| NETGEAR WPN802 RangeMax Wireless Access Point |
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Model: WPN802NA
Brand: Netgear
Manufacturer: Netgear
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 24
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, 802.11 Super G
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| Features: |
Access point offers an easy way to set up a wireless network with enhanced range and speed thanks to MIMO technology
Delivers up to 108 Mbps of wireless throughput with enhanced range
Supports 128-bit WEP for enhanced security
Backwards compatible with 802.11b wireless networks
Device measures 8.8 x 1.2 x 6.0 inches (WxHxD) |
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| Description: |
| Includes: power adapter, Ethernet cable, vertical stand, setup guide, and resource CD. Netgear RangeMax Wireless Access Point - With the addition of this wireless access point to your network, you can have laptops and desktops wirelessly access the network for file sharing and internet access. It features RangeMax Smart MIMO technology, which utilizes multiple signal reflections to increase the range, coverage, and data throughput of your connection. Wireless Access Control (SSID) to identify authorized wireless network devices MAC Address Authentication Supports 2 VPN Pass-Through Tunnels (IPSec, L2TP, PPTP) Supports 802.11b and 802.11g 1 10/100BASE-T Ethernet LAN Port with Auto Uplink Requires - Windows 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP, Mac OS, NetWare, UNIX or Linux Unit Dimensions - 8.8 x 6 x 1.2 Unit Weight - 1.2 lbs. |
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| User Reviews (24 total): |
Page 1 2 of Total 2 Pages
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Netgear WPN802, July 6, 2008
By user (PA USA)
The Netgear WPN802 access point performed well once installed. I'm a novice at the networking stuff and had a bit of trouble accessing the 802 once it was deployed because of dynamic IP address. However, once I learned how to access my router I found the allocated IP address of the 802 and I was able to adjust its settings. This issue could have been covered in the really skimpy User docs.
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Powerful transmitter!, June 13, 2008
By user (Central America)
This product is meant to be used with a router, it plugs into a router. It is basically a long range antenna, and is a real flame thrower. It can be used with your existing wireless router to vastly extend it's range, or to make a non wireless router a wireless router. Do NOT expect to plug a dsl or cable modem into this device and have it work as a router. You MUST have a router. With this device, you can give your whole residential neighborhood wi-fi access if you mount it high enough.
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Wireless access point at its best., April 6, 2008
By user (NC)
This product is great. No antennas and I still get great signal strength. Its compact and perfect. Don't mind the price either.
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Net Gear, January 18, 2008
By user (Columbia, SC)
Purchased this Access point to go with my router. Everyone said you could pick up the weak signal and extend your network. I could not get it to work, nor could my garu son. I still have a NetGear Router and like net gear products. This one just didn't do what I wanted it to do. Extend my network on the same frequency so the print server would work also.
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Good router, January 7, 2008
By user (Huntsville, AL United States)
This works as advertised, I just wish it was a little easier to just add an access point to an existing network to provide a larger area of coverage. I was able to get it setup in this way, but it took a little research.
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Range inferior and setup harder than Linksys, January 5, 2008
By user (NY)
I had a Linksys SRX but wanted a second access point to complete coverage in house. The linksys was an older model and one complaint was that it would randomly power off i think mostly after power outages. I put this netgear product in the same location and got half the bars on each of the multiple laptops that i use in the same location i used the linksys. I changed the position of the access point every which way possible. The linkys has better range by far. Also the setup requires that you plug it into a computer and change IP settings and then after its set up any setting changes will require that you take it off your router, change ip settings etc etc. not impossible but far less easy than the linksys set up and a much bigger pain managing it after installation.
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Works well but confusing to set up, October 28, 2007
By user (Western Springs, IL United States)
As others have mentioned, the signal strength from this wireless access point (WAP) is pretty good, and there does seem to be improved coverage compared to my older Netgear wireless router (I moved to a new house that was prewired for data, so I have a wired router in my basement and needed the wireless access point so I could walk around with my notebook computer and connect to the internet). My main criticism of this product is the confusing setup and inadequate instructions. Let me explain (hopefully I can save someone else the pain I went through)...
