By Ki Grinsing
New dual band extender
So far Netgear introduces many wireless dual band routers including the latest ones WNDR4500 with N900 and WNDR4700 HD N900 storage router. But this WN2500RP is the first dual band wireless range extender shipped into the market by Netgear.
Click for spec details
Highlights
- Simultaneous Dual band range extender
- Includes four Fast Ethernet Ports
- Compatible with most wireless routers and gateway
Wn2500 Vs WN3000
What is the difference between the WN3000RP and WN2500RP range extender? It looks like that WN3000RP is the newer product than WN2500RP if you see the product number. WN3000RP is a single band version of range extender but WN2500RP is a dual band version with four wired ports.
Includes 4x Ethernet ports
The good thing with this WN2500Rp is the included four Ethernet ports you can connect up to four home theater devices while providing longer distance coverage to wireless clients within the house. But this one is bigger than the WN3000rp and is designed to place on the table, but WN3000rp is wall-plug design for convenience placement and save space.
The other thing that makes this WN2500RP is different is that it comes with new FastLane technology for maximum performance in streaming and gaming over a single band, designed specifically for Wi-Fi range extender. You can opt to use dual band or FastLane single band operation for optimum HD streaming.
CD-less installation
Installation is easy, no CD or Ethernet cables if your router or gateway supports WPS secure connection. Find the best location to place the device, thanks to the dynamic LED indicator to help you find the best place for optimum Wi-Fi coverage.
Dlink DAP1525
Instead of adding wireless range extender you may also consider Wi-Fi Booster DAP-1525 which is designed to amplify your existing network.
Features
- SmartBeam antenna technology
- Selectable dual band
- Four Gigabit ports
- USB port for share storage or printer
For longer distance coverage, you may also consider high power Amped SR10000 long range high power smart repeater with dual 600mW high power and low noise amplifier. It’s a high speed repeater up to 300Mbps with MIMO antenna technology.
Range extender Networking diagram
The figure above shows you the networking diagram for this WN2500RP range extender.
Customer ratings
So far, the average customer ratings are 3.9 out of 5 stars, quite good for a new product. I do not comment to the 5 star ratings because that’s the expectation of a product according to factory spec. Overall, the number of those who provide 1-star ratings is only about 25% of those who provide 6 star ratings, fairly good I think.
The following is summaries of some reviews with 1 star ratings.
Ethernet ports do not work
A user could not get the wired connection to work, but no problems at all with the wireless connection via the extender. He is a newbie, probably he get some problems with the IP configuration for the computers connected via wired connection, things like different subnet. Other users found this product just work fine both wireless and wired connection. Technical support not much help with his problem even though this user need to return the product and get replacement.
Poor customer support
Many users complain with customer service / technical support which are lack of product knowledge and the more difficult thing is the substandard English problems they speak which is apparently outsourced to non English speakers.
Return the product and find Linksys RE1000 works fine
One user was very disappointed with this product when he paired it with a Linksys router. He tried to replace the router with WNNDR3400 to get the same vendor devices and paired it with Netgear extender and the result was still the same, do not provide a good solution of a range extender. Finally he used Linksys RE1000 extender, all the problems fixed and get strong signal.
You may also like:
- Amped SR300 smart high power wireless repeater
- Linksys by Cisco WET610N Vs WES610N Wireless Dual Band Ethernet Bridge
Recent Comments