Can the new AX12 router be setup as an extender/booster?

[brakker]

Can the new AX12 router be setup as an extender/booster instead of a standalone?

I already have one of the best Netgear gaming routers in conjunction with a netgear extender. I would like to boost the extender's range by adding this bad boy in place of the normal Netgear extender.

[michaelkenward]

What do you have in mind?

Using the  RAX120 as a wireless repeater (as part of a WDS system) or as a wireless access point (wired to a router)?

The manual will explain what you can do. If you visit the support pages:

Support | NETGEAR

you can feed in the model number and find all the documentation for your hardware.

It might help if you also said what your other hardware is.

[brakker]

I would like the RAX120 to be a wireless extender similar to:

https://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/wifi-range-extenders/EX8000.aspx

The documentation states that I can set up the RAX120 as a router, bridge for access point, however, none of these options are what I am looking for because they all require an ethernet cable. Might the firmware ever inclue the ability for the RAX120 to boost a wireless signal without any ethernet cables present? The reason I would prefer this option with the RAX120 over the X6S repeater is because it's a much more robust device being able to extend further and have more devices connected.

Thanks.

[michaelkenward]

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@brakker wrote:

I would like the RAX120 to be a wireless extender similar to:

https://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/wifi-range-extenders/EX8000.aspx

The documentation states that I can set up the RAX120 as a router, bridge for access point, however, none of these options are what I am looking for because they all require an ethernet cable.

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I assume that you mean "router, bridge or access point".

There are various ways of describing what you want to do. The most common is "wifi repeater". That's what the EX8000 does.

Some Netgear manuals talk of a wireless bridge while others use WDS (wireless distribution system) for wifi-to-wifi bridges.

Here's how they describe it for something else:

How To Set WDS (Repeater Function) on WNDR3300/WNR3500? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

Netgear has helpfully removed the diagram that is used to illustrate what it means by WDS.

It isn't obvious to me that the RAX120 demands a wired link to work as a wireless bridge. But it may also depend on how you configure the router at the other end. You don't say what that is. You refer to a Netgear gaming routers, which is probably one of the XR things. (That has yet another "bridge".)

There is support for the RAX120, including manuals, at the end of this link:

>>>RAX120 | Product | Support | NETGEAR<<<

Have you been through the section Set Up the Router in Bridge Mode?

[brakker]

Yes, I meant "or" instead of "for" when talking about bridge OR AP mode.

The WDS repeater function is exactly what I wish the RAX120 had, but it doesn't according to the manual. The bridge and/or AP mode require an ethernet cable (one mode supplying the connection and the other mode giving the connection through ethernet). Neither of these functions work as I do not and cannot supply an ethernet from my original gaming router and nor do I want to supply an ethernet to my devices.... I am not sure why they would strip WDS functionality. If I missed it, please let me know what page of the manual for the RAX120 describes WDS functionality.

Thanks.

[michaelkenward]

Where does the manual say that Set Up the Router in Bridge Mode needs a wired link? That is what AP mode is for.

I use Powerline Ethernet as a way of getting an Ethernet connection to devices that need to be in AP mode.