Conclusion:

The Edimax EW-7438RPn Mini Wi-Fi extender seems like it could be a very useful device, but I just can't trust that it will be functional when I need it. It worked excellently for close to week, and after that I started experience a few different issues that slowly wore my patience down. At times the EW-7438RPn Mini continues to perform well, offering extended coverage of quick access to the Internet, but not always. At other times it is either available for a WiFi connection but not sharing my network, or is running painfully slow, or has just dropped off the network and become unavailable.



The EW-7438RPn Mini sells for in the mid $20's each, and recent promotions made them as low as $15 each. Considering really highly regarded WiFi extenders sell for many times this amount, you could definitely say that I got what I paid for.

If the EW-7438RPn Mini could maintain a consistent connection to the network, even with reduced speeds and its fairly small reach, I would be very happy. But, considering the amount of uncertainty and manual intervention required, the two devices I have in house have been retired to a shelf in the basement.

Pros:

» Mobile app and web interface are very well done and straightforward
» Capable of very good transfer speeds
» Easy to configure
» Customizable with things like network scheduling and availability of a guest network
» Very low price

Cons:

» Too unreliable to really depend on it
» Even when still available on your network, speeds are very unpredictable
» Occasionally available over WiFi, but with no network connection being shared
» Occasionally drops off the network
» Added range is fairly small - only takes 'extended' signal a small percentage beyond what it can reach on its own.

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