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Denna's avatar
Denna
Aspirant
Nov 24, 2016
Solved

Want to connect an Ethernet router to wireless hotspot

Which Netgear devices can be used to connect an Ethernet router to a hotspot via Wi-Fi 802.11ac ?
  • TheEther's avatar
    TheEther
    Nov 26, 2016

    Denna wrote:
    Why is it that some people think that a range extender can't be used as a media bridge in this configuration ? Ethernet clients >>> Router >>> Ethernet port on range extender >>> Wi-Fi connection to hotspot

    I don't really know.  I did state that the principal purpose of an extender is to increase the range of an existing Wi-Fi.  The fact that it can also connect a wired device to an existing Wi-Fi network is a secondary benefit.  It's this secondary benefit that's being leveraged to achieve your setup.

    Is there a problem with NAT or routing ?

    An extender doesn't NAT nor route, so no.  An extender may be slightly less efficient than a media bridge because it does expend some effort broadcasting its own SSID.  With your setup, you would not have any clients connect to the extender's network but it's still going to be active.  I can't really quantify the impact but I think it will be negligible.

    Could a Netgear EX7300 be used to connect a router to the hotspot via Wi-Fi ?

    Sure, although it's probably overkill for your needs.

    Could the Fastlane feature be enabled when connecting to the hotspot ?

    Fastlane works by dedicating one of the two frequency bands (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) to connect to an existing Wi-Fi network and the other band to service Wi-Fi clients.  If you really plan on using the extender as a media bridge, the extender won't have any Wi-Fi clients, so Fastlane won't be of any benefit.