Linksys - RE9000 AC3000 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi Range Extender - Black

I have a couple of these in my 3600 Sq. Ft. home. It is probably overkill, but I can get excellent connection and speed throughout my entire house, backyard and about ½ block from the house. Very easy to setup. And if you want to tweak settings they are all there.

Like many, I've struggled for years with modems provided by Service Providers or purchased myself that simply did not give full house Wi-Fi coverage let alone reception to my separate Garage/Workshop. So, even though it bristled with multiple antennae like many other "powerful" units that I've tried before, I was ready for more disappointment when I installed the Linksys - RE9000 AC3000 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi Range Extender . The difference in Wi-Fi coverage was enormous. Whereas before the Linksys RE9000 was installed my only reliable Wi-Fi signal was downstairs rooms except the farthest bedroom, After installing and setting it up, full four bar coverage extended to EVERY inch of my 1.1 acre lot from corner to corner. For the first time I can stream Wi-Fi without buffering in my separate garage in the work room which is in the part of the garage that is farthest from the house. The range I'm experiencing only comes if you run a LAN cable from your router to the area that you want better coverage. Otherwise, you can only located the RE9000 Extender as far away from the main router as its Wi-Fi signal will reach. For me this meant mounting it in the garage attic. The added advantage of the attic location is that the extra 2nd story height pushes the signal farther out to the edges of the property. I feel like my W-Fi has a whole new life. Pros: - Excellent Signal Strength/Range - Device recieving the Wi-Fi signal will be switched automatically and seamlessly between the main or the Linksys router (whichever has the stronger signal in that location), as you move around. - It will beam multiple signals at different frequencies if one frequency has too high a load. - The set up for wireless comunication between the main router and the Linksys RE-9000 is particularly easy. One button-push if you have a modern main Router. - Appears on Wi-Fi list with the same password and same name as your primary router (with "_EXT" after the name. Cons: - The more effective Wired LAN installation and setup is more complicated,but in my personal experience that was offset by the excellent, patient, phone in Technical Support.

I don't normally get excited about an Extender. Given that I have a mesh network, it does everything I need it to, without the hassle of an additional setup of a separate device. However, this is an easy recommendation for those already using Linksys setups with AC network standards, and don't want to buy an expensive mesh network setup. I was pleasantly surprised with the easy setup process. If you have an existing router that supports WPS connections, the setup process is fairly straightforward and quick. If you don't, you'll need to power up the device, connect to the network it broadcasts, and point your browser (with a connected device) to a URL for setup. The quick guide walks you through all the steps for this, and I found that it easily connected to my eero network without any issues. I set this up in my office, where I really did need some additional ethernet ports for two PC's that don't have WiFi network adapters installed. I'm amazed with just how quick they connected, and speed tests showed them able to download at approx 220 (on a 300 connection) easily! I even connected a Media Center PVR that normally requires a wired connection to work properly, and it didn't lag at all throughout the house. Easily streaming any recorded content I had on other Media Center Extenders (Xbox 360's). Compared to their previous extenders (the small white plug in type), this one was far superior in range, speed, and the setup was EASY! I tested it again using a Linksys WRT32X (took down my eero network) and had blazing fast speed throughout my two story home! Placement is really the best thing to really get right with this one, and if you set it up properly, you'll likely get the same speeds I was seeing over wireless (approx 280 down at the furthest point upstairs). Of course, your results may vary depending on your neighborhood wifi saturation, but I had no problems getting Wifi in my backyard, driveway, and the garage with just the WRT32X and this. The unit is around the same size as a PS4 Controller in width, and can be wall mounted! I attached a couple of pictures for reference. Really really impressed! If you're wanting to extend your router's range, this is a no brainer!

Setup The setup process for this range extender is very easy if you have another Linksys Max-Stream router.  Pairing it with my Linksys EA9500 router involved simply pressing the WPS button on the side of the router, then the WPS button on the side of this range extended.  Once the LED turned green, it was ready to move. You'll want to place the range extended about half-ways between your router and the WiFi dead-zone section in your house.  In my case, my bedroom on the second floor is furthest away from the router on the first floor. While the WiFi works in this room, I find my iPhone switching from the 5 GHz band to the 2.4 GHz band which can sometimes cause a delay while it changes.  I would prefer to have the more stable 5 GHz band all over my house. I placed the extender in the middle of the second floor and pulled up the web interface for the RE9000.  Using the "Spot Finder" page on the web interface, it confirmed I was in the "just right" zone. Features One of the most appealing features of this range extender is the "Seamless Roaming."  You know how your phone automatically switches from cell tower to cell tower while you're driving?  We really haven't been able to have seamless switching with WiFi.  Even if you have two WiFi networks in your home, your phone will typically hold on to the first one it encounters even if it moves closer to a stronger WiFi network. Seamless Roaming looks to solve that so you can have uninterrupted FaceTime calls, for example,  as you move around your home.  The RE9000 supports Seamless Roaming with some caveats: - The router must support it.  This includes Linksys' other Max-Stream routers. - Your phone must also support it.  This includes the iPhone 4s and later, the iPad 3rd generation and later, and the Samsung S4 and later.  Your device manufacturer would be your best resource to determine if your phone supports 802.11k ("WiFi Roaming"). Performance When paired with a Max-Stream router, the two devices are able to dedicate a 5 GHz band between them, creating a solid connection suitable for high bandwidth applications such as 4K HD video streaming. I tested this out by making sure my iPhone X was connected to the range extender (you can see what devices are connected in the web interface) and performing a speed test.  My home connection maxes out at 30mbps (which is still suitable for 4K streaming) and I saw the same speed connecting to the RE9000 as I did connecting to my main EA9500 router.  I tested out a 4K Amazon Video stream and it worked flawlessly while connected to the RE9000 range extender. Overall, the RE9000 range extender really shines when paired with a Linksys Max-Stream router. It gives you Seamless Roaming which allows your device to quickly switch from your router to the range extended and vice versa. While the Linksys Max-Stream system is a somewhat pricey ecosystem to invest it, it does deliver high speed performance for larger homes with a fairly easy setup process.

