LINKSYS RE1000-NP Wireless-N Range Extender LINKSYS RE1000-NP Wireless-N Range Extender

Pros: Once setup, it does what it is intended to do. It is unobtrusive, therefore easily hidden. The option of plugging the unit into an outlet without using the cord is a nice touch. It also doubles as a wireless bridge for computers without WIFI.

Cons: The setup software did not work well with windows 8.1. The software appears to be starting, then nothing shows up on the screen. After about minute it may or may not appear.
The extender did not readily show up on the network. Following the instruction on changing the extenders distance did not help. Therefore I could not do a manual setup either. After several resets and several computer restarts to try to get it working, it finally showed up, along with the setup software, and easily setup. The signal seems to vary quite a bit. Checking the strength from the same place at different times shows huge differences in signal strength. This is consistent with the trouble I had initially setting up the unit.

Other Thoughts: I have previously evaluated the RE1000s sister unit the RE2000. I was expecting the same easy setup and good performance that I had experienced with RE2000. It didn't happen. The frustration level was quite high. I suspect that someone less stubborn might have given up.
Theoretically this should be a useful item. The RE1000 is a single band 2.4 GHz. This is great for transmitting signals through walls. 5 GHz will give higher transfer rates. I wish I could recommend the RE1000, Other Linksys products I have used were great. I would suggest that you look elsewhere.

Pros: Once setup, it does give an appreciable boost in coverage. Did not have any "random" connection failures accept when power is cut to the host router. In my garage I went from 2/5 bars to full coverage and my speeds (via cellphone connected wirelessly and laptop) were as fast as they were in my main living area. That is impressive. Works with routers other than just Linksys, but setup may be more difficult if not matched.

Cons: Setup disc is worthless and misleading. Not user friendly upon initial setup and not something I could recommend for a novice. I have family and friends that would not have been able to get this extender connected to my network if they tried. Limited to the 2.4GHz band (crowded) and the "N" is misleading to some as most associate 5GHz with "N". Will not automatically reestablish connection to host router if power is lost to the router (although it looks like the extender maintains all connection settings, it just needs to be told to reconnect). Inconvenient as it should automatically reconnect to the network it was setup to run with.

Other Thoughts: Step one - throw out the included install disc. Attempting to setup a connection using that disc made things much more difficult than they needed to be and flat out didn't work, for me at least. I have a Netgear Nighthawk router that I was using to connect this with, so perhaps the included disc will work if you have a linksys router? The only way I was able to get this extender connected to my network was by using a hardwired connection from the extender to a laptop which was connected over the 2.4 band. Once you login to the extender, setup was straightforward. I moved the router and extender to different locations to check the range and each time the router is unplugged, you have to setup the extender from scratch all over again as if it was a new connection. Most won't be moving their router or extender several times, so that most likely won't be an issue for the average user. Overall, it does work and has a reliable connection if you set it and forget it. Had the included disk worked/connected right out of the box, if the extender would remember all connection settings if/when power is lost preventing setting it up from scratch again and not limit you to the 2.4 band, this would be a 5 egger. The RE2000 seems to address most of those issues and with that, I can't recommend the RE1000. If you want a Linksys extender, you're better off looking at the RE2000 for nearly the same price.

Pros: I was quite excited to receive this item for review as I have been eyeing it for some time. However I never purchased it because of the price and the low ratings. Why would I want it in the first place you ask:

In 2009 I purchased a bluray player which came with a USB WiFi dongle. I would often stream Netflix but would either have spotty WiFi connection or during playback the stream would stop or go to a lower playback quality. Over the course of 5 years I have tried 3 different routers, upgraded internet service, tried USB extender cord but still I has bad Netflix streaming. When I received this item setup was quite easy. I hooked a LAN cord directly to the bluray player and to date I have never had trouble starting or maintaining a Netflix stream. For this reason this device has fulfilled its purpose in my home network and has solved a long term problem of mine.

Cons: Huge. You have no idea how large until you use it. If you have a two plug wall socket, this thing will obscure the second one no matter what you do. Luckily this product comes with the option of using a cord, thus converting this from a massive wall wart to a little box you can tuck away. But this is quite large.

During setup the wizard says I will see signal strength bars on the unit but there is no such indicator so you will really have to guess about WiFi signal strength.

Although I have never had trouble maintaining a Netflix stream I do not always get HD quality. I suspect I have to reposition the device or change the channel for my WiFi network but I find this annoying. If the unit had its advertised signal bars it would make this operation less trail and error. Do note that the unit is on the floor 10 feet from a Linksys 6500ea router which is on the ceiling. For such a short distance I had expected consistent HD streaming quality

Other Thoughts: So: should you buy it?

If you need to get a single device online but don't want another router as a bridge, then YES. But don't expect gigabit performance because this unit tops out at 100 megabit.

If you have multiple devices in mind, then NO, get another router and make it a wireless bridge which utilizes your current WiFi network and makes it available to 4 LAN ports on the bridged router.

Other thoughts: I would be quite interested to see how the 5GHz version of this device fairs as I believe the 2.4GHz band in my neighborhood is saturated with other routers and may be the cause of my non-constant HD streaming.

