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jnojr's avatar
jnojr
Guide
Aug 05, 2025

Extender weirdness

I have an R6700v3 router and two EX6400 extenders.  I realized the extenders had stopped working (power light only) so re-set them up.  They both successfully connected, updated the firmware, etc.  They have all of their lights on.

 

But... when I go to mywifiext it says "You are not connected to your extender's WiFi network."  That is incorrect... I am.  In the Nighthawk app, both of them appeared for a little while (and called <unknown> with no way to change the name, which is another gripe I have). BUt then they vanished, and when I open it now, "Device Manager" says "Devices Online (0)"

 

At times, the Device Manager will show random stuff that is not a Netgear anything.  At other times I'll see an "<unknown>"  Sometimes the MAC is an extender, sometimes it isn't.  Sometimes it shows an IP address, sometimes it doesn't.  Sometimes I can find an IP and go to it in my browser, sometimes I can't.  And at no time can I get any kind of decent connection even though the lights are green.

 

What's the trick to getting these things to work reliably?

1 Reply

  • plemans's avatar
    plemans
    Guru - Experienced User
    Aug 06, 2025

    I have a hatred for the app. 

    I'd recommend logging into the router through the browser. Then you can check the attached devices list and see if they're on there. You can also access them using their IP address from this list. 

    Its not abnormal to get <unknown> because the extender has to give the device connecting to it a virtual mac. 

    This is the route I'd go and trust. Its always been the most accurate. 

     

    One thing I'd advise with running more than 1 extender is make sure they're setup in a star configuration and not daisy chained. 

    IE don't go router----->extender------>extender

    Go Extender<-------router-------->extender

     

    Those extenders take a 50% speed reduction because they can't broadcast/receive at the same time. So they cut the speed in half of what they receive. Add a second one after the first and its BEST case is its getting 25% of speed from the router. And that's best case because distance/interference/obstruction all reduce speed too.