I received this product for free, as a NETGEAR ambassador, in exchange for my honest, unbiased opinion.
Last month, as a NETGEAR Ambassador, I got to test the NETGEAR Wi-Fi Range Extender
Setting up the device is quite simple. You may need to take out 10 minutes or so, but the steps are very clear. You can make multiple profiles, so that when you come home from a hotel stay you do not need to setup the device again.
Using the NETGEAR WiFi Range Extender at Home
As mentioned earlier, the extender is great when you have a large house. I do not, so it does not make sense to extend the wireless signal I have. I did find another way of using this device though. My apartment was built in the late ’90s, so it has network outlets in all the rooms. Turns out all the outlets work, except where I want it to. That’s the room where my printer is.
We primarily use laptops in the living room but the printer is in our bedroom. So, wireless printing is way more convenient than walking back and forth plugging in a USB cable. The NETGEAR extender happens to have a network outlet as well. So, I am now using the extender to connect to the wireless router I got from my internet provider and make a wired connecting my printer to the extender.
Using the NETGEAR WiFi Range Extender on the Road
There are other applications as well. One is that you can take it with you on a trip and extend the WiFi network provided by the hotel you’re staying at. I first tested this through a guest network broadcasted by a large game console company near where I live. Connecting directly to the guest network gave me download speeds of up to 1 Gbit. So what happened after I connected through the extender? The download speed increased to a whopping 4 Gbit!
For some strange reason I wasn’t able to repeat that at an actual hotel. I tried at two different hotels. The extender connected to the hotel network, but I had no internet. Maybe it had to do with the login page some public WiFi networks make you go through first. Or, maybe, they just don’t like extenders because some hotels like to charge per device and the extender would evade that? I still haven’t figured that situation out yet.
NETGEAR WiFi Range Extender Final Thoughts
This little device is packed with the latest speed specs. It can handle the newer 5 GHz frequency. That’s good because most neighborhoods are full of WiFi-enabled devices using the same channel, making it more prone to subpar internet performance. Plus, if you just got a new laptop you’ll be happy to know that it also supports 802.11ac. I am amazed with what this little device can do!
It’s bummer that I could not test the NETGEAR Wi-Fi Range Extender in the hotel, but I am full of ‘extended’ happiness that I’m now able to wirelessly use my printer.
15 comments
I definitely need to get something like that sometime. Fantastic review!
This loks great especially considering my bedroom does not get WiFi 😛 I should look into this!
You just got all the fun gadgets I need something to make my WiFi work just a little better all the way back in my bathroom.
That would have been fantastic in my last house where the modem/router was in the basement on one side of the house and my desktop was on the other side of the house and upstairs!
We have a mega router right now, so I wouldn’t need it yet. But in our last house this would have been great!
I so need this!! I never heard of this, or knew they made this. Gonna have to look into it!
Very neat! Our Wi-fi at home is really strong and we have no issues with it. I often find though even in stores that offer it, when I’m in certain place in the store, the signal strength is really weak. It would be cool to be able to sit on a parking lot and work with a public signal’s range extended when I’m out and about and busy LOL!
What a great idea! I didn’t know anything like this existed.
I need to get one of these, we get a really weak signal in my daughter’s room & my office computer would probably be faster with one.
This looks like a great wifi range extender. It would be great for larger houses.
Oh man, we did live in a place where this would have been IDEAL!! Things are good where we are now (knock on wood) but I’m keeping this in mind in case I need to at some point.
I need one of these for my house badly. I get horrible signal in my room and my laptop doesn’t work in there.
This would be awesome for our summer trip, sometimes we have the hardest time picking up a signal.
I could really use this, because I have spots in my own house without any connectivity!
Love the idea of taking this device along while traveling! We’re planning a trip out of the country this summer and I am really worried about staying in contact with my kids while we’re gone. This could certainly help!
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