Dead spots, poor reception, and unstable connections, which are common WiFi range issues, may affect your daily activities, such as live-streaming, gaming, and working from home. There are ways you can increase your WiFi range around the house by using hardware products like WiFi extenders or even mesh WiFi systems. The following are some examples of WiFi range extension products by NETGEAR.
Arun Kulathumony, Senior Product Manager
IN THIS ARTICLE
The first step towards solving coverage issues is knowing the reasons why your WiFi signal is weak:
There are several practical strategies to eliminate dead zones and expand your network reach:
A WiFi extender works by receiving the wireless signal from your existing router, amplifying it, and re-transmitting it to previously unreachable areas. This allows you to effectively extend WiFi range and boost WiFi signal levels in specific rooms without replacing your existing router setup.
To have the best results, you should locate the WiFi extender midway between your router and the dead zone. It needs to be located near enough to your router for a good connection, but far enough from your router to send the WiFi signal to that area. When configuring it, make sure that the WiFi extender has the same security protocol as your WiFi network. To better evaluate hardware options, you can read about the differences between a WiFi extender vs booster to understand WiFi signal boosters completely.
The right approach to expansion depends on the area you have and the performance requirements:
WiFi extenders should be used in small and medium-sized homes that need to cover only a couple of spots that have poor internet signal. These are useful for small-scale coverage without having to replace the router.
Mesh networks are appropriate for medium to large houses and for those that are spread over several floors, as well as in homes where the walls are dense. They can create one network name (SSID).
Extenders generally provide a dedicated network extension, where you have to switch networks while moving throughout the house manually. With mesh WiFi, there is continuous network connectivity under one network, where traffic is routed dynamically for the best performance. Review our full guide comparing a WiFi extender vs mesh WiFi to compare coverage solutions, or evaluate whether using multiple WiFi extenders or mesh WiFi alternatives works best for your layout.
Large layouts, multiple floors, and materials used in construction create serious difficulties for ordinary WiFi signals. The thick concrete or brick walls may absorb most of the WiFi signals, leading to no connectivity in the adjoining rooms.
Here, ordinary WiFi range extender devices do not work well due to strong absorption of WiFi signals by the barriers. Installing dedicated mesh WiFi for thick walls or using wired Ethernet backhauls between mesh nodes is the most effective way to improve coverage in large homes with severe structural interference.
NETGEAR delivers specialized devices that will help you cope with any coverage-related issue:
You can extend your WiFi range by repositioning your router to a central location, installing a WiFi extender, or upgrading to a multi-node mesh WiFi system.
You can increase your WiFi strength by removing physical barriers around your router, updating your router firmware, or even using a NETGEAR WiFi extender to strengthen your signal in weak areas.
It depends on your home structure; WiFi extenders are effective when you want to enhance your WiFi in one room, while mesh WiFi is more effective for whole-home coverage.
Yes, WiFi extenders effectively pick up an existing router signal and re-broadcast it, successfully expanding coverage into areas with poor reception.
It depends on the size of the house, but mesh WiFi would be preferable since it makes one seamless network with automatic switching between devices. However, the extender will create a second network and may decrease bandwidth.
The WiFi extender needs to be placed halfway between the router and the zone that lacks signal strength, and it should not be far from the main network signal.
