The best Wi-Fi range extenders do what they say on the box – extend your home\u2019s Wi-Fi signal, eliminating dead spots around your home. With so many of us working from home, it\u2019s important that your wireless network is robust, and that means being able to get a Wi-Fi signal in all areas of your home, including your basement or backyard. You don\u2019t necessarily need to invest in a new wireless router or modem either, since Wi-Fi extenders connect to your existing home network and are often quite affordable. We tested out a number of Wi-Fi extenders to find out which are actually worth your money. However, if you think it\u2019s time for an upgrade and want to replace your entire router system, you can check out our best mesh Wi-Fi system<\/a> guide.<\/p>\n These handy wireless devices do exactly what their name suggests: extend your Wi-Fi network so it covers more areas of your home. Most Wi-Fi extenders plug into an AC outlet and connect to your existing network so they can then rebroadcast it to spots that your router alone may not cover well. As a rule of thumb, you\u2019ll get the best results by placing the extender half way between your router and the dead zone you\u2019re trying to fix.<\/p>\n One important thing to note about Wi-Fi range extenders (also sometimes called \u201crepeaters\u201d) is that most of them actually create a new Wi-Fi network when rebroadcasting your existing one. That network will have a new name (it\u2019ll often be your default network\u2019s name with an EXT appended at the end, unless you change it) and that means you\u2019ll have to connect to different networks when in different parts of your home. While that\u2019s a small tradeoff in return for improved coverage, some will be more inconvenienced than others.<\/p>\n If you\u2019d rather have one, much larger network in your home, you\u2019re better off upgrading to mesh Wi-Fi. Mesh systems come with a main router and access points that, by default, create one large Wi-Fi system that should be accessible throughout your whole home. But that also translates to more expensive, and possibly more complicated, devices. Mesh Wi-Fi systems are, by far, more costly than a simple extender, plus you may have to work with your ISP to get your home\u2019s existing network working on your new router.<\/p>\n Extenders today can support single, dual or tri-band Wi-Fi, and they will tell you the maximum speeds they support on all of their available bands. For example, one dual-band device might support 600Mbps speeds over its 2.4GHz band and up to 1300Mbps over its 5GHz band, for a combined maximum speed of 1900Mbps. For the best performance, you\u2019ll want to go with a Wi-Fi extender that has the highest speeds possible (and those, as you might expect, tend to cost more).<\/p>\n However, it\u2019s important to remember that Wi-Fi extenders are not true \u201csignal boosters\u201d since they are not designed to increase<\/em> speeds across your home. In fact, you may find that the extender\u2019s network is slower than your router\u2019s. Instead, extenders are designed to increase the Wi-Fi coverage throughout your home, making them ideal for filling in dead zones.<\/p>\n With the name of the gaming being coverage area, taking note of a device\u2019s range is important. Depending on the size of your home and property, you may only need up to 1,200 square feet of coverage. But those with larger homes will want to spring for an extender that can support upwards of 2,000+ square feet of coverage.<\/p>\n Similarly, those with lots of gadgets will want an extender that can handle them all at once. If you spend most of your time on your phone or laptop and maybe have your smart TV online for a few hours of Netflix each day, you could get by with a more limited extender. Smart home aficionados and tech lovers should invest in one that won\u2019t buckle under the pressure of a few dozen connected devices. This is especially important if you plan on linking all of the devices in a certain part of your home to your Wi-Fi range extender\u2019s network, rather than directly to your Wi-Fi router.<\/p>\n There isn\u2019t a ton of innovation when it comes to design in the Wi-Fi extender space. Most of the ones you\u2019ll find today are rounded rectangles roughly the size of your hand that plug into a standard wall outlet. They usually have a few indicator lights that will show you when the extender is connected, how strong its signal strength is and when there\u2019s a problem, and some will even have moveable antennas that companies claim provide even better Wi-Fi signal.<\/p>\n Aside from that, there are the scant few standalone Wi-Fi extenders that sit on an end table or a desk, and those look pretty similar to regular ol\u2019 routers. But make no mistake, anything labeled as an extender or a \u201crepeater\u201d will need an anchor router in order for it to work.<\/p>\n Another convenient feature you\u2019ll find on most Wi-Fi extenders is an extra Ethernet port (or a few). This allows you to use the extender as a Wi-Fi access point if you connect it to your wireless router, or an adapter to provide devices like TVs, smart home hubs or game consoles a hardwired connection to the internet. Unsurprisingly, this wired connection usually provides you with the fastest speeds possible, so you may want to use it for your most crucial devices.<\/p>\n TP-Link<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n TP-Link has a bunch of Wi-Fi extenders under its umbrella, but the one that will likely serve most people the best is this AX3000 model, which comes in two variations: the RE700X<\/a> and the RE705X<\/a>. Both extenders have the same specs, including Wi-Fi 6 support, but the 705X has a slightly different design with pull-out antennas on either side. I tested the 705X, so I\u2019m basing my recommendation off of my experience with that model, specifically.<\/p>\n Setting up this extender was as easy as plugging it in and following instructions in TP-Link\u2019s Tether mobile app. All of the devices I tried followed the same basic setup process: first, plug in the extender close to your wireless router, follow instructions in a mobile app or on a setup webpage, and once the connection is established, move the extender to your desired location.<\/p>\n It took all of five minutes to pair the 705X with my Verizon FiOS router \u2013 probably the most time-consuming bit was deciding what I wanted to name the new 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz networks. I went with the same name for both because I didn\u2019t want to manually choose from two different bands when connecting things like my phone or laptop. The device will automatically pair your device with the appropriate band \u2014 for example, connecting most smart home gadgets to the 2.4Ghz network.<\/p>\n The permanent location where I moved all of the extenders I tested was in my basement, since that\u2019s where we can get the spottiest Wi-Fi signal. I first ran speed tests on my iPhone and MacBook using Speedtest.net and Speedcheck.org so I could compare them with the standard speeds I got when connected to my router\u2019s main network. Unsurprisingly, the speeds generated by TP-Link\u2019s extender were much slower than those from my router\u2019s network, but that was the case with all of the devices I tested. Only our premium pick (see below) got close to my router\u2019s standard speeds, but I expected this. Wi-Fi extenders aren\u2019t going to make your connection better<\/em> \u2013 they\u2019re just going to give you a wider area of coverage. From a spec perspective, both the 705X and the 700X are rated for speeds up to 2402 Mbps on the 5GHz band and 574 Mbps on 2.4GHz band.<\/p>\n Despite the results of my tests, I was happy to discover that I wasn\u2019t held back by the 705X\u2019s seemingly slower speeds. I worked as normal for hours with my phone and laptop connected to the extenders wireless network, answering emails, messaging in Slack, streaming YouTube videos and otherwise maintaining a few dozen tabs in Chrome, without any hiccups or noticeable slow-downs.<\/p>\n I was not surprised to find TP-Link\u2019s Tether companion app to be easy to use, if a little simple, because that was my experience with TP-Link\u2019s smart home app. Tether is specifically used with the company\u2019s networking devices, and you probably won\u2019t spend a ton of time in it after initial setup. I especially like that you can name wireless devices that are connected to your extenders network like your phone and smart TV. That makes it much easier to know which things in your home are constantly paired with the extender rather than your router\u2019s default network.<\/p>\nHow do Wi-Fi extenders work?<\/h2>\n
What to look for in a Wi-Fi extender<\/h2>\n
Speed<\/h3>\n
Range, and number of supported devices<\/h3>\n
Design<\/h3>\n
Best Wi-Fi extender for 2024<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n