Netgear WN1000RP 2.4GHz WiFi Booster Review

Wrapping up my thoughts on this repeater, firstly I want to make a note about its simplicity and ease of installation, apart from having a wireless network (without which you wouldn’t have a need for this) all you need is an empty socket to plug it in, not even space to sit a unit and with everything about clean and minimalistic design, Netgear have nailed this on the head first time.

On the front of increasing the range of a wireless network, again the WN1000RP does as it says it will do. We found that in a number of areas, especially in the tests where solid walls were present, that devices, not just mobiles, could connect to the network via the repeater instead using their respective mobile connections.

Another point that I will touch on is the performance of the unit. I will point out that Netgear do have a disclosure in the back of the user guide that speeds experienced whilst connected through the WN1000RP will be slower than those experienced when connected directly to the main router. As expected this was the case in our tests through solid walls, due to the fact that solid walls and 2.4GHz radio frequencies don’t mix particularly well, hence the need for a product like this.

When we have a look at the performance, as mentioned above we do have some mixed results but this is the whole reason why I decided to not only try this in a building with hollow walls like our main office, but also my house which has what I refer to a proper built brick walls and floors that are much denser and harder for 2.4GHz signals to get through over distances. In our office with hollow walls, whilst the drop in sped was also experienced, at approximately the same distance, the percentage drop was not as great as in the other test environment, showing that whilst this is not a speed booster, it doesn’t fall short of passing through a half decent level of service.

Summing everything up, if you goal is to not only increase your wireless range but also improve speeds as well, then this is not the product for you as this is not what it is intended for, but when it comes to doing as it says on the tin, the WN1000RP does just that. It extends the range at which the network can be connected to and this is enough for your mobile devices. If you want to give places like your garden that little extra boost of range when its a nice summer day and you want to use the phone or tablet outside, then this is the device for you.