NETGEAR - Universal Wi-Fi Range Extender with Ethernet port - White

...to expand the range of your in-home WiFi network. I should have known; the two buzz words are on the box: "universal" and "easy" …neither of which apply to this benign looking lump of plastic. The rationale for even buying this item was to get a better signal to the DSL connection for my bonus room satellite receiver and desktop PC. The first thing you need to know: this range extender will *not* amplify the original signal and this is key to placing the unit in your home. Think of this extender as a "repeater"; it will repeat, or relay, essentially the same quality of signal it receives. You want to place the extender in a strong reception area allowing it to relay a high quality signal to that "niche" in your home where WiFi reception is poor. Now, if you have a Mac …well, forget the "universal" part of it. We have a mix of Mac's and PC's in my home …so I decided to try the Mac first. While the AirPort wireless feature of my Mac Mini found this wall wart quite easily and connection from the computer to the WN3000RP was effortless …that's where the "easy" part ended. According to the very sketchy directions, once a computer …any computer on your net, apparently, as there is no distinction between a PC or Mac …when any computer makes contact with the extender you simply fire up your web browser and, presto!, you are magically taken to the Set Up Wizard. The instructions further tell you that, like a good Eagle Scout helping the little old lady across the street, so the "Wizard" will glide you through the rest of the setup. The rest of the setup, taken care of oh so effortlessly by the "Wizard", entails getting your wireless router and the extender to get to know each other. Right. The Mac found the extender just fine making contact immediately. Opening Firefox I was greeted by ...my home page …not the "Setup Wizard" the instructions said. I double checked the status of the contact between the Mac and extender and it was good. I tried manually loading http://www.mywifiext.net, which apparently is where the "Wizard" lives, to no avail; it would not connect. I tried numerous times all with the same dead end result. A quick search of the net found *many* folks in the same boat trying to make contact with the elusive Wizard. So then I let my Windows-powered netbook have a go. Got contact between extender and netbook no sweat, even got the Setup Wizard when I opened Firefox …and then it got a little fuzzy with some terminology. Like what is a "security passphrase"?? Not a pass word …a phrase. Next to the block where the passphrase goes is a cryptic button labeled "generate". Of course nothing in the brief manual describes what any of this means or if you even need a passphrase; so I left it blank. The SSID and WEP codes were all familiar to me and I managed to stumble through. I was in the home stretch and made it through four of the five steps the Wizard has you do; the last one being, you guessed it, connecting to www.mywifiext.net. And just like before it simply dead-ended …nothing …browser timed out. Tried three or four times …nothing. So I quit the setup program. But the thing works …despite never completing the 5th step. In your "available network" selections on your computer you'll find the extender listed with "_EXT" tacked on. The Wizard defaults to naming it whatever your router is called plus the "_EXT" tacked on …so mine looks like "2WIRE123_EXT" for my DSL setup. Simply connect to this network and you are now going through the extender. Rising along the learning curve. There is a User Manual for the extender …available only online at the NetGear support site (http://support.netgear.com) and it is much more thorough in scope than the lame installation guide in the box; get it and print it first. I'm not gonna guarantee it's going to make your installation easier but there is a more thorough explanation of the *not* so easy installation procedure. If you are not far along the learning curve with networking ...wired or wireless …not familiar with all the jargon and what it means …then installing this piece of hardware can be arduous at best and down right frustrating at worst; I thought more than a few times about returning it. This networking stuff reminds me of the bad old days of Windows and all the garbage and technical jim-crackery you had to go through just to install some simple hardware ….like maybe that "hot" 56K modem. The extender is designed to sync easily to wireless routers that support WSP (WiFi Protected Setup). Unfortunately if you are subscribing to AT&T DSL, their routers do not support WSP and you must use the WEP setup instructions which are a little more "manual" in nature. The end result was, after a bit more work and some well-placed expletives, I was able to get the upstairs PC to connect and it now has a full-strength signal and maximum bit rate. Once this thing is up and running it is very unobtrusive and works quite well. Only because I'm an ornery coot when it comes to this kind of stuff did I have success. But this "easy installation ….universal WiFi range extender" is about as far from "universal" or "easy" as the dark side of the moon …IMHO. I would recommend this to a friend *only* if they had a slightly advanced knowledge of computer operations and wifi/network connections. Or they're just ornery.

