ZyXEL Wireless N Plug & Play 300Mbps Range Extender (WRE2205 Version 2)

I'm sitting out the winter in Arizona, and my neighbor agreed to share his Wi-Fi connection with me. But his house is across the street and about 100 feet away. And my living room is at the opposite end of my house from his house. So I can go sit in a lawn chair at the end of the driveway with my laptop on my knees, huddle up next to an open window in my bedroom, or try something new. I decided to try this range extender, and I'm glad I did. I mounted it inside the window in my bedroom, which is the closest I can get to his house without putting the range extender outside. That's still about 100 feet from his front window and another 20 feet inside his house to his wireless router. Well, I'm typing this review on my cheap Chinese tablet (a V920b if you're curious) from my living room, which is at the opposite end of my house and about 40 feet from the range extender. My Wi-Fi analysis software says I'm getting 90%+ signal from the range extender to the tablet, the range extender is indicating 25-50% signal from the neighbor's router to itself, and I've got reasonably good response and performance, both on this tablet and on my laptop. For less than $65, I don't think you can beat that. And next year, this ranger extender will be doing it all again for me at no additional cost.Yes, it can be a little bit intimidating to set up, but it's not that difficult, and once you do it, you won't have to do it again. I had a couple of dropped connections (apparently due to being idle for a period of time), but I fixed that by trial-and-error rotation of the range extender in the window. So it does the job well if you have the patience to get it set up and situated properly.A good product, and one that deserves the 5 star reviews that others have given it.

Since I am updating this review, I should add that I spent about 20 more hours (on top of the initial 10) trying to understand how it works. The good news is that I managed to figure it out. Once you know that, then it's super easy!So, for the poor souls who would otherwise get extremely frustrated, here are the steps for a case where you have a wired computer connected to a router.1. Disconnect your computer from the router, and, instead, connect the Ethernet cable that comes from the router to the device (your computer has no internet connection at this point). Power the device up.2. Use any browser to login to http://192.168.1.2 (admin, 1234) which is the device. This is the only thing your browser will be able to access at this point!3. Go through the steps of pairing the device with your router; use the push-button WPS technique or the password one. Change the default password of the device to your own.4. In the Network > Wireless LAN > General > Name (SSID), do NOT use the default name of your router. Choose whatever other name, say Routername-Zyxel.5. Apply/Continue (to reboot the device). At this point you are done. So, DISCONNECT the Ethernet cable connecting your router to the Zyxel repeater, and reconnect the router back to your computer. You will still be able to login to the device under a website address http://zyxelsetupXXXX, where XXXX are the last 4 characters of your router's MAC address. That website address is created automatically the moment you pair the device with your router.My main revelation was that the device does NOT show as a separate Wi-Fi hot spot---unless you choose an SSID name during the setup which is different from the default SSID name of your router. So, now that you are looking for Wi-Fi hotspots, you will see your router, PLUS the device which appears under the new SSID name you just gave it. Login to this new hotspot using the SAME Network Key you use to login to your router!Depending on where I now plug the device in the house, my Minipad automatically connects to either the router or the device---depending on which one has the stronger signal.Let's say you want to receive a good signal at a 100m distance. Plug the Zyxel about 50m from your router. You can experiment with where to exactly plug it in the house in order to maximize the signal and transfer rate at the location you want!If you see the Zyxel itself as a hotspot at any point, just "Forget" it. You are still connected to your original router (or the repeater) with the original security, password, etc.Update as of 11/1/13Since I wrote the above, I have come to the OPPOSITE conclusion. This device---although working---did NOT increase my bandwidth by one single baud. I tried plugging it into many outlets around my house, and it never gave me any advantage whatsoever!At the end, I decided to return it, and it's not for the money; it's because of it's USELESSNESS. My only regret is that I had spent at least a 100 hours for a complete and utter disappointment. What a waste of my time!!!!!!Regards, Yair

The wireless network in our home did not provide the signal strength in the one room in our home where we spend the most time so I found the wireless range extender worth a try.I found the directions that are included with the unit to be less than necessary for my 70 year old brain to get this device working. I called their toll free tech support line and was connected with an agent immediately. I hardly expected such fast service given that many people are taking time off at this time of year (December 30th) leaving only a skeleton crew to handle calls.The agent I spoke with walked me through the set up procedure in less than five minutes. I placed the range extender in the family room where we were having trouble maintaining a connection when using our various computer devices. Our line speed registered the highest possible connection speeds.I am a happy customer. The device works as advertised and the customer support was first rate.I'll update my review after I have a couple of months experience but so far things are looking good.I would have given a five star rating if the printed directions were better.REVISED REVIEW - JANUARY 12After using this device for a short time I began to notice that my internet speed was considerably slower than before it was installed. In addition, it interfered with my Squeezebox Internet Radio. In fact, I could not get any signal at all whereas before I had a solid signal in my kitchen without this device.I originally purchased it to improve the signal in my family room where we spend most of our time and both my wife and I use our various internet driven devices. While we were able to log in easier than before the line speed was greatly degraded.I will try installing a second "N" router in our family room.I may be wrong, but I believe this device simply amplifies a weak signal and in the process it also amplifies noise and other elements that slow everything down.I was hoping I found the solution but this isn't it.