I was finally able to get Range Extender working again, but I had to follow a slightly different procedure:
1. Power on the Almond+ and wait for boot process to complete.
2. Perform a Factory Reset (either by holding down the physical reset button on the top or using the software button).
3. After the Almond restarts, it will ask for Language and Region settings. I chose English and North America.
4. Next, I used the wizard (on the LCD screen) to set Range Extender mode, selected my router's WiFi network, and entered the password.
5. Now this is where things get strange: The wizard automatically selects a name and password for the range extended network, and activates both the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands. The wizard also displays a button to let you modify these WiFi settings before they are saved. If you select this option and (a) modify the WiFi name or (b) turn off the 5GHz band, you will run into any of these problems:
(a) The Almond will crash and reboot, at which point you will be asked to enter the Language and Region settings again, and start all over.
(b) Everything will proceed normally, but clients (iPads, iPhones, Laptops, etc.) will be able to join the Range Extended network, but they will *not* get internet access.
But there is a workaround...
1. Do not modify the WiFi settings from the Wizard. Use the default settings and complete the wizard's setup process. Everything will work.
2. Now that the wizard is done, you can modify the WiFi settings by going into the appropriate settings panel manually. You can change the SSID and password.
3. However, if you turn off the 5.0GHz band, internet access will again be terminated! You must keep both 2.4 and 5.0 GHz bands activated.