The Linksys WiFi Range extender is a good product that was easy to setup and has a good set of administration tools. The setup went very quick after taking out of the box and powering it up. You have an option of going through WPS or browser. I went through the browser as I have a lot of custom settings for my home network. The browser setup was very easy to follow step by step, including when having to unplug / physically relocate WiFi extender for a better location. The 4 antenna's are made very well and durable attached to the black casing. This is a big plus as other products that skimp on this causing the antennas to easily break off. Pros: Easy Setup Athena's Are Made Well / Durable Able to Disable Band Steering (If Needed) Able to Disable Each Band Separately (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz) Able to Perform Soft Reboot Spot Finder For Physical Placement Access Control by MAC Address Able to Export Extender configuration settings in-case needing to restore Able to provide monitor/status logs Able to export and save Logs Able to export and save WiFi / Ethernet Physical Connections for Logs/Troubleshooting Able to see connected clients details Able to see signal strength of wireless clients Able to perform router Ping trace to clients for network troubleshooting Great Admin information for Upstream Network Cons: Unable to power boost the signal Unable to Hide SSID Unable to see transfer connection rate of wireless clients Does not provide Packet Collision, multi packet rebroadcast information Wireless---- Wizard: On the first time setup the Wizard auto loads via browser however afterwards if you wish to go back through the setup you can re-select the wizard within the settings option. Basic Settings: This provides the layout to modify the Upstream / Extended Wireless Settings / 2.4 GHz Band / 5 GHz band / Device Network Name and Time zone. You can also perform a soft reboot if needed. You will end up in this setting a lot when wanting to modify each item separately. WPS: This allows setup through WPS for a WiFi protected setup. I did not use this feature as I had a lot of custom settings however it is a nice feature. You can also disable this feature after setup that way to have your network more secure. Spot Finder: I really enjoyed this feature as it helps when trying to find the perfect spot within the home to place the Extender. The graph is very easy to understand and refreshes real time. Access Control: For extra security you can lock down access to devices MAC address. This is a really nice feature that you do not find on a lot of extenders and can be used to help create 2 "zones" for wireless devices. Administration---- Management: This allows you to change the password for the device as well as create a backup of the configuration. I strongly recommend to change the password as soon as possible and once configured to create a backup file. You never know when you will have to restore the device and will save a lot of time. Log: The log provides details of devices connected and the system device activities like Firmware checks. The log is not real time however does have a "refresh" option you can use to check for the latest activities. The logs are helpful for checking which Wireless/Ethernet devices have used the extender or if the latest firmware has been updated. You can also export the log file for record keeping which is a great feature. Diagnostics: This provides a ping test to an IP address or URL going through the Extender itself. This is a great troubleshooting tool you do not see on a lot of WiFi extenders and glad to see it on here. You can ping your internal devices to check for packet loss as well as ping outside your network to check internet connection. Factory Defaults: Pretty self explanatory, I have not had to perform this action as my extender has been working without issues. Firmware Upgrade: You have the ability to manually update the Firmware or allow it to auto update. With the amount of firmware issues Linksys has been experiencing I am actually having to recommend "NOT" to enable Auto Update Firmware. I normally do not recommend this however with all the issues on their Linksys WRT32X AC3200 it leaves me little choice. However be sure to always check every now and for an updated firmware and review BEFORE updating as I do not see a rollback option. Status---- Device Info: This provides a great layout of device up time, Firmware version and network IP settings. It is nice to have all the information in one spot to easily access when needed. Ethernet Statistics: This provides physical Ethernet connection and packet information. This is a great feature to help determine when a cabling issue arise. You are able to export and save the wired clients table for logs/troubleshooting. In addition you are able to disable the Ethernet Port Lights for rooms that need darkness. Upstream Network Statistics: This provides a read out of your Upstream from your router to your extender device. This has detailed information of Signal strength , Signal quality, Link Rate, Channel Width and band. The information on here is extremely helpful and so glad to see Linksys makes it easy to provide this information Extended Wireless Statistics: This provides information for the Extended network device performance. It is a lot less information than the Upstream Wireless Stats and would have liked to see a deeper layer here of providing packet collision / packet rebroadcasting. Wireless Client Table: This provides a layout of all wireless clients currently connected. You are able to see the signal strength and modify the clients name if needed. You are also able to export the table to save for logs / troubleshooting. It is not real time however you can hit the refresh to update the table manually. Overall this is a great WiFi extender that I would recommend for anyone who is finding low signal / dead spots within their network. I have not experienced any issues so far and enjoy the Administration features this device is able to perform.

