Belkin Wireless G Universal Range Extender - F5D7132

This is a great product except that it was difficult to get started. But that was only because the instructions are not that good. I talked to Belkin support for about 3 hours before getting mine to work. The lower level workers didn't know the problem and simply read to me the things I already tried. The problem with mine was that I was using a WPA-2 Personal password but the range extender didn't support that encryption. I was told to use a WEP encryption and then everything worked great. I use it to repeat the signal for my PS3. My router is in my basement while my PS3 is on the main floor. I used to get about 60%. Now I get 100% signal strength. Overall, great value, good product. Just a little difficult to get it up and running. But I think the slight headache is worth the savings.
 
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I am using it as a range extender to grab my main wireless (internet connection) from upstairs to downstairs. It works great, but about every day or so, I have to unplug and replug in the belkin. I don't have to do that with my linksys. Once it reboots, it works flawlessly for the next 24-36 hours.
 
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I should have listened to the other purchasers who complained of having problems getting it to work. I am technical and experienced at configuring networks and I can't get it to do what it supposed to do, extend my network. Look for a better product even if you have to spend more. It has been over the 2 weeks since I bought it and Buy.com will not even take it back.
 
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As other reviewers have said, there is some configuration to be done if you have a secure network, but after that it works great. I had an additional problem that I have not seen mentioned. To make configuration changes, you need to wire the Extender to your computer and login (password is the empty string). When I wired it to my Thinkpad laptop and hit "Submit" to login, the "LAN" light on the Extender went out and it froze up! The solution was to use a different machine (my desktop and my wife's Mac both worked fine). To this day, I cannot connect my Thinkpad to my Belkin Extender and login without crashing.
 
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This item works well once you get it installed. The set up process did not go well. The documentation left off an important, but otherwise simple, step needed for some typical configurations. Technical support was also without a clue and made a ridiculous recommendation which I chose not to follow. Once I figured it out, I got it working. It has increased signal strength from "very low" to "good".
 
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Yes, this range extender takes a little patience to set up but once it's going IT WORKS GREAT. Forget about the Auto-Setup if your running a secure wireless network. You have to go through the web-based utility program. Took less than 30 mins and it supports WPA. A guy on Amazon reviewed this item and posted a great setup guide. I live in a high-rise apartment building with steel framing, no signal gets through the walls. This repeater, strategically placed (and in an apartment this is very important), quadrupled the signal strength and quality. Saved me from buying a $200+ draft-N wireless setup. Just a little patience goes a long way.
 
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I got this because my house is quite tall and the main wireless station is on the lowest level. This device is fabulous if all you want to do is boost the wi-fi signal for an open network. If you have a secure network, things get more complicated, though there is a pretty good user's guide to help. But I could not get my wireless printer to work at all. And there was nothing in the user's guide about that (or other devices on the network). I called customer support (free, answered pretty quickly), but the explanation was too convoluted (something about changing the IP address of my printer). So now it sits unused. Not a big investment, but not quite what I hoped for either.
 
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This unit works as advertised (for me anyway). The documentation is easy to follow, and states that it doesn't work with Vista and to disable security before installing. This unit extended the range of my wireless network throughout my house, even outside. Not sure if I can re-enable security again, though. Well worth the $25 net price I paid.
 
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This is a wireless RANGE EXTENDER that you hook up to your wireless router to have better signal strength. It is not a wireless router. It works pretty good but if you want just one wireless router I suggest getting an N ROUTER instead of two G products. They cost around the same.
 
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This range extender works great! I have a garage on the back of my property where I like to work on old computers. My router is well inside the house. I could not connect to the internet from the garage before but now I get a great signal and it works fine.
 
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It took a little while to set up as you must follow the detailed instructions to set this up as an access point. It works very well and I have never had to reboot it.
 
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I was able to setup the extender with no problems in less than the time it took me to unpack the device. Able to cover the the rest of the house with the device.
 
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I did set up last night. There is only a few steps: 1. Disconnect any kind of network, including wireless; 2. Turn on this range extender; 3. Connect to your computer with the cable which the Belkin provide. Specify the TCP/IP: IP address: 192.168.2.xxx ( xxx is anything except 254, I use 105) Subnet mask:255.255.255.0 Default gateway:192.168.2.254 Please do not do nothing about DNS 4. The rang extender and your computer is in the same LAN. The LAN light from Rang Extender should be green. I think it is ready to set up when the Search light doesn't flash. 5. Type 192.168.2.154 on your browser Now you are facing the setup page. Enjoy it!
 
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It took about 2 hrs to get this setup with a security enabled wireless network. Belkin tech support had me doing things over and over. On the 5 call or so I finally spoke with someone who knew how to fix it correctly it took less than ten minutes to get it set up and running great. In the old area I use to get about 5Mbps and a good signal, now I'm back to 54Mbps and an excellent signal. It's well worth the little hassle to get it set up.
 
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I didn't notice any improvment in signal range with this device when used as an wireless extender. The indicator light is green, so I assume it's trying to work, but at the far locations in my modest-sized house, the signal strength didn't increase any noticable amount.
 
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I purchased a WAP 54G and needed a range booster to help out on the fringes of my home. The performance on the fringe seems to have increased marginally, although the indicated signal strenght is the essentially the same as before. I tried the easy set up button, but that only works when you're not using any security, so i had to set it up manually with the cable. The included instructions aren't that great, but i managed to get through it. I'm beginning to wonder if i should have spent the extra money and purchased the Linksys range extender, too late though. You can't beat the price though.
 
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This unit was purchased to improve signal strength in my basement. Configuring the unit to work with my WPA secured network was easy using the PC interface. Make sure to position the extender where you receive 2-3 bars signal strength from your wireless router to ensure good extender performance, and also use a unique SSID for the extender so that you can differentiate it from your main network signal. If the extender is positioned where router signal strength is low, extender performance will be poor. Once I found the best position for the extender, signal strength is excellent everywhere in my basement and communication speed is very good.
 
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