Edimax EW-7416APN Wireless 802.11n Access Point – Range extender
Posted by Notcot on Oct 18, 2010 in Peripherals & Accessories |
Product Description
Edimax 80211n Wireless Extender EW7416APN Networking LAN Access Points
- Complies with the IEEE 802.11b/g and IEEE802.11n
- Supports 2.400~2.4835GHz frequency band
- High data rate up to 300Mbps network speed
- Auto rate fallback in case of obstacles or inter
- Supports point-to-point and point-to-multi point
Edimax EW-7416APN Wireless 802.11n Access Point – Range extender
We live in a concrete-framed house with the main wireless router upstairs. The steel mesh in the floors severely attenuates the signal and getting a connection downstairs used to be very unreliable. I installed this EdiMax access point in its universal repeater mode and put it downstairs on top of a cupboard directly below the router. It receives the signal from the router (through the floor) and then re-broadcasts it to the computers downstairs with no wiring required (apart from plugging the mains adapter into a nearby socket). Setting it up in this mode was not entirely straightforward, but the resulting signal strength is excellent and we now have full-strength access from anywhere in the house.
The booklet did not include instructions for repeater mode, but the PDF manual on the CD is fairly comprehensive, although it doesn’t have step-by-step instructions for repeater mode. They might take a bit of figuring out if you’re not familiar with IP addresses, subnets, etc., so here’s what I did:
1. Change your computer’s IP address so you are on the same subnet as the access point, then log in to it (detailed instructions are provided for this part). Don’t forget to make a note of the previous settings so that you can set it back again afterwards.
2. In Basic Settings, select Universal Repeater mode, set your MAIN ESSID to something meaningful (like “EdiMax Repeater”), then click “Select Site Survey” to locate your main router’s signal.
3. Select your main router (there may be neighbouring routers listed too) and click “Connection”. Now click “Apply” to save the settings.
4. Go into System Utility and change the IP address of the access point (see * below) to match you main network. Once you have done this you’ll lose connection to the access point until you change your computer’s IP setting back to what it was originally.
5. You can now reconnect to the access point using the new settings. If you can’t reconnect, you can reset the access point to its original address by holding the reset button for 10 seconds and then you can start all over again.
6. The access point is unsecured by default, so you will need to configure its security mode as detailed in the manual. You’ll then need to reconnect your computers using the new security code.
* To choose an IP address for the access point you need to make the first three numbers the same as your main router’s address and the last number different from anything else on your network. If your router allocates IP addresses automatically (by DHCP) you will need to avoid whatever range it uses. In my case the router was on 192.168.10.254 and the DHCP range was 192.168.10.1 to 192.168.10.200. So I chose 192.168.10.253 for the access point.
Rating: 5 / 5
Purchased this as a Range Extender for a friend after reading amazon reviews.They had a Belkin Router but Belkins’s own Extender is not Vista Compatible.
The Edimax is cheap,compact,inobtrusive and both VISTA & XP Compatible.Also MAC according to another reviewer.I tried all the various ways of setting it up according to the various reviews-see Steves’s ,Iain etc.
I have set out what I feel is the easiest step by step guide to use it as a Range Extender:
1.Access your own router (see your manual or CD and type in to address bar on Internet Explorer e.g. 192.168.2.1 )and write down the IP Address of your Router (same as what you used to access it).Also write down subnet mask e.g 255.255.255.0 and the DHCP Range e,g. 192.168.2.1 to 192.168.2.100 ).Also channel number.
2. Go to the Edimax website -choose support-enter 7416APN and download the Set Up Wizard File -it works for Vista and XP.
3. See the Edimax manaul on the CD to connect the Edimax.Go to show connections or network connections.Right click on the LAN Port and change the TCP/IP properties as on the edimax instructions to 192.168.2.2.
3. In the folder where you downloaded the Set up wizard compressed zip -click on the file.Then click set up wizard,then click English,then click Wizard,then click o AP Main.It will ask you to extract or Run.Choose Run.
4.The Edimax Wizard screen will open.
5. Connect the Edimax to your PC via the LAN Port-DO NOT CONNECT IT TO THE ROUTER
6. The wizard will detect your Edimax.
7. Follow step by step instructions.It will find your existing network and router.
8.Enter IP address for the Edimax on same string but outside the range of your router -if range say is 192.168.2.1 to 192.168.2.100 the say choose 192.168.2.101 for the edimax.Subnet mask same as your router e.g 255.255.255.0
and the Gateway is the address of your router e.g. 192.168.2.2
Enter your network security settings e.g. WPA AES and the password-suggest same as your current network
The wizard will accept the settings and reboot the edimax.
Then simply use one of your wireless laptops to connect to the Edimax network.You will be asked for the password/passkey.If connects successfully you are done.
Simply unplug the Edimax from the LAN port.Remember to change the TCP/IP settings of the LAN Port to what they were.
Now choose a site for the Edimax within range of your router and plug it in to a mains socket.
Connect all your laptops one by one to the edimax if they are nearer to taht than your main router.
This method works,and you never connect the Edimax to the router.
