Edimax EW-7228APN-UK Access Point

This is very cheap for what it does. My only complaint is the difficulty setting it up. I never finished Network+ but with Windows 7, networking my home hase been pretty simple. As a comparison I have a Netgear AP with only one ethernet port out, all that needed for setup was to press the WPS buttons on it and my DIR-655 router, they link up... Then just move it to the new location.This animal can do way more, so I understand. But as others said the manual should be burned while chanting some sacrificial stuff! Do NOTHING before you hit the website and download the pdf for whichever configuration you want. If it's too late, hold the reset button till both lights are solid to start over. Write down your IP address and stuff like it tells ya. Then run the wizard. Manually assign an address to it (to match the address of the router) changing only the last 3 numbers to something random. And that's it...Removed a star simply because I feel that I just wrote a better user manual. Once it is working it seems rock solid. I was able to hook up 4 devices pretty far away from the router and they all work simultaneously, or individually... Haven't had to reboot yet which was almost daily with the Netgear. I also have not done any speed tests yet but others here have and seem happy with the results. My internet is noticably faster than the old Netgear AP. Netflix seems to be very taxing but I expected that and it's not what I intend to use it for. If you want to stream something maybe a faster version would be better for ya.Another note is that it's only 10/100, but it has only 4 connections in each port instead of 8. I've never seen this before and it definately has a bearing on whether or not an ethernet cable will work. I found that one of my cables that has 2 wires reversed would not connect, grabbed a different patch cable and it was fine. The (I think it's called crossover cable) worked with an older Linksys router and different final device. Just a friendly warning on the final connection for ya...

To preface I own and operate an I.T. company. Just setting perspective.The install CD recognizes the device, however, I could tell it wasn't very well written. With my multi-monitor setup the app displayed split between two monitors with no way to move it. Annoying. Getting past selecting the language displays the actual application which did find the device. However, logging in with the default user/pass (1234) failed. I then turned off all local firewall software (running WIndows 8.1) which also still failed the login via the app. Default IP is 192.168.2.1 so I reconfigured my NIC to login. This worked after several attempts. Configured device to run as an AP with WPA2. Iphone, laptop connected up quickly and overall throughput is what you would expect. Didn't run around everywhere in the UI but did not a few things.No ability to change the management IP to a DHCP client. Firmware upgrade timed out. Don't even know if it is supposed to connect automatically.WPS button located on back. Would much prefer on front or on top.I deducted two stars as the setup had to be done manually with http://192.168.2.1 and then login, which was flaky at best. Reboot times between config was long (60 sec).The price is good but you can clearly tell it was an outsourced UI and config app. Took about 10 minutes to setup which is 9 minutes longer than it should, had the UI / app worked right.Based on the above, if you don't know how to mess with IP settings I would not recommend this device.If you are fine adjusting your IP to use a web browser for config (password: 1234) then I think the price point relative to a simple N capable AP is OK.

After carefully reading many reviews, I purchased the product anyway, and installed the Edimax as a wireless access point (AP). Here is a summary of my experience:Setup-----1. My home network consists of a wired router, desktop PC, printer, and wireless IP security camera gateway.2. Used the Edimax installation CD, and played it safe choosing all default options.Results-------The installation could not have gone better. When finished the AP talked to my router without disrupting any existing devices on the network. The only fly in the ointment came later when I attempted to access the Edimax configuration screen using a browser to tweak settings. No luck.Contacted tech support via email for guidance. They responded in a few hours and explained the problem was the Edimax and my PC were on a different subnet. They could both talk to the router but not each another. A little confusing since both were set to the same subnet (255.255.255.0), but their default IPs were different:Router192.168.1.1Edimax192.168.2.1Apparently the third octet (1 for the router and 2 for the Edimax) was the source of the problem. Since my router was using DHCP to issue an IP to my PC, it too was on a different subnet.Tech Support included instructions on how to temporarily change the IP on my PC so it could access the Edimax. Once I understood the concept, I revamped the addressing scheme for both the Edimax and the router, rebooted, and everything worked wonderfully.Final Thoughts--------------Many consumer routers come with default IPs different from the Edimax, so I'm sure newbies who go with the defaults encounter the same problem. Fortunately, tech support is highly responsive.I racked up the entire episode as a learning experience. Even though I do not understand how a different digit as the third octet would constitute a different subnet with a mask of 255.255.255.0 (thought it would only apply to the fourth octet), who can complain about gaining a 150mbs AP with all the features of the Edimax for so few $$$?Update 2014-03-30----------------Owned the product for six months now, and it's been trouble free. Used to reboot it monthly as a general precaution, but quit three months ago without problem.

