Which is better: Netgear AC750 vs WNDR4300 set up as repeater

Question

I currently have a Netgear WNDR4300 router installed upstairs in a two-story house. Using iPhone 4S phones downstairs on the Wi-Fi network I'm experiencing lots of dropouts from the Wi-Fi connection.

Would I be better off buying and installing a Netgear AC750 extender downstairs or buying another WNDR4300 router and setting it up downstairs as a repeater? What would be the advantage of one or over the other if there is one?

TheEther · Answer

The WNDR4300 will not function well as a repeater, so you should go for an extender. &nbsp;The iPhone 4S can only do 2.4 GHz, so an AC750 (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) extender would be overkill. &nbsp;But if you have other Wi-Fi devices that are dual-band, then they would benefit.&nbsp;

Danmancalif · Answer

Thanks for the input. The reason I considered the WNDR4300 as a repeater is because the user manual has instructions on setting it up as a repeater.

My goal is to get a stronger signal downstairs so that my iPhone 4S stops losing the Wifi connection which is causing me to go over my data limit and incur additional charges.

I hope an extender will do that... Overkill or not.

TheEther · Answer

The big caveat with using the WNDR4300 as a repeater is that you cannot using WPA/WPA2 security. &nbsp;Look at the manual and it will say that you must use either WEP or no security at all. &nbsp;WEP is fundamentally insecure, so it's as good as no security. &nbsp;An extender is a purpose-built repeater that fully supports WPA2 security.

Danmancalif · Answer

Thanks very much again. You have been very helpful in educating me and I need all the help I can get. Extender it is then.

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Which is better: Netgear AC750 vs WNDR4300 set up as repeater

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