TP-Link’s RE315 is a powerhouse for just $30. You’ll find the reviews of these three untested but recommended picks just below the “Other Great Options” section.
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To test for range, we connected the extender to the garage outlet, which is on the outskirts of our network, then walked in a straight line with a measuring wheel until we no longer received a Wi-Fi signal.įor the extenders we weren’t able to get hands on, we relied on expert sources including Tech Radar, CNET, and PC Mag, as well as customer reviews from various retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. We compared the results to those of the router on its own for a control in addition to others in the pool to rank speed performance. We used Ookla’s speed test to record the speeds of each extender from the same marked point on each floor. The first outlet sat just five feet away from the router on the same floor, the second 25 feet from the router on a floor just below it, and the last in a garage 50 feet from the router separated by two floors and concrete. Each extender was plugged into the same socket on power outlets spanning three different floors of a 2,000-square-foot townhouse.
We ran each extender on a home network with internet speeds of 500 Mbps for downloads and 25 Mbps for uploads. To choose these Wi-Fi extenders, we surveyed the market, evaluated models based on coverage, speed, cost, and design, and tested the most promising ourselves. They come in a range of different shapes and sizes, from small plug-in units that will largely go unnoticed to bulky, desktop-style units you’ll need to clear some space for. Like routers, extenders are rated in different classes, such as AC1200 and AC1750, where the number simply indicates the combined maximum speeds they are capable of supporting (measured in megabits per second, or Mbps). Antennas can be external or internal, and the more a device has, the better it’s able to pick up and transmit Wi-Fi signals. Higher-end tri-band extenders, which feature two 5-GHz bands and one 2.4-GHz band, cost more but give you the best coverage with the least interference.īy the same token, you can also generally expect to pay more for extenders with more antennas, which you might or might not need depending on the size of your house or apartment.
However, single-band extenders have a farther range that can provide better coverage in spaces with many obstacles, such as walls and furniture. Typically, dual-band extenders provide a faster connection because they have more bandwidth and experience less interference, which makes them a better choice for gaming and video streaming. The majority support 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz frequency bands and are known as dual-band devices, but some cheaper options are only single-band and use 2.4-GHz frequency to transmit data. Wi-Fi extenders can vary considerably in features and capabilities. In addition to the six standard extenders we recommend here, we’ve also included three mesh systems at the bottom of this roundup that we’ve tested and recommend. As mesh systems become more popular, they’re becoming more affordable too-though new systems will still cost much more than the average extender. In these cases, we recommend going with a mesh Wi-Fi system, which can replace your router and any extenders by placing compact nodes around your home to create more seamless coverage without any separate networks. If you find that your internet speed is subpar everywhere in your home, it may be worth revamping your entire system.
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