Would you like to extend the range of your wireless network? Do you have WiFi dead spots around your house? Do you have an Internet capable TV that only has an ethernet port and your computer is in another room? Maybe you don’t even have a WiFi network in your house and need a way to connect the new laptop you just bought or would like to add a wireless access point to the broadband connection in your hotel room. Diamond Multimedia believes they have what you need to address your issues.
In my house the broadband modem is on the second floor in what I call the computer room. We have a great, speedy Ethernet connection there. My wife uses her laptop on the main floor at the extreme other end of the house. Because of the distance and number of walls between the router and her laptop, we sometimes lose connection or at best the transfer rate slows down. Also, we’re unable to get a wireless signal in the basement where we both have our personal work spaces. For these reasons, I’ve been on the hunt for a device that would boost the WiFi signal and not require a rewiring of the house. With the WR300N, I’ve found a solution.
WR300N 3 in 1 Device
- Wireless Range Extender
- Wireless Access Point
- Wireless Bridge
Features:
- Supports Wireless N Standard up to 300 Mbps
- MIMO technology
- WEP, WPA and WPA2 security
- User friendly GUI for setup
- WPS Protected setup
- Plug and Play
- Can use any operating system to configure
There’s not much to it. The CD has the extended manual and a PDF of the Easy Start Guide. The ethernet cable is used to set up the device and can be used for the wireless bridge configuration.
On the front are several indicator leds that you’ll probably never look at, at least as long as the device is working properly.
On the bottom or top if you install it upside down, is the ethernet port. You’ll notice that the prongs on the AC plug are not polarized allowing one to plug it into a wall socket in either orientation.
The first thing to do in the setup is to read the quick start guide. I used my laptop for the configuration, but didn’t disable the WiFi before connecting the ethernet cable from the WR300n to the laptop. Nothing happened! After shutting off the WiFi, the laptop got an ip address from the device and I opened a browser to point to 10.0.10.254. After logging in to the device configuration page, I began the setup.
There are several screens, but the most pertinent one is the above. I clicked the Scan Wireless Networks button and selected the one I wanted to extend. In this case it is called billnjan. I selected the security type to match my wireless router config and entered the WEP keys. After punching the apply button, I shut down the browser and removed the cable and unplugged the WR300n. If your equipment uses WiFi Protected Setup (WPS), then setup is a matter of pressing a couple of buttons. I then placed the WR300n midway between my wireless router and the farthest point in my house.
Here are the results. I made the measurements using my laptop at the furthest point in the house. Row number 2 is for the SSID that is NOT repeated. Row number 1 is the repeated SSID. You’ll notice the increase in signal strength. Row number 3 is the second SSID from my wireless router and is not repeated. Now that my signal is repeated, I have noticed that I don’t get any “connecting messages” from either my WiFi enabled Internet radio or photo frame. Both of these devices were at the limit of my non-repeated signal.
To check out the wireless bridge capability, I plugged an ethernet cable into the WR300n and connected it to my laptop and established connection via the ethernet port. It works as advertised. This feature would be perfect for those who have a device such as the Roku that doesn’t have WiFi. Plug the WR300n near the Roku box and you’re all set.
The WR300N can be used as a wireless Access Point. It is set up in the same way as the repeater, the only difference is that the user will define the SSID and encryption type. Once setup, it can be connected to an available port on the modem-router.
Although not a big issue, reconfiguring the WR300N can be a chore. Accessing the configuration screens via a browser pointing to 10.0.10.254 is not possible after the initial setup, unless you configure your computer to a fixed ip. This is no small task and the instructions for doing so are in the extended manual from the supplied disk. Of course, after you’ve reconfigured the device you’ll have to return your computer ip back to its original state. My work around is to stick a straightened paper clip in the reset button of the WR300N for 5 seconds which brings the device back to its initial state.
The WR300N works for me. I’ve been able to use my laptop at distances from the router that I wasn’t able to before. It’s easy enough to set up and simple to install.
Product Information
| Price: | $59.99 |
| Manufacturer: | Diamond Multimedia |
| Retailer: | Amazon.com |
| Requirements: |
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| Pros: |
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| Cons: |
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This is nice, it’s an extender or a wireless bridge; I have a similar device that’s also a pain to configure, I think that’s normal for these types of devices. I have a similar setup as the Roku example you gave with a gaming system connected to a TV that’s across the house and nowhere near my wired network.
