Receive Wireless Internet Access from any Power Outlet in Your HomeAs home networking continues to spread and evolve at rapid speed, some users find that their wireless router does not reach all corners of their home, or that they would like to have their wireless network originate from a point of their choosing, rather than be tethered to the point where the Internet enters their home. Other users would rather have a wireless network where no product is on the floor, and no cables are visible at all.
The WGXB102 allows the user to have their wireless network originate from the middle of their home, or from even the furthest extremity, with no cables visible. The kit consists of the XE102 Wall-Plugged Ethernet bridge and a WGX102 54 Mbps Wall-Plugged Wireless Range Extender. The XE102 connects to an existing wired or wireless router from any vendor, and the WGX102 can be plugged into any electrical outlet to create an area of wireless access.
NovelPlug the XE102 into a wired or wireless router from any vendor, and then plug the WGX102 into any power outlet at your desired location to provide wireless access where desired.
AttractiveA new wall-plugged form factor allows the user to have a full wireless network without any visible Ethernet cables, and without any floor or desk space occupied. The sleek platinum casing blends well into any home dcor.
Key Benefits - Wall-Plugged form factor for the Wireless Range Extender
- Sleek silver casing
- Ability to have wireless Internet access originate from any power outlet in the home, with no visible cables
1 A good solution to wireless range extension
I use a wireless router in the house with great success. However, the range is pretty weak or my house is too big, and I am pretty sure it's not the latter. As a result, I researched a variety of solutions, none of which seemed too appealing to implement (bridges, wireless range extenders, new RF antenna, etc). It just all seemed too complicated, and I consider myself pretty tech savvy.
Fortunately, I was reading through some tech reviews and stumbled upon the Netgear Wireless wall-plugged router kit. It seemed like it was pretty simple to setup and easy to use. Well, I can report that it is exactly that.
There is no software to install at all. You simply plug in the ethernet cable from the cable modem in one room into the Netgear plug and then plug that into the wall. Check that all three green lights are lit and you are good to go.
The next step is to take the second half of the Netgear plug into the desired room in the house and plug it into an electric socket. When its three lights are lit, you have a connection and are good to go in there. My laptop computer picked up wireless signal immediately and I was surfing the web in no time flat. Basically, it was flawless.
So, WHY am I am only giving it four stars? Two reasons:
First, the wireless range of the Netgear plug is pretty weak. It definitely doesn't have the power of my main wireless modem. Then again, it doesn't have an antenna AND it still works, so it's no big deal; it's just not perfect.
Second, the Netgear plugs need to be plugged in somewhat near each other to function correctly and get the Homelink green light to turn green. When the Netgear plugs were plugged in on opposite ends of the house (what I was hoping for to maximize range), it did not achieve a homelink connection. However, when I moved the plugs to outlets that were closer together (but still outside my wireless routers range), it DID work. So, partial credit again here. While I cna't explain why it did not work, perhaps the electrical homelink signal degrades the farther the outlets are apart.
Anyway, everything is working pretty smoothly now and I am excited that I can get a signal in another area of the house that was not covered by internet previously.
2 beware of power strips
In the instructions is says "don't plug into a power strip" because this will degrade performance. Well, don't plug it into the same outlet as a powerstrip is plugged into either(like I did). This will also make the device malfunction. Then I remembered my high school electronics about wiring in parallel. :)
It works really well. I don't even need my wireless router anymore.
3 Great for online gaming!
I had many problems playing online games (Internet Poker) with drop-outs and slow/low connection using Linksys wireless-G router. Router is upstairs, PC is downstairs. Tried High Gain antennas with no significant change. Finally installed the NetGear WGXB102 and system works great. Also greatly improved laptop perfomance from anywhere downstairs. Still use the Linksys Router and every thing is completely compatible. Very satisfied customer.
4 Great product
This product works great. After researching various ways to boost the signal of a wireless router, this appears to be the most foolproof option. The range of the extender wall unit appears to be quite good. I set it up in my parent's apartment. Their wireless router was in an isolated room which seemed to bottle up the signal. After installing the product, there is now a good signal in the rest of the apartment (5 rooms/ 2000+ sq ft). You can even move the wall unit to different outlets around the house as necessary. I bet you could even use multiple wall units in very large houses but Netgear doesn't seem to sell them separately. Hopefully Netgear and other companies will develop more products that exploit the powerline technology.
5 Boosted Signal and Works with Tivo, too!
Hello:
After attempting numerous fixes and configurations to increase my wireless signal in a downstairs room (router is upstairs on other side of the house)and getting pretty frustrated, I tried this and it works great!
I had several issues....
a weak signal on my laptop in my family room (downstairs),
a Tivo that didn't recognize any signal,
the need for 802.11b compatibility (Tivo only recognizes that) and
I have all Dell equipment (and it's usually pretty picky about what works with it, etc.).
