NETGEAR WiFi 6 Mesh Range Extender (EAX18)

Wasn’t easy to install. Good price but when I called Netgear for help I was told it was several years old.
Good range.

I use Google fiber and was having issues with our WiFi and they upgraded us to a newer WiFi 6 router. We found the issues with our Google fiber extender were because with it being located in the basement, it would not get a good enough signal to extend the WiFi. The new extender had to stay upstairs which left our basement (where my main PC is located) with bad WiFi signal. I was debating between one like this or just another Google fiber extender and went ahead and got this to help with the basement and it has definitely done the job!

The extender itself was insanely easy to setup. Just plugged it in, downloaded the app, and entered some basic setup info. After that everything was up and running. On top of increasing the signal for the basement I wanted to be able to connect my main PC directly to the new extender and can say this has made significant increases to my PC internet speed. I play a lot of competitive online games and with my current setup I can’t hardwire directly to the router so this is the best I can do, but it works great! Before this extender I couldn’t even play games with how laggy it would get. Now my games are running smooth and my downloads speeds are better as well!

All that came in the box along with the extender was a simple two side printed card telling me to download the Nighthawk app on my phone and get installation instructions there–not all of us want to live our entire lives on our phones!

Did it come with a user manual? Or maybe a QuickStart pamphlet! Nope, neither. Are they available? Of course, but you have to log onto Netgear’s website to find and download them. A QuickStart guide is the absolute minimum of what should be included with in the box with ANY product. The one you can download as a .PDF from Netgear is in a wide paper format which can only be printed on standard paper by capturing screenshots of it in “chunks” and printing them separately.

I eventually downloaded the NightHawk app, but it did not solve my installation problem. So I downloaded the user manual, which is excellent (good, detailed steps for a lot of different configuration options). But even following its extensive instructions, my desired configuration didn’t happen–wanted it to work as an access point from an unmanaged wired switch that’s a distance from my router. I eventually had to retreat to using it as a plain range extender. It does work well for that, but I’m not able to reach the signal as far as I would have if I could have connected it to the switch.

This box was a bit of a pain to setup. Reading the reviews I noticed that some people have problems and others say it was “so easy!”. I think I figured out why. The key is that when you first power up the extender you want to see a new wifi network called NETGEAR_EXT. I didn’t see that. You have to reset the router with a paperclip in order to see it. You gently hold the button in for about 10 seconds and the extender will reboot itself. Once it reboots you should see the NETGEAR_EXT network (use your phone to find it.) . I then used the Nighthawk app on my android phone to finish the setup. It was pretty straight forward. At times it was kind of slow taking three or four minutes to complete a step but it did the job. So be patient. In the steps it asks for the wifi password of the router whose range you are extending. Again, the app is kind of slow, hang in there. Once it’s done the NETGEAR_EXT network goes away and both your router and the extender will push out the network name on your router. I have the router in my basement office ( I use wired connections to my computers) and the extender in my wife’s office above me on the first floor. The Router Link LED is Solid amber. Meaning good connection. My wife’s printer (non-wifi) and a phone box (like an Ooma) are connected with ethernet cables to the extender. Seem to work okay. Good luck everybody!