The Actiontec WCB6200Q Wireless Network Extender ($149.99) is the first networking device we've tested that uses Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) technology to bring wired and wireless connectivity to those areas of your home that are out of reach of your router's Wi-Fi signal. It's a dual-band 802.11ac extender that supports Multi User-Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) data streaming, and it installs in minutes. The WCB6200Q delivered good single-user wireless throughput at up to 25 feet in my tests, but its range performance couldn't match our top pick for wireless range extenders, the Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 Wi-Fi Range Extender (EX7000).

Design and Features
The WCB6200Q uses Bonded MoCA 2.0 to deliver wired connectivity via your home's coaxial cable. Bonded MoCA 2.0 uses two channels to deliver wired throughput speeds of up to 1Gbps and Wi-Fi throughput speeds of up to 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1.7Mbps on the 5GHz band. Whereas typical Wi-Fi range extenders must be placed within range of your router's wireless signal in order to amplify it and extend it to Wi-Fi dead zones, the WCB6200Q can be placed anywhere in your home because it uses a wired connection to your router. However, in order to utilize your coaxial cabling for data transmissions, your router has to support MoCA. If not, you'll need an Ethernet-to-MoCA adapter, such as the Actiontec ECB6200 ($99.99) to allow your router to communicate with the WCB6200Q via coaxial cable.

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The WCB6200Q is powered by a dual-core MIPS processor and contains six internal antennas (two 2.4GHz and four 5GHz) and 802.11ac Wi-Fi circuitry with support for MU-MIMO data streaming. The glossy-black extender stands vertically and measures 9 by 1.6 by 5.8 inches (HWD). It has a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button on top that you use to sync the extender to your router, and six LED indicators on the front (for Power, coaxial port, 2.4GHz band, 5GHz band, Ethernet port 1, and Ethernet port 2). The WCB6200Q has only two Gigabit Ethernet ports and no USB ports, whereas the Netgear EX7000 gives you five Ethernet ports and a USB 3.0 port. Next to the Ethernet ports at the rear of the extender are a coaxial port, a Power port, and a reset button.

The Web-based management console opens to a Status page that displays wireless settings such as SSID and security settings for each band, as well as associated clients. It also displays all connected devices and their IP addresses and Product Information such as Model Number, Firmware Version, and Default Gateway.

The Wireless Setup Page offers basic options that let you name your network, select a channel, and configure security and password settings. There's also an Access Control setting that lets you control who can use the extender to access the Internet and your network, but it lacks the ability to set access times and days like you can with the Netgear EX7000. The Advanced Setup page offers Firmware Upgrade and Language Settings options, as well as a Management menu where you can edit Subnet Mask and Default Gateway settings.

Installation and Performance
The WCB6200Q is easy to install, but if your router is not MoCA-enabled you'll have to install an Ethernet-to-MoCA adapter first. Since my FiOS Quantum router is MoCA enabled, all I had to do was disconnect the coax cable from my FiOS set-top box and connect it to a two-way splitter (not included). I connected one cable to the set-top box and the other to the coax port on the extender. Once the extender was powered up, I pressed the WPS button and then pressed the WPS button on my router. The extender's WPS button flashed red for around 30 seconds and then turned solid green, indicating that it was now synced to my router.

To test the WCB6200Q's 5GHz MU-MIMO performance, I used three identical Acer Aspire E15 laptops equipped with Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 wireless 802.11ac network adapters as my clients, an Intel-Core-i7-equipped desktop as my server, and the Sourceforge JPerf network measurement utility. With the clients located in the same room within 5 feet of the extender (close proximity), the average throughput was 91.5Mbps. By way of comparison, the TP-Link Archer C2600 scored 132Mbps, and the Linksys EA8500 Max-Stream AC2600 MU-MIMO Smart Wi-Fi Router scored 209Mbps. It's important to note that the Linksys and TP-Link devices are full-blown routers, while the WCB6200Q is an extender. At a distance of 30 feet, the WCB6200Q scored a respectable 77.9Mbps, beating the TP Link C2600 (60.9Mbps) and the Amped Wireless Athena AC2600 (54Mbps). The Linksys EA8500 lead the pack with a score of 90Mbps.

On my 2.4GHz range extender throughput tests, the WCB6200Q scored 50.4Mbps on the close-proximity test and 42.4Mbps on the 25-foot test, topping the Netgear EX7000 by a slim margin (50.2Mbps and 38.8Mbps, respectively). The Linksys RE6700 turned in a higher close-proximity score (93.9Mbps), but received 38.2Mbps at a distance of 25 feet. The WCB6200Q didn't fare so well on my long-range tests, getting 15Mbps (50 feet) and 8.3Mbps (75Mbps). The Netgear EX7000 scored 28.6Mbps and 26.9Mbps, respectively.

The WCB6200Q scored a league-leading 220Mbps on my 5GHz close-proximity throughput test, beating our previous leader, the Amped Wireless REC33A (210Mbps), and the Netgear EX7000 (179Mbps). Its score of 136Mbps at a distance of 25 feet is right in line with the Netgear EX7000 (137Mbps) and topped the Amped Wireless REC33A (107Mbps). Long-range performance is decent (20.1Mbps at 50 feet and 11.5Mbps at 75 feet), but the Netgear EX7000 remains our best overall performer at 105Mbps (50 feet) and 31.1Mbps (75 feet).

Conclusion
The Actiontec WCB6200Q Wireless Network Extender does an excellent job of delivering solid wired and wireless connectivity to areas of your home that your main router can't reach. Thanks to MoCA technology, it uses your existing coaxial cable so you don't have to worry about cable runs, and it couldn't be easier to install and configure, especially if you already have a MoCA-enabled router. While its long-range performance was mediocre in my tests, its close-proximity and short range throughput was quite good. Moreover, the WCB6200Q allows you to take advantage of MU-MIMO streaming technology without having to invest in a new router, but as always, your devices have to support MU-MIMO to do so. If you're looking for speedy Wi-Fi throughput with good long-range performance, our Editors' Choice for wireless range extenders, the Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 Wi-Fi Range Extender (EX7000), delivers the best all-around performance. It doesn't support MU-MIMO, but it is equipped with five Gigabit Ethernet ports and a USB 3.0 port.