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Forum Discussion
I cannot connect my wi-fi extender
Hi,
I just purchased this WiFi Mesh Extneder and I am having difficulty setting it up with my router. My router is from my cable complany (Optimum). I tried setting up the extender both with the Nighthawk app on my phone and by connecting with WPS. There is a WPS button on my Optimum router, but there is no light on it to indicate if a connection is being made. The WPS light on the WiFi extender was blinking green for a while when I tried to establish the connection, then it turned off.
I don't know whether the problem is that I am doing something wrong or my router is incompatible with the extender. I tried to get through to the cable company for tech support (which I don't know that they would give me for a 3rd party product), but I could not get through. I watched the video on the Netgear site, and I believe I did everything mentioned in the video. The only difference was that the video demonstrated a different model extender being connected to a Netgear router.
Thank you for any thoughts or suggestions you may offer,
Kenny
3 Replies
Are you setting it up in access point mode or extender mode?
If its extender mode, make sure the switch on the side is in extender mode. Then connect a pc/laptop directly to the extender. Disable the wifi on the device you directly connect to it. Then try to setup the extender using the installation wizard. (not wps)
Unfortunately, you just went past my level of understanding. I use a MacBook; I don't know if that makes a difference. I also don't know if you mean to connect the MacBook physically to the router; i.e., with an ethernet cable (which I cannot do as the Mac does not have an ethernet port) or to wirelessly connect to the extender with the WiFi off. I don't understand that either. How can I connect the Mac to the extender if the wireless is turned off? I had hoped that installing this device would be fairly plug 'n play, but undortunatel it is not. I am very disapoointed in this situation.
On the side of the extender, there's a switch. Access point mode or extender mode.
extender mode: connects to the router via wireless connection and rebroadcasts.
access point mode: connects to the router via the ethernet wire and broadcasts.
which method are you trying to setup the extender with?
You can setup the extender using the wireless connection setup or using a wired connection. I was just recommending trying it hardwired (via ethernet connection) because it tends to go faster and smoother.
The reason I'd said to shut off the wireless would be if you were doing the setup while connected to the extender via ethernet. It would keep the pc/laptop from defaulting back to the wireless. If you're not using the ethernet connection method, then leave the wireless on.
It is fairly plug and play. The problem is not all device manufacturers code wps the same so it doesn't always work. Thats when you using the install assistant. The manual walks you through using the install assistant.
