The best Wi-Fi extenders in 2024

TP-Hyperlink has a bunch of Wi-Fi extenders beneath its umbrella, however the one that can possible 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 totally different design with pull-out antennas on both aspect. I examined the 705X, so I’m basing my advice off of my expertise with that mannequin, particularly.

Establishing this extender was as straightforward as plugging it in and following directions in TP-Hyperlink’s Tether cell app. The entire 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 essentially the most time-consuming bit was deciding what I needed 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 totally different bands when connecting issues like my telephone or laptop computer. The system will routinely pair your system with the suitable band — for instance, connecting most sensible house 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 assessments 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 important 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 decide (see beneath) obtained near my router’s commonplace 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 assessments, I used to be blissful 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 search out TP-Hyperlink’s Tether companion app to be straightforward to make use of, if somewhat easy, as a result of that was my expertise with TP-Hyperlink’s sensible house 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 that you could identify wi-fi units which might 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 continually paired with the extender somewhat than your router’s default community.

One vital factor to notice with these TP-Hyperlink extenders is that they each assist OneMesh, which is the corporate’s characteristic that means that you can create one seamless community when you’ve got a appropriate mesh router. Since I’m nonetheless utilizing the router offered to me by my ISP, I wasn’t capable of take a look at out this characteristic, nevertheless it works like this: when you’ve got a OneMesh router and OneMesh-compatible extenders, you possibly can hyperlink all of them collectively beneath the identical community identify. So somewhat than having a router community and an extender community beneath the identical roof, every little thing could be linked and filed beneath your important community’s identify.

It’s a small perk that turns into not so small when you’ve got a spotty extender, and even simply an awkwardly laid-out house. In my testing, I discovered my telephone disconnecting from some extenders’ networks once I went upstairs to the primary flooring of the home from my basement. It might then try to reconnect to the extender community, when actually I’d have most well-liked it to default again to my router’s community. That fortunately didn’t occur with TP-Hyperlink’s RE705X, nevertheless 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 characteristic like OneMesh, it’ll make your life a lot simpler.

Coming in at $130 and $120, respectively, the RE705X and RE700X will not be the most cost effective Wi-Fi extenders on the market, however their protection vary, Wi-Fi 6 assist and max speeds make both of them an excellent decide. If 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 fit simply high quality for you. However if you need that further capacity 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 system. 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. ft. That received’t be as a lot of a problem for most individuals as max speeds will, however when you’ve got a very massive property, you’re higher off going with a dearer extender that may cowl more room.

There’s additionally no Wi-Fi 6 assist on the RE315, which can be a dealbreaker for individuals who lately invested in a Wi-Fi 6 router. This mannequin does assist 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 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 decide for anybody who desires a budget-friendly method to fill Wi-Fi lifeless zones of their house.

Having a couple of Wi-Fi community in your home is par for the course on the subject of including an extender into the combo. However that’s not so with the Netgear EAX80 mesh community vary extender – it has “seamless sensible roaming,” which lets you set it up beneath your current SSID identify. So as an alternative of disconnecting out of your important wi-fi community and reconnecting to the extender’s community while 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 system do the heavy lifting.

That’s one of many premium options included on the EAX80, however its $250 price ticket might 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 might 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. ft, which needs to be loads for small and medium-sized properties. It carried out effectively in our velocity assessments, coming very near the add/obtain speeds I obtained when being related to my important community earlier than putting in the extender.

There’s nothing out of the odd 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, examine Wi-Fi speeds and see which units are in your community. It’ll possible be an enormous record because you’ll see every little thing that’s paired to your router’s community as effectively. My solely gripe is that you could’t edit system 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 related units 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 units I examined. First is that seamless sensible roaming characteristic – not having to change between Wi-Fi networks when going round my house was tremendous handy. I by no means needed to fear about my laptop computer shedding connection to a devoted extender community once I moved from my basement to my second flooring, which is one thing I regularly needed to cope with when testing different units.

The second differentiating issue is the EAX80’s design. In contrast to different vary extenders which might be chunky blocks that plug instantly into an AC outlet, Netgear’s mannequin appears extra like a standalone router. Whereas that does imply it has a bigger footprint than different units I examined, it was really simpler to search out good spots for it in my house as a result of it didn’t need to be chained to the wall proper above an outlet. Most individuals, particularly these tight on house, will in all probability want 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 choice for those who don’t thoughts dropping a bit of cash to get a bunch of handy options on prime of stellar speeds and Wi-Fi 6 assist. But it surely’s price noting that Netgear has a couple of choices which might be much like the EAX80, however with varied variations in velocity, protection and have set. Essentially the most comparable is the $130 EAX20 extender, which incorporates 1,500 sq. ft 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 dearer at $140.