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We've unlocked the potential of our WiFi Extenders by adding WiFi Mesh!
Our latest firmware update allows users of our EX6400 and EX7300 extenders to enjoy the benefits of WiFi Mesh! With a single WiFi Network Name and Smart Roaming, you can create a whole home seamless WiFi experience without making any changes to your existing network.
Improve your coverage and create a powerful WiFi Mesh System by downloading the latest FW today:
EX6400: https://www.netgear.com/support/product/EX6400.aspx#download
EX7300: https://www.netgear.com/support/product/EX7300.aspx#download
Tell us below how our Mesh Extenders has changed your WiFi experience.
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I am trying to update the software to the latest version with the Mesh ability, and keep getting error messages that the software is not the one for my EX 7300. I followed the prompts for the EX7300. Is anyone else having this problem or know the solution?
I could get much faster speeds when I manually selected the 5 Ghz extender SSID but now when I create the single WiFi name, it doesn't seem to ever select the faster one. I've even tested and reverted back and forth and as soon as I go back to broadcasting the invidual radios and manually select it, I can get aboug 150 Mbps. When I have the single WiFi SSID, I get about 10-20 which is more like what the 2.4 Ghz extender was providing. I've reset multiple times.
Thanks for your comments which I totally agree. It caused me more trouble then its worth, especially if the router is turned off. It seems to lose the configuration settings that is made and unable to make a internet connection. I ended up doing a full reset of the router and starting a fresh and just kept the Basic settings for both 2.4MHz and 5MHz.
Netgear has tried to make basic Extender/Access Point routers to do more then what they were designed and capable of doing, by thinking that a Firmware Upgrade V1.0.1.78_1.0.140 will make it equal to the new mesh systems.
Hi Frankelken,
Welcome to the community.
To enjoy Mesh benefits, please make sure you enable one WiFi name on your extender and connect all your wireless devices to the router’s SSID. For instructions, click on link below:
Also, make sure your extender is updated to the latest FW version.
Regards,
Dexter
Community Team
I'm having the same issue. I saved the firmware update V1.0.2.136 to my desktop but when I try to upload it I get an error message telling me the firmware file is incorrect. I also notice the file path name to be C:\FAKEPATH\EX7300-EX6400-V....
My current firmware version is V1.0.1.78. When I use the Genie to check for a firmware update online it's tellin me I have the latest version.
Had similar issue.
I unzipped the file into a folder. Copied the larger file to my desktop (not the one that looks like a website...that was an instruction page in my case),and pasted the larger unzipped file it the "Browse box" on the firmware upgrade spot.
I also did a factory reset as directed (red print lines), used WPS to router and it seems to work. But my 2.4 and 5 Ghz LEDs are off (the power and WPS LEDs are lit). Is this the way it should be? That's my question to all.
Thanks.
I updated the firmware to the most current version successfully. I want to use the mesh feature so that I can seemlessly access the same SSID throughout the property. As I understand it, I need to now perform a factory reset to unlock the Mesh WiFi features. Is that the only task? What else would I need to do? Is there clear documentation someone can point me to? Thanks.
I am using extenders and I should say it is working better than ever. Covers my entire floor without any issue. Goodwork NG!
When you say "Mesh" as I correct that you mean adding multiple extenders to your router? That's what I'm trying to accomplish but bought two EX2700s hoping I could use them to do this. Are you saying it isn't possible with the 2700 and that I need to send them back and exchange them with one of these two models to achieve this objective?
And do either of these two models support device-control via the extender for devices like the Google Chromecast?
I have a r7800 running smart connect. I read the manual posted in this thread and trying to figure out if the EX7300 supports smart connect. Also if the router broadcasts one ip which band does the extender connect to? I don’t think a Triband extender gives me any benefit since the router is dual band. I would like to have one name in my home using smart connect if available.
RJG202 wrote:
I have a r7800 running smart connect.
Nighthawk extenders call this feature "one wifi name", which I think better describes it.
That feature isn't listed in the EX7300 user manual, but it is on the Netgear product page ( https://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/wifi-range-extenders/ex7300.aspx ). I suspect the user manual is just a bit behind the newer branding.
RJG202 wrote:
Also if the router broadcasts one ip which band does the extender connect to?
The extender connects to a wifi network - using the network name (SSID). It doesn't connect to an IP address. With FastLane you choose whether you are connecting on 2.4g or 5g. That only gives you a single band for your clients - one reason to get a triband extender. More on that below.
RJG202 wrote:
I don’t think a Triband extender gives me any benefit since the router is dual band.
Actually it does offer significant benefits. An extender is a relay - everything it receives from clients is forwarded to the router (and vice versa). The router->extender link is often called the "backhaul". Dual band extenders are doing this relaying with a single (shared) radio. That shared radio can only do one thing at a time - first communicating with a client and then communicating with the router. So sharing the radio cuts the performance in half.
