Well, the number of internet users worldwide has reached 5.1 billion! That’s crazy and seems like we can’t even imagine life without the internet. Like it or not, the internet has really made our lives faster, more productive, of better quality, and, if you’d like so, made us more obsessed.
However sad it may sound, there are still huge areas where people lack access to mobile signal, let alone internet connection. From basic communication to emergency issues, mobile signal is vital, but not always accessible.
Mobile signal issues outdoors can be caused by the geography of the area, i.e. the amount of obstacles on the way of the signal to the mobile device. As to the same issue indoors, it can be even because of the construction materials of the building. Anyway, there are dead spots everywhere.
There are many more ways to solve mobile signal issues, but still that’s not a guarantee of quality broadband. Limited access to internet has serious consequences, like a limited ability to access healthcare technologies, limited information about world events, less opportunities for business growth. Furthermore, education can also be negatively affected by the lack of internet access.
How often have you felt frustrated when looking at the wi-fi units and coming up with the “Ugh, bad wifi connection again…”? Yes, that’s a worldwide problem nowadays. The wifi users’ count grows exponentially and there’s no opportunity to ensure us with an exceptional (or good, at least) wifi coverage continuously.
If you're facing persistent mobile signal issues, check out our comprehensive guide on Mobile Signal Boosters for effective solutions and improved connectivity.
The solution?
Have you ever heard of wifi signal boosters/wifi extenders? If not, let’s dive right into it!
Well, in short, wifi extenders are separate devices which have one purpose – to amplify the signal of an existing wireless network. These are very compact and handy devices, which allow you to expand the range of wifi coverage.
Let’s assume you have a wifi router placed in one of your apartment rooms, or all the more – in the office. How would you deliver all the parts of the desired space with equal signal strength? You’re pretty right – with help of wifi extender.
And there’s no need to move the router and all the cables closer to the center, buy more powerful antennas or try to assemble some handmade wifi amplifiers (which are mostly useless and non-beneficial). Now, if you ever ask yourself “How to boost wifi signal?”, these solutions should never come to your mind again!
If you’re constantly facing issues with wireless signal, you’ve probably come across such questions: “How to boost wifi signal?” or “How to improve wifi?”
In order to find answers to these questions, you should first understand what determines the range of a wifi network.
Well, there are a lot of different factors, starting from the router itself (the number and strength of antennas), the walls in your house, the number of neighbouring wifi networks to the location of the router and some other interference.
Many people ask for advice for a router able to provide a stable wifi connection for a three-room apartment or a private house. In such cases, it is impossible to advise anything particular.
The only thing you can advise is focusing on the area of the house/apartment/office. If you have a studio apartment, then even an inexpensive router with one antenna and a capacity of 3 dBi, will easily cope with the task. On the other hand, if yours is a house or a bigger apartment, then think of buying a more advanced device. The review of a few wifi boosters is coming next in this post.
Well, let’s consider the following question:
How do wifi extenders work?
Imagine you have your router placed in the living room, and the further you move away from it, the weaker the signal becomes. What should you do? You should take the wireless extender and place it in the living room, closer to the main router. It then will receive the wifi signal and pass it further, expanding the signal area and making your life easier.
There are also a few points which you should take into consideration:
This is how extenders work.
There are also wifi signal boosters and wifi repeaters which are often confused with extenders. They have a slight difference though. While the latter replicate an existing connection without creating a new network, wifi boosters capture the wireless signal and rebroadcast it in a new location. Thus, the signal strengthens around the booster, but the original bandwidth may become weaker for up to 50% in strength. Thus, you’re the one who decides which option is the most suitable for you!
How to boost wifi signal from the router?
If you’ve made up your mind to have an awesome wireless connection and have already started surfing the internet to find the best wifi repeater ever, then you’ll most likely come across the idea of boosting the wifi signal from the router. Let’s see what this idea is.
A usual wifi router can act as a repeater. However, not all models are able to do this, and not all manufacturers have worked this mode well. Anyway, if you have a high-quality router which is supposed to work as a repeater increasing the range of your wifi network, it may do a good job for you. All you’ll need to do is configure the router to work in the desired mode.
