NETGEAR EX7000-100UKS Wi-Fi Mesh Range Extender EX7000 Coverage Up to 1800 sq ft, 30 Devices with AC1900 Dual Band Wireless Signal Booster and Repeater (Up to 1900 Mbps Speed) Plus Mesh Smart Roaming

I have been looking at reviews for the Nighthawk AC1900 SmartWiFiRouter Model R7000 and generally it gets very good reviews. However when I look at the video clips, I notice that it is a slightly different router. Perhaps I am confusing 'router' with 'extender'.There was a very good review for the 'extender'.http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-wi-fi-extender/Possibly part of the problem is that I am trying to use the extender in an area where I already have a fairly strong signal. The reason why I wanted an extender is that I wanted to be able to use an ethernet cable from the extender to my TV and Humax box.So I am trying to use it in an area where there is 'signal overlap'.I have finally got the extender to work on my smart phone. Wow! What an effort!Link to manual: Always worth a look:chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/EX7000/EX7000_UM_21dec2014.pdfChapter 2 Getting startedI had to use my smart phone because I cannot choose which wifi signal to use with my desktop computer.I have tried to connect my Sony Bravia television which is a few years old (5). Although it recognised the ethernet cable network connection, when I tried to connect to any services like iplayer it said that there was 'no network'.Thinking seriously of rejecting this Extender as 'not fit for purpose'.Although it works on my smart phone, that is not what I bought it for. I could get a good signal before on my smart phone.I will try now with the ethernet cable plugged into my Humax Free Sat box. For some reason, I have not been able to get Free Sat through a satelite dish. I won't go into details. Sucess! I am able to access BBC iplayer.In the meantime, I am bidding for a TalkTalk Super Router HG635 on Ebay. So far my bids have been unsuccessful but there are plenty available. The older HG635 has gigabyte ethernet sockets. The sell in an auction for about £25++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I am seriously thinking of return this item and this is why:I am sitting in the kitchen at 4:50 am in the morning. I have been cooking some food that I have taken out of the fridge / freezer. I think: while I am waiting, I will occupy myself in the kitchen by looking up something on my smart phone. I get my smart phone, and log on.I am not connected to the internet:TALKTALK-C467D6_2EXT is the strongest signal put my phone cannot connect to it.TALKTALK-C467D6_5EXT is also a very strong signal from the Extender, but I know that nothing is being broadcast on the 5 frequency.I have to re-enter my password to connect to the WiFi signal coming from my modem / router. What is the point of the Extender?TALKTALK-C467D6Furthermore, it is a nuisance. I never had to reconnect to my WiFi by filling in the password, every time I use it!+++++++++++++++++New Problem:If the wifi does not work, then what about an ethernet connection.I plugged an ethernet cable in between the extender and my Humax box, and the extender and my television. In both cases it did not work, 'weak signal' (which can mean 'no signal').I don't have a good past record with Netgear products but this item seemed to be exactly what I wanted. Even if I did not use the WiFi facility the idea of connecting my old Humax box or TV with a gigabyte ethernet cable filled me with joy.So what was the reality? Well, first of all, I would recommend installing Netgear analytics on your mobile phone through Google Play Store. This is a very good app that shows signal strength and is independent of any purchase.The package from Amazon was large and the contents very well packed. The Netgear extender box was shrink wrapped. When I got it out of the box, I had to take off a lot of clear plastic. At this point, I was very impressed.Unfortunately, when I plugged it in, I was less impressed. It dwarfs my TalkTalk modem in size.The instructions are not quite as simple as they first appear. But everything seemed to work.I have now taken my phone and the extender back into my bedroom where the modem and my computer are. I am now getting a solid wifi signal.So it is good!On Netgear Analytics app it is showing the signal strength as -40 dBm (actually it fluctuates going as low as -38 dBm). This is worse that the signal that I was getting from my modem wifi in my bedroom.The two wifi signals are both 100% and both approx -40 dBm (original -41 dBM original_2GEXT 43 dBM). In my flat there are five networks on Channel 11 and the Clarity is Average.To access my TalkTalk modem I have to google 192.168.1.1+++++++++++I find that modems and routers are far from simple and when something goes wrong it is difficult to know why.The first mistake you can make with this Extender is that it is broadcasting on two frequencies but only receiving on one (Dual Band 2.4 and 5 GHz). That means if you are trying to use the connection on the 5 GHz band you are on a hiding to nothing unless your modem is using the 5 GHz band.I have now realised that my modem is quite poor. I should need to upgrade to possibly a HG635 super router from TalkTalk or another option I am considering: AVM FRITZ! Box 3390 International, wireless router (VDSL / ADSL, 2 x 450 Mbit / s, Annex A + B).+++++++++++++++++I had difficulty connecting my Fire phone to the Netgear Extender. That was a little worrying. I think it might be because I had a German address as my default delivery address. Anyway, I have changed that now.+++++++++++++++++I also had a chat with a friend who said that he does the same thing much more cheaply using a mains based extender.  TP-LINK RE450 AC1750 Universal WiFi Range Extender/Easy WiFi Booster with Three Adjustable External Antennas (Wall Plug, WPS function, Gigabit Ethernet port, Easy Configuration, 2.4 GHz 450 Mbps, 5 GHz 1300 Mbps) So of these are much cheaper than the Netgear solution.+++++++++++++But I made my choice because it was a special offer and now I will try to get it to work.

