Engenius ECB3500 is a powerful and robust enterprise-level product that supports 7 multi-functions to operate in every kind of network environment.
600mW wireless power, Ensures robust signal to overcome long distances, Offers superior WiFi coverage than leading brands
Offers multi operation modes for different network topologies7 Modes: Access Point, Client Bridge, Repeater,AP Router,Client Router,WDSFlexible solution for various wireless applications.
Provides strong, uninterrupted coverage up to 108 Mbps over a wide area
Operates at the 2.4 GHz frequencies in both the 802.11 b/g (11/ 54 Mbps)
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Customers like the range, performance, ease of setup, and power of the wireless signal repeater. They mention that the signal strength is unparalleled, it has a very good reception, and that it works well. Some appreciate the detailed instruction manual and the adjustable power.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
16 customers mention12 positive4 negative
Customers like the range of the wireless signal repeater. They mention that the signal strength is unparalleled, it guarantees a very good reception to the farthest corners of their home, and it has a configuration interface that is fast and responsive. They also appreciate the coverage and speed. Some mention that it increases the range substantially, has great throughput, and that the range is acceptable.
"it is good, i use it about 20 days and i feel so good about the coverage and the speed , just 2 issues ..power supply adepter becz support up to..." Read more
"...Adjustable power, WPA2, stable connection, great throughput, lots of modes and features and the web based software interface is fine...." Read more
"...There have been no drops in signal and the range is about 600 feet with the unit installed indoors...." Read more
"Bought this to replace an old Linksys wireless router. The Engenius range was acceptable, no better and no worse than the Linksys, but I didn't read..." Read more
11 customers mention8 positive3 negative
Customers like the performance of the wireless signal repeater. They say it works well, has a good design, and is outstanding in range and dependability. Some customers also mention that the device is wonderful in such a small package.
"it is good, i use it about 20 days and i feel so good about the coverage and the speed , just 2 issues ..power supply adepter becz support up to..." Read more
"...When the ECB is working, it works great...." Read more
"...I could hardly believe this wonderful performance in such a small package, very small compared to the WAP54G. There is very little heat produced and..." Read more
"I used this for about a year now. It does work SOME of the time. However, every 2 week or so I have to reset it. But it will stop working...." Read more
6 customers mention5 positive1 negative
Customers find the wireless signal repeater very easy to configure, with a great configuration interface and a detailed instruction manual.
"...set up many wireless devices, I found that this device was very easy to configure...." Read more
"...configure the settings directly (no wizards), and everything was easy to find and configure...." Read more
"...A detailed instruction manual is included, and though it is somewhat generic, it is far superior than directions included with other access..." Read more
"...I found these extremely easy to setup following the 1 page setup guide for either mode of operation, and the signal strength is unparalleled by any..." Read more
4 customers mention4 positive0 negative
Customers like the power of the wireless signal repeater. They mention that it has adjustable power, a stable connection, and great throughput. Some say that they can increase the power setting to cover a three-story building.
"...When the ECB is working, it works great. Adjustable power, WPA2, stable connection, great throughput, lots of modes and features and the web based..." Read more
"...The output power is adjustable up to 28dbm without antenna multiplication. The performance is simply outstanding in range and dependability...." Read more
"...You can change the power setting; I upped it to cover a three story building -- from the building next door. So far so good!" Read more
"...You can configure power settings, bandwidth, and multiple SSID's with individual VLAN's...." Read more
3 customers mention3 positive0 negative
Customers are satisfied with the dependability of the wireless signal repeater. They mention that it has an outstanding range, and the robust software works well.
"...The performance is simply outstanding in range and dependability...." Read more
"...I have deployed 12 of these units and have found them to be far more reliable than other high power type units and even normal commercial wifi..." Read more
"good design, robust software, works well and can bridge multiple for a secure extended wireless network. good support." Read more
it is good, i use it about 20 days and i feel so good about the coverage and the speed , just 2 issues ..power supply adepter becz support up to 110v while in my country use 220v so you need to get new power supply and the other issues .. the package should include PoE adepter not need to buy it separate !
