Question about edimax EW-7438RPn

I don't want to sound "smart-alecky", but I think it depends on the house (how many storeys? Nature and radiance of the walls...etc...).
Personally, I would consider the following order for a house: 1) Ethernet cabling; 2) Powerline; 3) Mesh (or maybe 3) before 2)?... ;-))

It may depend on the type of construction of the house.
In mine (wooden building ~100m2 per floor) the repeater works perfectly. I installed it on the first floor, and I can still receive in the farthest corner of the basement (only with -80dB, but it's enough). Otherwise just post a second one, at this price :-)