REVIEW – We live on a pretty big piece of property with several large outbuildings…all sadly outside of the house WiFi bubble. One of these buildings is where we park our cars, workout, and occasionally throw a party or two. So internet access in those places is either cellular or not at all, which most of the time is less than ideal. So, when Julie offered up the Winegard RW-2035 Extreme WiFi Extender I quickly raised my hand to see if it lives up to the promise of greatly extended WiFi range and internet access.
What is it?
The RW-2035 is a high powered WiFi extender that enables you to expand your wireless network bubble up to 1000ft. The RW-2035 connects to your home network and uses three amplified omnidirectional, high-gain external antennas to broadcast your network much further than a normal router.
What’s in the box?
- Long Range Outdoor Unit (ODU)
- (3) Outdoor 2.4ghz Antennas
- Power Adapter
- Mounting Hardware
- Printed Documentation
Hardware specs
- Reception Types: WiFi
- Wireless Standard: 802.11a/b/g/n
- Wireless Security: WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPA mixed
- Max WiFi Range: 1000 ft.
- Ports: (1) RJ45 10/100
- Power Rating: Switching, AC Input 100/240v, 1.5A
- Frequency Band: 2.4 GHz
- Amplifiers: (3) 2.4 GHz Amplifiers
- Antennas: (3) Detachable high gain 5dBi antennas
- Height: 12.4″
- Diameter: 10.3″
- Weight: 3 lb
Design and features
The RW-2035 is comprised of three components: the Long Range Outdoor Unit (ODU), (3) outdoor 2.4ghz antennas, and the power adapter. The ODU looks like a small spaceship or really thick frisbee. It is made from a thick, rigid black plastic, engineered to withstand the elements. The three detachable high gain antennas are coated in a rubber and screw into the three connection points on the ODU. They’re also meant to survive in the great outdoors. The power adapter is not weatherproof and designed to be installed indoors with an ethernet cable running from it to the ODU for PoE and connectivity.
Features
- High Performance – The Extreme WiFi Extender connects wirelessly to your home network and uses three amplified omnidirectional, high-gain external antennas to broadcast to devices farther away than your network’s main router can reach.
- Increased Range – With an expanded WiFi range of up to an additional 1000 feet, the Extreme WiFi Extender is perfect for extending your network signal to outdoor recreational areas, outbuildings, security cameras, and more.
- Streamlined Installation – Connect the Extreme WiFi Extender to the Power Inserter (PoE) using a single ethernet cable (not included). Set up your secure network once and you’re done!
- Guest Network – Set up an extra WiFi network that allows you to provide guests with a separate password to use when accessing your network while still maintaining a secure system.
- Proven Dome Design – Rigorously tested for outdoor environments.
Setup
Physically installing the Winegard RW-2035 Extreme WiFi Extender is relatively quick and easy, if you consider a few hours and crawling through your attic in that realm. According to the instructions, the RW-2035 can be installed indoors or outdoors. But considering the dumping rains we get in Seattle, I thought it best to see if the indoor option would work for me. Winegard provides the mounting bracket but the Universal Antenna Mount for attaching the RW-2035 to your house is a $15 optional accessory. But in my case, I installed the RW-2035 at the far corner inside our house, nearest the two outbuildings I want connectivity. I just screwed the mounting bracket to an existing wooden 4×6.
To get the best performance out of the RW-2035, I ran an ethernet cable from our office router through the attic to the ConnecT power adapter of the WiFi Extender. Then the short ethernet cable from the underside of the RW-2035 to the ConnecT for signal and (PoE) power. Since I already had power up in our attic, running power to the adapter was the easiest part of the operation. Once everything was connected, all you have to do is click the power switch on the adapter.
Once powered up, you log into the RW-2035 Extreme WiFi Extender to configure and lockdown the new high powered node in your network.
Performance
The Winegard RW-2035 Extreme WiFi Extender’s performance is good but not incredible. Now I grant you I’m making the WiFi Extreme Extender work pretty hard…through the side of my house, approximately 250-300 feet to the outbuildings, then through not only wood sheeting but 3/8th inch concrete siding and a massive metal roof. Plus I have the SSID hidden, so sometimes my iPad takes a few seconds to find the stealth network before I can stream my latest Netflix shows while on the elliptical machine. But it works nonetheless.
There is definitely a trade off in speeds when you increase distance (and obstructions). For example, in my house I get 125+mbps out of my WiFi router connected directly to our Xfinity modem. In the open spaces between buildings, the Winegard RW-2035 Extreme WiFi Extender gives me somewhere between 15-20mbps, 100 feet away from our house. Once in the concrete and metal clad garage, the speeds drop down to single digits but that is still enough connectivity to stream everything I watch from Netflix to the Seahawks (GO HAWKS!!!).
What I like
- Well made
- Impressive range (aka works as advertised)
- Easy installation & setup
- Weatherproof
What needs to be improved
- A bit expensive
- Limited data speed with distance
Final thoughts
While not perfect, the Winegard RW-2035 Extreme WiFi Extender works as advertised. It does a solid job of significantly extending your internet bubble. Though I think conditions would have to be ideal to get the full 100o foot range Winegard promises. But I would bet/argue, hundreds of feet would get the job done for most folks. Once the (Ark lifting) rains stop here in the Northwest, I may mount the antenna on the outside of our house for the spring and summer to see how that improves the signal strength and throughput speeds. If you have the need, the Winegard RW-2035 Extreme WiFi Extender is a quick and easy way to expand your connectivity where and when you need it.
Price: $349.99
Where to buy: The Extreme WiFi Extender is available on Amazon or directly from Winegard.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Winegard.
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Hi Dave
I enjoyed your article.
I have been looking at a wifi extender to carry the wifi signal to outside spaces where we want to set up wireless security cameras on our half acre. A strong signal is needed so we can monitor the SD card of each camera without having the remove it and replace it once finished viewing it on my laptop. When the camera is in the wifi signal range. I can simply use the app on my phone to access the camera data.
My questions are:
does the 2035 extender need to be connected by ethernet cable to the modem router?
Is there a way to place the extender outside and connect to a 120v outlet and have the extender connected wirelessly to the modem router?
If a non ethernet connection is possible would the signal strength be diminished?
Lastly. Do you know how I might get a free extender in turn for writing a review?
Thanks
Ron
I have had one of these winegard models since November 2020. I have 8.5 acres and it covers almost the whole property. I run an Ethernet cable outside to the antenna on my roof. I have cameras on the perimeter of my property but some areas beyond a very thickly wooded shelter belt only connect intermittently. I plan on getting one or two more to cover my entire acreage. One will easily cover one acre. My winegard does lose connection about once a week until I power off and on the winegard adapter – not sure if it’s just my winegard that has this issue or not. I use it in conjunction with the Amazon blink cameras and I’m pretty happy with it. Discovered many wildlife neighbors sharing my property with me 🙂
The proper way to do this is to add more access points, there are plenty of brands that have models that will wirelessly backhaul your existing WiFi network. And Long range models that will work better.
Ubiquiti and Mikrotik have handled situations like this for me at even further distances.
Is a cat5 or cat6 ethernet cable required, or does it matter? We are trying to reach less than 500 feet from router which is in a pavilion to cameras with no buildings between, open air all the way so hoping this will help. Also like the fact that it can be installed inside as well as outside.
Does anyone know where to buy a replacement power cord and Connect box? I moved mine and only can find the antenna and the mounting brackets.