There are two antennas, too narrow to allow balancing upside down, and a 10/100Mbps ethernet port. There’s 2x2 MIMO, which is unusual for a Wi-Fi 4 extender and should help keep the 300Mbps of bandwidth going where it needs to be.
For a start, it’s the only one here with a power socket pass-through, which means you won’t have to sacrifice a socket to use it. Not the smallest extender on the test but the slowest, this unit from TP-Link makes up for being only Wi-Fi 4 and 2.4GHz with some additional features. All this means is that one of these, properly placed, should iron out any wrinkles in your home network. The quad-core processor keeps things speeding along nicely, and the rarely-seen 802.11k protocol is supported to handle traffic management. Setup is as simple as pressing the WPS buttons on both the extender and your router and letting them sort themselves out, with the Nighthawk app available if you want to delve into the settings. And if you’re feeling really flush, there’s an AX6000 version that costs twice as much. It’s expensive, but if you’re in a particularly wide or tall house, or maybe a castle, and desire a solid wireless signal in every room, then this is the way to go. It’s the only unit on the test to have its own power supply, the only one to have four-gigabit ethernet ports and a USB 2 port, and the only one to address three wireless bands (one is kept as a dedicated link to your router). A black slab of plastic that’s effectively a router in its own right and moves us from Wi-Fi extender to mesh router territory. Indicator lights on the front of the extender tell you if you’re getting a good wireless connection, so it’s simple enough to try a few sockets and see which is best.īest mesh router kit (opens in new tab) | Best gaming laptops (opens in new tab) | Best gaming motherboards (opens in new tab) There’s no power passthrough so that you will lose a plug socket, but it’s not using Powerline, so anywhere on an extension strip will do.
With no external antennas, the range is limited, and therefore positioning is vital.
#Wireless repeater vs extender full
A clever feature to maximize the speed you get is Full Speed Mode, which connects to the router exclusively using the 5GHz network, then uses the 2.4GHz channel to connect to laptops, phones, lightbulbs, etc. Its ethernet port is a 10/100 model, so you’re not going to get the full benefit of the Wi-Fi 5 speed there either.
There are always overheads, of course, but with something like 4K streaming taking perhaps 15Mbps of bandwidth, you’re still not going to struggle too much, and its ability to eliminate dead spots is as good as all the rest. How much network speed do you really need? If you’re using your Wi-Fi extender to pass through internet access and don’t need fast file transfer, 433Mbps on the 5GHz channel is enough for most broadband providers. These are the best options available right now. We checked their signal strength, stability, and cost-efficiency, so you don't get caught with a weak signal or with a potential tripping hazard. Things like your printer or smart fridge don't need to be on the good internet.īelow is a selection of the best Wi-Fi range extenders I've personally tested. PCs, game consoles, and smart TVs should be on the higher bands like 6E or 5GHz, while other devices like smart home gear and kitchen should be left to the more congested 2.4GHz band. Without a Wi-Fi extender, be ready to spend a night stapling a 100ft of ethernet cable along your walls and under carpets like a chump.īefore rushing out to buy a fancy new 6GHz Wi-Fi extender, check your device's capabilities first. Of course, you could get one of the best gaming routers (opens in new tab) and see how far you can realistically run an ethernet cable through your home without becoming a tripping hazard.
/repeater-vs-mesh-network-5991ab07d088c00013acdf86.png "wireless repeater vs extender")
#Wireless repeater vs extender download
A bad Wi-Fi signal will affect your download speeds and make online gaming impossible, but a Wi-Fi range extender will fill that gap, especially if you're trying to get Wi-Fi in your backyard or the garage.
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