Question 1

I already have an Asus RT-AC66R placed upstairs on the opposite end of the house.  Wireless signal strength (especially on the 5ghz band) is rather weak on the other end of the house and especially downstairs on the other end of the house.  I was thinking of adding this EA-N66 as an access point on the other end of the house on the first floor, connected via in-wall Cat6 cabling.

My question:

How well does Asus's technology allow for roaming devices (laptops and tablets mostly).  If I'm sitting upstairs in my office with a tablet connected to the router and I venture downstairs into the kitchen, is Asus's technology smart enough to recognize there is a stronger signal to connect to (IE, this EA-N66 downstairs)?

Accepted Answer

What I have found out is it is in the device you are using: tablet, labtop, ect. Most devices will not switch to a better connection unless the other is lost. I have a similar situation as you do but what I have found is to put the EA-N66 in a central place and work off of it. Also there is no need to run a CAT 5 to the EA-N66 it will do what you want wireless. We live in a rural area with little cell service so we use T-Mobile wifi calling for our cell phones. So what I have to do is decide what area of the house I need to be in connect to that point and call. Now I have found that tablets and labtops do not need as strong of a signal so connecting to the central point seems to work fine. Anyway you have to manually switch between points which seems like a hassle but ok once you are use to it. Hope that helps.

Question 2

I am curious if i can use this to bridge wired connection to the router via devices like PS3, PS4, Xbox One, TV, and a laptop using a switch to connect them all to the device?  Has anyone tried this?  What were your results?  Did you have to use a laptop to perform initial setup on the device?

Accepted Answer

You can. Basically it's just a wireless receiver that had a single Ethernet port, and yes, you could connect a switch and multiply. But at that point you might as well run an AP. While I have been using this to basically a signal to my second floor I pretty much wasn't impressed by the performance. It will drop sognal on occasions, does really expand the range, so I am forced to also run an AP.

Some consoles might require you open a port for them to gain access to their online services. Do your homework and Don't dump it on newegg expecting answers.

Yes you will Ned a laptop/computer, or you can even direct connect it to the main router and it will copy network settings. I'm a little odd about my security and so I recommend manually setting it up. The manual that comes with isn't very helpful. Instead of newegg, you might want to ask Asus directly.

Question 3

Is the Ethernet port 100Base-T or 1000Base-T? Is it Gigabit or Megabit for the ethernet port? I mean, if it's Megabit ethernet, even at full duplex, then the wireless speeds wouldn't be the bottleneck, would they?

Accepted Answer

I'm pretty sure it's ethernet is 1000base-T but I'm not sure. It came with a CAT5e cable which is synonymous with 1000base-T. That being said it could still be 100base-T but it's definitely not 10base-T because i was getting 35mbps download on my internet through this. I hope this was of some assistance.

Question 4

The Description says N900 but the Pics of the Box say N450 can you please clarify on which model is being sold here?

Accepted Answer

The unit itself is an N900. The connection rate the device supports is Wireless N 450mbps. This is an older media bridge. If your wireless backbone is not Wireless AC yet, I would consider upgrading. I used this model for several years in different applications. Still highly recommended. Creates very stable wireless bridges for VPN, streaming, or gaming consistency (low latency). Love the Ethernet port, dedicated power, and multiuse platform.

Question 5

Does this access point also have an ethernet port to hard wire to a device? I see the spec states one ethernet but is that input or output?

Accepted Answer

It's a bidirectional Ethernet port. You use a cat 5 Ethernet cable with RJ 45 connectors. Connect one end of the cable to your computer and the other end to the Ethernet adapter. You configure the Ethernet adapter to work with your Wi-Fi and you're online. It's nice because you can use it with non Wi-Fi enabled Blu ray players, TV's, DVR's, and computers. Use it for anything that would normally require an Ethernet connection.

Question 6

Does this product Support POE?

Accepted Answer

I don't know, I have not tried that, and I also don't have the equipment for that. Sorry I want much help

Question 7

I would like to extend the range of my wireless network to my pool outside. When you use this in repeater mode (connect this wirelessly to the base router in order to give other wireless devices a stronger signal) the online interface says that functions like firewall are disabled. Does anyone know if this means that the firewall on the repeater are disabled or on both devices? I don't want to extend the signal at the expense of loosing the firewalls.

Just in case my description isn't clear I want stronger signal to wireless devices outside. This means that I can't use any wires anywhere.

Accepted Answer

Honestly I purchased this for the same thing you're wanting to do and this device does not out out range far enough. It gives a signal stating its strong but it's only doing 1/8th of my download speed. I would purchase something better

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