Published Reviews
Glenn Fleishman | 4-15-2010 | Macworld.com
In testing, I found the BearExtender a wonder. In places where a 2008 MacBook (polycarbonate plastic) couldn’t get a strong signal, the BearExtender produced nearly maximum signal strength—even when metal doors, solid concrete, four walls, and one ceiling were in the way. I was able to receive a strong, usable signal from a 2008 AirPort Extreme Base Station that was nearly a block away, while standing outdoors and seeing at least 20 other networks. The MacBook’s built-in adapter worked only at a quarter of that distance. Continue reading >>
David Winograd | 1-16-2010 | The Unofficial Apple Weblog
It's not often that I've come across a product that works perfectly, does exactly what it says it will, costs a lot less than its closest competitor and provides a real and salient difference in my computing experience. The BearExtender n3 does just that...Even if your network is limping along just fine, the BEn3 will give you a better signal. In my testing I found that a device showing 57% signal strength using the Airport card became 100% using the BEn3. The further away devices are the lower the numbers get, but with some rare exceptions the BEn3 showed much higher signal strength than using the internal Airport card. The BEn3 also showed me more Airport Expresses, connecting to one or two more than were found by the Airport card. Continue reading >>
Ewdison Then | 2-22-2010 | SlashGear.com
...We tested it with an Apple AirPort Extreme 802.11n router and found that we could almost double the distance between it and the notebook. Much of the time the signal strength read 100, and despite the bulk of the antenna, it clipped to the lid of our test MacBook Pro and proved little of a hinderance...Continue reading >>
Adam Christianson | 4-16-2010 | MacCast.com AUDIO REVIEW
...Immediately I got 60 to 80 percent signal strength just from the moment I plugged it in...overall the BearExtender n3 turned out to be about three or four times greater signal strength in exactly the same location...It’s a great product, I can't recommend it more highly. Listen to the review >>
Twitter Praise
Dutch translation: Super device for those who depend on WiFi: Bearextender. I go from 4 to 15 hotspots in my location
Dutch translation: My BearExtender are proving yet again super purchase
Customer Reviews
Lisa N. | 8-18-2010 | via E-Mail
thanks so much for the BearXtender. it works perfectly on my daughter's computer - her room is on the other side of the house from our router, and with the BearXtender, she has perfect signal now.
Ryan B. | 7-20-2010 | via E-Mail
I just want to say that I cannot thank you enough for this product. I have been working at the same place as a teacher for 4 years and always had trouble getting a wifi signal because where my classroom was positioned. It would become very frustrating when I wanted to show my students something on the Web and was unable to because of the in and out signal I was receiving. So, when I went into my local Apple Retailer for another issue, I asked the person if there was a product that he knew about that would help me pick up a stronger wifi signal, and I explained my situation. He quickly without hesitation recommended your product. Thus, I went online and purchased it right away. When it arrived I was a little skeptical as to whether or not it would work, maybe due to its size. However, I couldn't wait to test it, and the next day I drove to work and gave it a try. I turned on my laptop, plugged-in the BearExtender and.....it WORKED!!!! I was so thrilled!!!! Now I cannot wait for the new year to begin so I can use the internet to expand my students' learning. Thank you so much for developing such a wonderful product!!!
George C. | iMac UK | 6-24-2010 | via E-Mail
BearExtender arrived OK. Very pleased with it. I wanted it for use in my trailer home on a holiday park. They have a central wifi but due to the location of my trailer wifi signal was very bad. I have connected the Extender to a 3 ft long external antenna and the signal now is great! Very quick and easy install good idea having the drivers on a memory stick. Apart from my iMac the Bearextender is the best piece of computer kit I've ever bought.
Bob S. | MacBook Pro w/10.5 | 6-8-2010 | via E-Mail
I am setting in a campground , with the nearest open wifi approximately a mile away. I added a 10 ft. usb cable to your wifi BearExtender n3 and stuck it about 10ft in a trees and am getting a good enough signal to send this. Thanks and keep up the good work.
William R. | MacBook Pro | 5-24-2010 | via E-Mail
I bought the BearExtender n3 based on good reviews and was not disappointed. It helped me in the signal areas that I really needed it and had a very weak reception but even better it made my so so reception areas become excellent reception areas. Installation was easy and now I always have it on.