You are aware that a WiFi secured with WEP can be broken in to in about 30 minutes, using readily available WEP hacking software? Probably shorter time, if you publish your WEP keys in a review on the Internet 😛
Martin,
It was a test to see if people actually read the review 🙂 I use WEP because I began using it years ago and I’m too lazy to change all my devices and I live so remote that there’s no one nearby. Also, the key shown in the review is incomplete.
You are very observant! Thanks for your comments and reading the review.
Bill
I love the packaging. Two attractive women, one in a bikini. How do advertisers keep coming up with these novel ideas?
Michael
One very basic thing I don’t understand is what happens when you walk around the house with a laptop. Does the connection seamlessly move from the main wireless router to the extender?
dave,
Yes, it latches on to the stronger signal. They both have the same password.
I’ve been trying to find out if you can hop from extender to extender? I cannot move my router from its current location, and I already have another one. The trouble is I want to be able to go even further, which means essentially I would go from the new extender to the old one and then finally to the router. I’m unsure if this is a good idea. Any comments would be helpful. Also, I found a few of the WR300n’s at refurbished rates at http://www.wirelessrangeextenderreviews.com so with some of your help maybe I could save some money too if I decide to get one.
J Dominik,
According to their website, you can have multiple extenders. I’ve haven’t tried it and I think you would only be able to extend from the router, not extend the extender.
Here’s a thought. Use Powerline Ethernet and put a WiFi access point at the furthest end. I’ve been using Powerline successfully for years.
I’ve been having trouble setting this up. I received my wr300n in the mail today and proceeded to set it up according to the simple instructions. I was not able to go to 10.0.10.254 in my web browser. I tried with no success for a while. Then I switched computers and it worked once. I was able to enter my WEP code, and shut it off. Then I tried to plug it in between my router and me up on the second floor, and noticed no change in signal strength. Now I can no longer access the configuration page at 10.0.10.254, and i’m not sure why. I’m kind of new to this stuff
Andrew,
Once you’ve set up the WR300n you can’t access it via 10.0.10.254 without jumping through some hoops. This is pointed out in the review. Do a reset and you can start over.
Reboot the device or computer you’re not seeing any difference with and see if it works better after.
Ok Bill,
I have set up complete networks before and I know this is a no brainer, but I can’t get my devices to connect to the internet once I have this thing set up. I get a great signal and even get an ip address from my router, but it seems the dns is not passing through. I know it is something simple. What am I missing here?
Thanks
Curtyb,
I haven’t a clue 🙁 One of the reasons I liked this device, is the ease in setting up. When I’ve had dns problems before, I could always clear it by turning the router and modem off and then sequencing them back up in order.
A little help please, I have a good wireless signal on my PC but whe I plug the unit in I can’t get to GUI on windows XP. Have reset to no avail.
Philbilly,
Run an Ethernet cable from the WR300n to the PCs Ethernet port. Disable wireless on the PC if it is enabled. Using IE type http://10.0.10.254 in the url bar. That should do it.
I thought I saw somewhere that this little device would somehow let me view my computer screen on my TV wirelessly. I haven’t figured out how to make it do that, and I’m pretty sure that it can’t looking at how the device works and the only outlet being an ethernet cord. Is there anyway to do this? I would LOVE to play one of my computer games on my TV without having to drag my desktop computer into my room.
Scott,
You can’t do what you want with this device. Perhaps you recall this review: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/01/11/actiontec-mywirelesstv-multi-room-wireless-hd-video-kit-review/
Hello everyone! Looking for some troubleshooting advice……I installed it and clearly have stronger signal throughout entire house, was so excited to see ful bars!
Unfortunately 80% of the time I have full wifi bars but can’t acces anoint on iPad or iPhone. Just tries to process before finally saying page can’t open.
Any ideas how I correct?
Dave,
I’m stumped. My 2 iPods connect with no problem as do 2 laptops and assorted other devices. Perhaps you have a conflict with some other device that uses 2.4 Ghz, like cordless phones.
Dave,
I had the same issue. I just gave up and returned the unit. I just attributed it to a faulty unit since so many other people are having success with them. I spent almost a week playing around with the settings until I just gave up. I think if it doesn’t work out the box, the unit may be faulty.
Hi, after configuring the wireless Extender ranger as repeater I was not able to use it as desired. I am getting “username and password” screen every time I access the internet (IE browse).
Warning message: This server is requesting that your username and password be sent in an insecure manner (basic authentication without a secure connection).
My ADSL/Router is NETGEAR and I am using WPA2-PSK as security.