To set up this wireless access point, you connect this router via an ethernet cable to a computer (notebook or desktop, Mac or PC -- it doesn't matter). You manually set your computer to a static IP address (the manual gives you the specific IP address). Then, you turn on the WAP and connect to it using a web browser via the default IP address for the WAP (192.168.0.231). So far, so good. Then you configure the basic settings, and this is where the manual is inadequate. Many people will use this WAP as I have -- a DSL or cable internet connection and a wired router. In the basic settings, you will have to set the WAP IP address using DHCP. After applying the settings, you can't connect to the WAP using the default IP address of 192.168.0.231 anymore because a different IP address was assigned via DHCP. (You will get a screen saying that the connection timed out.) So, how did you connect back to the WAP?
I unplugged the ethernet cable from the WAP to the computer and instead connected the WAP to my wired router. Then I accessed my wired router and looked for a list of connected devices. The WAP was on that list along with the IP address now assigned to the WAP. I connected to the WAP wirelessly, typed in the new IP address for the WAP, and now I could access the rest of the settings (such as wireless security settings). What a hassle!! It really would have been nice if Netgear had better documentation for this process. I would have saved me quite a bit of frustration.
Anyway, once set up, the WAP works great. But, getting it set up took some doing.
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Netgear, October 3, 2007
By user
The product arrived quickly, in great condition and installed flawlessly and has been running very well. All wireless connections never drop and never fail. Each computer has a different wireless card and that just doesn't seem to phase the RangeMax. Best purchase I could have made.
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This is the one..., July 25, 2007
By user (Hamden CT, USA)
Yep, this is the one to buy. But don't try the fully wireless "Repeater" mode...their manual says nothing about how to configure it...and their tech support suggestions sounded like they were making it up.
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Netgear WPN802 RangeMax Wireless Access Point, July 9, 2007
By user (Georgia, USA)
NETGEAR RangeMax Wireless Access Point WPN802 - Wireless access point - 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11 Super G
Extremely fast setup, extremely easy to operate. Took it out of the box, hooked everything up, and went to surfing immediately. Couldn't have asked for anything easier or better. Thanks for a great product.
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Not what I wanted., May 11, 2007
By user (NJ, USA)
This router didn't have any wired ports on the back for wired clients to connect to. The WPN-824 did have those ports. I promptly returned it and bought the WPN-824. You may wonder how anyone could buy the wrong rounter, with the wrong features, and the answer is that the information on whether or not it had wired eithernet ports was not present, so I could not determine if the wpn-824 was the same as the wpn-802. Please buy wisely.
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Nice Access Point - Good Range, May 4, 2007
By user (Portland, Or USA)
This access point has incredible range. Very susceptible to heat however. Do not place on top of Telco's router (modem slang).
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WPN802v2 Neatgear Access Point, February 19, 2007
By user
The product performs exactly as outlined in their brochure. However installation is not an easy matter and the written instructions are not adequate. But the outstanding free telephone help from Netgear's customer support center in Phillipines was GREAT..! It took several telephone calls, but Heidi at Netgear saved the day...!
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Wireless connection that works, January 15, 2007
By user (Cotopaxi, Colorado United States)
Netgear's WPN802 may not be necessary for everyone but it really works for me. Our Internet connection is through Direcway/Hughes satellite and a router won't work with it. A hub/switch and a wireless access point is required instead. Setup for the WPN802 was fairly straight forward using the enclosed paper Installation Guide. Configuring the desktop computer to communicate with the WPN802's IP address was all that was really necessary. After that the WPN802 was connected to the hub/switch and we were ready to go wireless.
Netgear also provides a thorough manual on disk that provides additional information for more complicated setups. Overall I'm satisfied. The current $20 rebate also helps.