As for what it is supposed to do, this thing is great. My router is about 60' from my garage, where I had little to no signal. My garage is between my house and my pool. I had NO signal at my pool with my router. Did research on this unit, and there are plenty to choose from that do the same thing. Decided on this one at a really good price. Set up was either my stupidity, or a problem with the website that the unit wants you to link to. I ended up doing it by hardwire from router to the unit. It was recognized. Make sure you follow the set up instructions step by step. Very easy to follow, but very easy to decide to NOT follow. Make sure you follow them. After initial set up, I took this out to my garage. My phone instantly found the wifi signal and I signed on to it with my current password to access the router. Works like a charm. I get a great signal at my pool. The only thing that I don't understand, and maybe it's my stupidity, is that when I go to the garage or pool, my phone automatically switches to the extender, which is fine. But when I go back into my house, my phone doesn't automatically reconnect to the router in the house. It keeps the signal from the extender, which is weak once inside my house. Well, not really all that weak, just weaker than my router signal. Not sure if there's a way to have it auto switch from the extender to the main router. Regardless, this thing is great. I'm able to stream music from my phone to my Bluetooth wireless speaker while using the wifi signal. No data used, only wifi. Great investment.

Since my cable company went full digital and the increase of devices I both had to hook up near or with wifi (all on 2nd floor in office), my older router seemed to struggle with it's signal reaching as far as it used to on the first floor on one side of the house. The router was still great otherwise despite it's age so I didn't feel the need to invest in an entire new one and throw out one that was still entirely capable. The solution? An inexpensive range extender I thought. The only items the wife and I use in that dead spot are our phones and tablet. Also, it's a problem for guests since the guest network had the same issue. These were the two reasons for the purchase. Based on the price and the stellar reviews this item got I figured this was the one to try. Not only does it work as promised, it gives off such a strong signal that it reaches any area of my house (and just outside) with nearly full strength regardless where I am! Besides this, setting it up was very simple. I do have one issue though that made me a bit disappointed but perhaps the more expensive models can do it. Maybe I was wrong in expecting this, but I assume it would extend an entire device, that being both the regular network AND the guest network. However, you can only extend one network. So either the main OR the guest. I have a dual band router and just as well, you can't extend both the 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz either. I managed to work around this though. I decided to extend the guest network and only connect our phones and tablet to it, and let it be available for guests as well leaving the rest of the house and devices connected to the main network since they don't have problems. I decided this would be just fine. I was going to cut a star off for this but again, this could be my mistake for such an assumption. Perhaps something else worth mentioning is the picture for this product is wrong. The item is a bit different but I guess it doesn't matter. It works just as good. Overall, it's a very good buy.

I bought this back in September to replace my dead Linksys range extender I had for several years. The signal from the router upstairs was pretty good, but my son used it for his X-Box. It would frequently disconnect from the router, but after several attempts, it would usually reconnect and stay connected for the duration of use. First of January, it too died. I called Netgear and spoke to tech support. After the required attempts to troubleshoot, they agreed to replace it. The replacement was a factory refurb. After numerous attempts to connect in the basement (signal of 52%), I brought it up to the main floor only a few feet from the router and it connected, only to lose it when back in the basement, and on parts of the main floor of the house. When speaking to tech support again, I was told that the unit required AT LEAST a 70% signal, and that the unit would NOT do what I expected it to do (what the Linksys had done for years). He also told me I should have spent more and bought a better one than this one. When asked about an exchange/upgrade for a "better" model, he told me I'd have to take it back to the store to upgrade, or for a refund. Although the reciept was gone, I'd kept the original packaging, and had a record of how I paid for it and when I bought it. I was able to get a full store credit for the refurb. Yea, Best Buy! I promptly used it toward a much needed laptop for my wife. Incidently, the extender sat nearer to the router than the Netgear USB adapter in our DISH reciever, that was fully functional. Of all the WiFi devices used in the house, that was the only one that would not work! Go figure!