Not great, drops about 70% of the wifi signal through one wall from living room to bedroom.

We live in a typical 1930-built 3-bed semi-detached. Our Virginmedia superhub is located upstairs at the front. The signal is OK in the front downstairs room but then fades down to 1 or 2 in the back room and is lost at the end of our extension kitchen at the back.Setup of this wifi extender is very straightforward. Anything I setup tends to encounter unusual problems or doesn't work properly, but I had no problem with this. As recommended in the instruction booklet I plugged the extender into a socket very near the superhub, about 3 feet. I think that as long as it is in line of sight it is OK. I then pressed the WPS button on the extender (it is marked) and then the WPS swith on the superhub (it's the bright blue illuminated button at the front showing the Virginmedia logo). After a few moments lights began to flash on the extender and then stayed on showing (a) the power was OK (b) the WPS protocol had been established with the superhub, and (c) on the front of the extender a green light, top left, showing it was getting an excellent signal from the hub. On the hub itself there was a sort of blue-red light but after a while it went back to its usual colour - it didn't affect any of the setup.I then switched on my laptop and looked up available networks. The extender appeared as a separate entry. It had the same name as the superhub plus .EXT on the end. I just selected that one, checked it out with a web browser and it worked fine. This confirmed that the extender was working as it should. Looking at the extender it now also showed a constant green light top right indicating that my laptop was connected OK.Next stage was to unplug the extender and move it downstairs to see how it would improve wifi coverage there. I didn't turn it off, I just unplugged it. When I plugged it in again it took about a minute (or maybe less) to reconnect with the superhub.I tried it in the downstairs front room and it got a green signal from the router i.e. good. Using my phone I checked coverage by switching its wifi to the extender (it uses the same password as the superhub) and then walking around. The signal in my phone was good (3 to 4, with 4 being max) in the back room and better than before in the kitchen. I moved the extender to the back room and it showed a red (poor) signal from the 'superhub' - the wifi signal from the Virginmedia kit seems to tail off quite dramatically. Ours is a brick-built semi and the router is located just inside the upstairs front window so that may be the reason.Despite indicating a poor signal in the back room my phone showed that the wifi signal was now maximum, and it was much improved in the kitchen. The main reason why we wanted better coverage in the downstairs back was for our phones, kindle, laptop and chromecast. Initially, when the extender was in the front downstairs room the chromecast dongle seemed to struggle a bit to stream BBC iPlayer and YouTube to our TV. Casting the internet via Chrome on my laptop was also slow.However, once I moved the extender to the back room the signal was significantly better and the Chromecast dongle's streaming is now only limited by the iPlayer's own bandwidth/prime time usage and we very occasionally get a brief pause while it buffers (usually about 9.30pm!). We recently stopped our cable TV service and have gone over to Freeview so the Chromecast now gives us a catch-up facility, at least for the BBC. We're not interested in paying for streaming movies etc. but if we did install Netflix or whatever I am confident that the signal for the back room TV would be fine due to this extender.[UPDATE 10/4/2015] The Extender continues to work well and we are satisfied with its performance. Getting the BBC iPlayer to work consistently is another matter. Wifi for the Chromecast widget is excellent and it will handle YouTube, Chrome etc. without a glitch, but iPlayer is still very twitchy at times and we have had to abandon watching a programme because it buffers every 9 seconds (very irritating). There have been two updates to iPlayer since we got the extender and I haven't tried it with the last one yet. As this is a very specific use of the wifi and the extender provides a good signal for kindle, phones, laptop etc. I still think it deserves 5 stars, whereas the BBC gets 2 for its iPlayer (also don't like the new layout).I've written this long review because I wanted to explain our experience with the extender and, I hope, answer questions that prospective purchasers may have. I've given it 5 stars because it does exactly what we want. I suspect our brick walls don't help, nor the placement of our superhub. Overall, I can reassure anyone thinking of buying this bit of kit that it is good value for money and is very straightforward to install, move about for best results, and then forget it while it does its job.