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Forum Discussion
EX6200 AP Mode?
It seems that some Netgear extenders can also be used as access points and some can not. I have an AC750 that is a wall mount that has AP functionality. I purchased an AC1200 (EX6200) and it appears from the documentation that it can't act as an AP. Is this correct? Do I need some other device? Is there some matrix somewhere that shows which extenders can act as access points?
7 Replies
According to the documentation, you are correct in that the EX6200 cannot be used as wired AP (*), meaning that you cannot connect it to the main router via Ethernet. It, of course, can function as a wireless AP in that it uses Wi-Fi to connect to the main router.
(*) Dang, that means I was wrong in assuming that all 3000, 6000 and 7000 series extenders support wired AP. I wish there was a table listing devices that support it, but I don't think one exists. You have to look in the User Manual of each model.
- Yeah, looks like we get to trudge through the manuals for each one. I'm thinking there's no technical issue with the hardware in this device, just a feature they decided to strip out versus the myriad of other extenders that they make.
Back to Amazon it goes. Maybe it was the TP-LINK in this class that has that function in it.I agree with you. There's no technical reason why they can't support it.
FWIW, I determined that among the 3000, 6000 and 7000 series extenders, only the EX6200 and WN3500RP do not support wired AP mode. All of the other models support it.
- I see my mistake. I was probably looking at the info for the AC1200 wall plug extender (EX6250) that DOES apparently perform as an Access Point. Oddly, the listing for that device also notes NAS functionality but I can't see how that would work with no apparent USB port on the little wall plug version. It makes me think that they may have their descriptions for the desktop version and the wall plug version flipped since the are both touted as AC1200.
Well, in this recent post a user describes loading the latest firmware and setting the EX6200 up as an Access Point. Does the firmware actually allow AP mode and it's just not documented in the manual? My little AC750 wall plug has a switch for AP mode that makes it pretty clear but I'm unsure on these desktop devices when the manual clearly omits the functionality. Just trying to gain clarity ... I already sent the EX6200 back to Amazon.
- Well, it wouldn't be the first time a company introduced a feature without updating the documentation. But the manual is dated January, 2015, so it's not that old. I looked at the Release Notes of the two latest firmware versions released after the manual. I see no indication that they added support for wired AP mode.
Here's an older link that confirms that it was not supported at that time (Nov 2014).
https://community.netgear.com/t5/WiFi-Range-Extenders-Repeaters/EX6200-unlike-EX6100-doesn-t-support-LAN-uplink/td-p/502956The only place you can set the EX6200 for wired AP mode is after resetting it, and getting the auto generated webpage when connecting to it (I've only done a wireless connection to its default wifi ssid, not sure if wired works). From there you can select AP or Extender.
I have not used it, but it is an option now. Must have been added in a firmware update.