---SETUP--- The setup of the RE9000 Linksys extender was extremely easy. What is recommended is for you to connect it at a plug near your existing WiFi router so that you aren’t walking back and forth when setting it up. My existing router is a Linksys AC4000 with Max Stream. It works with any router, but the process is much smoother with a Linksys Max Stream router. After plugging in the RE9000 extender, you wait one minute for the blinking light to turn solid orange. Then, you press the WPS button on your router and the WPS button on the extender and they connect in about 1 minute. After that, you can unplug the extender and plug it in an area that has weak WiFi signal at your home. The light on the extender will tell you if it’s a good spot or not. Solid green means strong signal. Solid orange means a weak signal. A blinking orange light means that the extender is too far away from the existing router. Guide yourself based on that lighting and you are good. ---FEATURES--- The key feature of this extender is that, if you have a Linksys Router with Maxstream, you don’t need to change to another WiFi hotspot in your own home. Your wireless devices just recognize the extension and you have continuous internet wherever you go in your house. ---PERFORMANCE--- The performance of this extender is flawless. I have a two story home and my router is upstairs because that’s where my gaming consoles and PC are at. My family rarely spends time downstairs, except when we go to the kitchen. That’s where it’s a wild west scenario to pick up good WiFi. We usually just take our phones off WiFi to use our cell phone data while watching shows. With the extender, I now have a solid full WiFi signal and can stream without any interruptions. ---EXPECTATIONS--- The product meets my expectations. Before the extender, I couldn’t connect a Google Chromecast at the kitchen TV because it was too far from the router for a stable signal. Now, we are enjoying a strong signal and a good choice of entertainment from the Google Chromecast. This weekend, my extended family came over all with multiple WiFi devices. Approximately 25 devices were connected and it didn’t slow down my network in the area where the signal was weak before. ---VALUE--- The price for the extender is worth is if you are having weak signals in your home. Additionally, it doesn’t slow down other WiFi devices that are connected to your original router because it dedicates a 5 GHz Wi-Fi band to your router. ---APPROVAL--- I highly recommend this product for people who have large homes where their WiFi router is out of range at frequented areas of the house.

Safely extend your WIFI throughout your home and the yard. Linksys E9000 range extender does just that, no WiFi dead spots! I located my main Linksys router near my cable modem. My new range extender 100-feet away at the other end of my home. Now, I get 100% coverage throughout the house, be it 2nd floor bedrooms, basement or garage. Since its near the backyard, it even beams the signal there. Automatically switching so my portable device (phone or tablet) is connected. Sine both router and extender are AC (still a,b, n compatible), I have the fastest possible signal when I need it. My home has over 25 WiFi smart home devices, so a reliable signal is mandatory. I tested this on the AirTV streaming device in the far end of the house, using the RE9000 gigabyte port and RJ-45 cable, and perfect streaming playback. Great addition if you have echoe or google smart home speakers. Easy set up with WPS button or using the browser setup, the unit can become an extender or if used with a cable directly to your router, as an access point. (If you have the option, use the access point for even faster throughput). My old plug-in wall extender is now destined for the electronic recycling bin.

The Linksys RE9000 Extender is a rather simple device that performs very well. I don't really have any true dead zones inside my house, but there are a few places on the second floor where the 5GHz band from the router is weak enough to cause a device to switch to 2.4 GHz (or at least try). The initial set up of the unit was fairly simple; I placed the extender where I thought it should go, plugged it in, and then connected to it with a tablet. There's a 'Spot Finder' functionality (in the setup interface) that allows you to see whether you've placed the device too close or too far from the router. In my case, I was a very close to being too close, so I moved the extender and went through the process again. However, once the initial setup was complete, I ran into a problem; I couldn't connect to the admin interface for the extender. I was using the links presented on the final page(s) of the setup interface, and I kept being told I wasn't connected to the extender. I actually reset the unit and went through the whole process again, only to have the same thing happen. I then went back through the 'Quick Start Guide' and discovered that the link to access the admin interface was completely different from what was presented on the final pages of the setup interface. Not a show stopper, but still frustrating. The admin settings are what you would expect to find; access control, logs, status, etc. Once up an running, the coverage on the upper floor of my house is superb. I tested a 4K video stream with another device streaming music and there were no hiccups whatsoever. All in all, this product does what it's supposed, and does it well. It's fairly simple to set up (except for the faulty links I mentioned), and once it's up and running, you just forget it's there. I would recommend this to anyone looking to improve their WiFi signal in their house.