Good Range, Easy Setup
I've purchased wi-fi "repeaters" before (the $15-$20 variety here on eBay) but have never spent this much even on a Router, much less a "range extender" (fancy word for 'repeater'?) so I was skeptical that it would be as useful as advertised. I almost changed my mind based on the price, but I needed a device that would be quality, and had a pass-thru outlet for other appliances. Linksys has always made very good looking products, and Belkin products almost tempted me away, because I have also had Linksys routers that did not perform well despite good looks. This product made up for all the bad things I have ever said about Linksys. It's an elegant design, the antennas are sturdy and adjust to various positions with a nice tactile click, and stay in position solidly, and they don't fee like they might get ripped off the device like some other antenna I have had on other products (including Linksys routers). The LED indicator is easy to see, but not overly bright, and there is also a light for the ethernet connection (which can also be turned off through software). I didn't have much use for the airplay feature. The best feature of this product however, is the firmware. Even though I am a long time PC and MAC technician with hours of install experience, I would recommend this product to a novice, because the set up was a breeze. The only confusing aspect was the choice of whether to use the same network name to just repeat your wi-fi signal, or to use the suggested name the software gives that adds the '_Ext' automatically onto the net name. I chose the latter, and kept the same password, so users on the extended net can see the two signal strengths. Repeaters generally just repeat a signal, and you never really know if you are connecting to them, or the far-away router. This was one reason I bought this product in the first place. The research I did gave me a good idea that the software was a key feature, and while I expected the set-up to be simple, I was surprised by all the advanced admin abilities you have, once you have it set up. On my network it likes to sit right around .6 or .7 for the 2.4Ghz and since it's also dual band, access is available on the 5GHz band as well. I'm not as happy with the 5Ghz range, but the 2.4GHz works well, and there is a crossover feature that allows the two bands to share the best signal strength on either channel. This is a feature that takes no skill to set up, it just works automatically, there are manual controls, but it just works, so I didn't attempt to experiment with it, and other reviews say it's auto crossover results are about as good as manually tweaking, so I let it go at that. All the software is easily accessible via the IP in your browser (or Bonjour), and the setup prompts you to add a password, to ensure that no one but you, the administrator can access the controls. One great feature, (depicted on the front of the box) 'Spot Finder', works very well by showing a nice gauge in green, showing you the optimal spot to place it between the router and the area you want to cover. It couldn't be simpler than this, and as I mention there are a wealth of stats and diagnostics, and site survey tools for the more advanced user, it's fast and flawless, allowing you to see all aspects of signal strength, who's connected, the packet loss, connect time. Even with all these options it's design to 'set it and forget it'. Having the log information as well as the stats, it was able to inform me that it had been operating for 27 days straight, nearly a month, with no issues whatsoever, (until I decided to reboot it, for maintenance of my network). The unit even gives you an option of downloading firmware updates manually or setting it to automatic. One of the first things I do is check firmware on a router, and update it, and the AC1200 found a new firmware, just a few seconds after I clicked on the button, and updated it speedily and rebooted itself. This thing is fast, and reboots are quick and painless, and once set to auto-update you may never need to go into the admin settings ever again, (unless you want to check signal quality and who's on the WAN). When you do need to access it, it's just a matter of typing in your password, and it's immediately available. The one thing that has always bugged me about routers, is the speed at which you can access settings via IP, and software is always lousy and cryptic. The firmware in the AC1200 behaves more like sophisticated desktop software than your average browser menus. It's a joy to use, if you are one to do a lot of monitoring to keep your network humming. While I can't be specific about range vs. speed performance, I have maintained 200 Ft plus, with no loss of speed or latency, but my network is on the low end of fiber optic at 10Mbps, so far it carries the signal without any loss that I can see within the 1200Mbps max. I highly recommend this product, although I think the price is a bit higher than one might expect.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
