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- First answerNovember 3, 2015
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No more WiFi dead spots. The powerful Nighthawk DST AC1900 WiFi Router along with the DST WiFi adapter eliminates WiFi dead zones. Create additional WiFi coverage right where you want it. The DST Router comes with a year of worry-free set up and support from Geek Squad.
Customer Rating
5
Super for eliminating WiFi Dead spots!
on November 3, 2015
Posted by: TechMatcher
Product: Nighthawk DST AC1900 DST Router & DST Adapter
Model: R7300DST
Purchased at: Received from NETGEAR as part of a product review and test program
Model: R7300DST
Purchased at: Received from NETGEAR as part of a product review and test program
Overview:
This product is a custom solution for Best Buy’s Geek Squad that comes with 24/7 phone and web support for an entire year! The Dead Spot Terminator (DST) is a second device that plugs into an outlet in an area of your home where normal wireless signals may fail – using your homes electrical wiring to talk with the “main” router, then acts as another WiFi hotspot with both 2.4GHz and 5GHz signals!
This product is a custom solution for Best Buy’s Geek Squad that comes with 24/7 phone and web support for an entire year! The Dead Spot Terminator (DST) is a second device that plugs into an outlet in an area of your home where normal wireless signals may fail – using your homes electrical wiring to talk with the “main” router, then acts as another WiFi hotspot with both 2.4GHz and 5GHz signals!
Packaging:
Nicely packaged. Easy, frustration free removal. Router and DST device come in labeled plastic bags indicating SSID, Network Key and Best Buy Geek Squad support ID. The three antennas are individually bagged and placed beside the power cord for the main unit and 2 5ft Ethernet cables. Nice job packaging NETGEAR!
Nicely packaged. Easy, frustration free removal. Router and DST device come in labeled plastic bags indicating SSID, Network Key and Best Buy Geek Squad support ID. The three antennas are individually bagged and placed beside the power cord for the main unit and 2 5ft Ethernet cables. Nice job packaging NETGEAR!
Initial Setup:
The first thing I noticed after screwing in the 3 antennas and replacing my existing home router to perform the test – is that the main router and the DST router did not have similar SSIDs. I would have expected them to be more aligned, but that really not that big of deal as I AWLAYS customize the SSID of my routers anyway – and recommend you do to!
The first thing I noticed after screwing in the 3 antennas and replacing my existing home router to perform the test – is that the main router and the DST router did not have similar SSIDs. I would have expected them to be more aligned, but that really not that big of deal as I AWLAYS customize the SSID of my routers anyway – and recommend you do to!
Installation was a snap:
1. Unpack main router, attach antennas, plug in power cord and plug in network cable from my cable modem.
2. My iPhone 6 saw the SSID of the main router in no time, and I attached using the predefined Network Key. Initial tests of communication between my iPhone and the router on the 5G signal yielded around 300MBs. Router is located in the basement of a 2 story home – and I was stay connected in all areas of the house – albeit the same speed tests at various points of the house did show some degradation (expected as I move from floor to floor and room to room).
3. I chose the second floor of my home to install the DST adapter. I grabbed it from the box, walked upstairs and plugged it in. Nothing. I did see the SSID of the adapter – usually something like NETGEAR##-EXT. Disappointed, I went back downstairs to consult the manual. Lo and behold, after reading a bit, I found my mistake – actually multiple mistakes. The DST adapter uses NETGEAR’s Powerline technology, which means you cannot plug the Main Router or the DST adapter into a surge protector or UPS like device. That was my first problem. I plugged my main router directly into a wall socket. Next, I guess I thought that the main router would just magically connect to the DST adapter. I was wrong. There is a button on the main router you need to press, and a corresponding button on the DST adapter that allows the devices to pair. (A possible suggestion for NETGEAR is to pre-pair these devices). Once I pressed the buttons on each unit – they successfully connected and worked as expected!
1. Unpack main router, attach antennas, plug in power cord and plug in network cable from my cable modem.
2. My iPhone 6 saw the SSID of the main router in no time, and I attached using the predefined Network Key. Initial tests of communication between my iPhone and the router on the 5G signal yielded around 300MBs. Router is located in the basement of a 2 story home – and I was stay connected in all areas of the house – albeit the same speed tests at various points of the house did show some degradation (expected as I move from floor to floor and room to room).
