2.1.2015

My intentions were to provide WiFi access to my 2 acres of property primarily for VOIP over WiFi (Google Hangouts/Republic Wireless) because cell phone reception is virtually nonexistent, to say the least, where I live, and I would like to install WiFi security cameras in strategic locations around my property. I originally purchased 2 of them with the intentions of using 1 for an Access Point and the other set out in one of my garages as a repeater. I originally wanted to place the one for use as an AP on top of the roof of my house but am a bit squeamish when it comes to heights, primarily climbing up ladders, so I figured I would throw it in the attic right up against the edge of the ceiling (roof)facing out to my desired coverage area. I was a bit skeptical since I figured that the device sitting behind a plywood roof and layer of shingles would put a damper on the signal but let me tell ya, this baby really reaches out! There is a setting in the "Wireless Advanced Settings" tab of the web interface that will allow you to set the wireless distance. By default it is at minimum of 1km (.6 mi). I have mine set to 10km (6.2 mi) which isn't even half way up the scale and I have wireless coverage to over 90% of my property and I have a LOT of trees. Speed Tests using the OOKLA Speed Test App for iPhone run on average of 13 to almost 20 mpbs download speed. Coverage gets a little weak on one section of my property and it will usually die out by the time I get to the end of my driveway (over 400 feet), but there are 2 garages plus a lot of tall trees in the way so go figure. Despite that, I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking to add or extend WiFi network coverage to the great outdoors. I will say, that the web interface for setup, like most of EnGenius products, are not that incredibly user friendly and you have to be somewhat knowledgable of network and IT terminology in order to make it work. There's no "Easy Setup" option as there is in most Linksys or Netgear products. Heck, I have a Cisco AIR-CAP2702 AP running in Autonomous mode that I use in the house and it even has an "Easy Setup" option. Another thing, make sure you hit the "Save/Reload" link on the upper left corner of the screen after hitting "Accept" EVERY time you make a change in the settings. It will save you some heartaches. Also, it might not be a bad idea to enable the Auto Reboot option. Mine, as well as other's I have read about, tends to develop a brain fart every once in a while and will either quit broadcasting the SSID, or just quit working all together, although you can still ping and logon to it….Weird. As an outdoor access point, I don't think you can go wrong for the price. But I've had difficulty getting my other one to work as a repeater. Devices will connect to it and obtain IP, Gateway, DNS, but Internet times out. I can hit anything local on my network, i.e…..my Exchange server or HP printer, but anything outside the gateway/firewall bombs. Even if you ping say, Yahoo, by it's actual IP address, it times out. I've contacted EnGenius and they haven't been able to help and have also posted on some message boards but no luck. Oh, the firmware that originally came with mine did not include "Repeater" mode. I had to download and upgrade to the newest firmware to include that option. But realistically, the single unit working as an AP in my attic is doing a fantastic job, so I'm not that utterly dissapointed. One more thing, it is powered by PoE ONLY but DO NOT try plugging this thing into a standard PoE switch as you may damage it. The one downfall, if any, to this product is that it runs on a proprietary voltage that can only be obtained by the included PoE injector. I don't know what tempted them to not conform to 802.3 standards with this particular unit, but that would probably be the one biggest issue I have. But even that, is in no way a deal breaker for me and I still think it's a great product.

14.6.2016

Like many devices of this type the EnGenius ENS202EXT is a linux box with some interface simplifications wrapped around it. In this case, the simplifications are thinner than with many: there's a webUI with a bunch of boxes that expose common IP and wifi settings, and a CLI (accessed via telnet, of all things) with the same stuff in it. You can grab /var/log/messages, if you are so inclined. While the config interfaces aren't glorious, they're intelligible, though a novice may have to fiddle a bit to get the right effect. If you're a linux geek, it's perfectly obvious what needs to be done. The PoE injector seems to be the only non-standard part (the manufacturer calls it "proprietary" -- I didn't try to power it from a standard one).The signal from this thing is excellent.

8.3.2015

The first unit I bought had a bug that prevented it from accepting subsequent logins, and it was returned for credit. The second replacement unit has totally exceeded my expectations and offers easy setup (a little knowledge of networking probably helps), and an almost infinite menu of operating adjustments including power output, which can be at a fixed level or variable as required by the link connection.Initial setup was relatively straight forward but it would not accept subsequent log in to update settings. The EnGenius also will handle up to four separate SSIDs--a useful feature in some commercial settings.The ENS202EXT also provides the administrator with a scanning function which

6.7.2014

As part of a wireless upgrade for a small 'campus' of summer rental units, I deployed 3 of these and some other EnGenius devices to distribute Internet access to guests. Based on the traffic stats from the NAT routers feeding two cable modems, I'd say these these are wildly successful. We are approaching 60 GBytes/day of Internet traffic. Maybe too successful, I might have to invest in some NAT/Routers that more fairly handle the traffic hogs :-)If you read my lengthy review of an ampedWireless product: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2LTKUXLKRCHKJ from last year, you'll know just how happy I've been with EnGenius products. They are 300 feet from the ocean, mounted on the side of buildings that get pounded by wind,

25.4.2016

It gave an amazing boost to our wifi signal. All we wanted was wifi on our back porch, and we got far more than that. I'm going to check it next time I walk the dog -- I wouldn't be surprised if I can go around the block with it. BUT -- and it's a big but --- don't even try installing this yourself. Just call the customer service line. The rep was amazing. She patiently walked me through everything, and waited until we were sure everything was up and running. The written directions are worthless, true. But, the customer service/tech support was so good, in my mind it cancelled it out. And, no waiting on hold to get someone. I decided to call after reading reviews here from some IT guys who said even they couldn't do it.