Pedro L. | PowerBook G4 | 4-24-2010 | via E-Mail
Just received it today. Wonderful product, I have a Mac G4 aluminum, 1.25 Ghz, it works perfect, I'm picking up more signals than expected, strong and stable. Thank you very much.
Webb C. | MacBook Air | 3-5-2010 | via E-Mail
I am sending this to you from my boat on a mooring a quarter mile offshore from a marina hotspot in Opua, New Zealand. I bought the bearextender a month or so ago while back at my home in the U.S., but didn't need it there. I've tried several other external antennas on my MacBook Pro and Air. Some didn't work at all. The one I have been using from JeFa Tech did, but is 18" long, big and awkward to stow. Frankly to my surprise, your bearextender gives me as good a signal even while using the short cable and sitting inside the boat's cabin. It set up easily. Works flawlessly. And costs less than half the JeFa Tech unit. I give you 10 out of 10, and am recommending you to my other sailing friends.
Ian W. | MacBook Pro | 1-22-2010 | via E-Mail
I came across this product on www.TUAW.com. They did a review of it and had nothing but great things to say. So, for only $45, I said "Why not?" The ordering was quick and easy and it was here in just a couple of days. It took a couple of minutes to set it up and I was off. On my built in wireless card I could see 6 networks at home. With this product...20!!! It was amazing at how it sucked them in! I have already called several friends recommending it for them. This product is going to take off when word gets out! Thanks for a great product that does exactly what is says it will. Best $45 I have ever spent for my laptop.
Alan Geller | MacBook Pro | 1-21-2010 | via E-Mail | Link
The Bearextender N3 was the perfect solution for me to be able to hook up to wifi at the "clubhouse" at our place in Key Largo - from my Living Room! It arrived quickly, was a snap to install on my Macbook Pro, and having the installation files on a USB drive was a bonus (plus smart and "green")...I was able to watch a TV show on HULU on medium resolution uninterrupted on my computer where, without the N3, I could not even connect to this WIFI access point consistently. Based on my 2 experiences - all the glowing comments on the Bearextender N3 and Rokland are not only true, but well deserved.
Cameron | MacBook | 1-13-2010 | Link
The Bear Extender is working great. The reception is great (see comments below). The software seems to be working well, it wakes up from sleep and reacquires the home router. I needed this as a result of my wife's MacBook having weak wireless reception. I tried troubleshooting with Apple a bit, they wanted me to upgrade to the latest OSX and for that I needed memory. In the end those changes did not help. I considered opening the MacBook to repair or replace the Airport. I have the skills but there are so many screws to keep track of for re-assembly. Then the airport card would have been $80. So I found your price to be a nice alternative to repairing the airport along with no need to disassemble. My wife is happy and I am happy.
Colin Thompson | PowerMac G5, MacBook Pro | 1-12-2010 | Review link
I live in a valley called The Promised Land in Bellingen on the east coast of Australia and I had been looking everywhere for something to extend my wireless network. My office is out in the garden and none of the wi-fi devices I tried - Apple Time Capsule a Netgear router and a Belkin one - would reach it. When I saw the Bear Extender I was very skeptical, but I thought, 'It's less than $50 so I might as well try it.' I plugged it into my old dual G5 PowerMac and configured it to extend my existing network. I now get a full five bars on my Quad Core Intel PowerMac and the same on my MacBook Pro. It's brilliant and does EXACTLY as advertised. Five Stars for Five Bars!!
Interview at Macworld Expo 2010:
Benchmarks
We tested signal strength using an AirPort Extreme card (b/g/n) in a MacBook Pro against the BearExtender n3.
Signal strength measurement was performed using AirRadar.
The MacBook Pro was running on battery power using the Energy Savings profile “Better Performance.” Bluetooth was disabled. The MacBook Pro was running Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.8 with all updates installed as of November 2009.
