Hawking HWREN1 Hi-Gain Wireless-300N Range Extender
by Hawking Technology
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Hawking HWREN1 Hi-Gain Wireless-300N Range Extender
Customer Review: After some setup problems, it works great
Summary: 5 Stars
I had a Linksys WRT54GX2 wireless G router in my basement that provided an 80 percent or better wireless signal to a room on the second floor in the opposite corner of my house. When the Linksys router died, I replaced it with an D-Link DIR-825. I also bought a D-Link DWA-160 wireless adaptor, thinking that it would enable me to get wireless N speeds with the PC on the second floor.
However, the signal strength from the new D-Link router wasn't nearly as strong as the old Linksys router. I would sometimes lose the connection and it was less than half the speed at which wireless N is capable of operating. It was barely as fast as my old wireless G setup. I wasn't getting anywhere near the performance I should for the money I'd spent. That's when I started looking into the Hawking HWREN1.
Part of my wireless network problem was that between the router in the basement and the PC on the second floor, there are two floors, three walls, a refrigerator, a stove and a brick chimney. For whatever reason, this situation affected the wireless N signal of my new D-Link router far more than it affected the signal of my old Linksys wireless G router (and that was at 2.4GHz, not the weaker 5GHz signal the DIR-825 can also use).
I tried using the setup disk that came with the HWREN1, but when I got to the final step, it said it couldn't find my router. I ended up configuring the HWREN1 manually through the Web interface. Because I had MAC address filtering turned on with the router, I added the HWREN1's MAC address to the list of allowed devices. It still didn't work. I had to turn off the router's MAC address filter to get the HWREN1 to connect with my router. (Later, thanks to another review found here, I learned that adding 1 to the last number of the MAC address solved that problem.)
The other thing I discovered was that I had to use the same password for the HWREN1 that I did for my D-Link router, even though they had different SSIDs. Initially, I tried using a different password for the Hawking. I didn't see anything in the instructions that said not to. Only when I made both passwords the same was I able to get the router and the HWREN1 to communicate.
Contrary to what an earlier reviewer wrote, I was able to use WPA2 AES encryption, which D-Link says you must use to get 300mbps speeds with wireless N. Perhaps the problem was fixed with a firmware update.
I hung the HWREN1 high on a wall in the basement in a spot that enables it to get a good, strong signal in a direct line from the router. The HWREN1 retransmits the signal without the kitchen appliances and the chimney between it and the wireless adaptor on the PC. This enables me to receive an 80-90 percent signal in the second floor room and operate at a wireless N speed of 270mpbs. It's not full wireless N speed, but compared to the 108mbps speed I got with the wireless G setup, it's a huge improvement. I've had absolutely no issues with dropped connections in the week that I've been running the range extender.
I'm happy with the Hawking HWREN1. It does what it's supposed to do once it's properly configured and has no issues with my D-Link router. I knocked off one star because the setup isn't quite as intuitive as it could be and the instructions aren't as clear as they should be. Other than that, it's a great product that solved my wireless network problem. I highly recommend it.
Additional notes: I've been running the HWREN1 24/7 for a couple of months now with absolutely no problems. When using it to download a game from Steam, it achieved speeds near 1 megabyte per second speed. We also use it for online gaming and it performs flawlessly.
Customer Review: Hawking Range Extender: Perfect Solution for 2-story Homes
Summary: 5 Stars
Thanks to others here at Amazon.com, I decided to purchase the Hawking HWREN1 in an attempt to solve our wireless problem. Even with the new Dual Band "Range Max" Wireless N Router (WNDR3300) from NetGear, we could get no more than 3 bars of wireless in most places downstairs. Our existing set-up is at the upper corner bedroom of our house with 9 foot ceilings and lots of distance between our base and entertainment center. Our goal was to get wireless access down to our Play Station 3 system for system updates and such. With the new NetGear installed, the PS3 indicated a source strength of 17%, totally unacceptable. So I took the plunge and bought the Hawking.
SET-UP: Proved to be trickier than what others experienced. Thanks to Greg from Texas, I knew I had to first establish a fixed channel (not automatic) on the NetGear for the 2.4Ghz system (which is the only one the Hawking can extend). I made the mistake of randomly setting it to "9" and then proceeded to install the CD-Rom for the Hawking. For some unknown reason to me, I could not get the web access page to the router. I tried the one listed in many reviews "198.168.1.240" and got nothing. I then tried a few others listed in reviews. Fortunately, as I proceeded to install according to the CD set-up, I realized it was showing an IP address of 192.168.1.5, so I went back to my browser and got access to the router set-up. By then I was getting internet conflict errors. I reset everything and still got them, so I went back to the NetGear and reset the Channel to "11". That did the trick, as once I was able to get back on the Hawking router page, I discovered it defaulted to Channel "9". If that is the standard default, then BE SURE YOUR EXISTING WIRELESS ROUTER IS ON SOMETHING OTHER THAN "9". I did experience the IP address for the Hawking seemed to drift from .5 to .4 and back to .5, so if you have trouble accessing the web router, be sure to start the CD from scratch to discover what IP address you need to access it.