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Netgear WPN802, January 4, 2007
By user
This is the best product for using any of your wirless computers. You become connected very fast to the internet just about anywhere in the house or even outside the house. Highly recommend. Had tried other manufacturers and they did not work at all.
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RangeMax, November 5, 2006
By user (New Hampshire)
I had tried several other ways to use my new wireless laptop in other parts of my house and I kept losing the signal strength and being knocked offline. In desperation and after reading the other reviews I opted to spend the $$ and purchase this. It is wonderful !! Just plugged it into my router and it was a go!. I did purchase a longer cable so I could put it on the other side of the room away from my cluttered desk. It truly delivers as promised. I can work and play games in the other part of my house while keeping my husband company as he watches football.
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Setup Not as Easy as it Could Be, May 31, 2006
By user (Florida)
So far I'm pretty happy with my RangeMax Access Point. It covers every area of my house and and works great with the PowerLine ethernet adapters I just bought.
The setup of the access point was not as easy as it could have been, though. The instructions require you to go through a fairly strange process of connecting the access point to a single computer set up with a fixed IP address. This is not so hard to do, really, if you have any experience with setting up networking, but for an inexperienced user this could be difficult.
Also, very strangely, once I had my access point all set up and working and connected to the rest of my network, I could no longer reach the setup screens using the IP address given in the instructions. If I need to change my setup, it looks like I'll have to hit the tiny reset button and start over.
One other complaint is that the wall wart that powers this thing is a monster! It must weigh two pounds. If I had that sucker plugged directly into a wall socket, I'd be worried about the plugs coming loose over time because of the weight. I strongly recommend that you plug this into a powerstrip or extension such that it lays flat on the ground so that all that weight is not pulling on the plugs.
One further complaint--the flashing blue light everyone else complains about here is pretty silly if you want your access point to be unobtrusive. And the plastic cover they include in the packaging is a joke--clearly an afterthought in the design process. It's a flimsy little disk with a sticker on it. Very silly.
Still, once I got the thing set up, the RangeMax Access Point worked great, and that's the important thing. These other issues are small and easy to deal with.
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works great, March 22, 2006
By user (Chicago, IL)
I just got the router with a netgear card to replace my old D-Link router. The D-Link was a 802.11b router and one of my laptops had an 802.11g card that would not find the network even though it should be backwards compatible. with the new router the laptop detected the network right away. With the netgear rangemax card on another laptop the connection is great. I have better range all around the house as well.
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Disappointed in the range, no IPv6 support, March 14, 2006
By user (Seattle, WA USA)
The signal strength throughout my house is a little better with this device than any others I've used (Linksys WAP54G with a high gain antenna), but it's still disappointing. I don't know if it's the other network near me (on a channel as far away from mine as I can make it) or what. But I only have 30-35% in most of my house. And even right next to the router it only climbs to 60%.
Changing the device's orientation helped a little with signal strength as well, but not by a lot. One of my problems may be that the device is sitting next to the two computers I use for my web server and router. Lots of nearby metal, and possibly some interference.
The blue lights would be annoying if I slept in the same room as it. As it is, they're a bit educational and highly entertaining. The little black cover I was given with the unit would be a fairly effective block, but some light would leak out through the housing.
I'm a bad judge for a config GUI, since I know networking pretty well. I am somewhat disappointed though by this device's lack of any IPv6 support and/or lack of support for mDNS or other out-of-the-box, no DHCP server required auto-configuration mechanisms.
IPv6 has been around for a long time now, and the base parts of the standard have been pretty stable for years. It's time for consumer level devices to start being dinged for lack of support for it.
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Superb Range for its Quality and Price, March 11, 2006
By user
GREAT RANGE and STRONG SIGNAL. My main computer its located 250 feet away and the Netgear WPN802 200 ft. from roomquarters and notebooks. Signal must pass through 7 concrete-walls of 5 inches thick and still the the signal is very strong and fast. Great performance
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