It always seems that no matter what improvements are made to wireless access point technology, there is always that one spot in your living or office space that has lackluster Wi-Fi reception. No matter what you do, you’re just outside the bubble, and the signal drops constantly or the throughput is so slow that you might as well be back on a 56 kbps modem. Wi-Fi extenders such as this Edimax EW-7438RPn N300 Universal Wi-Fi Extender aim to fix that by cheaply augmenting the wireless network, expanding coverage and providing better reception in areas that sorely need it. Read on for the review.
Special thanks to Edimax for providing us with the EW-7438RPn N300 Universal Wi-Fi Extender to review.
Features
– Extends the range of existing 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi networks
– iQ Setup for easy Wi-Fi extension
– Finds best setup location for optimal Wi-Fi coverage with signal strength LED
– Compact, wall plug design for convenient placement
– Features a hardware WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) button
Packaging
The Edimax extender promises a simple three-step “iQ” setup on its box. There’s a picture of the tiny, plug-sized unit and several badges showing its various capabilities and connectivity options. Pitched greatly is a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) mode, where connecting the device to an existing network is as simple as plugging it in and hitting the WPS button on both the extender and your router.
The unit comes with an Ethernet cable and some documentation. The unit can also be used as a router, although you’ll see later on that it’s a travel router at best.
To give you a good idea of how the EW-7438RPn N300 Universal Wi-Fi Extender comes check out our unboxing video below.