Any idea? Thanks in advance,
Magno
Valdir,
Do you have the same issue if you remove the WR300N from the network? Also, make sure you’ve entered the WPA2-PSK passphrase during setup of the device.
Hi Bill,
No, I do not have the same issue if I remove the WR300N from the network. Yes, I’ve entered the correct WPA2-PSK passphrase during the setup of the device. It’s very strange. Still looking for any idea.
Thanks so much.
Valdr,
Just for testing purposes, change the security on your router to WEP, or better yet none and see if it works then. Of course you’ll have to reconfigure the WR300N.
So I bought the device about 2 weeks ago. I worked for awhile but now it’s being slow. I check the computer that it is hooked up to and it says the signal strength is excellent. But the internet on that computer is super slow and the speedtest shows it’s at about .26 while my computer is at 26.56. Why is it showing excellent reception with crappy speeds?
Thanks for the thoughts. I am exchanging it and hoping the new one, arriving in 2 days, works with consistency this time.
Hi there!
Got the new one, set it up, and it worked great. worked being the key word. Now it no longer does. I show full wifi bars throughout house when it is plugged in but I can’t connect to Internet. What am I doing wrong??
Dave,
Something similar happened to me once. I removed the WR300n, did a reset and re-installed and have been running fine for months. I thought I messed up something when I reconfigured my router.
Am setting up wrong? Once I get set up page all I enter is my password that I use for the router when someone wants to connect to it right?
That’s it. Select the network from the list and enter the password you use to connect.
Is there a difference WEP & WPA? Could that be causing my issues?
Yes, there’s a diffidence between WEP and WPA. What you could do, just for testing purposes, is turn off all encryption and see if everything works.
lol. This website is awesome. I get more help with an item than the actual company that made it…
As it relates to the issue of having full bars (& full signal), but no apparent data coming through, try moving the unit closer to your wireless router. As your router signal decreases in strength and speed, the Diamond unit does not necessarily enhance both when it picks and extends the signal. I had the same issue and solved it this way (unit set to repeater mode) with consistent high speed-test scores.
Thanks Rick. I am on my second diamond and have plugged in ll areas of the house. I have full bars but my iPad and iPhone will not work on it. It shows connected to the wireless router name and I have the bars but it won’t transmit.
So frustrated!!!!!’
I still don’t understand why it shows full bars but no data coming through but I did fix it. I have my modem in my room and I had the diamond in the living room. There is a hall then a left turn into the living room which is behind a brick wall. I had the Diamond just to the left on the brick wall and it was causing this. So I just put the diamond in the kitchen which is straight down the hall past the dining room, and it works. I guess my modem shoots straight down the hall, into the kitchen and then the extender “extends” the signal bypassing the brick wall. 🙂
Thanks Scott. I tried that…..placed the thing right outside the room where the router is and again showed great signal strength but instantly could no longer connect to the web.
This is killing me!!!!!!
Having a problem here.
I bought the wr300n and the first time I went to the 10.0.10.254 address after connecting through the ethernet cable, it worked great until I clicked to go to the next page. It then stalled and now I cannot open the 10.0.10.254 GUI at all, even though all other websites still work and I am getting the IP from the extender. I have tried doing it through the wireless, and making sure that the wireless if off when trying through the ethernet but no luck in any scenario. I’m stumped, why can’t I get to the 10.0.10.254 GUI?
Thanks
Nyles
nyles,
I suggest you reset the device and try again. To reset, unplug any Ethernet cable and with the WR300n hooked to an AC outlet, push a bent paper clip into to the reset hole on the device and hold for 15 seconds. If that doesn’t reset the device try holding it for a longer period. At this point you should be able to connect the Ehternet cable and get back to the GUI.
when i hooked mine up the first thing that came up was a entry for a admin id and password tried different ones nothing seemed to work. cant even get to setup screen, can you help with this problem? thanks
shayne,
Step 5 of the Quick Start Guide: “Input admin for the username and input admin for the password. Click OK button.”
After installing and testing this unit I was delighted to see the slight increase in signal strength that I wanted. Unfortunately, I began having trouble accessing the Internet and after trying all the usual resets, etc., I simply unplugged the WR300n and now my Internet access works perfectly again. I’m returning the WR300n today and will live with the lower signal strength. WEP hacking software you say?
Hi. I just hooked up my apple laptop to the WR300N. Everything went smoothly except for when it came time to close the browser and unplug the WR300N and plug it back in. I did as the Easy Start Guide said to do but I can’t connect to the Internet now. I can connect if I unplug the WR300N, since my laptop just picks up the weak signal from my Comcast wireless router. The very signal I’m trying to boost. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Please! Thank You.