Nevertheless, the wifi repeater has obvious advantages over the router:
And again, many routers (particularly popular TP-Link routers) don’t have the repeater possibility as such. So, if you’re thinking of buying a new device, it’s better to have an extender/booster.
Here the promised device reviews come:
BT is a company which has recently joined the trend of dealing with poor wifi signal issues and instead of producing one big wifi repeater they decided to develop this pack of 3 disks in order to have several access points to the wireless router at once!
This 3-pack device creates a full wifi network coverage for medium and large homes with 4-5 rooms, and it also completely removes so-called “dead zones”(or “dead spots”).
The process of setting up the Whole Home via phone is quite quick and simple. The app gives an opportunity to check the Whole Home system status on the go, play around LED lights and their brightness, name the discs and also stay up to date with the firmware updates. But most importantly – you can temporarily switch off the wifi access for the desired period of time – a very useful thing, especially for parents!
The Netgear EX6120 wifi extender is very attractive thanks to its price and installation simplicity, but its performance may be a letdown for you.
The device has four LED lights on the front which indicate that the booster is powered on and the WPS system or client routers are active. Also, the device lights are glowing green when the signal is strong, orange when the signal is weak and red when there’s no network signal at all.
The setup of Netgear EX6120 is pretty easy. You can either use WPS or dive into a browser-based routine in order to configure the device on your own. It will take you about 10 minutes to have it to work if you use the latter approach.
The EX6120 devices come with a 1-year warranty but in case of the X6S model the warranty takes only 90 days and includes a 24/7 support. But you may not even need it as the device support pages include extended guides and manuals along with the troubleshooting center.
In conclusion, the Netgear’s EX6120 wifi extender won’t do the trick if you’re willing to fill in big “dead zones”. On the other hand, it’s a quite suitable and affordable device for boosting the wireless network in small areas.
The TP-Link TL-WPA wifi extender is a super-fast powerline adapter which offers an outstanding wifi connection along with the multiple Ethernet ports. As stated in the product description, it’s “ideal for Ultra HD streaming and online gaming”.
As for the LED lights, the base unit adaptor has usual three lights on the front, which include:
The main adapter also includes the fourth light – wifi/wifi clone LED, which starts blinking once you enable the wireless function.
The base unit adapter should be plugged into a power socket close to the wifi router and connected with one of the two Ethernet cables included in the kit.
The main adapter should be used in the areas where you’d like to connect your devices (TV’s, game consoles, laptops, Tivo, etc.) to the network. The device can either be connected using the remaining Ethernet cable or via the created in the area wifi hotspot.
The setup process is quite easy and intuitive. You just plug the main adapter in, connect it to the router, press the pair button, then plug the base unit adapter, press the pair button on that one and boom! You’re all done! In about 30 seconds you’ll notice the wifi LED light flashing: it’s all set up.
In order to enable the wifi clone feature on your wifi extender, you simply need to press the WPS button on the main router, then press the wifi clone button on the extender, and that’s that. Your wifi will also be cloned in about 30 seconds. That’s so easy!
As for a third powerline adapter, the setup process is also as simple as described above. You just plug the additional adapter in, press the security button on one of the base devices, then do the same on the new device and within 60 seconds these will be connected and setup.
In conclusion, this wifi extender is a must in case of suffering from a weak wireless signal in your area. The devices included in the kit have a nice design, extended network opportunity, and ensure you with up to 100 Mbps wireless network connection.
The wifi repeaters’ diversity is quite impressive, as the wireless connection has penetrated our lives and became a necessity over the past decade. Fast and high-quality wifi connection may become a rarity due to a huge amount of wireless connection users’, even despite the fact technology does not stand still. In case you want or have to have an exceptional wireless connection, the wifi boosters’ usage becomes mandatory.
So, if you wonder “How to improve wifi signal?”, and have decided to purchase a wireless extender, you should definitely be aware of the following points, discussed above:
Knowing all that, you’ll be able to choose the product that will fully meet your expectations. Happy surfing on the internet!
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