After 11 months the 3500 exhibited link instability and greatly reduced range/data rate. RMA'd to engenius less antennas, CD, manual and power supply as instructed and they sent me a complete brand new one shrink wrapped in the box. So have extra antennas and power supply which is kinda strange but ok. So the warranty is 12 months. Cudos to Engenius for honoring the warranty and sending a brand new one. With that said, it should not have failed. But I knew the warranty was 1 year when I bought it. I understand most people believe a device should last longer than the MFR warranty. I have a Linksys WAP54G that is many years old. I understand most are not surprised when a device fails one day after warranty and I understand most complain when it does, including myself. But the reality is, a MFR stated warranty is a clear indicator to the expected life of their product. It's a business model decision. A MFR will advertise a warranty that they know will garantee profit margin based on statistical failure predictions and industry competion. The Linksys WAP54G warranty was one year also. Todays linksys WRT54GL for $50 is one year. Contrast that with the Asus RT-N66U for $180 that is also one year. So this is what it comes down to, how much are you willing to spend for what you want/need knowing in one year you could be spending that same amount again? Regardless of what it should be, the reality is they are all great at what they do and range in price from $50 to $180.
I'm not going to talk to want, that is individual specific. I will talk to need. The reality is, I achieve the same ping and throughput rates according to speedtest net (Comcast basic Internet ~23mbs down and 2.9mbps up) and the same 54mbps on the home network whether the access point is the WAP54g or the ECB3500 or the adapter is a low power Sunvalleytek External USB 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Adapter with Alpha 2.4HGz 7dBi Booster SMA Panel High-Gain antenna or a Sabrent NT-WGHU High-Power 1000mw with Alpha 2.4HGz 7dBi Booster SMA Panel High-Gain antenna.
And I stream video over a 54G link just fine, N is not needed. A good 54G connection is sufficient for video streaming contrary to what advertisers want you to believe about N. Commercial DVDs use MPEG-2 compression at peak bit rates of around 10 mbps. HDV camcorders typically have peak recording rates of 25 mbps for 1080i using a high-definition form of MPEG-2. I have a bulk bluray player intended for a PC in an external 5.25" USB enclosure through a Silex USB2 to ethernet SX-2000U2 that I can watch on any computer on the home network using Cyberlink DVD. Star Gate and Avatar bluray play just fine over my 54G wifi.
In my area I can see several wifi networks and have a little bit of channel overlap. I'm lucky in that my droid has a wifi analyzer app. Of course the ECB3500 has a site survey tool but it does you little good if you don't have one yet and want to see what is in your area before you buy one. So for me all channels are already covered. However if the AP is set or centered on channel 1 with 20Mhz bandwidth, the wifi anayzer app on droid shows the signal actually spreads from what would be two channels below channel 1 to channel 3 in a parabolic fashion with the peack centered on Channel 1. So if Channel 1 peak center channel is sitting at -60dbm the signal strength on channel 2 is about -67dbm and -90dbm on channel 3. Mirror those numbers below channel 1 and you get the picture. So there is another wifi network in my area that is centered at channel 3 so we overlap a little. However the signal level of that other network is about -85dbm and of all the other wifi networks in my area, it is the lowest in dbm and overlap overall. Hence setting my AP to channel 1 gives us all the least interference. So under such conditions there are two things you should do. First, choose a channel that has the least overlap. If you don't have an anayzer app that shows the spread, try to pick a channel that is 2 channels away both up and down, failing that, pick a channel that is near the lowest dbm signal strength of a neighbor. The ECB has an auto channel select feature that will do this for you automatically or you can override the automatic feature and set the channel manually. Second, use directional antennas on your adapters, this means buy adapters that have the ability to screw on a directional external antenna. Now there is a third thing you can do, and that is use higher power. But that will have two bad effects in a home environment. First you are elevating the noise floor for your neighbors causing them additional interference. Second the reflections off structures, wiring and metal items in your house will increase which actually will interfere with your own AP. For Example, if I set the ECB to anything over 24dbm in my environment, the link speed decreases from 54mbps to 48mbps. If I decrease the power to anything lower than 20dbm, the link speed again decreases to 48mbps. The sweet spot is 23 dbm or 200mw. So a brute force approach of more power on omni antennas won't always work for you and hurts your neighbors as well. In my case my house is two levels 4000sqft, lots of concrete block walls in the basement, the signal has to travel through a false ceiling and its inherent metal grid support structure, wood and concrete block walls and wood floors with wiring for power alarm system etc. So the environment includes neighborhood wifi networks and the structure of your house. More power is not always better. So, in other areas the 2.4GHZ band is more congested than mine. Meaning you may not be able to get a good 54G link using all these techniques where a 5.8GHZ N may be the answer. So if you can't get a solid 54G link you may have to go to N. But even that is getting congested now.
