Internet connections can be irritating sometimes. You might be facing dead network zones and dropping signals consistently. But the good part is, it can be resolved with Netgear WiFi extender. It’ll take existing WiFi signals from your device and spread it, so you get a better connection across your house even in dead network areas.
Setting up the Netgear Wi-Fi extender isn’t that difficult but for the first time you can get confuse. So, let’s break it down and go through with the manual and WPS Netgear extender setup method step-by-step.
Steps to Setup Netgear WiFi Extender
Here in this guide, we will go through with the steps to setup Netgear WiFi extender both manually and WPS.
Step 1: Power on the Extender
Find a spot somewhere between your router and the area with weak signal. Don’t plug it too far away; it still needs to catch your main WiFi to extend it. When you plug it in, give it a minute till power LED turns on. It might blink a bit before turning solid. That’s normal.
Step 2: Connect to the Extender Network
- Now grab your laptop or phone and open your WiFi list. You will see a network naming ‘NETGEAR_EXT’. Connect to it. It won’t have internet yet which is fine.
- Once you’re connected with the Netgear network, open a browser and type local for iOS and mywifiext.net for windows in the address bar.
- Then hit enter, it will take you to the Netgear WiFi extender login
If you are setting up your Netgear for the first time then you first signup and create a Netgear account.
Step 3: Netgear Extender Setup: Manual Method
- After logging in to the Netgear account, setup wizard will open automatically. There you will see your home WiFi network listed. Choose it and connect it by entering the password.
- Then extender will ask you to name the extended network, you can keep it same or add ‘_EXT’ beside the name to know which one is which.
- After that click on Next or Continue. Extender will start connecting to your main router. It will take some time, during that don’t turn off any device.
- Once it says connected then your extender is good-to-go. You’ll now see the new extended network name in your WiFi list. Used the same password as main WiFi to connect with the network.
Step 4: Verify the Connection
- Open a browser and load a webpage. If it opens smoothly then your extender is doing its job perfectly fine.
- If the page doesn’t load or taking too much time than usual. Try moving the extender closer to the router. Sometimes a small shift in placement makes a big difference.
Step 5: Netgear Extender Setup: WPS Method
Now, if you don’t want to deal with logins and browsers, there’s a simpler way: WPS setup. WPS stands for WiFi Protected Setup. It’s that small button on both your router and the extender. Here is how you can setup using WPS button:
- First, you need to make sure that the extender is plugged in securely.
- After that, tap on the WPS button on the extender.
- You need to click the same WPS button on your router again within two minutes.
The WPS LED on extender will start blinking and once it turns solid, the connection is formed. That is it. No passwords, nothing. You can now check your WiFi list; there will be a new extended network name.
Step 6: Placement
People underestimate this step. The placement of your extender can make or break your setup.
- If you put it too far from the router, weak signal.
- If you put it too close, no improvement in range.
- Try finding a middle ground, where your main WiFi signal is still strong and close enough to the dead zone.
- You can use the signal LED indicators on your extender:
- Green or solid = Good spot
- Amber or blinking = Okay but could be better
- Red = Move closer to the router
Step 7: Accessing the Extender Dashboard
You can login any time on mywifiext.local or mywifiext.net to manage the device settings. There you can:
- Change WiFi names or passwords
- Update firmware
- Re-run setup if you moved the extender
- Check signal strength
But if you forgot the username and password then the only to regain the extender’s access in factory reset.
Wrapping It Up
Setting up a Netgear WiFi Extender isn’t really complicated once you know what’s what. Whether you go the manual way through mywifiext.local or the quick WPS button route, both work fine. If your WiFi keeps dropping then it’s probably not your internet, it’s the signal range. The extender just bridges that gap. Just, simply follow the above steps to setup the Netgear via manually or WPS to have a smooth connection across your home. And once the setup is completed, you won’t even remember those dead WiFi corners.
