Walking the lanes of Costco, I noticed a new pack of Netgear’s Orbi wireless networking devices. Instead of the three-unit pack I had seen previously, Costco carries a two pack (one base and one satellite), and the cost is good, right under $200. While a single Wifi router has been working in my household, speeds have been down and coverage was sufficient.

So far so good with this Orbi setup. Speeds (as measured by Speedtest) have been very good, and configuration was easy (a little too easy). Compared to other NetGear products, configuration of the gear seems too simple. Where’s all the “advanced” settings that I’m used to seeing? I can’t even assign IP addresses to specific devices. The settings must be there, I just gotta do some research. I think the Orbi is a keeper.

NetGear WNCE2001-100NAS

Initially, I had been using the NetGear WNCE2001-100NAS without issue. Okay, there was that one time I needed to reflash one unit, but after that, it’s been dependable. Setup is easy if not too basic. But once set, these worked (and continue to work). I can’t complain about wifi speed and range. Would like to have the power adapter use some kind of USB connection (to the device) rather than that tiny connector. But, but, but NetGear no longer makes these, and old stock online is super duper expensive.

So I went looking for a replacement…

IOGear GWU627

First up was IOGear’s GWU627. Easy to setup but too unreliable. Sometimes I can’t ping the device, sometimes, I can’t connect to its web interface. Speaking of its web management interface, it’s horrible. It’s overly simplified, geared for a single purpose bridge configuration without any options unless you find its secret menu at:

192.168.1.252/menu.asp

From this link with a minimal UI, you can change some settings including the hardcoded IP address of 192.168.1.252. I’ll give the GWU627 credit though, once configured it booted up quickly and got to work. But then it didn’t work so good. Ping tests were all over the place – less than 10 ms, greater than 100 ms, timeouts. Wow. When actually used in its use case, this bridge just couldn’t handle the network demands and stalled out, never allowing the bridged wired device to finish its updates. Not good.

TP-Link TL-WR802N

Next up, a coworker had a TP-Link Nanorouter, the TL-WR802N. This inexpensive, tiny white box is very flexible can can function in many networking scenarios like a traditional wireless router, a hotspot router, a range extender, and as a client (client mode is essentially a wifi bridge). The web interface of the WR802N is very thorough with all the options exposed. It took me an extra try to set up Client mode with a static IP, not the default DHCP setting. But then the WR802N didn’t bridge. I could ping the static IP given to the bridge but could not ping or connect to the bridged device. I tried and tried. I even saw posts online describing similar issues but with a fix in the form of beta firmware. After contacting technical support, I was sent an updated beta firmware the next day. Sadly, this didn’t fix my problem. I’m pretty sure I’m configuring the WR802N correctly also testing DHCP settings and connecting to different wifi networks, but no matter what, I couldn’t connect through the device’s wired Ethernet.

Apple AirPort Express

Lastly, I brought in my second generation Apple AirPort Express. To cut this short, it worked. The wired device connected wirelessly. The wifi connection was reliable and performance was consistent and stable. Unfortunately, the AirPort Express is the most expensive device out of the three.

So where does that leave me? I probably need a few of these wireless bridges and while the NetGear WNCE2001-100NAS fits my needs perfectly with respect to cost, performance, and setup, this device is simply too hard to get at a good price. So barring any other discoveries, the Apple AirPort Express is it.

So these were a bargain on Amazon selling for only $10 so why not spring for the AUKEY EP-B4 Bluetooth Headphones in the sporty lime green color? Even if these were a bust, $10 isn’t a big investment.

First of all, these wireless headphones do in fact work and connected easily to my iPhone and Apple Watch via Bluetooth. The sound is decent – not great but not terrible either. With different ear covers and “wings,” you can customize the fit in a lot of ways, and the earpieces lock into place with a quarter turn. I’m still playing with the fit since the earpieces don’t feel completely secured in place. Really though, I think the culprit to not staying in place lies in the flat cable connecting the left and right ear pieces. Out of the box, the cable stays kinked in its folded shape and doesn’t flex easily. Because of this rigidity, the cable very often pulls on the earpieces, dislodging them. 

Battery life is kinda short (to me). After the initial charge, I used the headphones three times for about 45 minutes per session. Although I do admit that I wasn’t diligent with powering down the headphones when I was done. Powering up is kinda tricky as well, but I’ve found it best to put them on then hold the power button until you hear the AUKEY say “powered on.”

All in all, the AUKEY EP-B4 hasn’t disappointed. It hasn’t completely won me over quite yet, but I do like the appeal of less wires in my personal space.