Review NETGEAR EX8000 Nighthawk X6S Tri-Band WiFi Range Extender Reviewed

[thiggins]

Can I config so it has the same SSID as the router?

Of course you can

 

[Dave in NM]

I can't get this connect to my Synology AC2600 router, has anyone tried this. Its supposed to connect to "any" router, but I'm doubting that. I tried about 6 times last night, and I know routers/extenders/switches quite well. (I have an EX7000, which I turned off, and it only took 5 min to configure, ...but this one on the very last step says its failed to connect. (It did "find" the two networks 2.4/5 during the process however, and i entered their passwords), and i used the One ssid feature.

 

[thiggins]

Dave, did you also post this in the NETGEAR forums?

Can you see anything in the AC2600 logs?

 

[Dave in NM]

I can setup another post if it will help. Haven't reviewed logs, but I've tried this in different ways about 10 times now, and i'm pretty certain this doesn't work. I did manage at one point to get it to connect to the internet (this is the main issue -- RE to Router/ internet connection), but then unplugged it, moved it into a different room, turned on, would never connect to internet again. Really odd. I think something about the AC2600 is blocked it, maybe a security feature, but can't put my finger on it. I'd guess this work w/ netgear/ asus/linksys, but i'm doubting Synology unless someone else can say they got this to work. But there's s a simple guided setup (i've tried manual too) which should be easy for any user to follow, but it just fails every time.

 

[NETGEAR_Guy]

Hi Dave

what FW version do you have on the Synology AC2600 ? We will try to replicate the issue you are experiencing.

Which wi-fi regulatory region are you located in ? North America, Europe, Japan ?

Are both EX8000 and AC2600 set to the same wireless region?

 

[doc octopus]

I confirm the problem of Dave, I also tried to pair an EX8000 to Synology RT-2600 but once the pairing procedure is over EX8000 tries to connect via radio to channel 149 (not intended for europe).
Everything is fine with the Netgear R7800 and ASUS GT-AC5300.

 

[NETGEAR_Guy]

Hi doc octopus

How are you observing the EX8000 trying to connect on ch149 ?

Is the EX8000 set to Europe wireless region ?

 

[doc octopus]

Yes sir

Hi doc octopus

How are you observing the EX8000 trying to connect on ch149 ?

Is the EX8000 set to Europe wireless region ?

EX8000 is set to Europe wireless region.
The problem occurs only with Synology RT-2600ac. Once Smart Setup is finished, the extender restarts and the second LED from the left does not light up: this indicates that the extender is connected only to 2.4 GHz; when I access the UI, the 5 GHz connection channel to the AP is indicated with the number 149.

 

[NETGEAR_Guy]

Thanks doc octopus

The ch149 being displayed on EX8000 is a UI bug that is to be fixed in the next maintenance firmware release. If the EX8000 is set to Europe wireless region it will NOT use ch149-165. This is not the root cause of the problem.

1. Please can you ensure the Synology RT-2600ac region setting is the same as the EX8000 ? If the region setting is different between than Synology RT-2600ac and EX8000, please setup both to same region.
2. You could try to change the Synology RT-2600ac 5G channel to broadcast on ch100~ch140 or ch36~ch64 and then try EX8000 setup routine again (it should pick up those channels to connect on). In the Synology RT-2600ac UI, you can find channel settings at Network Center > Wireless > Wi-Fi > 5GHz > Advanced options.

Please can you give that a try. If it fails again, please can you post a screenshot of the UI of both EX8000 and RT-2600ac, so we have FW version, Wi-Fi settings etc

 

[doc octopus]

Router and Extender are with latest firmware. Router is set from Italy area, Extender is set from Europe. The problem occurs with any 2.4 and 5 Ghz channel.
No issues with EX7300 pairing to Synology.

 

[Menne.0201]

the ex8000 can be paired perfectly with the orb rbk50. harmonize very well together.

 

[doc octopus]

Thanks to the commitment of Netgear Guy that has taken charge and resolved my report on the connection problems between the EX8000 and Synology rt-2600ac by sending me a test firmware.
The problems previously reported have been solved.

