Network : Netgear EAX 12

Suddenly my TP Link RE200 range extender stopped working. And the topology of my house is such that the router is not strong enough to reach all devices in all rooms (lots of concrete and steel in between). So I started shopping for an alternative. At megekko.nl I found a Netgear EAX12 mesh extender. It was affordable and supported 2.4 and 5 GHz channels. I don't need the mesh thingies. I just need one device for a few machines. I ordered it on Tuesday, it arrived on Wednesday. Good enough for me.

The incuded setup guide forced me to download an android app (NightHawk) but I have no access to the playstore. So I needed to get things done otherwise. There is also

Use the builtin webinterface of the EAX12
Use the WPS button

The former didn't work and neither did the latter...

If all is good, you plug the device in a power outlet, wait half an eternity until the green lights are on and then use a wifi enabled computer to log on to the internal wifi network of the EAX12: 'NETGEAR_EXT'. Next surf to the site www.mywifiext.net and complete the setup.

It didn't work. No matter what, the netgear signal would not appear in the list of wifi channels. Don't waste any time with this procedure.

This method is easy, unless your router is mounted 30 cm (1 foot) below the ceiling in a corner of your garage, like it is with me. It goes like this:

Plug the device in a wall outlet close to your wifi router
Wait half an eternity for all the lights to come up
On the left of the EAX, press the WPS button, the WPS LED starts blinking
Now mount a chair and wiggle your little finger in the hidden back of the router, in between a router antenna and the #4 RJ45 cable to press a tiny button for the router to enter WPS negotiation mode.

After 5 minutes the equipment was still handshaking so I pulled the device and tested it. It didn't work.

The reset procedure is easy:

Power up the device and wait half an eternity
Use a paperclip to push down the reset button (between the RJ45 port and the WPS button)
Wait for half... you know the drill
Do the WPS thingies

It didn't work. Still no NETGEAR_EXT ssid. I checked the router DHCP table and could not find the EAX12 having been assigned an IP address. What did I do wrong. Turns out you need to press the reset button for 8 seconds.

This time I held the button depressed for 8 seconds. The device rebooted. I unplugged it and went for a new WPS method:

Plug the device in a wall outlet close to your wifi router
Wait half yeah yeah yeah
Now, for both WLAN bands, do
- On the left of the EAX, press the WPS button, the WPS LED starts blinking
- Climb on the chair again and wiggle your little finger in between the router antenna and the #4 RJ45 cable again to press the tiny button for the router to enter WPS negotiation mode.
- Get a cup of coffee, this takes a while

This time the router supplied the extender with an IP address (168.192.56.125)! It worked!

Start up a computer, start a webbrowser and surf to (in my case) 168.192.56.125. And you're in the web interface of the EAX12. Just do your tweaks. Define a password for the device and do the usual things.

Do yourself a favor. First do a hardware reset operation. Then go for a WPS setup and look up the assigned IP address in your router. Next do the (fine) tuning in a webbrowser.

The EAX12 seems to be more stable and also faster. The Netgear has a very good web interface. It is fully WIFI 6 capable. It also shows the devices that are connected.
My Asus X415EA used to disconnect every 2 - 10 minutes when connected to the RE200. Now, with the NetGear, it connects at startup and never disconnects. The odd behaviour of the RE200 could be caused by its power supply being a bit flaky. Koper is my only non-Dell system, so it could be that Asus reacts to losses of signal different from Dell.