Review on NETGEAR Wi Fi Range Extender EX8000 by Brandon Boones

This review relates to the EX8000. The expansion kit includes a power supply and instructions. I bought it direct from Revain not a third party after seeing it for sale here for $159.00 which I think is a decent deal for this expander. I refrained from buying this because I thought the original price of 299 when it was first released was too high as it cost as much or more than most high end routers. The included instructions are pretty basic, but once I figured out how to enable WPS on my R7000 router, which doesn't have a physical button, connecting to the extender was quick and easy. When you turn on the extender for the first time, it takes a minute for it to boot up and be ready to pair with your router. The WPS pairing process also takes a few minutes when connected to a 2.4GHz network. You'll need to re-enable WPS for it to connect to the 5GHz band, which takes about a minute. If you don't have WPS, you can use the setup wizard. Once connected, log in to the expander to complete the setup. When I originally did the setup, an update for the Extender (1.0.0.98) was available and I recommend updating it just before the installation is complete as it fixes some bugs. The firmware update went fairly smoothly, although for some reason after updating the firmware I was unable to access the extender's webpage and instead had to use the extender's IP address to log in and proceed with the setup. I suspect there are some features in the new firmware that need to be fixed. Once you're on the extension's setup page, the setup is pretty easy to go through and understand. The extender connected to my router with no further problems. In the section of devices connected to my routers, it shows up as 5g Wireless EX8000 along with its IP address. What I really like about the extender compared to other similar devices is that it can use the same signal and network name as the router without creating multiple networks. This makes it easier to connect to the network. If you already have devices connected to the network, there is no interruption. I do have a small complaint: the white LED lights on the front of the expander are a little hard to see and differentiate, indicating that they are active. Although my router has the same white lights, the reflection caused by the angle of the LEDs causes them to blend into each other a bit. The extension is quite large, 9 inches high and 6.75 inches long, but has a narrow vertical footprint of 2 inches deep. . So it takes up little space wherever you put it. There are 4 ethernet ports for wired devices plus a USB port which is similar to the port on my R7000 router for hard drives. I found the USB connection to work, but like my R7000 not as well as a dedicated NAS server. In addition to the ports on the back of the device, there is a WPS button, a power button, a power connector, and a reset button. I have a variety of devices that I use to stream videos, music, and browse the web, including phones and tablets. , Smart TVs, Blu-ray players, computers and PS3 and 4. Even my treadmill and elliptical trainer are connected to the internet. Most of the time I don't have any major problems getting a network signal from my R7000 router, but since my router is on the 2nd floor of my house in a room at the front of the house, it struggles at times with some areas in my basement and in the Backyard where the signal is a bit moody. In particular, I'm having trouble with my Nordic Track network trainer, which has a built-in tablet that allows you to connect to the internet and play videos and such. Only with the router do I get a decent signal, but I tend to get a lot of disconnects or stuttering when playing videos. Even if I'm in the backyard, sometimes there are signal issues. After connecting and operating the power strip, I put the device in the basement. The guide recommends placing it halfway between the router and the areas with poor signal. In my case, I'd say I placed it a bit farther away, mainly because the signal I got from the router was still strong. I turned on my machines and crossed my fingers. I have a full, excellent signal and connection on both devices. There were no disconnects or video freezes when watching videos on the machines. I've taken my tablet to the farthest corners of my backyard and while I usually only get an average to good signal with just the router, I now have an excellent signal with no network stutter issues. As far as I know this is a big improvement and so far the device has performed as it should. If you want to improve your router's signal strength, this will work. I also love that this device is set up to work with the new routers that are also coming out. So if I need to replace my R7000 I have an extension that will work for that too. Netgear and other companies tend to release hardware before firmware bugs are fixed (as I experienced with the R7000), and that's likely the case here, as there's an immediate update for the expander. Based on my experience with the router, Netgear is working hard to update the firmware for their devices. So far I haven't had any issues getting the extender to work with firmware 1.0.0.98 aside from the webpage quirk described above which will hopefully be fixed and further improved with future firmware updates. Pros: Easy setup WPS pairing Tri-Band Good network speed (depending on router) Single network capability Extends range significantly Firmware upgrade Future stability No dropouts on connected devices More dead spots 4 extra wired ports Cons: Bit expensive for an extender (usually price) Quirk of regular firmware upgrades Large size Instructions are a bit basic and can't put a white LED on the router which is a little hard to see and identify which one is connected to the USB port of the hard drive. Expensive, especially at the regular price. I will update my review if I have any issues or updates in the future. 4 stars