If you have ever experienced a weak Wi-Fi signal, you might be inclined to buy a Wi-Fi range extender. However, the truth is that there are much better solutions for improving your Wi-Fi signal than range extenders, which generally don’t work that well.
The way Wi-Fi extenders work is quite straightforward. All they do is catch the signal from your existing router and re-transmit it to far away devices. However, since they are picking up a signal that’s already weak, they likely won’t increase your speeds substantially. Even if you have a high-quality extender and place it in an area where it’ll catch a reasonably strong signal from your router, there are some other serious downsides.
Some extenders will broadcast on a separate SSID or network name, which means you have to manually switch your phone or laptop back and forth between the two networks as you move around your house. Your device won’t latch on to the stronger signal automatically unless you more or less completely lose the other signal. You can configure it if you’re really a nerd and have a really good router, but if that’s the case, you’re probably not buying a range extender.
Other extenders allow you to change the SSID to be the exact same as your main network. In this case, you might think your devices would just figure out if the signal from one router or the other is stronger and connect accordingly. However, a pretty major shortcoming in the Wi-Fi standard in general is that once a device connects to a specific access point, it will often very stubbornly try to stay connected to that AP even if there’s a stronger one available. So if you’re connected to your router at first and then walk away and get closer to your range extender, there’s a good chance your device will just stay connected to the weaker router signal, defeating the whole purpose of the extender in the first place.
Pairing a Wi-Fi range extender with a router that uses a different generation of Wi-Fi or has a different number of antennas just makes the problem worse. It’s an easy mistake to make if you’re not closely comparing the product specs.
So, what should you do about your terrible signal? One straightforward way to fix your signal is to get a more powerful router with more antennas and spatial streams. It’s typically a good sign, but you’ll also want to read reviews and see just how far other folks have had their signals reach while still being usable with their devices.
Another good idea is to stop using the built-in wireless on your off-the-shelf router and instead get a separate wireless access point. This is basically little more than an antenna with a small amount of internal logic that connects to your main router via an Ethernet cable. Although they take a little bit more technical know-how to set up, there are many prosumer models that have much better range than the typical consumer-grade wireless router, and you can even set up several of them around your house. However, be aware that your devices may still not quite roam as intended.
If you don’t want to mess around with access points, a more consumer-friendly option is to get a mesh router. These are expandable kits that you use by placing nodes around your house wherever you might need the most signal. Unlike repeaters, these nodes are specifically designed to work together by providing better roaming for your devices, so they’ll switch more intelligently. Nice mesh kits will even place the back haul or the traffic that flows between the nodes on an entirely different frequency, freeing up bandwidth for your phones and computers.
In conclusion, range extenders are not the best solution for improving your Wi-Fi signal. There are much better options available, including getting a more powerful router, using a separate wireless access point, or getting a mesh router. By following these guidelines, you can ensure that you have a strong and reliable Wi-Fi signal throughout your home.