I then returned to the CD set-up and proceeded along the steps. As others suggested here, be sure to name the Hawking wireless point something different than your existing system. I just defaulted to the Hawking name. Then I entered the exact same password as my NetGear, as I have reached and exceeded my brain's capacity to remember any new passwords. Be sure you are using the same type of password security and then you are set. The test confirmed I was receiving wireless on the LED of the Hawking and I unplugged it from my PC.
Finding the best location to base the extender is easy if you have a wireless laptop. In my case, I walked around downstairs to as many places as possible to see where the best signal was. It was in a room that was somewhat far from our entertainment center where the PS3 is. So I kept looking and found a bookshelf in the room right behind the wall of the PS3 where I got 3 bars of 5 from my NetGear network. Thus, I plugged in the Hawking there.
END RESULT: I booted up the PS 3, connected to the Hawking network name, entered the password, and voila: internet access. How much? 100% percent coverage!! Amazing, for $70, I was able to boost my wireless coverage from 17% to 100% on a level and area completely different from where our primary modem/wireless set-up is.
Despite some challenges in set-up, this product is outstanding and ideal for others in two-story homes like ours that had given up hope of getting a strong wireless signal on the level below or above where the primary set-up is.
Customer Review: After the setup hiccups, this product works great.
Summary: 4 Stars
As written by Jason B, Bob A and Boris, DO NOT USE the cd that comes in the box! By no means do I consider myself IT but after reading their reviews along with a handful of others, I felt confident with handling the setup myself and I always like a challenge. The challenge was figuring out why one of my laptops could detect and log on to the range extender but the other one could only detect the device (both cards are G's). Every time I tried to connect with the other laptop, the message would read that the device was either out of range or turned off. Keep in mind that both laptops were about 24 inches away from the range extender. I'm sure I'll get "head-shaked" from the IT gurus on here but I didn't set up MAC filtering due to where I live. If I was still living in downtown ATL or even downtown Chattanooga, then I would use the extra security but I see no reason for it due to my current location. So back to my issues. My router is set to 168.0 and I noticed that the extender wanted to set an IP of 168.0.106 instead of what the default is set to. My first mistake was using the new IP address. However, the same occurrence was happening with the laptops (1 can connect but the other could not). Even after this, I had a solid internet connection on the one laptop that could connect but I couldn't even access the IP address online to manually change settings. So long story short that worked for me after my first initial run at set up.
1) Made sure that the device was indeed plugged in and I hit the reset button on the back of the device a few times.
2) LAN connected to the router and ran the setup software again. At IP setup page, I chose to end in 240 so there wouldn't be any conflict with the last 3 digits of my router (this decision fixed the issue with the other laptop and with being able to access online IP address).
3) Set security to WPA instead of WPA2 to match what I had changed on the router to work with the extender
3) Disconnected the LAN line, and *SOMETHING THAT ALWAYS SEEMS TO WORK FOR ME* rebooted the other laptop that couldn't connect.
Presto-Chango, the other laptop could detect, and connect to the range extender. My issue wasn't a basement/ 1st story problem but rather that the server and router were on one side of the house for a base of internet operations for the whole family while my office was clear on the other side. I could pick up the router signal but it was low and I wasn't satisfied with the leftover piece of pie I had to work with when everyone else would be on. Plus, this gave me a good excuse to help bring my household up another notch into the tech realm. My next concern was unplugging the device, moving it to a central location and praying that everything I just went through didn't get virtually erased. Sure enough, I set up the device, and my laptop was still connected and had excellent strength.
I'm extremely happy with the device but as just about everyone else has commented, the setup is not so "plug-N-play" friendly at first. I would definitely recommend this product to a friend, but would also help them personally over the phone or direct them to the reviews on amazon. Based on one review, I didn't even bother calling tech support because I didn't want to waste the time getting worked up with the person on the other end. Besides, there are more than enough intelligent reviewers for this product who have given a better step-by-step on how to set this product up and troubleshoot the majority of the issues.
Customer Review: 11 Days and 3 units later, it works!
Summary: 2 Stars
I rarely read this section (leave alone writing some comments) because I have never had to. I am not the most technology savvy person but I have never had any problem setting up any system (eventually). I was able to build a commercial imaging system and even configured and administered a 20 station old Netware (1.0?) LAN all by myself without any prior knowledge. But no, I met my challenge here and I was determined to make it work. And finally, I did - after 11 days and three units. All these are just to gain about 20 more ft of coverage so that my wife can sit in the couch at living room browsing with her iPad.
