Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I bought this hoping to expand wireless coverage at my church. We currently have a single Netopia 3347 DSL modem that has okay range. I was looking for a product that would provide much more range and coverage and work with the existing setup.
After opening the package and following the quick-start instructions, I was able to get the Hawking Smart Repeater to "see" the existing wifi connection. It was able to connect quite easily. This is where things got tricky ... the Hawking Smart Repeater then proceeded to create its own separate wifi connection with a different SSID, a different encryption method, and a different subnet.
The end result was that my laptop would see two different wifi SSID connections - the original connection to the Internet, and the repeated one. This configuration technically worked, but it wasn't what I wanted. What I wanted was one seamless area of strong wifi coverage.
So on the Hawking device, I tried changing the SSID and encryption of the repeated wireless connection to match the original connection. And that's where things got really ugly. The Hawking Smart Repeater still tried to act as a DHCP host on its own subnet. I tried disabling the DHCP, activating bridge mode, and putting it on the same subnet. The Hawking Smart Repeater then failed to connect to the Internet. It could still see the original wifi network, but was unable to access the Internet. I tried making a few more changes, and all of them were unsuccessful. Most frustrating however, was that after activating bridge mode, it became nearly impossible to access the web configuration page. Nearly all attempts to access it via the repeater's local ip address ended in errors, but it would sporadically let me see the page. This would get my hopes up that I could make changes, but when I clicked the 'submit' button, it would disappear again.
Even worse, because it was built for the outdoors, there was NO Reset button. The instruction manual said a hard reset could be performed by holding the reset button down for 10 seconds, but doesn't indicate where this button may be located. I think they used the same instruction manual from an indoor version of the smart repeater.
Anyway, I gave up and decided to send it back to Amazon.
Pros:
-STRONG wireless antennae. While I had the internet connection working with two separate SSIDs, my laptop could see and communicate with the box from good distances and through walls.
-Tough exterior box. It says it's built for the Outdoors and it's true. The housing seems to be pretty robust.
Cons:
-Creates a separate wifi network. Attempts to make one seamless network were unsuccessful.
-Expensive.
-NO RESET Button. VERY FRUSTRATING.
I can see this device working well if two neighbors wanted to share one internet connection. One neighbor would host the internet connection, and the second one could use this device to pick up the signal and create his own separate network.
The back of the box also showed other possible uses: sharing/rebroadcasting an internet connection at an RV park, and also for sharing/rebroadcasting internet for boats in a harbor.
For those situations, this device would be great. If you're trying to expand the coverage of your current network and have the same settings across, this is not the device to buy.
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Hawking Hi-Gain Outdoor Wireless-300N Dual Radio Smart RepeaterUnleash your Wireless Network with the Hawking Hi-Gain Outdoor 2.4GHz Wireless-300N Dual Radio Smart Repeater, HOW2R1. The HOW2R1 outdoor smart repeater connects and repeats your existing wireless network with up to 64X the power output and 8X the distance of a standard Wireless-G device. Similar to the Hawking\'s HW2R1 Smart Repeater with dual radio design, the HOW2R1 Outdoor Smart Repeater is engineered with two powerful Wi-Fi radios, one radio is dedicated to receiving signals from a wireless source, access point or router, and the other radio is used to rebroadcasting wireless signals throughout your surroundings. To further enhance its wireless range and coverage, the WiFi receiving radio is connected to an 11dBi directional antenna, integrated internally in the HOW2R1. In addition, two external 5dBi antennas are connected to the rebroadcasting WiFi radio to effectively elimnates wireless deadspots inside and outside of your home or office. This powerful repeater is not only robustly design to withstand outdoor environment, it also packed with wireless security features, such as MAC access control, IEEE 802.11x authentication, WPA, WPA2, hidden ESSID, and the basic WEP encryption. With data transfer rate of up to 300Mbps, the HOW2R1 is an ideal solution for High Performance Wireless Solution, extending your wireless signals for your home or your business, or providing wireless access to RV parks or Marine docks. The possibilities are endless.
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