Hope this helps
Rating: 4 / 5
I bought this to extend the wifi signal in my house as it can be a bit patchy although I use quite a good netgear modem router already. This was working within 20 minutes and would have been quicker except for my typing ability! the cd manuals are adequate however I will confess to knowing what i am doing…
The coverage I now have is 5 bars everywhere and the garden is good too. It is also very small and coloured white which is great for losing it on the wall somewhere.
So in summary, it is small, not too bad to confure, very flexible in how you set it up and very very cheap!
I view it as a bargain – don’t waste £80 on the mains based extenders or wired ethernet extender systems – this does it as well if not better! I hope this helps others.
Rating: 5 / 5
I bought this unit to solve a problem of wi-fi through thick walls, which it does perfectly! I’m an IT professional, but I have to admit I had to trawl the internet (and read other reviews here) before I managed to get mine to work as required.
This will not widen the range of an existing wi-fi network, but rather create a new wi-fi network which links to your current one – so some reconfiguration of devices may be necessary.
I’ve read a lot of postings stating “it doesn’t work” – it does, you just need to persevere. Once you realise the manuals aren’t particularly descriptive or helpful, you can begin.
There are several modes of operation, but like me I suppose most people will want to extend the range of their home wi-fi network. Before you start, you’ll need several pieces of information assuming a standard wireless router setup:
1. Your current wifi SSID (name that appears when you browse for wireless networks)
2. The current encryption mode & Key (Wep, WPA etc)
3. The IP address of your existing router
4. The IP address, subnet mask, default gateway and DNS server used by your PC. These are usually configured and issued automatically by your current router
5. The DHCP range of IP addresses served up by your wireless router
e.g.
1. SSID = “home Wifi”
2. Encryption = WPA2, Key = 12345678
3. IP of router = 192.168.1.254
4. IP address of your PC (Issued by DHCP = IP 192.168.1.65 / Mask = 255.255.255.0 / Gateway = 192.168.1.254 / DNS = 192.168.1.254
5. DHCP Range or Scope : 192.168.1.50 to 192.168.1.99
When switched on, the Edimax Wifi Extender has a default IP address of 192.168.2.1.
The simplest way is to connect you PC directly to the Edimax with a standard ethernet cable, then configuring your PC with an address on the same subnet (manuals DO describe this well and suggest an IP address of 192.168.2.2 mask 255.255.255.0 which works OK)
Once connected bring up a web browser and point it to the Edimax – 192.168.2.1. Default login name:admin password:1234
From the admin page, choose “Basic Setting” from the left hand menu.
Settings should be as follows:
Mode: Universal Repeater
Band: 2.4GHz (B,G & N)
Main ESSID: (Whatever name you want for the extended network, eg. Extended Network)
Use the “Site Survey” button to locate you existing wifi network. Once it appears, select your with the radio button (other surrounding networks may appear – choose your one) then click the connection button. This will automatically populate the “channel” and “root AP SSID” fields. If your wifi network is hidden, you’ll have to enter the channel & SSID of your network manually – be carefull – the SSID is CASE SENSITIVE and if the channel doesn’t match – it won’t work!
Click Apply to continue – the box might reboot.
Reconnect again, this time choose the “system utility” menu. Change the IP address to an unused one on your network and use the same subnet mask and default gateway (usually your router), i.e. 192.168.1.253 / 255.255.255.0 / 192.168.1.254
The DHCP server should be enabled, with the settings to be issued to match you present router BUT WITH A DIFFERENT, NON OVERLAPPING IP ADDRESS RANGE, e.g.
Default Gateway IP: 192.168.1.254
Domain Name Server IP: 192.168.1.254
Start IP: 192.168.1.200
End IP: 192.168.1.220
Click Apply, then apply again – device reboots
You should now be able to restore your PC’s IP address setings to what they were before – connect the Edimax to your network, and reconnect using its new IP address you’ve just configured.
Reconect & login – select the security menu.
Change these settings to match your current wi-fi network (WPA/WEP & correct key) – apply & Reboot…. That should be it!!
you should be then able to disconnect all network cables & use the device completely wirelessly!
Bugs: Can’t always connect to admin page
Troubleshooting:
Can’t use device without LAN cable plugged in – check Security settings – Edimax needs to “talk” to your existing router to work
Can’t browse internet – check Channel & SSID used (my router when it restarts chooses a random channel, I changed this to a fixed one so it maintains the config needed by the Edimax)
Can’t connect to the Edimax – you must be in the same subnet – check your IP address
Duplicate IP addresses – Check the DHCP pool of your ols router & edimax do not overlap. A short lease is a good idea
Overall, a very cheap solution, and recommended.
Rating: 5 / 5
This wireless range extender is great at what it’s supposed to do (even though the manual isn’t very clear – see other reviews for detailed instructions), but I’ve held off on giving a review until I’ve found the source of the problems I’ve been having with it. So here it is: this device works great, but is *extremely sensitive to signals from surrounding electronic devices*. In my case I originally placed the device next to computer screens, behind a PC and next to a sound speaker and there were regular, inexplicable problems with the device not providing a complete signal (DHCP requests and/or answers were not passed). The solution was to place the wireless extender further away from any sources of interference – 1.5m seemed enough. After that, the device has been working great.
Rating: 3 / 5