I cannot speak to other modes as I have a wired Linkskey LKR-604 Router that I am partial to. I did not attempt DD-WRT on the ECB3500 but I did on the WAP54G.
When the ECB is working, it works great. Adjustable power, WPA2, stable connection, great throughput, lots of modes and features and the web based software interface is fine. The ECB stayed in the same spot for the entire 11 months. Nothing changed in the environemnt. The neighborhood wifi networks are the same, my house is the same, and where it sat is the same. It just died. And before the warranty expired. And of course I'd be unhappy if it died at 13 months. But the fact is the warranty is 12 months. Cudos to Engenius honoring the warranty and sending me a whole new in the box unit. Therefore, I give it 3 stars. Otherwise I would give it 1 star. We'll see how long the brand new replacement lasts. I would and have recommended this to a friend.
I recently replaced my WAP53G access point with the ECB3500. The stock antennas were replaced with 9dbi antennas for additional performance. The output power is adjustable up to 28dbm without antenna multiplication. The performance is simply outstanding in range and dependability. There have been no drops in signal and the range is about 600 feet with the unit installed indoors. I could hardly believe this wonderful performance in such a small package, very small compared to the WAP54G. There is very little heat produced and receive performance is excellent. It is fully compatible with all of my wireless "G" hardware.
The super "G" mode works only on channel 6 which I have read is standard but this might cause interference since so many customers leave the channel selection on their units on channel 6 as shipped. Channels 1,6, and 10 have the least overlap in frequencies and all work equally well in strength at a long distance(XIRRUS has an available gadget for Vista and Windows 7 sidebar to read out signal in dbm) . In the "b/g" or standard 54mb "g" mode, the frequency is completely variable as well as multiple forms of encryption. The unit works well in the WPA2/PSK mode without dropouts or data stream problems.
The instructions with the unit are not clear or precise. The unit IP address is set for factory default as 192.168.1.1 which is in conflict with most routers and must be changed before programming (an insert is provided explaining how to do this). The provided guide is very sketchy and non-detailed but a cd is provided. I always prefer to enter the address and program manually. The full instructions are available online from Engenius and are very complete. One of the nice features is the ability to use four identifiers with different decoding for each or open access for one. That way you never have to give out your main wireless name or code but have one for friends to use.
I cannot say enough wonderful things about this product. I was looking at wireless "N" access points but have read about very poor range on most. I have three Roku's, a laptop and an iPad connected to this device and all will work simultaneously without any problems. If you have the internet speed to support all the wireless products then you should not be disappointed in performance. Long term dependability is unknown but for the price of the product, I would easily purchase a replacement. This is a fantastic product for the price!
I purchased this unit to replace my D-Link WAP, which failed after a couple of years of continuous service. I cannot speak about the functions of the Engenius, other than that of a wireless access point, since that is the configuration I am using.
Having set up many wireless devices, I found that this device was very easy to configure. The difference I noticed right away when comparing the D-Link to my new Engenius was that all of my devices connect to the network much faster now. I have 2 DVR's on my network that never did work quite right using the D-Link. Now they both function properly. I also had problems with the D-Link when I had more than one device connected in the same general area. One of the connected devices would sometimes be kicked off the network and have to reconnect.
For a unit that is advertised as "High Power", the range is about the same as what I had with the D-Link. The coverage area is the reason I rated this unit at 4 stars instead of 5.
Bought this to replace an old Linksys wireless router. The Engenius range was acceptable, no better and no worse than the Linksys, but I didn't read the specs close enough to realize the Engenius didn't have any LAN ports. That wasn't going to work for my setup so I had to return it after a few days.