New shortened review to summarize:After using this product for 30 days and in three completely different locations and environments, I can no longer recommend this item. It is simply not worth the effort to get it to work, it does not handle some network configurations and it has not proven reliable even when it is working.- Configuration is needlessly difficult, requiring connecting via ethernet, setting up static IP addresses on your computer.- iPad doesn't connect unless you enable WMM in advanced settings. Even with it on, the iPad can have trouble connecting sometimes requiring multiple attempts before it succeeds.- It has not proven reliable. In two situations where i have successfully used it, I've had to power cycle it every few days when the network stops working.- It has issues as a repeater in some network situations. I worked with support who was very pleasant, but ultimately unable to fix it. This was an environment with multiple access points on the same SSID, typical of larger network deployments.Overall, it has the feel of an abandoned cheap product. Looking back, it has not been worth my time to try and troubleshoot various issues with this device over the last month. In contrast, I've used multiple Linksys RE1000 in multiple network environments with no trouble. Setup is incredibly easy and it just works. Hard to realize how big a deal "it just works" is until you try another one what doesn't just work and you spend hours debugging it. My caveat with the Linksys RE1000 is that the first one I bought failed after a week, as in wouldn't even power on.Detailed previous review:Read the reviews, ordered it with high hopes. Unfortunately I've spent all day trying to get it to work. My network consists of Appleproducts, Macbook(s), iPad(s) and an Airport Extreme Base Station. It has all been problematic.Bottom line, I have experienced extremely inconsistent results being able to use this device as a repeater. Rarely does it work, more often than not I have some connection issue. I'm not sure I've sorted out all the issues.1. The setup CD only includes a Windows program, although after eventually running it, it doesn't do much that isn't reasonably clear through the menus accessing the device directly.2. Part of my problem was that the AEBS (Airport Extreme) by default is configured to pick a channel automatically. Every time it reboots a new channel is picked and the configuration on the Edimax needs to reflect it. I changed the AEBS configuration to use a static channel.3. I have had extensive and persistent problems connecting to the iPad in particular. Reading Apple docs, they indicate that an iPad/iPhone/Apple TV may not connect if WMM is disabled. The Edimax by default has WMM disabled under the advanced settings.4. Apple also indicates that the "channel width" should be set to 20mhz, Apple devices don't use 40. I'm not sure if this has helped with connection issues to the iPad or not but I've changed it.5. Early on I configured a static IP address on the iPad. This configuration may not have been cleared later and may have caused some failures. It helped to run Settings, General/Reset/"Reset Network Settings", then configure it new.Despite all these changes, the iPad will still not consistently connect. Best case it requires multiple attempts to establish a connection. Typically it says "failed to join" then the network name. Worst case you spend all day trying to get it to connect with no success...Once connected, it seems reasonably stable. Performance seems good (not great). Latency is low, with ping times <50ms all the way through to internet sites.The device itself is very small, lightweight. Even the power pack is almost cell phone charger sized.At the end of the day, I'm not sure its been worth the trouble and I'm not confident I've figured out what the issues have been. I've spent most of the day flipping settings throughout and doing searches on Google. I have it working for the first time 12 hours later, but I have no confidence it will survive anything rebooting. I'll update this review if I either find out more about what the problems were or it turns out to be a stable environment.Update:A couple of days have passed. The configuration I've setup seems pretty stable. iPad(s) have trouble connecting at first, typically requiring multiple tries. But once connected, it stays that way even waking up from sleep. I haven't had issues with other devices. It may be that the primary problem was #2 above, that the Airport Extreme kept changing channels every time I changed a router setting and didn't realize it was doing that.Performance has been very good for internet access, low latency, low jitter. It is much slower than a direct 802.11n connection. The Macbook is reporting a connection speed of 65mbps vs. 300mbps if it was using the primary network.Range has been good. I move the repeater halfway across the house. I'm now able to get full speed internet in every corner of the house and well into the back yard.The only flakey behavior remaining is that bonjour (a cool Apple technology), sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Its used to find the Airport Extreme which is acting as a file server and my excellent Brother printer. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't find any devices.BTW, this repeater works fine with SSIDs that have spaces in them. I had tried a ZyXel that could not handle that.Update 6/23/2012I've tried it in another couple of locations. I used it as an access point in a hotel that only had ethernet. Worked fine, although for some reason I had to recycle it every day.Unfortunately, I went back to a rental condo where I had originally intended to use it and much to my dismay it does NOT work. Not sure what the issue is, having multiple access points broadcasting the same SSID? It is unable to act as a repeater. I had to run out and buy a Linksys RE1000 which works fine. WIth the Edimax I get an error from my Mac saying that my IP address is already in use. Its as if the DHCP request/responses are getting scrambled.

Amazing features, but it can be hard to find them in there. Part of the problem is that it does several different things that require different installation instructions which are not fully documented.I wanted a wireless node that would reach the opposite side of the house better without running a cat-5 wire through the attic and drywall. And now I have one, but here are a couple things that could have made the install easier if I had known them from the beginning: - Think of this like setting up a second network in front of your network. It can have the same password as your existing router if you want, but having it's own name gives your devices the choice of where you want them to log in. - First, look into your existing router and find out what range of IP addresses it assigns. Pick one it never uses, and plan to make it make that the fixed IP address for the Edimax (if your router is assigning 101, 102, 103... for your wireless connections, make the Edimax something like 125) (fixed IP addresses ok for fixed devices, but you'll need this to end with portable devices still getting their IP addresses from routers so that they can roam). - Log into the Edimax with the cable. It comes out of the box with a fixed IP address that is most likely incompatible with your network. So you'll need to borrow your wife's laptop and give it a fixed IP address and subnet mask that will work with the Edimax, while remembering what you did so you can set it back later (for now, disable the wireless adapter, too) (control panel==network and sharing center==change adapter settings==<right click> on the adapter, <left click> on "properties"==Internet protocol version 4...==Use the following IP address...) (initially use something real close to the Edimax) (don't forget to change the laptop back to something compatible with your network, but initially a fixed IP address is a good idea until you're able to find the router through the Edimax) - The feature you'll need is "Universal Repeater" if you're going to be wireless between the Edimax and your router. (Basic settings) - You'll know you're getting close when you can see either the Edimax or your router by typing its IP address into a browser window. Then bring the wireless link back up on the laptop, connect through the new Edimax network, and try again. - When you think you have it configured, you probably still need to go through Microsoft incantations to convince devices you attach that this is a trusted, private home/homegroup network. - I also had to pull power to the cable modem, the router, and the Edimax, and then plug them back in that order, so that they could learn to play well together.This geeky crawling around probably isn't for everybody. But I found the Edimax to be a cheap and elegant solution that took a whole lot less time than running wires through the walls and attic.