|
 - Net GearPurchased this Access point to go with my router. Everyone said you could pick up the weak signal and extend your network. I could not get it to work, nor could my garu son. I still have a NetGear Router and like net gear products. This one just didn't do what I wanted it to do. Extend my network on the same frequency so the print server would work also. Rating:  - Good routerThis works as advertised, I just wish it was a little easier to just add an access point to an existing network to provide a larger area of coverage. I was able to get it setup in this way, but it took a little research. Rating:  - Range inferior and setup harder than LinksysI had a Linksys SRX but wanted a second access point to complete coverage in house. The linksys was an older model and one complaint was that it would randomly power off i think mostly after power outages. I put this netgear product in the same location and got half the bars on each of the multiple laptops that i use in the same location i used the linksys. I changed the position of the access point every which way possible. The linkys has better range by far. Also the setup requires that you plug it into a computer and change IP settings and then after its set up any setting changes will require that you take it off your router, change ip settings etc etc. not impossible but far less easy than the linksys set up and a much bigger pain managing it after installation. Rating: - Works well but confusing to set upAs others have mentioned, the signal strength from this wireless access point (WAP) is pretty good, and there does seem to be improved coverage compared to my older Netgear wireless router (I moved to a new house that was prewired for data, so I have a wired router in my basement and needed the wireless access point so I could walk around with my notebook computer and connect to the internet). My main criticism of this product is the confusing setup and inadequate instructions. Let me explain (hopefully I can save someone else the pain I went through)... To set up this wireless access point, you connect this router via an ethernet cable to a computer (notebook or desktop, Mac or PC -- it doesn't matter). You manually set your computer to a static IP address (the manual gives you the specific IP address). Then, you turn on the WAP and connect to it using a web browser via the default IP address for the WAP (192.168.0.231). So far, so good. Then you configure the basic settings, and this is where the manual is inadequate. Many people will use this WAP as I have -- a DSL or cable internet connection and a wired router. In the basic settings, you will have to set the WAP IP address using DHCP. After applying the settings, you can't connect to the WAP using the default IP address of 192.168.0.231 anymore because a different IP address was assigned via DHCP. (You will get a screen saying that the connection timed out.) So, how did you connect back to the WAP? I unplugged the ethernet cable from the WAP to the computer and instead connected the WAP to my wired router. Then I accessed my wired router and looked for a list of connected devices. The WAP was on that list along with the IP address now assigned to the WAP. I connected to the WAP wirelessly, typed in the new IP address for the WAP, and now I could access the rest of the settings (such as wireless security settings). What a hassle!! It really would have been nice if Netgear had better documentation for this process. I would have saved me quite a bit of frustration. Anyway, once set up, the WAP works great. But, getting it set up took some doing. Rating:  - NetgearThe product arrived quickly, in great condition and installed flawlessly and has been running very well. All wireless connections never drop and never fail. Each computer has a different wireless card and that just doesn't seem to phase the RangeMax. Best purchase I could have made.
|
