Pros: Good value for wireless, small form factor, simple basic configuration

Cons: This is a revised review lowering the rating from 3 to 1 egg.

This device disconnects a wired Win 10 PC on average every 5 minutes for both the original unit and a replacement unit. In contrast a disconnect prone AP I wanted to replace averaged 3 days between disconnects and another AP I have never has disconnects, all using the same wires. Connecting the PC wirelessly results in a reliable connection. All disconnect data comes from the Windows Event Log. To be fair, a Windows netbook I have has no disconnect problems with a wired connection. Beyond that, my previous criticisms were: No guest network, AP mode uses one LAN port for router connection so only 3 wired devices can be connected, hard coded IP address for AP is required, relatively crude configuration interface but it gets the job done.

Other Thoughts: All comments refer to using the device as an access point.

First, another review of this product is wrong and the comments from Hawking are correct; a gateway is not configured for an AP. The AP merely passes IP, gateway, DNS info, etc. from the router to connected and associated clients. There are two gotchas though; once the configuration is switched to AP mode, the connection to the router needs to use one of the 4 LAN ports and if the router assigns an IP range not 192.168.1.xxx then you have to change the AP address to be in the right range. Eg, my router assigns the range 192.168.10.xxx so I had to change the AP address to be 192.168.10.230. Otherwise you won't be able to log onto the AP without going back to factory defaults.

Most APs connect to the modem through the WAN port, thereby freeing all LAN ports and allowing the router to assign an IP address to the AP, thereby eliminating the need to manually configure an IP address for the AP. Manual configuration of IP address is generally a bad idea because of the potential for duplicate IP address.

Pros: I ordered it last week for an install and set it up this weekend. Overall, a good experience. The customer I was doing the install needed a router and I have good experiences with Hawking before so I decided to try this one.
Install is pretty basic. There's no app for your phone or tablet like the more fancier devices on the market but its setup via a web browser like any other router you may have installed. Log in, choose router mode, and put in a few settings and done. Simple as it should be. Speed tests are as expected for an AC wireless device and range was pretty good.
It looks like Hawking decided to put in multiple modes. I noticed router, access point, bridge and some extender modes. Makes it easier when I need to do installs.

Cons: Wish this device had removable antennas like Hawking's old devices.

Pros: Hawking always has the very good signal and generally functions right out of the box.

Cons: This device's firmware does not include the ability to define a default gateway so we were unable to use it as intended for an access point. So if your network has a router with an IP other than 192.168.1.1 this won't work. Was on the phone with Support for over 2 hours before they confirmed this seems to be a problem with the firmware. As of 9/21/2015 there is no additional firmware and they say it could be another 3-6 months before the release.

Other Thoughts: Unusable for anything other than a router due to the inability to define the gateway settings.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi
Sorry for your experience. As of this date, there is no gateway field to enter when in AP mode. However, in Access Point mode, all IP addresses should pass through from your router and they should get the correct gateway from the router. Assigning a gateway address to the HW9ACM in AP mode shouldn't do anything since all computers connecting to it wirelessly will be getting their address settings from your DHCP server. We've tested it here (our network isn't in the 192.x range) and our regular DHCP server (router) passes through and assigns the correct network values to the clients. Can you clarify your need so our R&D can understand? Contact us at pm@hawkingtech.com and we will get back to you.
Hawking Techsupport