 

[Cybry]

Hi guys,

I'm already using a R7800 router in AP mode, and I'm very happy with it so far. I plan to buy an EX8000 to improve WIFI access on my first floor. I've seen that SNB made the EX8000 review with a R7800 as the main router, so i'm confident that the 2 boxes will fit together well.
In France, the Internet provider usually provides the wan connection + its own router. In my current configuration, the router is a "Livebox" provided by Orange, and I use the R7800 as an AP, with a Ethernet cable between the Orange Livebox and the R7800.
On the R7800 I'd like to use one 5ghz channel for users, and another 5ghz channel as a backhaul towards the EX8000 (R7800 : AP, EX8000 : Extender). But I don't remember a configuration menu in the R7800 where you can configure to different 5Ghz Channels.
Is this configuration ok ? Or should I share one 5Ghz Channel between users and the backhaul towards the EX8000 ?

 

[thiggins]

You can't use more than one 5 GHz channel on the R7800, it has only one radio.

 

[Cybry]

My bad. I made a confusion between channel bonding and multiple radio. I guessed that, since the R7800 could aggregate multiple channels, it could also use one of them for one usage (wifi clients) and another one for another usage (backhaul). Guess I was wrong, thanks for your reply.

 

[bastianepp]

Thanks to the commitment of Netgear Guy that has taken charge and resolved my report on the connection problems between the EX8000 and Synology rt-2600ac by sending me a test firmware.
The problems previously reported have been solved.

Aloha!

I run into the same issues as described above that I can't connect my SYNOLOGY RT2600AC with the EX8000. I rund the lastest firmware (.118), but it simply won't connect. Did you also receive any info on "WHY?"? I would really love to get that box up and running again - too expensive as pure decoration

Greets

 

[BNJ Home]

Greetings,

I am hoping I can tap into your communal expertise and knowledge.

I have the EX8000 at an extender for my Nightwakh X10 (R9000) using a single SSID throughout the house. My issue is that when I connect to the EX8000, I usually have issues getting an internet connection. I would turn off my WiFi and then turn it back on (sometimes a few times). Usually that solves the issue. However, sometimes I will need to power down my iPhone completely, and upon boot-up, the WiFi is working fine. This issue is very frustrating. Any knowledge you can impart will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Joe

 

[flyturbo]

Greetings,

I am hoping I can tap into your communal expertise and knowledge.

I have the EX8000 at an extender for my Nightwakh X10 (R9000) using a single SSID throughout the house. My issue is that when I connect to the EX8000, I usually have issues getting an internet connection. I would turn off my WiFi and then turn it back on (sometimes a few times). Usually that solves the issue. However, sometimes I will need to power down my iPhone completely, and upon boot-up, the WiFi is working fine. This issue is very frustrating. Any knowledge you can impart will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Joe

I have had the same issues for the past 5 months, beem with level 2 support and they keep on asking me for dump files with a debug version of their firmware. I have spent countless hours on the phone with level 1 support, they have remotely connected to my PC so that they can ensure settings are correct. I have set them snapshots of the wireless status from all my wifi clients showing that they are connected but can't reach the internet. Hard wired device connected to the extender have never been affected. So clearly there is something wrong with extender to wifi clients.

So question for anyone who has the EX8000 successfully working (not in AP), please share your setup that would be greatly appreciated by many!

Thanks,
flyturbo

 

[Jorabi]

I can't get the d@mn thing open! Do you remember the secret to getting the bottom half apart? The top 2 screws are no problem and I can separate the halves up there, but the bottom seems to interlock without any screws or latches. Grrrr.

 

[thiggins]

I can't get the d@mn thing open! Do you remember the secret to getting the bottom half apart? The top 2 screws are no problem and I can separate the halves up there, but the bottom seems to interlock without any screws or latches. Grrrr.

I don't remember specifically. But a favorite trick is to hide a screw under the serial # label.