Range Extender recommendations for MR1100

[dahisser]

Wondering in anyone in community has range extender / mesh network recommendations for use with the Nighthawk MR1100 to broaden it's coverage area? Good results? What to avoid? Netgear tech support suggested the Netgear AC1900 Range Extender (EX7000), but thought would seek counsel from the community. thanks!

[JSchnee21]

Hi @dahisser,

I’d suggest a proper wireless access point plugged into the Ethernet jack. Something like the TP-Link EAP245 (or 225) or similar non-router. Steer clear of the EAP330 (it’s flaky). If you get a small switch like the Netgear GS105 or GS108 you can connect a number of devices (like Roku, PC, etc) in addition and save loading your Wi-Fi network with streaming. Turn off the Wi-Fi on the MR1100, get a decent QC2/3 rapid charger (Anker) and run the MR1100 without the battery installed.

-Jonathan

[UK-based]

And if you need wider coverage, you could wire an Ethernet switch to the MR1100 and then wire multiple access points to the switch. How you decide to do this depends on your budget and your willingness to try things out. I wanted a low-cost solution so I bought this low cost TP-Link 5-port unmanaged Ethernet switch. I then purchased two second-hand routers and set them up as access points, disabling their DHCP services and firewalls. I gave them different SSID names, including naming the 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands differently so that I always know which router and which speed my devices are connected to. There are plenty of YouTube videos that can help with this. I kept the WiFi active on the MR1100 to give me an extra zone of WiFi signal. The MR1100 is running without battery on an upgraded charger, as indicated by @JSchnee21.

The only occasional problem I get with this setup is that if a mobile device (Android tablet in this case) is connected to one of the access points and I then move into the zone of the other access point, the device attempts to connect but sometimes doesn't receive a new IP address from the MR1100. It just displays "Obtaining IP address". I've found a few ways around this - switching off the access point forces a new IP address to be allocated, but this isn't an ideal solution, especially if the access point isn't very accessible! I've also found that connecting the device to another router (I've got a landline router in addition to the MR1100) and then back to the problematic access point does the trick, but many people won't have this option. I think I may have also got around the problem by connecting directly to the MR1100 and then back to the troublesome access point. I may also have tapped the power button on the MR1100 as a last resort. I'd have to confirm the latter 2 solutions when they crop up again.

I don't know what causes this inability to obtain an IP address from the MR1100 when swapping from one access point to another, so if anyone can explain this I'd be very grateful. Is the fault with the MR1100?

[nhantenna]

"swapping from one access point to another"

traditional wifi + automatic swapping/switching between ap's is hit or miss.  your end device (android tablet) is managing the connections.  each end device can behave differently (tablet vs phone vs laptop etc).  user experience is bad.  my recommendation, manually connect to the ap you are near.

if you are serious about automatic swapping/switching between ap's, mesh networks is what you want.  in mesh networks the mesh ap's control the connections (NOT the end devices like android tablet).  As you move around house/office the mesh network itself moves you from ap to ap.  better experience, not perfect, but way more expensive then traditional wifi ap's.

on my nighthawk lte hotspot, i have never had any trouble manually connecting to a nearby traditional wifi ap.

i have nighthawk wifi turned off.  overall bad experience.  in the nighthawk's defense there is a limit with what you can do with such a tiny device with tiny internal antennas.  the nighthawk lte hotspot can not compete with a traditional wifi ap performance/range/experience-wise.

[UK-based]

@nhantenna: thanks for suggesting a possible cause of the problem I'm having when moving from one access point to another and for introducing mesh networks.

I should have been more explicit in my explanation. I do indeed attempt to connect manually to the second access point by specifically selecting its SSID. At that point I can no longer see the SSID of the first AP because I'm well out of range, and I'm only a couple of feet away from the AP I'm connecting to. More often than not, I get the message "Obtaining IP address" without any subsequent internet connection via the MR1100. That's why I'm thinking that the problem lies between the MR1100, the unmanaged ethernet switch and the access point, with the most likely cause being the MR1100.

Do you have any other thoughts on this?

[dahisser]

Big thanks for the responses, dialog and counsel...greatly appreciated! Had actually purchased Anker rapid charger per recommendations in other discussion threads. Hooked it up and removed the battery. 

Confess that I'm fairly low level tech savvy and have household/home-office filled with low tech users so whatever will be most "user friendly/tech light" will be the direction I'll ultimately go. Frankly while mesh may be more costly, sounds like it could be simpleist to deploy and least complex for users/devices? Am I reading that correctly?

Any experiences with NETGEAR Nighthawk Mesh X6S Tri-Band WiFi Mesh Extender? Other Mesh tech/models?

thx! 

[nhantenna]

"Other Mesh tech/models?"

There are many consumer oriented mesh solutions.  Here are some: 

https://www.pcmag.com/roundup/350795/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems

[nhantenna]

@UK-based 

1) if ap 1 gets ip from nighthawk, then nighthawk dhcp is working fine.

2) physically swap ap's.  does the problem follow the ap?

3) if you move ap 1 to ap 2 location, and now ap 1 stops working, you've got a network problem upstream of ap 2 location.

[nhantenna]

"Frankly while mesh may be more costly, sounds like it could be simpleist to deploy and least complex for users/devices? Am I reading that correctly?"

Yes you are correct.  That is the promise/vision behind mesh solutions.  It you want more WI-FI coverage, just add another unit.  Could not be more simple.  

Another thing to consider is some mesh solutions require a connection to the vendor in order to function.  For example, automatic firmware, cloud management, etc.  If something goes wrong at a vendor (and it already has happened) it can bring your mesh network down at your house.  For example, you may have to setup your mesh network again from scratch.  These are growing pains of mesh networks which are fairly new.  Additionally there are privacy/security concerns.  Buying an ap from a vendor is one thing.  Having that vendor connected to your home network 24/7 is quite another thing.

[dahisser]

Appreciate the wisdom and counsel relative to the mesh.

Over the weekend, had some time to tinker with repurposing an older Netgear X6 router. Connected it to the M1 via cat-5 to create another AP. So far so good. Was surprised was so simple/easy. Thought there may be some "tech work" needed to make it work such as IP pass-through parameters I had seen referenced. Obviously requires a different login from devises, but does give a much bigger (and adequate) range of coverage to our home/office.

In earlier dialogue, I saw reference made to turning off the M1 Wi-Fi off when a secondary AP is set up.

1. What is the advantage of doing that?

2. How do you do that? (Couldn't find a setting on the app to toggle it off)?

thx again.

[ImTravis]

I’ve had good luck plugging in my Nighthawk into my ASUS RT-5300 via USB (using 3.0 port so have removed the battery). Works great as just a USB Modem then and the RT5300 is meshed with my ASUS RT-68U.

im not sure if you have the option, but I find it pretty stable if you can us the Nighthawk as a USB mode .