Wi-Fi can be difficult. Even if your home is within the square footage of your router’s stated square footage, you may not get the best signal (or any signal at all) in the corners of your home. Fortunately, there are devices that can help with that.
Wifi range extenders or Wifi boosters (sometimes called Wifi repeaters) are devices with different names, but essentially perform the same function. It takes the signal from your router and outputs it as a separate signal, allowing the signal to reach every corner of your home. The downside is that you sacrifice speed.
What is the difference between a Wi-Fi extender, Wi-Fi booster, and Wi-Fi repeater?
Although they don’t always share the same name, Wi-Fi extenders, Wi-Fi boosters, and Wi-Fi repeaters all work fundamentally the same way and are essentially the same type of device. Like other Internet-enabled devices, these devices connect to a Wi-Fi signal, but instead of using the Wi-Fi signal, they rebroadcast the Wi-Fi signal. This signal expansion means you can connect to Wi-Fi in places you couldn’t before.
Imagine your router is in the corner of your house and its signal doesn’t reach rooms on the other side of the house. A properly placed extender can intercept the signal and “push” it into the room you are trying to connect to.
In some models, this effectively creates a new network during the process. So if you’re in a space with a range extender, for example, you might see two similar his Wi-Fi names: lifehackerwifi and lifehackerwifi-EXT.
While range extenders are useful for small dead zones, they are not the best solution for getting a better signal through your home. These devices extend the signal, but at the expense of speed. A signal redirected by an extender is often only half as fast as the signal from the original router itself, as traffic needs room to travel in both directions. Additionally, your device may stick to the network it’s currently connected to, even if it’s not the strongest. So if you need extra range you can connect to the “EXT” signal, but if you get close to your main router you’ll have to manually switch to your main Wi-Fi network. Therefore, it is not recommended to have multiple range extender devices in your home.
These devices are great if you don’t care too much about speed and just want a stronger signal (or no signal at all) in one area. For example, let’s say you need to connect your boyfriend’s Wi-Fi at home to his backyard workshop, which your router can’t reach. itself. Granted, if you’re right next to your router, your speeds will be a fraction of their top speeds, but at least a range extender will allow you to stay connected while you’re out and about.
But what if you have poor reception in multiple areas of your home (for example, across floors)? The solution is a mesh network.
What is a mesh network?
I won’t go into too much detail about how mesh networks work (I’ll cover that in another article). Here’s a quick summary. Instead of simply taking an existing signal and rebroadcasting it at half the speed as a second signal, these devices act as individual access hubs. , known as satellites, can output the strongest signal from each hub. They can relay information to each other while maintaining overall fidelity. Because of this, mesh Wi-Fi can be more expensive than range extenders, which is why extenders are still a better option in certain situations, despite the tradeoffs involved.
If you have a small dead zone, such as a private room, getting a Wi-Fi extender may not be a bad option. Please note that you may need to manually switch to the closest network to get the best signal, and you may experience some speed loss in the process. If you need better coverage of the entire floor of your home, consider investing in a mesh router and satellite. That way you won’t be slowed down and will greatly improve the signal throughout your home.