22.12.2016

I have installed this access point under the apex of my roof. It is facing my back yard. After running the Ethernet cable through the attic, I was ready to go live. When I plugged the access point into my POE router, it shut down everything. I thought that maybe the access point was bad. I then used the injector, and the unit went live! This AP is good. I have walked about 300 yards away, and still stay connected. The only downfall is that it WILL NOT work off my POE router. It pulls too much current from what I can tell. The setup of the unit requires some moderate skill. You must set up your computer with a default IP address to talk to the unit. The menu /

22.5.2015

Very nice. Easy setup (**). Does what it promises. I left it at the default setting and was able to get a great wireless signal (watching youtube videos) at @ 700' (straight-line, very few trees or obstructions). I don't know how far it could expand my network, maybe I'll play with it some other time.** Only complaints:1. It's IP is set to 192.168.1.1 instead of using DHCP to receive an address, they tell how to change this, but it adds some extra steps;2. When you make changes to the settings you MUST remember to go to another menu and push those settings through - otherwise they will be lost when it reboots (maybe they should really, really, really highlight that in the manual);3.

14.10.2014

This unit has been rock solid for me. I have it set to client bridge mode to connect a HD security camera into my home LAN from my detached garage. The distance isn't great (about 25 feet) but the unit is connecting to home Wi-Fi through my brick exterior wall and the rebar reinforced concrete of my garage. For almost 3 weeks, I have been recording 1080p video from the connected security camera 24 hours a day with nothing more than the occasional 1 second break in recording (once every 2-3 days).My only major complaint is the lack of support of standard POE protocols. For this application the proprietary POE (injector included)

18.2.2017

I set this up to extend my wireless signal to a workshop that's a short distance from my house. My primary router works great but just didn't have the reach to cover my entire house as well as a remote spot. I ran a 100 ft cable from my router (through the attic) and dropped the line off of my roof line and then connected the EnGenius device and now a very consistent high-speed link in my shop. Works great for web searches, Spotify, Netflix (watching movies while I work), and streaming any other audio/video content you want as long as your original router signal is fast. I'm getting over 25MB download speeds at the remote spot and it's working great. Also, piece of cake to setup and install.

20.11.2015

I purchased this for home use. I wanted to extend the WiFi coverage at my house. I have about 2.5 acres and all I had was a single wireless router. I ordered this product and after only about 15 minutes of setup it was ready to use. I mounted it on the side of my house aimed toward the area that had dead spots and the signal was amazing. I have 30mbps download speed cable internet at my house and even at about 500 feet away from this access point I was still getting 30mbps download speed. EnGenius is the way to go if your wanting to extend the coverage of your WiFi. I even had connection at a 1/4 of a mile away.

18.7.2016

Works great.Allows me to have wifi coverage in my back yard. My existing wifi router signal doesn't get out to the back yard...but...after installing this AP I'm able to stream Pandora while cutting the grass.Setup is straightforward, but you need to know what you're trying to do. It's a powerful device and doesn't have the step-by-step/wizard setup like a consumer grade router....but then again...this device is for people who understand what they are trying to accomplish.My only gripe (And this is my fault) is that it doesn't have a Guest Network feature...again...my fault for not looking first. It's not a deal breaker and I'm perfectly fine using this AP.

6.4.2015

Had to go through 3 of these to find one that was stable enough for constant use. The first 2 units both would drop the wifi signal when I'd try to talk on a VOIP program on my laptop. Very strange reaction to something like that but happened with a couple of programs. 3rd unit seems to handle it just fine for the time being but just had it's first similar reaction last week so I'm worried about it's long term viability. When it is working though it has great signal strength around the condo complex despite the many other wifi signals bouncing around, and I haven't even boosted it beyond the factory settings.

28.4.2014

This does a good job of connecting buildings in a 250 foot radius of our office. It saves us about $100/month or the cost of two internet fees if I had to connect each building separately. The only glitch is that the cables do not seat properly and snap into the power unit. The first unit I received worked intermittently for about a week before we figured out that it was the power unit had problems. The second one works flawlessly if you can keep the cables plugged completely. I have resorted to a high tech solution--I have used a pair of rubber bands to keep the cables tight.

11.3.2017

I bought 2 of these to cover a back yard and dock. I used one as a base station and mounted 30ft high on the apex of our house and mounted the other as an extender about 100 ft away about 6ft off the ground on a shed down at the dock area. The area between the two devices is heavily wooded and without a direct line of sight through the trees, but this setup worked really well. Actually configuring the two devices was really easy. I'm an engineer but I resisted the temptation to fiddle with them and just used the simple configuration page to set it up.

16.4.2015

I've deployed these at a few customer sites, including hotels, and they love it.Pros:-Per-user traffic shaping-Easy GUI-LONG range-Few reboots needed (if any)-Multiple SSID's-PriceCons:-Takes a while to upload the changesOverall:It's hard to beat for the price. Even some higher priced AP's / Bridges don't perform as well as these do. Do yourself a favor and buy it.

EnGenius ENS202EXT - Reviews

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