Netgear AX1800 Mesh Extender (EAX20) review
Our Verdict
Looking for the fastest Wi-Fi extender? Look no farther than the Netgear AX1800 Mesh Extender (EAX20). It can not only push the latest and fastest networks into new parts of a habitation but adds a layer of security.
For
- Wi-Fi half dozen support with 802.11ax operations
- Customization potential
- Extra layer of online security
- Offers mesh compatibility with other Netgear devices
Against
- Large
- No USB ports
- Expensive
Tom's Guide Verdict
Looking for the fastest Wi-Fi extender? Look no farther than the Netgear AX1800 Mesh Extender (EAX20). It tin can not only push the latest and fastest networks into new parts of a home merely adds a layer of security.
Pros
- +
Wi-Fi 6 support with 802.11ax operations
- +
Customization potential
- +
Extra layer of online security
- +
Offers mesh compatibility with other Netgear devices
Cons
- -
Large
- -
No USB ports
- -
Expensive
Big and bad, the Netgear AX1800 Mesh Extender (EAX20) pushes more data into uncovered areas of a home than any other extender, tin can employ the latest 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) techniques and adds extra security. It would be the perfect extender if it weren't and then expensive, large and lacked a USB port for plugging in a printer or difficult bulldoze. Information technology may not exist as minor and easy to hide every bit many of the wall-plug extenders, only more than makes up for information technology pinnacle flying performance, features and range. In other words, information technology tops the best Wi-Fi extenders list as the extender to get today for all-out operation. It's also the only extender to make the list of the best Wi-Fi vi routers, letting yous create a mesh extension for a standalone router without sacrificing Wi-Fi 6 speeds.
Editor's Annotation: Nosotros periodically update our reviews to brand sure that pricing and information is up to date. The rating and recommendations in our Netgear AX1800 Mesh Extender (EAX20) review is unchanged from when it originally published in September of 2020.
Netgear AX1800 Mesh Extender (EAX20) Key Specs
Wi-Fi Rating: AX1800
Size: 9.v x vi.7 x two.5 inches
Number of Antennas/Removable: 4 internal/No
Wi-Fi Specs: 802.11ax dual ring
Ports: 4 gigabit Ethernet
Functioning at 15 feet: 375.4Mbps
Extender Range: 95 feet
Estimated Almanac Costs: $x
Netgear AX1800 Mesh Extender (EAX20) review: Blueprint
If y'all like your Wi-Fi extenders large, Netgear's EAX20 should appeal to you. At ix.v x vi.7 x 2.5 inches, it's about the size of a total router or a hardbound book and fits nicely into a bookcase, on a desk or a flooring. On the downside, there's no way to mountain information technology on a wall and it'south huge compared to the likes of the Netgear EX2800, the Rock Space Wi-Fi Range Extender or other wall-plug manner extenders. More to the betoken, information technology requires a carve up Air-conditioning adapter.
With four gigabit Ethernet ports, the EAX20 can connect networked printers and storage systems but does without a USB port. Information technology has a reset push button in the dorsum as well equally a key to kickoff the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) procedure.
The extender'south six LEDs show everything from Power, Ethernet activity and that information technology's online to information menstruum on the ii.4- and 5GHz networks as well as if you're using WPS to add devices. In other words, it runs the risk of looking like a Christmas tree. Happily, information technology's easy to turn off the LEDs in its app.
Netgear AX1800 Mesh Extender (EAX20) review: Performance
Built around Wi-Fi 6, the Netgear EAX20 is the rare Wi-Fi extender that tin can push an 802.11ax indicate deep into a home. It peaks out at ane.8Gbps throughput. Information technology worked fine using a TP-Link Archer C5400X router in 802.11ac mode but hit the fast lane with a Netgear RAX80 in 802.11ax mode.
Using Ixia's IxChariot networking performance benchmark and the RAX80 router, the EAX20 pushed 375.2Mbps beyond 15-feet to our receiving system, making information technology the well-nigh powerful extender nosotros've seen. It delivered more double the throughput of its smaller brother, the Netgear EX2800 (170.9Mbps) and the Rock Space Wi-Fi Range Extender (175.4Mbps). It led the style with a 95-foot range.
