The perfect Wi-Fi extenders in 2024

TP-Hyperlink has a bunch of Wi-Fi extenders underneath its umbrella, however the one that can seemingly serve most individuals one of the best is that this AX3000 mannequin, which is available in two variations: the RE700X and the RE705X. Each extenders have the identical specs, together with Wi-Fi 6 assist, however the 705X has a barely completely different design with pull-out antennas on both facet. I examined the 705X, so I’m basing my suggestion off of my expertise with that mannequin, particularly.

Organising this extender was as straightforward as plugging it in and following directions in TP-Hyperlink’s Tether cell app. All the units I attempted adopted the identical primary setup course of: first, plug within the extender near your wi-fi router, observe directions in a cell app or on a setup webpage, and as soon as the connection is established, transfer the extender to your required location.

It took all of 5 minutes to pair the 705X with my Verizon FiOS router – in all probability probably the most time-consuming bit was deciding what I wished to call the brand new 5Ghz and a couple of.4Ghz networks. I went with the identical identify for each as a result of I didn’t need to manually select from two completely different bands when connecting issues like my telephone or laptop computer. The gadget will robotically pair your gadget with the suitable band — for instance, connecting most sensible residence devices to the two.4Ghz community.

The everlasting location the place I moved the entire extenders I examined was in my basement, since that’s the place we will get the spottiest Wi-Fi sign. I first ran velocity checks on my iPhone and MacBook utilizing Speedtest.internet and Speedcheck.org so I might evaluate them with the usual speeds I obtained when related to my router’s foremost community. Unsurprisingly, the speeds generated by TP-Hyperlink’s extender had been a lot slower than these from my router’s community, however that was the case with the entire units I examined. Solely our premium choose (see beneath) obtained near my router’s normal speeds, however I anticipated this. Wi-Fi extenders aren’t going to make your connection higher – they’re simply going to offer you a wider space of protection. From a spec perspective, each the 705X and the 700X are rated for speeds as much as 2402 Mbps on the 5GHz band and 574 Mbps on 2.4GHz band.

Regardless of the outcomes of my checks, I used to be joyful to find that I wasn’t held again by the 705X’s seemingly slower speeds. I labored as regular for hours with my telephone and laptop computer related to the extenders wi-fi community, answering emails, messaging in Slack, streaming YouTube movies and in any other case sustaining a couple of dozen tabs in Chrome, with none hiccups or noticeable slow-downs.

I used to be not stunned to seek out TP-Hyperlink’s Tether companion app to be straightforward to make use of, if slightly easy, as a result of that was my expertise with TP-Hyperlink’s sensible residence app. Tether is particularly used with the corporate’s networking units, and also you in all probability received’t spend a ton of time in it after preliminary setup. I particularly like you can identify wi-fi units which can be related to your extenders community like your telephone and sensible TV. That makes it a lot simpler to know which issues in your house are always paired with the extender reasonably than your router’s default community.

One essential factor to notice with these TP-Hyperlink extenders is that they each assist OneMesh, which is the corporate’s function that permits you to create one seamless community if in case you have a suitable mesh router. Since I’m nonetheless utilizing the router supplied to me by my ISP, I wasn’t in a position to take a look at out this function, however it works like this: if in case you have a OneMesh router and OneMesh-compatible extenders, you possibly can hyperlink all of them collectively underneath the identical community identify. So reasonably than having a router community and an extender community underneath the identical roof, every thing could be linked and filed underneath your foremost community’s identify.

It’s a small perk that turns into not so small if in case you have a spotty extender, and even simply an awkwardly laid-out residence. In my testing, I discovered my telephone disconnecting from some extenders’ networks after I went upstairs to the principle ground of the home from my basement. It could then try and reconnect to the extender community, when actually I might have most well-liked it to default again to my router’s community. That fortunately didn’t occur with TP-Hyperlink’s RE705X, however it’s one thing to remember when contemplating shopping for a Wi-Fi extender in any respect. If you may get one which has a function like OneMesh, it’ll make your life a lot simpler.

Coming in at $130 and $120, respectively, the RE705X and RE700X is probably not the most affordable Wi-Fi extenders on the market, however their protection vary, Wi-Fi 6 assist and max speeds make both of them a very good choose. If you recognize precisely the place you need to put an extender and it’s not in a clumsy or hard-to-reach location, the marginally cheaper, antenna-free RE700X may go simply effective for you. However if you would like that further skill to tweak antennas to fit your wants, the RE705X is the best way to go.