I have to thank Amazon which makes this exercise much easier and less painful. Amazon literally shipped the replacement right away and even paid for the return postage. I can't imagine what if I have to deal with Hawking just to get a RMA.
Let me get to the last part first. Usually, I was able to set up the extender so that my laptops can communicate with the extender but have no access to internet. A very simple step overlooked by all including their tech support: you have to disconnect the Ethernet cable from the extender and voilà (give a minute or two).
The second and third units came with 1.52 rev. A firmware. So, my experience below may be firmware-specific. BTW, to our engineering friends here (I am a scientist), you have to make the unit work first and then change one and only one item at a time before you can suggest whether that item is critical or not. I actually read through all 380 some comments here and I have to say some if not most suggestions are not quite "scientific". That's why most tech supports do what they do because they were told someone tried something that worked. That's why HP told me to unplug the printer power cable a few times, Samsung offered me a new cable despite the cable worked perfectly fine with another unit, and maybe I should hold my iPhone in certain ways or simply face West.
1). Make sure the reset button works. It seems the reset button fails quite easily. My first unit failed after hours of torturing with tech support. The second one was dead upon arrival (actually right after I updated the firmware). Press the button lightly until the light blinks (10 ~ 15 seconds). If it doesn't blink, you have a defective unit.
2). Use web management tool: 192.168.1.240. I had to change ipv4 to 192.168.1.2 before I could access the web tool.
3). Firmware update may not be necessary. Check the firmware via web management tool. Mine (2nd & 3rd) came with 1.52 rev. A. The one downloaded from Hawking is 1.50. I would assume 1.52 is newer than 1.50. Why they leave an older version online for download is beyond me. I did update the second unit with the downloaded version but the unit became unresponsive right after (don't know whether it has anything to do with download).
4). AES, TKIP, or mix does not make any difference. I tried all of them. They all worked (don't know about speed though).
5). Password can have anything: numbers, spaces, special characters. I use all 64 characters with everything.
6). SSID can have upper and lower case. Not sure about space. I am tired of resetting my unit.
7). I didn't touch WMM, CTS, UPnP, MAC, DNS as some suggested. My router is Belkin G+MIMO.
Hope this helps.
Customer Review: Does a good job as a repeater
Summary: 4 Stars
Edited review: After a few months of use, I discovered a really, really irritating flaw for these things. Any time the power goes out or the router gets unplugged, this repeater 'forgets' what to do. More to the point it wont recognize the router even if the numbers all are right. You have to plug the repeater into the router and re run the setup utility and then your good. It'll work great, till the power goes out or someone unplugs the router, or the router reboots.
The old belkin 54G (running wireless G)remembered the router, and would auto reconfigure itself when the power came back on.
The hawking doesnt.
Save your money and hair until they improve this thing.
I gave this 4 stars and not 5 for a few reasons. To start with, they make it with tiny 3dBi antennas. For the price, which would only be a few bucks, it should be made with larger 7 or 9dBi antennas. it would improve its range. On the upside the antennas are removable and easy to upgrade. still for the cost, hawking could pop for 5 bucks worth of extra antenna.
The base could be weighted to keep it from being bumped around, it weighs less than your Tv remote. The plastic is thin and it feels rather cheap.
However, that's not to say it doesn't work just fine. If you have an N router, you have little other choice as of now but, Hawking made a pretty decent repeater. You can web log into the unit and manually set all the bells and whistles on it, even the power output, which is nice if you want to limit its range to one room for security sake. The quick set up wizard is indeed quick and easy.
It's one of the only N capable repeaters out there so here's what it DOES do. My belkin N wireless router is in my aluminum sided house, and I am sitting 200+ feet away, in another house (aluminum sided) and between me and the other house is a yard full of trees and dense bush. On the laptop, I have ONE bar of signal, that is just barely enough to connect to the internet but little else. The hawking range extender grabs that shred of N signal and gives me 100% 5 bars and about 10Mbps. It works very well indeed. I had to buy a wireless USB N adapter for the laptop because over that distance, it just doesn't work at all well going from the N router to the G wireless adapter in the laptop. The wireless N USB adapter is an absolute must if you have an N router. If I am close to the N router (in the same house) and connected to it via wireless there is no problem. But use the hawking to connect the 2, and you have pretty poor (read unusably slow and unreliable) performance. It simply does not translate N to G very well which is not unexpected. It does however repeat G to G very well, but the only reason you would buy this thing is because its the only quality N repeater available as of now. If you have a 802.11-G router, Buy a little belkin 54G repeater for [...], it works as good or better with G. If you have 802.11-N, the hawking works very well, and is a good buy from a reputable manufacturer. It will solve your 802.11-N range problems perfectly. Even better if you buy a set of 9dBi antennas to replace the piddly 3dBi ones on it but chances are if you are using it in the same house as your wireless router, you wont need them.