While fairly easy to configure, range extenders have their limitations. They often use a separate network SSID that you have to log into as you move through the house, and Wi-Fi speeds are typically half of what you get from your main router. Most dual-band extenders use both radio bands to transmit data to and from the router, which means devices connecting to the extender are competing for bandwidth with the router. To help alleviate network congestion, some manufacturers let you dedicate a band for router-to-extender communications. Netgear's Fastlane technology and Amped Wireless' BoostBand technology are good examples. This is where things can get a little confusing. At the start of the set-up process, the range extender’s Wi-Fi network was called TP-Link_Extender on both the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands.

We have worked for the past 6 months on building a new review system on how we produce content. Using it, we have subsequently redone most of our articles to provide actual hands-on expertise on the guides we made.This is the control graph, showing you the average speeds in each room I tested with no range extenders in play at all. On its own, a single, entry-level Wi-Fi 6 router in the laundry room was able to deliver decent speeds on the main floor of the home (the first four rooms in this chart), but speeds plummeted in the basement (the last four rooms), especially the upload speeds. Ry Crist/CNET Testing Wi-Fi extenders in the CNET Smart Home What makes range extenders so attractive compared with a bespoke mesh system is that they are easy to install and inexpensive. When paired with a budget-priced router, you can build a tandem system with coverage that rivals what you'd get from a single high-priced router or mesh network. Range extenders come in various shapes, sizes, and speeds, but they do have their limitations; they are typically half as fast as your primary router, and they create a separate extended network that makes seamless roaming difficult. When you have an existing wifi router/mo dem and your router/modem has been dialed, you can select AP mode to create a wireless access point. (AP Mode needs to connect to an Ethernet cable to your home modem.) Now take a look at the range extender’s app. At the moment, we’ve got the range extender positioned about halfway between our main router and our home office where the Wi-Fi signal tends to be a bit weak.

If your router is having trouble delivering a strong Wi-Fi signal to certain areas of your home but you loathe the thought of switching between differently named networks for different parts of your house, the Netgear EAX15 can help. It’s easy to install, and you can use it to create a mesh-like network without buying a whole new mesh system, since it supports single-SSID naming for seamless roaming. It also supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology, and it delivered solid performance on the 5GHz band in our testing. Who It's For Right now I have only one repeater plugged in and connected to my laptop via ethernet cable. The 2nd repeater is unplugged. The Wifi on my laptop is switched off and disabled, so I'm actually connected to the Internet via my laptop's ethernet port via ethernet cable to the repeater's ethernet port, then via wifi signal from the repeater to my Zyxel wireless router and Comcast cable modem. D-Link DAP-1620: This was the only range extender that ever managed to hit triple digits during my 2020 tests, with an average speed of 104Mbps in my bedroom during evening hours. Setup was just as simple as what I experienced with TP-Link, too. I was able to stream HD video, browse the web and make video calls on the extender's network without any issue. Whereas range extenders communicate with the router via the 2.4GHz or 5GHz radio bands, most Wi-Fi system satellites use mesh technology to talk to the router, and to each other. Each node serves as a hop point for other nodes in the system, which helps the nodes farthest from the router to deliver a strong Wi-Fi signal as they talk to other nodes and don't rely on one-to-one communications with the router.

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Wi-Fi mesh systems are ideal for users with little or no technical knowledge. They can be installed in minutes and typically come with a user-friendly mobile app that walks you through the installation process with easy-to-follow illustrated instructions. And their prices are coming down, too. Long press the reset button for about 20 seconds till the Wireless-N-c signal becomes open and unsecured. All electronic devices will have different degrees of normal heating during use. The temperature of this device during operation is within a reasonable range, please rest assured to use. However, the app is telling us that there’s a very good connection between the router and the range extender, so we can still move the range extender further away from the router without losing the connection. The TP-Link app also includes a ‘location assistant’ feature that can help you to find the best location for the range extender. 9. Moving out of range

Before you launch the extender’s app, just go into the Wi-Fi Settings panel on your smartphone or tablet. We offer 12-Months warranty for all products against defects in materials and quality resulting in failures during normal use.The same goes for the latest Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E technologies, the current fastest flavors of Wi-Fi. If you recently bought a new router that supports these standards, you'll certainly want to make sure any range extenders support them as well. Most plug-in range extenders only offer basic features at best, but the TP-Link Tether app includes a signal strength tester and a High-Speed Mode in the app. Screenshots by Ry Crist/CNET Other elements to consider

But now that the range extender is linked to our router, the app changes the name of the range extender Wi-Fi to use the same name - 0606 Hyperoptic - as our router’s Wi-Fi network. With my control speeds established, it was time to start adding in the range boosters and seeing which ones improved things the best. Pairing each one with the router only required me to plug it in nearby and press the WPS button on both devices -- after that, I relocated them downstairs, to the basement rec room, which was the farthest point from the router that still had a decent signal and speeds. Whenever you're using a Wi-Fi range extender, that's typically the best place to put it: just shy of the edge of your router's range, where it will still receive a strong enough signal to put out a strong signal of its own. The best way to find that spot? Grab your phone or laptop and run some speed tests.When shopping for a range extender, it's important to find one that matches your router's specs. For example, if you have a dual-band AC1900 router, get a dual-band AC1900 extender (or better). If your router supports Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) data streaming, which provides enhanced performance by sending data to compatible clients simultaneously rather than sequentially, look for an extender that supports this technology if you want to extend your MU-MIMO network. With so many of us working from home these days, we now have more apps than ever careening across our household Wi-Fi networks. And some of these require not only a good amount of bandwidth, but steady bandwidth. When they don't have it, that chat you're having with your boss on your company's voice over IP (VoIP) phone system suddenly sounds like you're underwater. The same goes for many consumer-grade apps, especially video streaming services like Netflix, and certainly the latest games. I ran all of this year's range extender tests with a Netgear R6700AX router running the network. It's a low-power, budget-price Wi-Fi 6 model that offered consistent performance when I first tested it out, making it an ideal control router for these tests. Ry Crist/CNET If you used WPS to get started, you may already be connected to the range extender. Alternatively, you can just tap on TP-Link_Extender_2.4GHz to connect your smartphone to the range extender. 4. Dual-band Wi-Fi It can be a button that can be pressed by using a needle, or it could be a normal switch-type button, like in the above picture.