When the extender was ready upward twoscore-feet away from the router on the same flooring and the receiving system was another fifty feet away, the EAX20 moved 124.2Mbps, more than than twice the bandwidth as the Rock Infinite AC1200 Wi-Fi Range Extender (fifty.0Mbps).
For those who live vertically, its upstairs-downstairs performance was merely equally proficient with the EAX20 set up on a floor higher up the router and the receiving arrangement xl-feet away. It provided 173.1Mbps of bandwidth, well alee of what the Rock Infinite (112.1Mbps) and Netgear EX2800 (124.4Mbps) were capable of.
Over a week of continual use, the EAX20 used 9.1 watts of power. If it'southward left on and y'all pay the national boilerplate of 13 cents per kilowatt-hr of electricity, it should cost about $10 a twelvemonth to use.
Netgear AX1800 Mesh Extender (EAX20) review: Features
Under the EAX20'due south skin, it is a fully upwards-to-date Wi-Fi six extender that combines beamforming and MU-MIMO technologies that run on the 2.4- and 5GHz bands. It has an AX1800 rating and, according to Netgear, it can add Wi-Fi coverage to ane,500 square anxiety of a home.
It's one of the most customizable extenders on the market place and offers the choice of working as a wireless extender or a wired access point. In improver to combining the 2 networks into a single network name, the EAX20 can blacklist devices and operate with a static IP address. If the system is besides powerful, its output tin can be adjusted.
The extender is not only compatible with earlier Netgear extenders, like the Nighthawk X6S, but information technology can act as a mesh satellite for filling in Wi-Fi dead zones in larger homes. On the downside, if it's used with an older extender, that leg of the network will not accept all the speed advantages of a Wi-Fi six LAN.
Netgear AX1800 Mesh Extender (EAX20) review: Setup and Software
The Netgear EAX20 can be installed using a connected browser or the company's Nighthawk app (bachelor for iOS or Android). Using my iPad Pro, I started by creating a Netgear account, selected that I wanted to apply it as a range extender and read through placement tips.
After plugging everything in, the app scanned for and apace plant the extender.
The EAX20 allow me pick which host networks to utilise and connected subsequently I plugged in the passwords.
The app allowed me to change the admin password and wanted answers to 2 verification security questions; unfortunately, it took two tries to go my answers to exist accepted. The app then built the extended network.
With everything working, the app offered to create a QR code that can be shared and snapped to go the LAN's connection details. The last task is to determine if I wanted to extend the warranty to two years ($30) and add back up ($80). At the stop, the process finishes with a firmware update.
It connected on the first endeavor with 137Mbps bachelor of my 200Mbps broadband service. All told, it took 7 minutes to install.
While the app provides a consolidated main page with lots of information, the browser approach allows more configuration using "mywifiext.cyberspace."
The choices include turning the MU-MIMO, Wi-Fi 6 and SmartConnect functions on or off. At any time, I was able to dim the LEDs and suit the extender'due south transmission force.
Netgear AX1800 Mesh Extender (EAX20) review: Warranty and support
The EAX20 includes a one-yr warranty simply the support lasts for simply xc days. This pales in comparison to other networking gear. If you desire more, it costs $eighty, forth with an extra yr of warranty coverage.
If you're looking for back up, Netgear delivers with people available 24/seven to help. There's a slew of self-service items that range from troubleshooting help, videos and software to a thorough transmission and extensive FAQs.
Netgear AX1800 Mesh Extender (EAX20) review: Verdict
The Netgear EAX20 does ane matter and does well: it extends networks that are faster and have a longer range than the competition. Amongst the first of a new generation of Wi-Fi 6 extenders, the EAX20 stands out from the company'due south other extenders, as seen in our Netgear EX6200 review and Netgear Nighthawk X6S extender review also as the TP-Link RE650 in its ability to push data into the further reaches of a domicile. On the downside, at $150, it's amidst the nearly expensive extenders bachelor. Information technology may be a lot to spend on an extender, but the EAX20 is worth it by delivering the goods and the data.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/netgear-ax1800-mesh-extender-eax20-review
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