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Forum Discussion

rikard78's avatar
rikard78
Aspirant
May 23, 2017

Best wifi extender for Nighthawk x8 R8500

Hi,   I am looking to extend my wifi network to get over deadzones. My nighthawk x8 is in my basement where both the Verizon ONT and a large number of wired connections throughout the house termina...
Before You Buy
GearNetRouter's avatar
GearNetRouter
Virtuoso
May 24, 2017

I have the EX6200. The range is good considering it goes through several walls and around corners.

 

In your case I think to get the strongerst signal you want to get another router and set up a LAN cable to a different floor and have the second router be an AP.

rikard78's avatar
rikard78
Aspirant
May 24, 2017

Hi,

 

thanks for the recommend. So I have a LAN cable to a different floor and can put in an Access Point on that other floor. What are the differences between setting up a router as an AP or an extender like the EX6200 or EX7000 as an AP? What benefit would I get from setting up a router as an AP instead - is it just likely to be a stronger signal?

 

thanks,

 

    • rikard78's avatar
      rikard78
      Aspirant
      May 24, 2017

      thanks for that. I understand now that what I want is an Access Point. However, what I don't understand is the comment that it was better to get a router to run as an AP (as opposed to getting a range extender to run as an AP). Maybe the question is better phrased as if I need to get an AP, what is going to be the best bang for buck device I can get to fulfill that. is it:

       

      A. A router running in AP mode (like say the X4= $171)

      B. A range extender running in AP mode (like the EX7000 = $108)

      C. A dedicated AP device. I didn't see any in home section only in Business (like WAC104-100NAS = $59.99); or

      D. other device

       

      All of these devices are Dual Band gigbit devices supporting AC802.11 with different antenna options (both number and power) and all can be run in AP mode. So if the EX7000 has the best antenna that will give the widest range of the devices I have listed, is there an equivalent dedicated AP only device that netgear has which would deliver the same functionality but because it doesn't have the extra range extension capabiltiy is cheaper?

      • rikard78's avatar
        rikard78
        Aspirant
        May 28, 2017

        I ended up going for an EX7300 - an extender running in AP mode.Works great so far, no dead spots.