NETGEAR Renewed WN2500-100NAR N600 Desktop WiFi Range Extender with no Ethernet Cable Required.

I live in WI-Fi nightmare I always used Ethernet in my office, and the rest of my 900 square foot condo suffered from the overcrowded 2.4 GHz network. Well recently the condo association mandated that we move to AT&T U-verse with wireless receiver boxes for our TVs. Where as the wi-fi environment was bad before, when only 50% using WI-Fi, we have now moved to 100% of the condos broadcasting 5 GHz WI-fi signals to watch TV, and every unit has a dual band gateway that talks on the 2.4Ghz and 5 GHz bands whether they have internet service or not. Oh and the U-verse routers are Auto-channel, but the 2.4GHz Auto-channel on the Arris Wireless Gateway that is supplied doesn't just use channels 1, 6 and 11, like most routers do, it uses 1,3,6,9, and 11, causing severe interference.The new U-verse wireless Gateway could not be installed in my office, so now I needed a wireless solution. After reading about WI-fi, it seemed my best bet was to use a 5GHz solution. My network laser printer wasn't WI-fi enabled, and my wireless inkjet printer didn't support 5 GHz and the two computers in the office don't support 5GHz either. So I bought this unit for its 4 Ethernet ports.I configured my U-verse Wireless Gateway, to broadcast SSIDs that were different for the 2.4 and 5 GHz bandsThen I connected this router to the 5GHz band.This NetGear unit started broadcasting new SSID's on both 2.4 and 5GHz channel. I couldn't have that, the air is already over crowded! I didn't need the signal repeated, the signals were already strong. I just wanted the Ethernet connections for my Ethernet only device, and my devices that didn't support 5Ghz.So I looked at the DHCP on the wireless gateway to find the IP address of the Netgear.I then logged into the NetGear using that IP address and turned off the wireless repeating both bands.Because of the overcrowding of the air, the wI-fi channel is constantly changing, and this unit follows that signal very well.I ran speed tests several times a day.When I connect my laptop directly to 2.4 Ghz channel on my U-verse gateway, my download speeds varied from 5 to 26Mbs.When I connected my laptop via ethernet to the range extender my downspeeds varied between 28.1 and 29.4 Mbs, giving me a much more reliable connection speed.Because of the 5GHz overcrowding the 5GHz channel changes often, and this unit follows it flawlessly.All in all this is a real winner!

Just greatI used the WPS switch to connect it to my Netgear router and it works without problems, normally I prefer to do any settings in the router with the GUI web browser utility setup.It came with the latest firmware, so it did not require it to be upgraded.It automatically picked up the WAP WI-FI password stored in the router, and it assigned itself an SSID name related to the one that I have for the router (that was cool).I had been using Netgear product for quite some time, and they never disappoint me.The range is excellent, and it keeps the connectionThough the product is refurbished, I received mine with not even one single scratch, and it had a protective film around that I had to remove.For $20 I consider it to be a great buy, I hope that it will last, and I do not have problems with it.The devices that I connected to this extender are mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets., since my PC is ethernet wire connected to the router, and my laptop WiFi connected to the router.Overall I have a significantly better signal in a couple of bedrooms that are far from the router and know I have a dependable signal in my backyard, which allows me to enjoy the swing in the lanai.Streaming YouTube outdoors at 480p works without problems, I have not tried yet what will happen with 3 or 4 devices streaming at 720p. I think that that may prove to be too much, but on the other hand, it is not what I intend to do.As for other devices such as the Fire TV, I will keep them connected to the router, since I have no issues with the signal.I am using an app in my Android smartphones and tablets that is called WIFI manager, it changes to the best available signal automatically.

I needed an extender after switching internet providers (DSL to Fiber), and the new modem/router was installed in a corner of my house furthest from my office. I had 4 wired devices on my old router (Media Server, XBOX360, etc.) that I wanted to continue using, but didn't want to run wires all across my house.I looked into turning an old router into a "wireless bridge", but the ones I had required a cable to do this. Then I checked on wireless access points, but again, the ones I found in my price range required a cable to be run. Then I figured out I needed a "wifi extender", and looked for one that had 4 Ethernet jacks. I was thrilled to find this one refurbished and sold by Amazon.This didn't come with any manuals, just a page with an internet link. But I have some experience setting up networks, so I plugged a desktop into the wifi extender, and opened my browser to the gateway address (defaulted to 192.168.1.250). The wizard was super-simple, and only took about 10 minutes to complete. I just had to select my existing wireless network, enter the security info, and select a few options. For example, it will automatically mimic your existing wifi password and network name, or you can change those to whatever you want. The wizard did everything else, and now I have extra wireless networks (2G and 5G) ready for use on that side of the house.I confirmed my devices could communicate with each other, regardless of whether I was connected to the Wifi extender or the original wireless router. That was big deal to me, and I feel this device was everything it is advertised to be. I've done a few speed tests and am happy with what I've seen so far.