Test Results
Location: Apartment complex (North side UC Berkeley campus)
| Network | AirPort | BearExtender n3 |
| CicisExtremePizza4 | 62 | 100 |
| 2WIRE281 | 54 | 100 |
| a3711d5e834900ec | 54 | 100 |
| 2WIRE465 | 42 | 100 |
| zottolo | 37 | 94 |
| dvnet | 33 | 68 |
| Qing Lab | 27 | 99 |
| Diablo | 32 | 83 |
| ENGEL WAN | 26 | 73 |
| 2WIRE330 | 26 | 63 |
| Dlove | 28 | 78 |
| portnoy2 | 19 | 68 |
| tis_home2 | 19 | 83 |
| 2WIRE202 | 20 | 47 |
| SpruceNet | 29 | 78 |
| CWP | 18 | 23 |
| Mills Lab | 18 | 47 |
| hpsetup | Out of Range | 31 |
| MINE | Out of Range | 57 |
| wallislab | 20 | 37 |
| the cake is a lie | Out of Range | 37 |
| AirBears F0 | Out of Range | 52 |
| ECoG | Out of Range | 37 |
| NewYorker | Out of Range | 57 |
Location: UC Berkeley Campus (Wheeler Hall 206)
| Network | AirPort | BearExtender n3 |
| OpenAirBears | 53 | 100 |
| AirBears 59 | 43 | 100 |
| AirBears 10 | 20 | 57 |
| Airbears OC | 19 | 52 |
| Airbears EA | 18 | 52 |
| Airbears 2B | Out of Range | 52 |
| hpsetup | Out of Range | 52 |
| OpenAirBears C0 | Out of Range | 42 |
| RESCOMP | Out of Range | 47 |
| AirBears 90 | Out of Range | 37 |
Location: UC Berkeley Campus (Giannini Hall 234)
| Network | AirPort | BearExtender n3 |
| AirBears 90 | 45 | 100 |
| 128b Giannini | 42 | 100 |
| AirBears C0 | 18 | 68 |
| altstadtmafia | 29 | 89 |
| dd-wrt | 25 | 78 |
| AirBears D0 | 24 | 73 |
| AirBears E0 | 23 | 78 |
| AirBears 97 | Out of Range | 52 |
| RASPA | Out of Range | 52 |
| 151 Hilgard | Out of Range | 52 |
| Annya | Out of Range | 47 |
| PLANET909 | Out of Range | 42 |
| 151 2nd Hilgard | Out of Range | 37 |
| AirBears 10 | Out of Range | 37 |
| TRENDnet | Out of Range | 31 |
| Dumbledore | Out of Range | 37 |
Location: Coffee shop (Sufficient Ground Cafe, South side)
| Network | AirPort | BearExtender n3 |
| 2652 4034 | 66 | 100 |
| 2WIRE114 | 36 | 100 |
| 7773 2520 | 41 | 100 |
| linksys | 36 | 47 |
| Sufficient Grounds | 34 | 99 |
| AnchorFree | 37 | 100 |
| linksys206 | 36 | 83 |
| bkramer | 21 | 47 |
| zzzzz | 24 | 83 |
| penguins | Out of Range | 52 |
| TECA | 19 | 68 |
| pavy-net | 25 | 68 |
| NOSCO | 22 | 52 |
| FoneART Sprint | Out of Range | 52 |
| mom | Out of Range | 31 |
| cymo | Out of Range | 31 |
| NETGEAR | Out of Range | 26 |
| BLVD | 19 | 47 |
Location: Downtown Berkeley (Bank of America, Shattuck)
| Network | AirPort | BearExtender n3 |
| 4741 1260 | 37 | 94 |
| Subway | 32 | 78 |
| GMOGUEST | 32 | 63 |
| 2WIRE878 | 31 | 78 |
| 2WIRE081 | 30 | 99 |
| Kaplan | 27 | 83 |
| AirBears Extreme | 29 | 78 |
| 80211N_IR_GUEST | 26 | 73 |
| hpsetup | 26 | 73 |
| 2WIRE247 | 25 | 83 |
| evan | 24 | 73 |
| HRA 11th Floor | 28 | 94 |
| Addison Annex | 23 | 63 |
| Dooknet | 23 | 89 |
| IR_Guest | 23 | 68 |
| IR | 23 | 63 |
| 2WIRE883 | 22 | 78 |
| BMSGnet | Out of Range | 89 |
| 2WIRE913 | Out of Range | 73 |
| 2WIRE914 | Out of Range | 68 |
| Hanilk | Out of Range | 63 |
| Suite 200 | Out of Range | 63 |
| QP Network | Out of Range | 68 |
| peoples1 | Out of Range | 52 |