Netgear EX7000 WiFi Extender creating new networks, not extending current

[whooosh_a4qslt]

Hello All,

I purchased two of these EX7000s to create a mesh in my largish home and extend my current Xfinity Network (their latest gen router), much like the XPods do. I was told these had greater range and more powerful radios to accomplish better coverage. When I set these up, they want to create their own 2.4mhz and 5ghz networks. These indeed provide better coverage, but if I or other family members are mobile with a laptop, chromebook, or phone around the house it's a PITA to have to switch between these networks. With the Xfinity XPods, they extended the existing network so you could move smoothly through the house without worrying about what network you were attached to. I didn't see a setting other than creating those other networks in the EX7000. What am I missing? That's an unfortunate configuration if that's all that's available.

Thanks in advance,

[whooosh_a4qslt · Accepted solution]

Update,

I installed the second EX7000, power cycled the Xfinity router and waited a bit for the mesh to form. Half an hour or so later in my office (where I was most concerned), where I was once getting 60-70mbps, I'm now getting about 300mbps. We're seeing similar through the house. I'd call this one solved.

Thanks for your assistance. I never did see that One WiFi Name setting though? Maybe with a firmware update?

[plemans]

did you run the setup with one wifi enabled? How do I enable or disable One WiFi Name on my Nighthawk Mesh WiFi Range Extender? | Answer | NETGEA...

[whooosh_a4qslt]

No I did not. I will try this and let you know how I make out. Thanks for the tip!

[whooosh_a4qslt]

So I did a hard reset to start with a clean OS and set up the extender. I didn't see an option for the One WiFi Name feature, but I named both 2.4/5 networks to the same as my primary SSID. I went to the far end of the house where the extender is (I have another to set up), but the speed isn't any faster? I'll need to find the IP through the Xfinity app before I can log into it to view anything, but I can no longer see it on the network (SSIDs are the same now). I guess I can set the other one up the same and see if there's any difference, but I expected to see some difference from the one I set up?  Thoughts? Thanks.

[whooosh_a4qslt · Accepted solution]

Update,

I installed the second EX7000, power cycled the Xfinity router and waited a bit for the mesh to form. Half an hour or so later in my office (where I was most concerned), where I was once getting 60-70mbps, I'm now getting about 300mbps. We're seeing similar through the house. I'd call this one solved.

Thanks for your assistance. I never did see that One WiFi Name setting though? Maybe with a firmware update?

[plemans]

When it was first released, it wasn't mesh. Maybe the firmware updated when you first installed it. After the reset if its on the newer firmware, its default install process is in mesh mode. That might have been