Can I use Netgear powerline range extender with Actiontec router M1424WR-D?

Question

We have been using FIOS internet happily with an Actiontec router (M1424WR-D) since 2008, but we have a 'dead zone' in a remote part of our home. I am attempting to install a Netgear Powerline AV 200 Wireless N-Extender kit in the dead zone room, but have not been successful. If I give a unique SSID to the extender, and do not set any encryption, I am able to have wireless connection in the room, but having unprotected wireless connection is unacceptable to me. If I use the same SSID for extender and Actiontec router, and use the same encryption key for the extender as is used on the Actiontec router, then I no longer have wireless connection in the room. I hope someone can provide some help in understanding what it is I'm doing wrong in setting up this powerline extender. Should the extender have the same SSID and encryption key? Should it be a different one? Thanks for any help.
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Answer 1

Great news! At last I finally have been able to get a Netgear Powerline AV200 Wireless-N Extender Kit to provide wifi in the 'dead zone' in our house, and I was able to secure the network with an encryption key which I set up wirelessly, instead of relying on the 'wired' security option offered by the kit (a push-button on the side of the extender box). None of the phone techs at Netgear were able to figure out why we could not get the kit to work properly to begin with, and I finally gave up on the phone techs.
For anyone interested in using this product and who needs to set it up with a non-Netgear router, or a router that does not have a WPS button on it, please be aware that the resource CD in the box may be out of date. You will need to go to Netgear's website and download the Powerline Utility software for your device directly from the website. You will need to supply your product serial number in order to get the download. It is important to have this up-to-date software. I discovered that the up-to-date software downloaded from Netgear functioned more smoothly and allowed me to set up my encryption effortlessly. After forcing a factory reset on the extender and removing the device IP addresses associated with the initial unsuccessful attempt to create a secure network, I was able to set up the extender and secure it with absolutely no problem. The up-to-date software seemed to be the critical factor. The product seems to be working really well now and so far we are happy with it.
A word of caution when dealing with Netgear's phone techs. On some occasions when I phoned into Netgear my case was farmed out to a company called i-Yogi. I had a disturbing experience with one of the techs at i-Yogi. One of the i-Yogi techs said he could help me to set up encryption on my network using the AV200 extender, but that he needed first to gain remote access to my laptop. He also wanted access to another laptop in our house in addition to the one I was working from. This seemed odd and I refused to allow access to the second laptop. After gaining remote access he noted that I was using Norton 360 and he claimed that it was not working with my XP operating system and attempted to sell me a copy of McAfee security software at a reduced rate. He became very pushy about this. I refused to engage in this purchase and insisted that he return to the task of troubleshooting my encryption issue. At this point he still had not once attended to the configuration of the extender settings at all, but even so he refused to assist me, saying that it was not his problem that my network was not secured. It was not a good experience, and I believe he had a totally different agenda than dealing with my technical issue.