However, after reading the instructions and relatively easy setup (within 30 minutes) I now have an "excellent" 75% signal on my Tivo in my family room.
I already had a wireless network configured with a Dell router and Dell network adaptor, but the problem was signal strength and this did the trick!
Although the instructions are scant, it's pretty basic and does what it says it will do!
6 Out of the Box, Plug In and Voila!
This product was easy to install, even though the instructions are skimpy (for instance there is no mention of the reset button). I can now get signal all around the apartment. Before it was difficult because my primary wireless router (Netgear MR814) was at one end of the apartment and, since all the walls are brick and mortar, the signal did not get very far. Only question in my mind is that the cases run very hot, and wonder as to the life of the product. I recommend it wholeheartedly
7 Does exactly what is says it will
I had this set up in less than 5 minutes. Netgear has become my favorite networking company because their products are straightforward, perform well, and have excellent software and documentation (and you usually don't need either of those last two because the products are so well-made). It works great, and solved the problems introduced by a long ranch house, the necessity of having the wireless router at one end in an alcove, and the resulting weak signal at the other end of the house. Now, I'm swimming in signal.
8 Netgear Extender A+++++
I received the NetGear Extender for Christmas and I had it up and running in less than 10 minutes. I have the Netgear 802.11b wireless router in my home with three other computers on wireless. This extender did the trick since my router is in my office on the second floor in the northwest corner. Before the extender I could not get access on the 1st floor in the southeast corner. I installed the extender plug in our kitchen halfway through the house and bingo....super reliable access in that SE corner. Its so nice that you can just plug it into any wall socket allowing you to align it's signal receiving inline with the router any way you need it. This was just too easy.
9 Works like a charm!
This product does exactly what it supposed to do. I hooked the wall plug bridge in close to the router (Netgear WGR614), which is in the front room. Then I put the access point in the kitchen which is in the middle of the house. My laptop is in the kitchen section and it would connect at 54Mbps, 42Mbps, and 36Mbps. It never was full speed. Then I have an Ethernet Wireless Bridge (Netgear WGE101) connceted to my Xbox for Xbox Live use. That use to get a 70% signal and I would lose my connection while playing all the time. Now with this setup I get 96%-99% connection on the bridge. The laptop I get my highest speed which I get 54Mbps. I think it pulls wireless juice from the router and this access point. Now the thing about the bridge I go into the bridge settings connected to my xbox and it lets me choose to connect through the Router or the Homeplug Network. So I use the homeplug access point because I get the strongest signal from it. The only thing I had to do was log into the homeplug access point after it was all connected and setup the wireless settings. If you have encryption enabled on your network router make sure you use the same settings for the homeplug access point. After I got all my settings in it took about 5 minutes for things to recognize each other. It was weird though it showed me the existing ssid for the router and it had a place to type in the ssid of this new homeplug so I named it the same as the other ssid. I don't know if I did that right, but it can't hurt. I guess I need to read the instruction manual to see if that is okay to do or not. Anyways right now the only thing I have to do is set the homeplug devices with a new password. They have a default password, but I need to set those up with new passwords so no one can tap into my network through the homeplug devices. I don't think this is for the beginner comptuer user. It is a very good product, but I have had my own home network for a very long time. Anyways it will do what it is supposed to do. It will increase the range of your wireless network to reach those dead spots and those spots with a low signal.
10 Works, but set-up was not easy and there were limitations
Unlike the only other review of this product, I would not say that my experience was been as flawless. Despite having a Netgear router/wireless access point and Netgear PCI card for my "distant" PC, it took me hours to get this wireless range extender to work.
The tech support finally helped me identify the problem and they were very patient, but I have to admit that it was frustrating and I felt like giving up several times.
This booster cannot be installed in the most remote areas of your house. If the input from the bridge to the WGXB102 is a long distance, the IP address will not be recognized.
I finally got it work by moving the WGXB102 closer and closer to the Ethernet bridge. This solved my considerable installation problems.
That said, it does work. Just be aware that installation may not be as easy as implied in other reviews.
11 This is the solution...
If your wireless router will not reach every room in your house then this is THE solution. Works like a charm right out of the box... in less than 5 minutes.
Two items... a Bridge to transfer the signal from the router to the electrical lines... and Wireless Access Point device to broadcast the network signal from a remote electrical socket. GENIOUS.
Simply connect the Bridge to your existing router with the provided ethernet cable... then plug the bridge into any nearby electrical outlet... then just plug the Access Point into any other wall outlet in your house and start broadcasting a wireless network connection to the remote reaches of your house... anywhere you have electrcity...
And, if you have any clue about networking you can easily configure the Wireless device to encrypted mode.
This works just like it says.