Starfinn,
Maybe you input the encryption key incorrectly. Do you see the stronger signal on the laptop? If you need to start over, do a reset on the WR300n.
Hi, I installed the WR300n as a repeater and it’s been working great, with just one issue. Since installing it, any time my MacBook goes to sleep, when I wake it back up, I get a message that another device is using the IP address it was assigned, and I have to wait for DHCP to assign a new one. I can sit and watch it increment the IP address up every time I put the Mac to sleep. This doesn’t seem to be an issue with my iPhone or my wife’s iPad. I’m using the WR300N to boost the signal from a D-LINK DIR-655 wireless router. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Mitch
Mitch,
I don’t have a Mac book to test this. Nothing comes to mind. Maybe someone reading here can help us out.
So, I am looking into buying this extender, I live in a college apartment where whe wifi is shared. I live in a building that is further away from the router than most. If I buy this extender, can I put a different password on the extended connection or does it have to be the same password that everyone in the complex knows that is on the existing router? I would prefer to have a private connection since I am the only one paying for the extender.
Thanks
Paul,
The extender has to have the same password as the WiFi network you’re extending.
Thats what I was afraid of. I will probably still buy it anyways but that would have been a nice option. Thanks Bill.
I’m glad to have found this site, it’s been very helpful! I just set up my repeater and it seems to work, but I have a couple probably stupid questions as I’m not too techie:
1) I set up the repeater using my personal laptop. Will my other devices automatically connect to the repeater? Not sure if it makes a difference, but my personal laptop is the only one that had a weak connection to the router; my other devices were fine and don’t need to connect via the repeater.
2) I noticed in the setup that I could have edited the SSID name. Could I have renamed it and if so what effect would this have? I guess I’m more or less wondering how do I know if I’m connected to my network via the repeater or directly to the router without downloading tools like the one in the screenshot. I thought it’d be nice if they were named differently and show up as 2 separate networks, and I can choose which one to connect.
Jason,
1) The answer is yes.
2) To repeat your signal the SSID has to be the same as the network you’re extending. The edit box allows you to enter that name in the event you don’t broadcast the SSID.
Hope this helps.
“Something similar happened to me once. I removed the WR300n, did a reset and re-installed and have been running fine for months. I thought I messed up something when I reconfigured my router.”
I just had the same thing happen to me. It was working fine both as an extender and as a wireless bridge for my Sony BD player. Then it wasn’t. None of my 2.4ghz devices could connect to the network. They “saw” the network but they couldn’t connect no matter how many times I entered the password. It seemed to correct itself for a little while then the problem came back.
I thought the problem lay with my router but the odd thing was that the 5gh band was working fine.
Finally, I thought to unplug the extender and the problem went away. I reset the extender using a pencil tip instead of a paper clip entered the settings and so far, so good.
I have no idea what happened. It’s possible I somehow changed my router settings since configuring the extender in April but I don’t recall doing that and, in any case, it doesn’t explain why things worked fine for a while and then went south in the past few days.
Hopefully, this isn’t a recurring problem.
Just wondering if anyone else had this problem. I hooked up the extender per the directions and it worked great – I was able to get a wireless signal out on my deck where I was unable to earlier. Problem is I walked over to our desktop later which has a wired connection to our router and an “IP conflict” message was on the screen and I couldn’t get a network connection there. I unplugged the extender and that resolved the IP conflict issue, but I’m sure there will be times we want to use both at once. Any thoughts?
Roger,
I have not experienced the problem you’re having. I too have a wired desktop and everything works fine. I’d suggest that you reboot your modem and router. I’ve done this when I’ve had flaky LAN issues and it tends to clear them up.
when I first time to set up my wr300n wireless extender, I can get to 10.0.10.254. but the next day, I moved the extender to another outlet, didn’t work. I press the WPS button and pushed the hole to reset, didn’t work. I am crazy for that.
luke,
You should not have to set up the extender every time you move it. I move mine around the house to fill in holes in coverage and haven’t had to reset the device since I installed it. That being said, if you have to setup the device again, hold the reset button for at least 30 seconds. Then do the setup using the Ethernet cable hooked to your computer.
thanks Bill,
do you mean to hold reset button(beside WPS) 30seconds? when do it?—-plug outlet but no hook to computer? the light should flash or not?
luke,
Plug the extender into the mains without any cable connected. Hold the reset button for 30 seconds ( if that doesn’t reset the device try again for a longer period). Connect the extender to your computer using the Ethernet cable. Open a browser to 10.0.10.254 and you should get the setup page. Follow the instructions for connecting to a WiFi network. It will tell you when to push the WPS button.
