Netgear Wifi Range Extender Ac750 Dual Band wifi Coverage Up to 750 Mbps (Ex3700) Review

Netgear's AC750 WiFi Range Extender (EX6100) ($89.99) was released most the same time as the pricier Netgear AC1200 WiFi Range Extender (EX6200) ($119.99 at Amazon). The EX6100 is lower-priced because it's non equally feature-packed (nor does it offer the same hardware specs) equally the EX6200, which won our Editors' Choice honour for Wi-Fi range extenders. You get what you lot pay for: If you're looking to extend a wireless signal to a location more than than 100 anxiety from your router or access indicate, you'll want to cough upwardly the extra $50 and get with the EX6200—it's a stellar, reliable extender. That said, the EX6100 is a solid device for extending wireless signals in smaller areas, and it'due south fine for those who don't want to pay for multiple Gigabit Ethernet ports or a USB port equally extras.

Specs
The EX6100 can function equally an extender or an access point (as is the case with most extenders). On its side is a toggle switch that flips to operate the hardware in Extender or Access Point mode. Next to this switch are the Ethernet port, Mill Reset, WPS, and Power buttons

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Netgear's less-expensive extender offers slower theoretical information rates than the EX6200, although both devices support the latest wireless networking standard, 802.11ac. The EX6100 is dual-band, supporting upwards to 300Mbps on the ii.4GHz band and up to 450Mbps on the 5GHz ring. The EX6200 supports upwardly to 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 900Mbps on the 5GHz ring.

To be clear, however, the two extenders shouldn't simply be compared on feeds and speeds lone; it's not a case of apples-to-apples hardware. The EX6200 is more like an access bespeak. It has multiple Ethernet ports and a USB 3.0 port for external difficult drive and printer sharing—neither of which is offered past the EX6100.

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The EX6100 is a much smaller, wall-pluggable extender. Its dual external antennas measure iii.75 inches long—shorter than the antenna on another like wall-plug extender that I recently reviewed, Amped Wireless' High Power 802.11ac Wi-Fi Range Extender (REC15A)($119.99 at Amazon). The REC15A has a single antenna that's a surprising 4.5 inches long. That three quarters of an inch makes a divergence—I found the REC15A more awkward to place, specially when fitting it into a ability strip.

I likewise prefer the LEDs on the Netgear extender. On the Amped extender, the rather pocket-size LED is on the superlative of the device, whereas the EX6100 has big LEDs on its front, making it piece of cake to see condition connections from a altitude. LEDs are important with extenders. You want to exist able to quickly see if the extender is continued to your router. As well, the Netgear has an additional LED that indicates the strength of a client's connection.

The EX6100 ships with a guide featuring a nautical chart that tells you how to translate the LED color changes and blinking patterns and so that you know what is going on with the signal and connection. Peculiarly useful in setup are two arrow-shaped LEDs that start blinking if the extender is not in a spot to make a potent connection with the router.

Setup
The installation guide outlines the same like shooting fish in a barrel setup I liked so much with the EX6200. The outset pace is to place the extender in the same room every bit your router. You can move it after to a distance midway between the router and a Wi-Fi dead zone after it's configured. You then connect the extender to a router using WPS or through the extender's software. I used the latter method in my testing for this review.

The EX6100 ships with a wireless network already ready. If you lot're configuring via the software method, y'all'll demand to connect a laptop or tablet to the extender'south Ethernet port or to its wireless network. Once connected, you log in to the browser-based software (credentials are provided in the install guide).

Perform a scan of all nearby networks (by clicking the Scan button) and and then select the network you want to extend. Of grade, if it'south a protected network, you need to know the passphrase. However, the Netgear software can automatically perform the rest of the configuration heavy lifting by copying security and other settings from your existing Wi-Fi network to the extender's Wi-Fi.

Because this is a dual-ring device, you can extend both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz signals. Once the settings are configured, you are disconnected from your wireless network. This is typical when setting up extenders. The pre-configured wireless setting are now changed to the new extended network, and y'all must reconnect your laptop or tablet to the new network to complete setup.

After I connected to the new extended Wi-Fi, I saw the on-screen message, "Last step, once you take reconnected your device running this wizard, delight marking the checkbox, and click Keep to finalize your installation." Afterwards, I received a confirmation message that the extender was fix up successfully, and a Stop button appeared. Clicking it gave me the option to install Netgear's network management software (Genie). I do recommend installing this software. Information technology'due south a powerful tool for managing your entire home network. For more than information on the software, you can read my full review of Netgear's Genie network management software.

The setup process of wireless extenders is important. We've tested as well many that have such a confusing setup that they're sure to frustrate customers. Also, the final steps with networking devices, particularly extenders, are crucial in letting customers know they set the device upwards correctly. The difference betwixt a pleasant setup experience and a headache-inducing one can be subtle.

The EX6100 has a more fluid and easier setup than Amped's REC15A. Kickoff, the REC15A requires a frustrating 140-second reboot after virtually any setting change during configuration. I didn't feel such long waits for settings to take effect with the EX6100. Worse, the Amped device's last pace referred to a Next push that never appeared, leaving me confused for far too long.

Performance
Based on specs, I didn't expect the same performance from the EX6100 equally I got from the EX6200, and I was right. That isn't to say the EX6100 was not a decent performer, though. I was able to scan the Internet—albeit, slowly—at a good 75 to 100 feet from the extender. However, the EX6200 provided peppier browsing upward to about 150 feet. My testing software, Ixia's IxChariot, was able to clock throughput from the EX6200 at up to 100 anxiety. IxChariot could not register throughput from the EX6100 afterwards 75 feet. Still, that is reasonable performance in a challenging RF-heavy environment.

Good for Pocket-sized Areas
If y'all don't need to extend your coverage very far, yous tin can relieve a decent amount of coin by buying the EX6100 instead of the EX6200. The NetgearAC750 WiFi Range Extender (EX6100) is likewise a skillful selection if you neither have a need, nor a desire to pay for, the EX6200'due south USB and GigE bells and whistles. Everyone else, notwithstanding, should bite the bullet and go with our Editors' Choice for Wi-Fi range extenders, the Netgear AC1200 WiFi Range Extender (EX6200).

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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/netgear-ac750-wifi-range-extender-ex6100

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