One of the best Wi-Fi extenders in 2024

Most switch charge: 2402 Mbps | Vary: 110 toes

TP-Hyperlink has a bunch of Wi-Fi extenders underneath its umbrella, however the one that may 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 help, 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 cellular app. All the gadgets I attempted adopted the identical fundamental setup course of: first, plug within the extender near your wi-fi router, comply with directions in a cellular 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 needed to call the brand new 5Ghz and a pair 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 routinely pair your gadget with the suitable band — for instance, connecting most good residence devices to the two.4Ghz community, which regularly helps cut back latency.

The everlasting location the place I moved all the 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 may examine them with the usual speeds I bought when linked to my router’s predominant 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 all the gadgets I examined. Solely our prime choose (see under) bought 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 completely satisfied 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 linked 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 shocked to search out TP-Hyperlink’s Tether companion app to be straightforward to make use of, if a little bit easy, as a result of that was my expertise with TP-Hyperlink’s good residence app. Tether is particularly used with the corporate’s networking gadgets, and also you in all probability gained’t spend a ton of time in it after preliminary setup. I particularly like that you may identify wi-fi gadgets which are linked to your extenders community like your telephone and good TV. That makes it a lot simpler to know which issues in your house are consistently paired with the extender slightly than your router’s default community.

One necessary factor to notice with these TP-Hyperlink extenders is that they each help OneMesh, which is the corporate’s characteristic that permits you to create one seamless community you probably have a appropriate 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 characteristic, but it surely works like this: you probably have a OneMesh router and OneMesh-compatible extenders, you possibly can hyperlink all of them collectively underneath the identical community identify. So slightly than having a router community and an extender community underneath the identical roof, all the pieces can be linked and filed underneath your predominant community’s identify.

It’s a small perk that turns into not so small you probably 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 will then try to 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, but it surely’s one thing to bear in mind when contemplating shopping for a Wi-Fi extender in any respect. If you may get one which has a characteristic 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, newest Wi-Fi help and max speeds make both of them a very good choose. If you understand precisely the place you need to put an extender and it’s not in an ungainly or hard-to-reach location, the marginally cheaper, antenna-free RE700X may fit simply advantageous for you. However in order for you that additional potential to tweak antennas to fit your wants, the RE705X is the way in which to go.

Most switch charge: 867 Mbps | Vary: 1500 sq.ft

TP-Hyperlink’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 gives protection for as much as 1,500 sq. toes. That gained’t be as a lot of a difficulty for most individuals as max speeds will, however you probably have a very massive property, you’re higher off going with a costlier extender that may cowl extra space.

There’s additionally no Wi-Fi 6e help on the RE315, which can be a dealbreaker for individuals who just lately invested in a Wi-Fi 6 router. This mannequin does help OneMesh, although, which is sweet 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 cellular 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 desires a budget-friendly technique to fill Wi-Fi useless zones of their residence.

Most switch charge: 4800 Mbps | Vary: 2500 sq.ft

Having multiple Wi-Fi community in your own home is par for the course in the case of including an extender into the combo. However that’s not so with the Netgear EAX80 mesh community vary extender – it has “seamless smart roaming,” which lets you set it up underneath your current SSID identify. So as an alternative of disconnecting out of your predominant wi-fi community and reconnecting to the extender’s community whenever you transfer out of your front room to your basement, all you must 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 may be attributed extra so to another perks. It’s a dual-band, Wi-Fi 6e mesh vary extender that may work with just about any wi-fi router you’ll have. It helps speeds as much as 6 Gbps and might have greater than 30 gadgets linked to it without delay. 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 lots for small and medium-sized properties. It carried out effectively in our velocity checks, coming very near the add/obtain speeds I bought when being linked to my predominant community earlier than putting in the extender.

There’s nothing out of the atypical in regards to the Nighthawk cellular app, which is what you’ll use to initially arrange the EAX80 extender. After that, you should utilize the app to troubleshoot, verify Wi-Fi speeds and see which gadgets are in your community. It’ll seemingly be an enormous record because you’ll see all the pieces that’s paired to your router’s community as effectively. My solely gripe is that you may’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 selection of linked gadgets with no identify in any respect, and we’re simply caught with that.

Other than its quick speeds and dependable connection, two issues set this Netgear extender aside from the opposite gadgets I examined. First is that seamless good roaming characteristic – 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 incessantly needed to cope with when testing different gadgets.

The second differentiating issue is the EAX80’s design. Not like different vary extenders which are chunky blocks that plug immediately into an AC outlet, Netgear’s mannequin appears to be like extra like a standalone router. Whereas that does imply it has a bigger footprint than different gadgets I examined, it was really simpler to search out good spots for it in my residence as a result of it didn’t need to be chained to the wall proper above an outlet. Most individuals, particularly these tight on area, will in all probability desire 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 strong choice in the event you don’t thoughts dropping a bit of cash to get a bunch of handy options on prime of stellar speeds and Wi-Fi 6 help. However it’s value noting that Netgear has a couple of choices which are just like the EAX80, however with varied variations in velocity, protection and have set. Essentially the most related is the $130 EAX20 extender, which incorporates 1,500 sq. toes of protection, help for Wi-Fi 6 and as much as 1.8Gbps speeds, plus seamless good roaming capabilities. The wall-plug model of that, the EAX15, is definitely a tad costlier at $140.