Thanks again Bill,
I will try tonight, let you know after done. Have a good day
Hi Bill,
last night I tried many times, hold reset button for 3mins, didn’t work.
Luke,
If you’ve held the reset button for 3 minutes while the wr300 was plugged into the mains and then hooked the Ethernet cable to your PC and opened a browser to 10.0.10.254 and it still doesn’t work, I’m out of ideas. Maybe it’s broken. See if you can return it.
I set up the WR 300n as an extender but my other devices are seeing both my wireless router and the extender (DMM_wr300n) as separate devices. The extender asks for a password but won’t take the one I assigned (same as the router) or “admin.”
What could be causing this? What should I do?
I have mine up and running. I’ve also noticed that the “extender” is acting like a whole new access point of shorts. It’s not “extending” it. When I hooked up my Roku player, it noticed both of my access points. My router and my extender (the extender being at great strength while my router being of low strength.) When I go around my house, my devices will disconnect from my router and then reconnect to my extender. Is that normal? Or can I somehow change it so that the extender just extends the signal not a whole new access point? Is that even possible?
Steve and Scott,
I can only guess, but have you set up the extender “manually” and inadvertently put it into bridge or AP mode? My Roku and other devices only see the SSID of the repeated network. If all else fails, reset it and let it automatically set up repeater mode.
I was able to get it to work finally by setting a channel on both the router and the WR 300N. Prior to this, I was letting both units scan for the best channel, but apparently that wasn’t working.
Now, using the built in WIFI in my TV, I have been able find an ideal location to place the extender, as the TV shows a numerical value for the signal strength, in addition to the “bars.”
I set up my Diamond unit and it works great on my computer but not on my iPad. I believe the iPad is connecting to the original wireless and not the repeater. I’ve tested with SPEEDTEST.NET to confirm. Any suggestions?
Bob,
I don’t have an iPad, but do have an iPod and assume the networking is similar. Perhaps if you go to settings and select the connected network, then click the right arrow. On the network screen click “forget this netowrk”. Then go back and select your home network again and see if that works.
Bill
Thanks for the reply, great minds think alike… I tried blowing the old wireless config off the iPad out of desperation and reconnecting it. That didn’t work. Since both the wireless router and the repeater have the same name I’m assuming I connected back the the router.
How can the device find a wireless signal if you have “disconnect(ed) your computer from any other networks”? I have a router connected by ethernet to my computer and other computers in the home connect wirelessly. Do I leave the router on but disconnected??
Tuck,
Not sure where you got the statement from about disconnecting. Couldn’t find it in the manual. To set up the device you’ll need to turn off the WiFi on your laptop during the configuration stage. If you disconnect the router you won’t be connected to the Internet.
I connected mine according to the Easy Start Guide. My laptop works great..connection to internet and 4 bars, but my TV can see it but not connect to it (I have the device located in an outlet right next to the tv) I tried attaching the ethernet cord to the tv and Diamond device and detaching it as well. The TV shows a signal strength of 4 bars, but seems to be a problem with DNS…according to the TV.
The product works well on Windows devices and the Kindle. I didn’t have any luck with the iPad II for some reason. It still sees the original wireless and doesn’t recognize the extender.
Bill-
I’m looking to add a second WRN300 to my existing set up- I have one that works fine but I’m fairly certain I can’t set the second one the same way I set the first one up. Can you help?
Scott,
I’m stumped. I only have the one, so I can’t test it. Perhaps some of our readers could chime in. Guys/Gals, can you help?
This is for CurtyB, who wrote back in 2011-12. I had a similar issue with a slight twist. I had the WR300N which functioned flawlessly for the past several years until I changed ISPs and got a new router. Tried to set up the WR300N, again as a repeater, to extend my wireless signal to a back office, got wonderful signal with full bars, but could not connect to the internet. The browser was not able to establish a connection. After a day of trying several different things, I finally noticed a little button to disable WiFi Protection System (WPS) in the setup for my main router (it was enabled by default). Disabled that, rebooted everything, reset the WR300N and set it up again, and now the unit seems to be functioning again, with internet access for my iPhone and iPad in the back office again. Maybe this will help the few others on here who had this similar problem.