TP-Link’s RE315 Wi-Fi extender is bodily similar to the RE705X, however with decrease specs and that’s what makes it a $50 gadget. You’ll rise up to 867 Mbps speeds on the 5GHz band and 300 Mbps on the two.4GHz band, and it solely supplies protection for as much as 1,500 sq. toes. That received’t be as a lot of a difficulty for most individuals as max speeds will, however if in case you have a very massive property, you’re higher off going with a costlier extender that may cowl more room.

There’s additionally no Wi-Fi 6 assist on the RE315, which can be a dealbreaker for many who lately invested in a Wi-Fi 6 router. This mannequin does assist OneMesh, although, which is good if you have already got a OneMesh system in your house.

I’m specializing in specification variations as a result of my expertise with the RE315 wasn’t that far off from the RE705X. Setup was simply as plain and easy because the RE315 additionally makes use of the Tether cell app, and whereas speeds had been barely decrease in my testing, I didn’t discover an excessive amount of of a distinction in actual world use. For $50 usually, and sometimes nearer to $30 when on sale, the RE315 is a straightforward choose for anybody who needs a budget-friendly solution to fill Wi-Fi useless zones of their residence.

Having multiple Wi-Fi community in your home is par for the course relating to including an extender into the combination. However that’s not so with the Netgear EAX80 mesh community vary extender – it has “seamless sensible roaming,” which lets you set it up underneath your present SSID identify. So as an alternative of disconnecting out of your foremost wi-fi community and reconnecting to the extender’s community whenever you transfer out of your front room to your basement, all it’s important to do is… transfer from one room to a different and let Netgear’s gadget do the heavy lifting.

That’s one of many premium options included on the EAX80, however its $250 price ticket will be attributed extra so to another perks. It’s a dual-band, Wi-Fi 6 mesh vary extender that can work with just about any wi-fi router you might have. It helps speeds as much as 6 Gbps and may have greater than 30 units related to it directly. So far as sq. footage goes, it’ll widen your Wi-Fi’s protection by as much as 2,500 sq. toes, which ought to be a lot for small and medium-sized properties. It carried out properly in our velocity checks, coming very near the add/obtain speeds I obtained when being related to my foremost community earlier than putting in the extender.

There’s nothing out of the strange concerning the Nighthawk cell app, which is what you’ll use to initially arrange the EAX80 extender. After that, you need to use the app to troubleshoot, verify Wi-Fi speeds and see which units are in your community. It’ll seemingly be an enormous listing because you’ll see every thing that’s paired to your router’s community as properly. My solely gripe is you can’t edit gadget names. For instance, my den’s TV exhibits up as “LGwebOSTV” and our soundbar in our basement exhibits up as “sonyaudio” — however there are a variety of related units with no identify in any respect, and we’re simply caught with that.

Apart from its quick speeds and dependable connection, two issues set this Netgear extender other than the opposite units I examined. First is that seamless sensible roaming function – not having to modify between Wi-Fi networks when going round my residence was tremendous handy. I by no means needed to fear about my laptop computer shedding connection to a devoted extender community after I moved from my basement to my second ground, which is one thing I steadily needed to take care of when testing different units.

The second differentiating issue is the EAX80’s design. In contrast to different vary extenders which can be chunky blocks that plug instantly into an AC outlet, Netgear’s mannequin seems to be extra like a standalone router. Whereas that does imply it has a bigger footprint than different units I examined, it was truly simpler to seek out good spots for it in my residence as a result of it didn’t must be chained to the wall proper above an outlet. Most individuals, particularly these tight on area, will in all probability choose the usual extender design, however the EAX80 gave me a bit extra flexibility. I additionally appreciated that the EAX80 has 4 built-in ports for utilizing an Ethernet cable to bodily join issues like TVs, consoles and extra, plus one USB-A port for hardwiring a printer.

Netgear’s EAX80 vary extender is a stable possibility for those who don’t thoughts dropping a bit of cash to get a bunch of handy options on high of stellar speeds and Wi-Fi 6 assist. But it surely’s value noting that Netgear has a couple of choices which can be much like the EAX80, however with numerous variations in velocity, protection and have set. Essentially the most comparable is the $130 EAX20 extender, which incorporates 1,500 sq. toes of protection, assist for Wi-Fi 6 and as much as 1.8Gbps speeds, plus seamless sensible roaming capabilities. The wall-plug model of that, the EAX15, is definitely a tad costlier at $140.