Came back from vacation two weeks ago and noticed that the wifi in our living room was non existent. Called the cable company and they changed the router and checked the speed of the incoming service. On their end everything was fine but they could not figure out why my signal was dropping in the living room. Did some research here on BestBuy and found this product and all of the great reviews. I was a little skeptical but despite as none of us could use our laptops in the living room anymore. Bought this product yesterday, came home and had it up and running in about 5 minutes. Whats great about this product is that once it is programed it tells you where the best spot is when you plug it in. If the signal is great you get a green light, if it is good you get a yellow light, if it is bad you get a red light and if you get no light you have no signal. Plugged it into an outlet in the living room and got a green light, AWESOME! Left for a couple of hours and noticed a yellow light when i got home. Moved the extender closer to the router to an outlet in the hallway which is half way between the router and the living room and have maintained a green light ever since. Right now we are running four high speed laptops in the living room while writing this review. This product has saved my family as my wife was getting upset that the kids were heading to their bedrooms all the time to use their laptops since they are closer to the router. Now we are all together again. Awesome product, way to go Netgear!!!.

WOW -- It worked. I just bought this today and I don't know much about wireless networking, but it was a snap to install and is doing a great job. Also it turned our wired printed that is connected through one of the computers through the network into a wireless printer. My oldest was doing his homework and just for fun thought he would try to print it out from his wireless laptop which he could never do before and this time it worked. Where i have my wireless router is kinda tucked away and on the side of a metal file cabinet. It gives off a strong signal through out the house. Our middle and youngest son's rooms are on the other side of the house and get a poor signal. We switched about a year ago or so to a router that can be used as a wireless and wired network. Did not think too much about it when the middle and youngest told me that there internet signal was weak. They are just playing games on the Wii. Now they have a few more gadgets so i needed to find something to boost my signal. I told the guy at the store my problem and that for the most part i am a " COMPUTER MASTER " ( I always joke about that. I do know a lot of basic and not so basic stuff about computers. self taught. } but i don't know much about wireless networking. He suggested this product. Told me it was not big deal to setup and the price was right. When i got home I plugged it in, got one of the laptops and did a few tests and within 30 mins. I was up and running.

I bought this thing to put halfway across my house to extend the wireless N signal from my router. It only gave me 12mbps down max in my master bedroom which is on the other side of my house and I was more than fine with that even though I get 50mbps down at my router. It sees 57% of the signal from my router even now so the download speed and upload speed should've been faster. Now it's max down is 3Mbps if I'm lucky. Most days and nights its 1-2mbps down. Forget the upload speeds! It's 2mbps if I'm lucky and the moon is full on Tuesday at 1am and was never better than 3mbps. To put it into perspective my ISP provides me 50mbps down and 25mbps up. I didn't expect that to be passed on through the extender but I didn't expect a 1/45 of it either. I would be ecstatic if i got a 1/3 of that consistently. I tried a different router and still have the same results. I called their customer support and sat on hold for 25min listening to elevator music before giving up. In short find a better option that will at least give you 1\3 of what you get at your router. My wireless N Xbox adapter gets way better speeds in my master bedroom without using the extender as mine and my wives iPads and phones do connecting to the extender. I thought maybe it was my ipad then i tried my wives then i tried both of our phones my laptop and a nexus 7 i bought for someone else all with the same results so its not the radios in all those different devices. IN SHORT NOT WORTH THE MONEY! Oh and good luck connecting to it after you set it up initially. 99% of the time you are redirected to the company website!

My house is an 1800 square foot one level home with an 1800 square foot full basement. My cable router is in one corner of my basement and I had a very weak wireless reception on one side of my house on the main floor. I installed this product about 30 feet from my router at the base of my stairs that leads from the basement to the main floor. It is as simple as plugging into a wall outlet. I now get spectacular reception throughout the house and even on my outdoor deck. There are two types of setup. Spectacularly simple and kind of simple. Spectacularly simple requires a specific button on your router that once pushed will automatically connect the router to this extender. My router didn't have that button. I had to use the "kind of simple" setup. This involves a simple step by step guide to connect your router to the extender using a laptop and the internet. This took me somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes. Once set up, each electronic unit that I wanted setup on the extender was simple to choose the extender in the network connection center of the item and enter my router password. I had everything hooked up in less than 15 minutes. This could not have gone more smoothly. I am far and away not a computer guru and more of an average joe. The whole process was simple and easy to understand. I don't normally go out of my way to write reviews but this product so greatly exceeded my expectations from ease of installation and performance that I had to write a review. My kids are impressed with the improvement in wireless range.