How to increase your router range using Wi-Fi Extenders

Before using a Wi-Fi extender, first of all we should know how a wi-fi extender works. In our homes or offices, if our wi-fi signal is not reaching to the expected levels, the wi-fi extender can help us in getting the right amount of signal.

While using wi-fi at homes or offices, if any part of the place is not receiving the correct amount of signal, the use of wi-fi extender is not the first choice. First of all, the user should move the router to the central part of the house or the office in which the user is working. Then the user should check the router’s firmware and settings to become sure that the router is totally optimized for the environment where it is being used. You can also check out 10 best wi-fi extenders in 2018 by top10bestpro for complete review of 10 best wifi extenders. They have beautifully explained each pros & cons.

The user may also try to wire the home and install Wi-fi access points, if the house is wired for Ethernet and the user might also won’t mind installing some new cable around the house.

If these options won’t work, then the user might opt for Wi-fi extender.

How Wi-fi Extender works?

The wi-fi extender works by receiving the wi-fi signals and transferring to the virgin territory. These extenders can spread the network’s reach to places without any form of cables. Like the router, the extender also needs a perfect place to spread the network’s reach because all things around us in life needs a right place to work perfectly. The wi-fi extenders work on both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands that the Wi-fi uses but some extenders also allows the user to optimize and set the bands separately for a particular extender.

Advantage

One of the main advantages related to these extenders is that one is not compelled to use the same brand of extender as the router, since we all live in a mixed-up society.

Pricing

The wi-fi extenders have a varying price range and it ranges from a minimal amount of $30 comprising of wall plug units to the desktop extenders having a price of $100. The devices having multiple points costs more than $200 also.

Things to keep in mind while buying Wi-Fi Extender

Now while buying a wi-fi extender, everyone should keep in mind about the specifications of the extender. We should advice that the people must dual band extender instead of the single band extender. This is because the single band extenders consume a great deal of the router’s output and spread the signals on the same band with comprising some amount.

So, to reach the high efficiency, dual band extenders must be used. This is done since the dual band wi-fi extenders receive the wi-fi signals on one band and broadcast the signals on the other. This helps to spread the signals even with more efficiency and to a large distance than the mere single band wi-fi extender.

In this context, we also jump upon a new device known as the Mesh router system. Unlike the wi-fi extenders, they don’t create any sort of secondary network and they help to broadcast the wi-fi signals to a large extent of distance. But the mesh routers systems costs to a huge amount of $300 to about $500. But for large houses, it is likely that mesh router systems should be used as the wi-fi extenders may fail to deliver the correct number of wi-fi signals to each and every part of the house.

So, we are now going to look on some wi-fi extenders which are best in the lot and also delivers in the highest efficiency.

Here at TechGeekers, we will be talking about 2 wifi signal boosters or extenders. So here we go.

Netgear Nighthawk EX7000 Wi-fi Extender

Netgear Nighthawk wi-fi extender is the topmost wi-fi extender available in the market today. It is by far, the most compatible wi-fi extender that one can buy. It has a range of 165 feet though it is quite expensive in the lot, as compared to the other extenders. Its specifications are:

The size: 9.9*6.9*1.2 inches

Number of antennas: 3 (removable)

Wi-fi Spec: AC1900 dual-band 802.11ac

Ports: 5 Gigabit Ethernet, 1 USB

Peak 802.11ac performance: 413.8 Mbps at 5 feet

Extender range in 2.4 GHz: 165 feet

TP-Link RE580D

TP-Link RE580D wi-fi extender is the good combination of good range and inexpensive in its cost. The extender costs only $85 and it is the biggest in size among the extenders in the lot. Its specifications are:

The size: 9.5*7.8*1.8 inches

Number of Antennas: 3 (removable)

Wi-fi Spec: AC1900 dual-band 802.11ac

Ports: 5 Gigabit Ethernet

Peak 802.11ac performance: 327.7 Mbps at 5 feet

Extender range in 2.4 GHz mode: 150 feet

So, wi-fi extenders are doing good in their performance and helping humans to spread the wi-fi signals to more distant places.