If your wi-fi signal doesn’t reach everywhere around your house, you really need an extender, and Linksys have just released a brand new one called the MAX-STREAM AC1900+ Wi-Fi Range Extender RE7000, and here is our review.
The first range extender; with MU-MIMO and Seamless Roaming, the Linksys RE7000 works with any Wi-Fi router, however when paired with a Linksys Max-Stream router it can provide even greater performance to Wi-Fi devices all around the home with Room-to-Room Wi-Fi. The combination of a Max-Stream router and range extender creates a single network in the home with a single network name (SSID) so users can roam throughout their home without having to manually connect to the range extender. The Linksys Max-Stream Range Extender also features Spot Finder Technology (Patent Pending) to show users where to place the range extender using a mobile device for optimal performance. Crossband Technology maximises the simultaneous use of both bands, while Beamforming focuses and strengthens the Wi-Fi signal. Additional features include:
- Dual Band Wireless AC1900 – AC1733 + N300
- Room-To-Room Wi-Fi with Seamless Roaming
- The Latest Wi-Fi Standard – 802.11ac Wave 2 includes MU-MIMO
- Crossband Technology
- Plug-In Form factor in white to blend into home décor
- Multi-Mode – Repeater, Access Point
- One Gigabit Ethernet Port
What’s in the Box?
The box contains the Extender and a quick start guide.
A Closer Look
Final Thoughts
The RE7000 is fairly small and just plugs into a spare power socket. Unlike other extenders it doesn’t have a pass-though socket for another device to plug into so that you don’t lose a power socket.
Setting up the RE7000 was very simple – just plug it in, switch it on, wait for the light on the front to start blinking orange and then use Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) if your router supports it. You have to do this twice, once to extend your 2.4 GHz network and once to extender your 5 GHz network. The whole process only takes a few minutes to complete.
It’s easy to tell if the set up was successful – the light on the front goes green. If you don’t see green just try it again.
You can also setup the RE7000 via a web browser, which is also fairly simple, but if your router supports WPS just use that is its so much easier and quicker.
You should then move the RE7000 to the midway point between your router and where you are having Wi-Fi issues. You can also see the connection quality from the light on the front. Solid green is ready to use, solid orange means its a weak signal (but will still work) and blinking orange means it cannot connect back to your router and you should find somewhere else to plug it in. I found this really simple method very useful and it saved me a lot of trial and error to find the best location.
You can also use the web setup to view the SpotFinder view which will show you the signal strength.
And that was it – the RE7000 was up and running in the correct location and I had a wi-fi signal. And not just any wi-fi signal, I had a strong and fast wi-fi signal, something I didn’t have there before! Because I had used the same SSID as the rest of my wi-fi network my devices just automatically connected and carried on working, no mucking around having to select a different network name, simple! This is all part of seamless roaming when Max-Stream Routers are paired with Max-Stream Range (in my case I was using the new Linksys AC5400 router, but more on that in a separate review).
I also liked that there was a Gigabit Ethernet port on the RE7000 so I could connect it to another device, such as my Xbox in order to get a faster connection.
If you are having wi-fi issues and you want a very simple and easy to set-up extender, with very fast speeds, then look no further than the AC1900 RE7000 extender, you won’t be disappointed.
The AC1900 RE700 extender retails for around £109.99, but as usual look for the best deal.