3. I chose the second floor of my home to install the DST adapter. I grabbed it from the box, walked upstairs and plugged it in. Nothing. I did see the SSID of the adapter – usually something like NETGEAR##-EXT. Disappointed, I went back downstairs to consult the manual. Lo and behold, after reading a bit, I found my mistake – actually multiple mistakes. The DST adapter uses NETGEAR’s Powerline technology, which means you cannot plug the Main Router or the DST adapter into a surge protector or UPS like device. That was my first problem. I plugged my main router directly into a wall socket. Next, I guess I thought that the main router would just magically connect to the DST adapter. I was wrong. There is a button on the main router you need to press, and a corresponding button on the DST adapter that allows the devices to pair. (A possible suggestion for NETGEAR is to pre-pair these devices). Once I pressed the buttons on each unit – they successfully connected and worked as expected!
Features:
I’ve owned and reviewed many routers. The DST adapter feature of this router really made this an attractive device. You can even pair a second DST adapter router with this system to further extend your range or get around WiFi blocking metal/concrete walls.
I’ve owned and reviewed many routers. The DST adapter feature of this router really made this an attractive device. You can even pair a second DST adapter router with this system to further extend your range or get around WiFi blocking metal/concrete walls.
Since this router was specially made for Geek Squad and included a support ID, I decided to give them a call and see just what this was all about and how they could help me.
I called Geek Squad around 10:15 PM and was placed in a queue to receive phone support. Hold time was stated to be between 4-7 minutes. I was one the phone for 8 minutes and 50 seconds before I reached a human being. She took some of my contact information to start a ticket and talked me through the process of establishing an online remote control session with a Geek Squad agent versed with the Nighthawk router.
I pretended to not know what I was doing, and once I was able to get my machine on the internet, I was directed to GeekSquad.com > My Geek Squad > Top Secret Passcode web page that would establish a LogMeIn session with her so she could remote control my computer. Before I let that happen, I ‘fessed up that I was reviewing the product and fully believe that they would have been able to configure the routers once on my computer. Nice job Geek Squad! The only thing that I saw to improvement in the process was the hold time – and the wait time I was told would happen before the online Agent session (I was told it would be about a 30-minute wait).
Suggestions:
I have a few suggestions for NETGEAR/Geek Squad regarding the future versions of this product. For my purposes, I’d like to see the following:
I have a few suggestions for NETGEAR/Geek Squad regarding the future versions of this product. For my purposes, I’d like to see the following:
• Pre-pairing of the DST adapter and the main router.
• NETGEAR: More ports on these routers! Don’t be shy! Maybe 8, 12, 16 – we now have so many devices – why not build it in?
• NETGEAR: Mounting options – for mounting on the wall vs requiring the space to place on a shelf.
• NETGEAR: The DST adapter also includes a single LAN port – which I tested and it worked well. Perhaps the DST device could have 4 ports on it like the router.
• GEEK SQUAD: Watch the hold/wait times. Nothing makes an already frustrated person more frustrated than waiting. Maybe the Geek Squad support coupon code bumps me to the front of the line or something…
• NETGEAR: More ports on these routers! Don’t be shy! Maybe 8, 12, 16 – we now have so many devices – why not build it in?
• NETGEAR: Mounting options – for mounting on the wall vs requiring the space to place on a shelf.
• NETGEAR: The DST adapter also includes a single LAN port – which I tested and it worked well. Perhaps the DST device could have 4 ports on it like the router.
• GEEK SQUAD: Watch the hold/wait times. Nothing makes an already frustrated person more frustrated than waiting. Maybe the Geek Squad support coupon code bumps me to the front of the line or something…
OVERALL:
In summary, I was impressed with the ease of setup and performance of this product – but I’ve come to expect that from NETGEAR. During my testing, I had a system that I recently updated to Windows 10 and its wireless adapter was acting flaky, so I simply plugged it into the DST adapter and BOOM – instant signal and much faster than the WiFi I had in Windows 7!
In summary, I was impressed with the ease of setup and performance of this product – but I’ve come to expect that from NETGEAR. During my testing, I had a system that I recently updated to Windows 10 and its wireless adapter was acting flaky, so I simply plugged it into the DST adapter and BOOM – instant signal and much faster than the WiFi I had in Windows 7!
If your home or office has Dead Spots or low signal strength – give the NETGEAR NightHawk with DST a try and Terminate them!
My Best Buy number: 2178905958
I would recommend this to a friend!
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