Pros: Setup was very straight forward for any wireless extender. Linksys has a great how-to and overview video on their site which you can find at http://support.linksys.com/en-us/support/rangeexpanders/RE1000.
The user interface for the extender was almost identical to any Linksys router GUI, which is very nice for anyone new to wireless range extenders. Complete setup time took me about 10min to complete. Then after that all I needed to do was power cycle my router and wireless extender and everything connected and worked great.
Interesting thing I liked a lot about the device was not only its ease of use and manageability but also the fact that Linksys added in a power extender. You can basically remove the power jack that plugs the device into the wall plug then connect the power cable into the device and position it somewhere besides the wall outlet.
Thank you Linksys for including a wired Ethernet port on the device as well, this feature feels like an added bonus. I have a power line kit that I use so that I don’t have to run so much cable through my apartment complex. This was much nicer since the extender would just bridge the connection of the wireless to the wired port with no problems at all.

Cons: Even though I did feel like the device was well crafted and designed so that users new to wireless extenders could configure it easy enough, I did have some issues with it.
For one I wouldn’t suggest this for any moderate to hard-core gamers out there. Yes it can be used to supply your Xbox or ps3 with internet because you’re going to experience lag issue and possible disconnection problems if you do.
I did have some disconnecting issue with this device. I had the extender in my window to see how far in the street I could get the signal. I was about 20ft from the extender with 4 out of five wireless bars and clear line of site. About 80% of the time everything worked great, though I noticed that when I started stressing it out by transferring large files and streaming video it would disconnect randomly. After a couple seconds the connecting would be restored.
Also the device is a bit bigger than I expected, though I not going to take an egg off for that, that’s just a personal preference.

Other Thoughts: This is a good device for anyone just looking to add some more coverage to their existing wireless network. Though don’t expect to get a big performance increase with this device. I don’t think it was designed for performance but more casual internet usage.
Overall I think it’s a great device that would work great with any wireless dead-zones. Its quick and easy to setup plus the 10/100 port is a nice added feature that can go a long way depending on how you use it.

Pros: Simple strait forward installation, small and discreet.

Cons: will not extend range far and you must find a good spot/wall that can work for it to work ( explanation in other thoughts)

Other Thoughts: I usually just use another router with antenna to boost signal distance but decided I would try this and have very mixed emotions and mixed results.
This item will boost signal distance from original router but I actually lost signal placing it on a wall that was in path of the area I wanted to boost so I had to go trying on different walls to get it to work.
I had to put it on a wall in my kitchen that is 45 degree angle to the left from main router and place it above the counter to get it to boost a signal to a room that is 15 degrees left of router and it only gained one bar yet on patio in the middle I have a loss over the routers signal. any other outlet lost any gains.
This house has many outlets and is a pretty open floor plan and w/o all the outlets I would not have been able to find one that would have worked.
I went to a friends house ( he has a $40 router) and small house and it was able to help his area out from his office to the bedroom because his router of the same brand hardly gave his laptop signal in his bedroom and boosted his signal from 1 bar to 3 bars in bedroom with it placed in the hall 20ft from router and 20 ft to bedroom.
In a small environment with a weak router this thing can help you but if you have a higher end router and larger area w/o many outlets you may find yourself hurting without any gain and possibly worse.

Pros: Easy to install
Works well

Cons: None yet

Other Thoughts: The installation was simple. Raised by wireless from 3 bars to 5.

Pros: I have always set these up using the web interface and have found it to be very easy. Have not used the CD included.
This device seamlessly allows for roaming between the repeater and your main wireless router. It appears as a single wireless network and not two separate networks as I have seen with some other repeaters.

Cons: None as of yet.

Other Thoughts: I have set up 4 of these so far... no problems yet. Will re-post if they fail early.

Pros: This extender is exactly what I needed! I have a 3500 sq.ft. home, which was a WiFi dead zone on the front half! Followed the directions, ran the software, plugged the extender into the outlet closest to the laptop that I was doing the setup on(this is important)! Once the device was recognized, I then moved it to an outlet closest to the front of the house, where I was still seeing a strong signal! Once you do the initial setup you can try several different areas of the home to detect the best signal! I now have no WiFi dead spots in the home, and actually get a good signal on the driveway and in my shed! This is the first time I have written a review on anything, but I have tried extenders in the past that are junk, and this one works great! The setup time on this extender took me about 5 minutes, and is super easy! I have seen some of the negative reviews, and can only imagine that it was a faulty unit, or was not setup properly. In the cases where people complained about the setup, I would bet the setup was wrong! A quick rundown! The software must be run on a laptop that is connected via WiFi! You cannot run the software from your cable connected desktop! Place your laptop in the room where your wireless router is located while doing the setup! Plug the range extender into a wall outlet closest to the laptop during setup! Run the software, it will detect the extender, and if your wireless router is secured you will be asked to enter your wireless router password! At this point you can unplug the extender and move it to various outlets through out your home to detect the best location. each time you change the location you may return to your laptop to see the signal strength of the extender! This whole operation took all of about 5 minutes!

Cons: Have found none as yet!

Pros: works as expected. had no connection to router before in my garage, no I have full bars. easy setup with linksys router

Cons: none so far

Pros: Easy Setup

Cons: Didnt work as needed. Signal strength was never boosted.. Before using this i having one bar and even with this booster, it sill have one bar.