WiFi is great, allowing you to do all the things you need,
and want, to do online, without being tied down. But even the most powerful and
impressive WiFi router can sometimes come a cropper, with many homes and
buildings suffering from WiFi dead spots and slower speeds. What we all need is
a mighty WiFi range extender, one that looks like it would cut you if you
touched it. Oh wait, we do... it's the Netgear EX6200 WiFi Range Extender.
First up, you might be wondering if you even need a range extender for your home WiFi network. We thought we didn't, to be honest, as we used to put the occasional lags in Netflix, or the annoying pause while streaming from YouTube, down to slow internet speeds at peak times. But we were wrong. It seems that Test Pit Towers was actually suffering from WiFi dead spots in certain rooms, which by a fluke in architectural design (and the positioning of the router) find themselves several walls, floors and (and we think this is a biggie) a bath tub away from the WiFi router.
As most people are limited as to where to place their WiFi
router (due to older BT phone sockets usually being situated by the front door)
it can sometimes be a bit of a chore to supply good internet coverage to the back
of the house; and that was the issue at our gaff. Enter the Netgear EX6200 WiFi
Range Extender, which not only picked up the WiFi signal and extended the
coverage (as the name suggests it should) but also strengthened that signal no
end.
The unit itself is as straight-lined and minimal as we've
come to expect from Netgear these days. Designed to stand upright, the EX6200 Extender
features two positionable antenna, a USB port for file sharing, and one of the
easiest set-ups of any extender we've ever reviewed. Seriously, this thing took
about two minutes to get up and running, thanks to a quick press of the WPS
buttons on both the unit and our WiFi router, then a quick check at the
simplified instructions to make sure everything is okay. And it was, immediately.
What you then do is log onto a WiFi network that has the
same name as your existing network, but with _2NEXT after it, indicating it is
the signal issuing from the Netgear EX6200. After logging on with your existing
password... you're all set. And that was the last we had to do with it. We do
like easy-to-use tech. Coz wee not velly clevarr.
Next up we positioned it a good distance from the WiFi
router, but not so far as to place it right into one of the dead spots. We
moved it upstairs (the router is downstairs) but kept them only a wall or so
apart. After that the whole house received full WiFi coverage and at a greater
strength than before. We even have signal at the bottom of the garden, in the
dirty shed where our damaged RC helicopters go to die and slowly rust. So at
least we can now check our emails while gazing at results or our ineptitude.
The Netgear EX6200 WiFi Range Extender can accommodate
internet speeds of up to 1200Mbps (making it future proof), features
Beamforming+ to focus a direct WiFi signal at certain wireless gadgets, and also
five gigabit Ethernet ports for physical connections to game consoles and Smart
TVs should you want to. All that, in a razor-sharp package that actually looks
pretty good on a shelf.
By far the most powerful and user friendly WiFi extender
we've ever seen, the Netgear EX6200 WiFi Range Extender is a must have for
anyone that is serious about their wireless network, even in a smaller house.
Check it out.
£79.99
Visit www.netgear.co.uk