Installation:

Overall, the layout of the hardware is clean and the labeling of each port makes installation very straightforward - even more so since all necessary cables are included. One item that was not included, and that might be recommended, is a MoCA filter. A MoCA (Multimedia Over Coax) filter keeps the data signal from passing to any point on your cable wiring where you do not want it. I purchased one to install at the point where the cable enters my home, simply to keep the data from travelling out in to the neighborhood and to improve network security.

With the WCB3000N in my bedroom and the ECB2500C in the basement, the bulk of my 15 minute installation time was running up and down the stairs. The rest of the time was spent configuring the hardware using a browser based interface, as well as doing some cable management to keep everything looking tidy.

The hardware is pretty much ready to go right out of the box, but it is a good idea to change the admin password for accessing the WCB3000N, as well as to custom configure the wireless extender to fit with your existing setup. While you can give the device unique access point names / passwords, I set up the WCB3000N so that the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands used the same information as my existing network. With the wireless router in the basement and the Actiontec extender two floors up, it should provide seemless coverage with even greater signal strength in some areas. Additionally, I configured my router to assign a static IP to the WCB3000N since it will be a fairly permanent feature on the network.

Mobile App:

Actiontec has a mobile app available for Android and Apple devices to let you interact with the WCB3000N, even when you are not at a desktop PC. I installed the Android version on my phone and snapped a few screenshots of it in action.

The below left image shows the main page of the app where you can see your basic options. The Status page is shown in the below right image, where you get information such as uptime, data usage, and version number.



From the wireless page, you can scan for available networks and get a list that includes signal strength. The below left image shows that the basement version and the second floor version of the 2.4GHz wireless network had the same strength. This is good, since I was standing on the first floor - about halfway between the two. If you like your signal strength data in a graphical form, you can also present it like the speedometer shown in the below right image.



The app also provides some administrative functions, and is a good complimentary utility to have.