in the basement than either the 5GB (12 Mbps) network or the Gateway (4 Mbps) network. Installation was a breeze with my iPad - plug the extender in, select the extender network in the iPad setup, go to the Linksys website and follow the few on-screen instructions. The website tells you whether the location selected for the extender is too close, too far, or just right. Changing locations a couple times in order to optimize the signal took the most time (about 2 minutes per location to allow the extender to re-boot). The last step is to enter your network password and you are connected. The Mbps measurements were made with a Wi-Fi Sweetspots app on my iPad. When I purchased the extender, Amazon and Dell had a lower price which BestBuy matched. A few days later, both Amazon and Dell had a higher price than BestBuy.

Setting up the range extender is no problem. Plug it in, click on Linksys Extender Setup when you see it in your network. My DVD player (what I use to watch Netflix) connected no problem and signal strength improved from 20% to 80%. I then found out that if you connect to Wifi this way, it's not a secure connection. That's when the trouble started. Connected the RE6500 to my computer to set up the Wifi protected access. Entered my router passcode. Checked my DVD player, and signal strength dropped back to 20%. Spent a lot of time on my own trying to see if I set it up incorrectly. Finally gave up and called customer support. They tell me that the extender is on WPA2-Personal. I'm not a techie. This apparently means that the extender sends out a signal on a secure mode under this protocol. Customer support says my DVD player is probably not compatible with this and to check the DVD firmware. I checked the settings on my DVD player--it has WPA and WPA2 security protocol. In a nutshell, if you want secure Wifi access, the RE6500 may not be compatible with your device. Don't know why it should be that difficult. Returning this thing tomorrow.

The wifi on my old Netgear router died. So I saw a good deal on a TP-Link. Having used some of their switches I figured what the heck. Well, my wired download speeds dropped by 75%. Took that one back and bought a Netgear AC750. Hooked it up, same thing download speeds down 75%. I am pretty good on computers and have an extensive system at my home and wireless broadcast to a remote building. Anyhow, all settings looked good and I called Netgear. WOW, clueless people kept trying to have me adjust my wireless settings (language barrier, read H1B Visa). After they finally figured out I was talking about my hardwired download speed they told me I should call the ISP provider and they sell a fine unit. I demanded to speak with a Supervisor or someone with a better command of English and they refused. So..... back to the store after researching customer service reviews with Linksys being at the top. I bought this unit, took and home and Bamm.... easy setup and SCREAMING download speeds to include my wireless which never went over 30mbps and now pegs nearly 60 which is full speed. I didn't have to use their customer service but this unit ROCKS!

I live in a house on a slope with 3 levels. The router is on the top floor, and my workshop and desk in in the basement. So there are 2 floors and many walls between my pc, and the router, which resulted in a very weak signal, buffering, and constant drops. It didn't help that the house was built in 1911, and has lath & plaster walls. I tried 3 other extenders that plugged directly into the wall sockets, but none worked so I returned them. The Linksys was easy to setup. Connected to my computer with the ethernet cable that came with it, and before I had time to figure out what to do next, an installation screen popped up, and I followed the instructions. To make it simple I used the same password as the router. Then I relocated the extender to a good halfway point, and went downstairs to check the signal. This extender is kicking some serious butt. Very strong signal with fast upload & download speeds. Using a wall wart power adapter allows the extender to be moved around, which also helps. Do not be fooled by the pictures where it looks big. It's actually quite small. I do a lot of photography, and now I can sync with the cloud really fast. I am a happy camper.

I’ve got kind of a sprawling ranch-style house and had an older Netgear 802.11n wireless extender that never work very well. It maxed out at about 8Gbits download speed in the back bedroom it was meant to service, but it often dipped in to unusable territory, causing massive buffering issues and long loading times on the AppleTV in that room. Finally decided to replace it with this AC1200 model from Linksys and the performance difference is amazing. I was able to setup the extender right next to the television and connect the AppleTV to it via Ethernet cable and the connection now fully saturates the 80Gbit connection I pay for from my ISP. It performs exactly as if it were hardwired directly to the main router in my home office serveral rooms away. WI-FI speeds in the bedroom over the 5GHz network are 70+ Gbits, as well. I’ve had terrible experiences with extenders in the past and was fully prepared to return this one if I wasn’t satisfied, but I couldn’t be happier with the performance. I finally don’t have to worry about the sketchy internet in that part of the house!

I was hoping for an easy installation, increase performance of internet (range output), and not getting headaches. I found out the hard way, that the wireless isn't as simple as I thought. The best way would be to hardwire it and sync with your current router. But what is confusing, is when you get into the range extender setup IP address, it was a headache to try and configure or it would disconnect, lousy range coverage. I called Linksys for further guidance and of course, it was a headache, since the person I was talking to wasn't listening to what I was saying. Trying to reset the range extender and get a better connection with my router and extender. Well, apparently I was difficult to deal with and the representative said there was "Technical Difficulties" on her end, which IMO meant she was not being productive or efficient with helping me. So of course, I got transfered to someone else. End result, I got the RE6500 synced with my router, but I do not see any difference with connection improvement; I do see however, unreliable and poor connectivity since I hooked this up. Background of where I am using this. 1700 sq ft house, router WNDR3700 dual band router, Main Tower Linksys WMP600N Wireless-N PCI Dual-Band adapter. Router is upstairs next to hallway and range extender is downstairs next to hallway. All in all, roughly 20 ft from each other.