Disclaimer: I’m a NETGEAR Ambassador and I received this product in exchange for my honest review. The opinions in this post are 100% mine.
I am a busy blogger and avid traveler, so free WIFI and local hotspots are a mainstay for me when I am on the road or sitting at airports waiting for my next flight. As a proud ambassador of NETGEAR, I was beyond thrilled when they sent me the NETGEAR Trek N300 Travel Router and Range Extender and asked me to write an unbiased review on the product. A few of my travelling friends have been raving about the NETGEAR Trek N300 Travel Router, and I was just itching to get one for myself!
If you frequent free WIFI hotspots at coffee shops, restaurants, hotels, bus-stops, and airports – then you know the struggle. Generally free WIFI comes with less than stellar connectivity, and you tend to look a bit foolish holding your laptop above your head trying to get enough bars to get that super important email you have been working on for an hour to send just a few seconds before your deadline. And, that is exactly why I was interested in the NETGEAR Trek N300 Travel Router. The Trek basically boosts public WIFI signals, and ensures stronger signal strengths so you don’t have to worry about being booted from the network.
Also, if you know anything about public WIFI, then you know how easy it is for criminal computer masterminds to access your private information on your laptops or cell phones while you are connected to a public network, or free WIFI hotspot. Maybe I am a bit too paranoid, or I have watched way too many true crimes TV shows. Regardless, the NETGEAR Travel Router can give you peace of mind because it also offers a firewall to protect you from all of those public WIFI hackers that are just salivating at the opportunity to get a hold of your valuable files and personal information.
The NETGEAR Trek N300 isn’t just for people who are constantly on the go like myself though, it also serves as Range Extender and Wireless Bridge for your home. Have you ever wanted to take your laptop out to the back porch or in to the garage – but realized that your WIFI was spotty at best and the signal was too weak to get any work done? The NETGEAR Trek can help you get the most out of your home WIFI and let you travel out of your house a little ways and still use your own network. And, if you are stuck with messy Ethernet cables, and are overwhelmed by all of the electronics and gadgets you have to plug in to your router – the NETGEAR Trek can also serve as a wireless bridge or a hub to connect everything to your WIFI like your wireless printers, video game systems, cell phones, digital cable, etc.
The NETGEAR Trek N300 set-up was a cinch! Seriously, if I can do it then anyone can! I took the product right out of the box, and plugged the USB cord in to the Trek, and the other end in to my laptop. You don’t have to charge it with a separate cord, it charges while it is plugged right in to your computer. Once the Trek was attached to my laptop, I switched the “ON” button in to place. Then I went on to my laptop and searched for wireless connections, sure enough there was the NETGEAR Trek. After I selected it, I typed in the PIN which is located right on the device and “Voila!” I was in business. Once I was connected to the Trek, I followed the instructions on the box and typed www.routerlogin.net in to the address bar and a site came up directing me on how to finish the connection process.
For more information or to buy the product, GO HERE!