NETGEAR Wireless-N Access Point Review

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(More customer reviews)HI All,
The Netgear WN802Tv2 is an Access Point that is meant for an existing network that already has a router setup. In other words, you will need to have a wired or older wireless-g router in place before you can use this device for Wireless-N Connectivity.
Basics first:
Whats in the Box? Access Point, Ac Adapter, Ethernet Cable, Netgear CD, Quick Start guide, Warranty Card, and Stand.
Setup:
So begins the install and testing. I was mildly irritated when I read the quick start guide. Most of you that have routers with a 192.168.0.x address will be ok and can install this thing in a jiffy where as others that use different ip addresses like 192.168.1.x will have to go through a few extra steps as I did. Basically this access point comes configured with a 192.168.0.x address out of the box...therefore you must follow the quick start guide and first connect it to your computer with an ethernet cable to configure it. That being said, if your network provides 192.168.0.x addresses and you are not using 192.168.0.233 you should be ok to plug this in and set it up via your browser.
Once the IP situation is ready to go you simply open your web browser and go to the 192.168.0.233 ip address. Log in with the username and password on the quick start card and you are given access to setup the access point with your preferences. Here are some of the basics:
1. Upon Entry - Name of Access point and Country it is used in.
2. Time Zone and If you would like to use a internet time server.
3. IP Settings - you can manually assign it an ip address or have it use dhcp to get one from your existing router.
4. Wireless Mode - 11b, 11BG, 11NG - all at 2.4ghz (another disappointment).
Once you get more deeper into the setup you are able to go through a multitude of wireless options which include things like the broadcasting of your wireless id, security, quality of service etc. This access point does include Quality of Service settings for Wi-FI Multimedia (WMM) which basically provides preference to multimedia based content over the wireless network.
This access point allows for a good array of security settings and supports Wep 128/152bit, WPA, etc....it also adds support for Radius Settings which can be found in an enterprise environment.
Wireless Performance:
This is probably one of the hardest tests to run but I was able to get some results. I used a commonly known speed test site to test my broadband connectivity whilst using the Netgear access point. As background, I have about 15-20mbps download and 2mbps upload via Comcast. The speed test on this router was similar to what I have achieved on my D-Link and Apple Airport Extremes. For that it gets a 5/5.
Speed testing was not enough and now it was time to stream a hd quality movie from this device onto my ps3 from a mac.....this is probably where this access point will shine. I usually stream movies and get a bit of stutter here and there...so I wanted to make sure I tested a movie that I have played before. I started the the movie and saw a stutter for about one second...but once it started streaming it played on and I did not notice any of the usual issues. The WMM QOS does work (wi-fi multimedia quality of service). More testing will continue and I will update my review to indicate the good or bad.Now for my thoughts and opinion on the product:
The size of the device is nice and the look is perfect. The picture on the product page does not do it any justice. The LED's are perfectly light and not too bright...they wont take your eye out.
I like the documentation, it will allow any user from novices to advanced users to be able to get up and running quickly with this device....More advanced documentation is on the resource CD. Note...you do not need the CD to install the device as the quickstart will guide you in the right direction at the get go.
The price is high - If you are going to spend over $100 to buy an access point you are better off spending the same amount to buy a new router which has built in Wireless N abilities. Even if you dont need another router, you can buy one and use it as an access point.
NO 5ghz - Another negative - most wireless-n routers are now able to broadcast in 5ghz mode. This router does not have that ability...and again for something with this price point it should. You can also spend $10-20 more and buy a dual band router which broadcasts in both 2.4ghz and 5ghz modes. With all of the wireless around our homes and offices, it is a must to have the 5ghz band so our computers can run un-affected by other wireless devices such as cordless phones etc....
Wireless performance is on par with other products and the WMM-QOS features make this access point shine.
Last but not least - and this may be just for me - but I think that Netgear can make this device ship so that it can pick up a DHCP address from our existing networks. This way everyone that buys one is able to plug it in and get to setting it up. I have seen this done on a multitude of products and Netgear can surely adopt those feature sets. I am a little knowledgeable in these things, but for a home user I would not want them changing ip addresses on their computers and plugging routers into them...its a bit on the complex side.
I think there are many improvements to be had on this item and price is definitely one of them. While I like the performance of the wireless, I do not like other things, as stated above, thus my rating is on the low side.
3/5 for me....sorry Netgear.
NOTE: Yes, I received this product for free from Amazon...for which I am grateful. My review on the other hand is as HONEST as can be after using/testing for 2 hours. I am fortunate to be a member of the Vine but I try my best to make sure that anyone buying a product I have been given gets a honest and un-biased review/opinion. Thanks!

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