Best Mesh Extender Add-On for the XR500

[TheDude2850]

Looking to add a mesh extender onto my XR500 for more coverage in a somewhat larger home.  Seems the Netgear X6S (EX8000) is the best option.  Anyone have any other thoughts or opinions?  There's also the EX7500, but it's the same price as the EX8000, $180, on Amazon.

[e38BimmerFN]

Have had zero issues the NG's EX7700 extender with the XR450 I have. I have the EX7500 as well. it works. It doesn't have ethernet ports which I like with the EX7700

I have a friend who uses the EX8000 with this XR500 and loves it. 😍

[TheDude2850]

10 minutes ago, e38BimmerFN said:

Have had zero issues the NG's EX7700 extender with the XR450 I have. I have the EX7500 as well. it works. It doesn't have ethernet ports which I like with the EX7700

I have a friend who uses the EX8000 with this XR500 and loves it. 😍

Thanks.  Looks like the EX7700 is newer and is supposed to be the mid-tier option between the EX8000 and EX7500.  But the EX7700 is the cheapest at $150.  I'll look into the EX7700 a little more but looks like it would be more than powerful enough for me.

[e38BimmerFN]

It is...I beta tested the 7500 and 7700 last year. 

My 7700 is set out at about 40 feet in between the router and the remote location. Distance is important. Start at about 30 feet in between and see how it goes. Can't be too close to the router. 

[TheDude2850]

2 minutes ago, e38BimmerFN said:

It is...I beta tested the 7500 and 7700 last year. 

My 7700 is set out at about 40 feet in between the router and the remote location. Distance is important. Start at about 30 feet in between and see how it goes. Can't be too close to the router. 

Did you see any performance difference between the EX7500 and EX7700?  They appear to have the same speeds.  I found the EX7500 on eBay new for $105.  I don't need the ethernet ports.

[e38BimmerFN]

Yes, seems to be similar speeds and solid. Seems to work well with NG routers vs other non NG routers I found. EX has problems with other Mfr Smart Connect for some reason. Otherwise, works well. Only issue on the XR450 is the 2.4Ghz speed is limited at 100MB DOWN for some reason. Theres a post over on NG forum about it. I don't think the 500 is effected by this. 

[AsNCo]

Hey TheDude2850. Saw your posting in regards to which is a better Mesh Extender for the XR500 on my thread. Thought I could give you some advice on it.
The reason why I went with the EX8000 (X6S) is for future-proofing.

When you see 'Band 3 having 1733Mbps @5GHz', most likely, if your router is capable of it, the X6S will use that band for its backend connection to the router.
To be able to achieve that, you must use a 5GHz band channel at 149 or higher on the router side. Automatically, when you configure the X6S, that will be your backend speed and it will then broadcast using Band 2 instead which theoretically should give you higher speeds as you are closer to the Wifi Extender than it is to the router. So your speeds should not be affected as much as when you have Band 2 speeds as your backend.

This is why I bought the X6S instead of the EX7500 (X4S) or the EX7700 (X6).

As both the X4S and the X6 has its Band 3 speeds set to 866Mbps for 5GHz effectively giving you half the speeds for both the backend connection as well as the Wifi signalling.

Hope it helps explain my reasoning for choosing the X6S over the other models.

[TheDude2850]

4 hours ago, AsNCo said:

Hey TheDude2850. Saw your posting in regards to which is a better Mesh Extender for the XR500 on my thread. Thought I could give you some advice on it.
The reason why I went with the EX8000 (X6S) is for future-proofing.

When you see 'Band 3 having 1733Mbps @5GHz', most likely, if your router is capable of it, the X6S will use that band for its backend connection to the router.
To be able to achieve that, you must use a 5GHz band channel at 149 or higher on the router side. Automatically, when you configure the X6S, that will be your backend speed and it will then broadcast using Band 2 instead which theoretically should give you higher speeds as you are closer to the Wifi Extender than it is to the router. So your speeds should not be affected as much as when you have Band 2 speeds as your backend.

This is why I bought the X6S instead of the EX7500 (X4S) or the EX7700 (X6).

As both the X4S and the X6 has its Band 3 speeds set to 866Mbps for 5GHz effectively giving you half the speeds for both the backend connection as well as the Wifi signalling.

Hope it helps explain my reasoning for choosing the X6S over the other models.

I do have fiber internet with AT&T, but it wouldn't exceed 866Mbps on wifi.  I've actually been having trouble getting my download speed to be anywhere near where it's supposed to be.  On a wired connection, I'm only getting 500Mbps at the most.  So I would think the 866Mbps bands should be enough for me?  I did end up going with a X4S.  By the time my internet would exceed 866Mbps, we'll probably have 5G anyway.

[AsNCo]

2 hours ago, TheDude2850 said:

I do have fiber internet with AT&T, but it wouldn't exceed 866Mbps on wifi.  I've actually been having trouble getting my download speed to be anywhere near where it's supposed to be.  On a wired connection, I'm only getting 500Mbps at the most.  So I would think the 866Mbps bands should be enough for me?  I did end up going with a X4S.  By the time my internet would exceed 866Mbps, we'll probably have 5G anyway.

Ok. I need to correct myself a bit. Even though NG recommends you using Band 3 for its backend, I find I get better overall speeds when I use Band 2 as its backend instead.

866Mbps is a theoretical speed. Not something you can achieve in real life.
For example, my best case scenario on the Note 8 standing beside the XR500 is 321Mbps down and 215Mbps up. And this is with the 5GHz network set to 1733Mbps max.
You know what I mean since you also use the XR500. I am getting my full 944Mbps down and up when running wired to my PC fyi.

Impressively though, the Mesh managed to maintain a very close speed when I am standing next to the X6S with 300Mbps down and 189Mbps up.

When I use 1733Mbps band as its backend, and 866Mbps band for broadcasting on the X6S, I end up with 248Mbps down and 147Mbps up.

So my config now is to set the XR500's 5GHz band to channel 40 at 1733Mbps and the X6S in Entender mode (Mesh) with Band 2 (866Mbps 5GHz network) for its backend and 1733Mbps at 5GHz (channel 149) as its broadcast to get the better speed for all my wireless devices including home automation to connect to.


But since you already bought the X4S, nothing wrong for your purchase. It's still a great WiFi extender especially since it can convert our gaming routers into a Mesh network too. Glad that you enjoy yours as I did mine.