Triband extenders let you dedicate one 5G radio to the backhaul (using Netgear's FastLane feature), and use a different 5G radio with your devices. The two radios operate independently - communicating with the client and the router at the same time. That eliminates the performance bottleneck that results when you share the radio. This benefit is delivered even if the router is only dual band.
The EX7300 is a nightmare...I have 30 expereince in networing....the Netgear firmware does not properly download....the web page failes 404 not found...the ULR IP adress does not connect to the device when using CAT 6 connection...three phone calls to India Support and NOBODY knows how to update the NEEDED firmware or accesss, load the admin software....so the EX7300 cannot be updated and meshed into the WIFI network....the support people in India are GROSSLY undertrained....tried for 15 hours now to get a USA person...no luck there...I am now reading in Netgear posts that EVERYONE else is having the same problem with the EX7300 where i guess I have to give up now....dow ANYONE know how to PROPERLY update and configure, and mesh the EX7300??? ANYONE? ANYONE???
I've installed the last fix to use mesh capabilities. But my devices (iphone 7) or mac does not change inmediately from Extender to my router. Looks like it works like always w/o any improvement,.
I had already downloaded the latest Firmware for my EX7000 extender, but never opened up its capabilities. Yesterday I setup FASTLANE and selected Option 2.4MHz between router and modem and 5GHz bteween router and device, and checked ONE NAME.
I use a laptop which both the laptop and modem/EX7000 are turned off overnight. When I turn both on, under the ONE NAME option my laptop is connecting to the modem at 2.4GHz. Once I disconnect from the network and reconnect, I then connect at 5GHz and eveything is great.
What causes me to have to disconnect and reconnect to access the 5GHz network of the EX7000? Or should I reset the router and not check the ONE NAME box and manually add another SSID for the 5GHz?
Thank you.
By adding the new mesh functionality to EX7300 extender, you have introduced new bugs and taken away some of the opriginal features of the extender/access point EX7300. For example, after the upgrade to a new firmware (going from 1.0.1.78 to 1.0.2.140 or to 1.0.2.136), the status page incorrectly reports EX7300 has no internet access. To clarify, I use EX7300 as an access point with a wired internet connection and with ony a single band (5GHz) Wi-Fi radio enabled. This bug may seem innocent, because the EX7300 is nonetheless functioning as an access point. However, starting with firmware 1.0.2.140 the option to adjust Wi-Fi transmit power was taken away, i.e. "WiFi Coverage" option in the configuration utility has disappeared. For an access point the ability to adjust transmit power is basic, and at the same time essential, and eliminating that ability brings down the quality of the product substantially. I would not have purchased this EX7300 device if the option to adjust transmit power were not awailable. Of course, I can keep the older firmware 1.0.1.78 for now, but that also means no more security updates as new vulnerabilities are discovered. Perhaps, it would be fair to balance that trumpeting of the new mesh features with a little bit of the bitter truth that some functionality and/or an ongoing support is being taken away from the original product.
Does anybody know why the option of changing Wi-Fi transmit power is conflicting with the mesh functionality? Netgear's newer devices, such as EX8000, do not have Wi-Fi transmit power feature available, even though the previous and much more basic generations of extenders used to support it.
A user buys a product as it has the functions that the user is after, but then the manufacturer (Netgear) in this case, intoduces new firmware to improve its security, plus try and turn a router into the latest thing on the market "WiFi Mesh", which the router was not originally designed for. But overall, stuffs up most peoples routers along with taking away functions which was the users reason for purchasing the product.
Maybe Netgear thought the User had too much power (excuse the pun) and decided to take away functions that were useful to the user.
Too much power, huh? :smileyfrustrated: You may be right.
But to continue your pun line, in this case Netgear is locking the EX7300 device at the highest radio output power allowed by the regulations in your country. Too much transmit power can actually be bad for your wireless network performance, but it is a whole new topic of ducussion. Ironically, I was adjusting the transmit power DOWN from the max setting to 25%, which happens to be just right for my small apartment. So, whether the user has too much power or too little is truly a matter of perspective - you can argue that Netgear merely substituted user's customization power with overwhelming radio transmit power.
My guess is that Netgear had to disable transmit power option because in the original design both radio bands (2.4GHz and 5Ghz) shared the same transmit power setting. That is a deficient design even for an ordinary access point, but in a mesh system one would probably want to use high transmit power setting for the backhaul band, but low transmit power setting for the band to which wireless clients connect. And because most consumers naively believe that the highest transmit power setting is best, why not just lock the device at the highest setting and have no headache?
BTW, Verizon Fios router, which is also a consumer oriented product, still allows changing transmit power individually for each Wi-Fi radio band. One would think that Netgear, which is a more specialized networking equipment company, would be able to offer more sophistication to its customers. Somehow, that is not the case.
- Have an R7000 and 2 EX7000 with latest firmware and make the mesh.. after awhile, none of my equipments can get either 2.4 nor 5 wifi network.
The radios are up down when checking with a wifi analyzer
