As the name suggests, an extender literally extends the range of the WiFi signal. It is basically a WiFi accelerator that can enhance the reach of a router by expanding its coverage. It acts as a bridge, receives the WiFi signal, amplifies its speed, and transmits it to areas where the WiFi signal is weak thereby covering a larger area. Extenders are ideal for HD streaming and gaming. Some features are explained below and kindly have attention.
Excellent Variety Of Netgear Extenders
Netgear has brought to us an excellent variety of extenders which are both affordable and easy to use. They are universal extenders that are compatible with all routers regardless of any brand/ISP. They work best for the WiFi band of 2.4-5GHz and boost up the speed to 1200Mbps reducing interference. But do not overestimate their power by placing one such extender on the third floor for a router on the first floor.
Easy installation
Its installation procedure is pretty straightforward for a naive in this domain. Just plug in the device to an electric point, connect it using an Ethernet cable to a laptop or desktop. It fits into the standard electrical points available in USA and does not need any separate adaptor. In order to configure or troubleshoot, login to extender’s setting page(extenders default IP http://192.168.1.250 or mywifiext.net) using default credentials if not set explicitly:
Username: admin
Password: password
Besides correct credentials, make sure your computer is set up with the DHCP server and a legitimate IP address is set. Restart both the extender and router if your device continues to be unable to access the IP address. If the indicator displays steady green light, you are good to go.
Sometimes, even if you enter the correct password or wireless key, the installation setup keeps prompting for a password. This can be resolved by placing the extender in the right position. Do not place it at a far point of the signal range covered by the router. Place it close to the latter.
Easy to Update Firmware
Try to keep the firmware updated so that your extender is enabled with the most recent features. Updated firmware makes it more stable and error-free enhancing the overall performance. Try re-flashing the firmware of the router and the extender in order to avoid frequent connectivity issues with the main router.
High Security Of Netgear
WPS supports WPA/WPA2 security. If the main router is using WEP security go through the Extender Genie setup. This ensures the utmost security of your data. In case you enter the wrong WEP passphrase, you cannot access the extender. Its a limitation but can be resolved. Just factory reset the extender settings to retrieve back the IP address.
Netgear Extender Tips
You may attempt to add more than one extender to expand the coverage but that is somehow not a good idea. It will simply affect the performance of devices connected to the second Extender in the chain.
If you reserve any IP address for devices connected to your router, then log into the router and add translated MAC addresses into the IP reservation list. Else the devices will not work once you connect them to the extender. If you like to enable a wireless MAC filter on the main router, you have to add the translated MAC address into the router. MAC address of any wireless device translates to another MAC address when the latter is connected to the extender. In order to get this translated MAC address, disable the MAC address filter on the principal router. Switch on the extender and connect the concerned device. Now login to the router and check for the connected devices on the Attached Devices screen. Add all MAC addresses including Virtual MAC into your router’s MAC filter table. Usually, this begins with 02:0F: B5. Finally enable the MAC filter on your router.
In a nutshell, Netgear extenders are easy to access and useful for bigger surface areas with a requirement of high-speed connectivity.
