When I was doing some research on whether to buy a WiFi extender and if so,
which one, I could not find any reviews on this product because I am assuming it
is the newest model. So I looked at other products from the same manufacturer
and found another WiFi Extender that appeared to be almost identical to this
one, but evidently did not cover as much square footage (search Amazon for
ASIN # B0BJ5NPDH6 to see which reviews I read). Some of the things that people
were finding fault with I did not have any issues with at all. I don’t know,
obviously, what exactly happened with those individuals but I suspect that
perhaps they weren’t doing something quite right.
I think it is important to understand essentially what a WiFi extender is and have
a basic understanding of how it works so that you can make an intelligent buying
decision and will hopefully have less issues setting it up. A WiFi extender like this
one does NOT replace your wireless router. It connects to your router and then
sets up a new network using the same SSID with the extension of “-pro” on the
end of it. If your primary WiFi network SSID is “TEST”, then this device will
connect to your TEST network and create a new network called “TEST-pro”. If,
for example, your primary router is at one end of your house and you have a
wireless device that is on the other end of your house, or perhaps in the
basement, the garage, or even outside, then the WiFi signal will weaken the
further you get from the router. Under IDEAL conditions a WiFi signal is good for
approximately 100 meters, but every obstacle that is in between your device and
the main router will weaken the signal. It is surprising how easily a WiFi signal
can be so degraded that it is next to useless by the time it reaches the wireless
device.
I followed the directions that were included with this extender and used my
iPhone. I had absolutely no issues whatsoever, and I had it up and running within
just a few minutes. Essentially what you do is to plug the device in and wait for it
to boot up and start transmitting its WiFi signal. Then you connect your phone or
computer to it. You will be looking for a network called “wifi-XXXX” (the XXXX is
the last 4 digits of the MAC address printed on the back of the extender). I
therefore recommend that you either write that number down, or do as I did and
take a picture of the back of the device so you remember what the IP address is if
you need it, and also the last 4 digits of the MAC address. Connect your phone or
computer to that WiFi network — i.e. wifi-XXXX. On my iPhone it automatically
came up with a browser that was the setup page for the wifi extender. If that
doesn’t happen, then just open a browser and go the IP address listed in the
instructions.
What you are doing here is you are connecting your phone or computer to the
extender directly, then in a later step you will be joining the WiFi extender to the
network of your choice. Remember that this device operates on the 2.4 GHz
frequency, so make sure you are joining a 2.4 GHz network and not a 5 GHz
network if your router does both. Then the extender will work its magic and will
join the 2.4 GHz network and will essentially create an extension of that network.
Note that the SSID that you will want to connect to (in order to use this extender)
will be the same SSID with the “-pro” suffix on it. Ideally you would want to put
this extender approximately 1/2 way between your main router (that is
providing the 2.4 GHz signal that you are extending) and the wireless device that
you are trying to connect.
In my case I have my main router in my living room and I was in need of boosting
the signal to get to my work laptop that was in the farthest point in my house. I
placed the extender in a hallway approximately 1/2 way between the two and
the WiFi signal was much stronger than it was previously when I connected to
my router, and consequently I had better speed and less interruptions. I just had
to disconnect my work laptop from my usual WiFi network and instead connect
it to the “-pro” network.
I recall seeing in other reviews on a very similar product from the same
manufacturer that someone was saying that it would not work if you had T-
Mobile Home Internet. I can say with 100% certainty that in my case, at least,
that is not the case. I have T-Mobile Home internet and I have connected my WiFi
extender to the T-Mobile Home Internet gateway network and it works just fine. I
cannot understand how your ISP would have any bearing on whether or not this
device would work. It does not connect directly to the internet. It connects to
your router, which is connected to your modem which is connected to the
internet. Regardless of who your ISP is, this device should work. It should also
work regardless of the router you use.
Further, my T-Mobile Gateway (which is more or less a modem and router all in
one) has a 2.4 GHz network and a 5 GHz network, both of which have the same
SSID. This device connected to the 2.4 GHz network with no issues at all. My T-
Mobile Gateway does not have a WPS button, so I was unable to use that feature,
but I have used WPS on other devices in the past and that makes it a little easier,
but I felt that this setup was pretty straightforward and I have had zero issues
since I set it up.
Lastly, I would like to point out that this device is pretty small as you can tell
from the attached picture. When it plugs into the bottom outlet it does not block
the top outlet, which is nice, so you can use that for something else.
If you have a wireless device that is a ways away from your router and it is
consequently slow, then I would definitely recommend this device, because i t
will greatly improve the signal strength and that will equate to a better, more
reliable connection. I was surprised at how easy it was to set up and equally
surprised with how much better the signal strength was in the far corner of my
house. It makes perfect sense, and I am very happy with the purchase!
