The very best Wi-Fi extenders in 2024

TP-Hyperlink has a bunch of Wi-Fi extenders underneath its umbrella, however the one that can doubtless serve most individuals the very 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 aspect. I examined the 705X, so I’m basing my advice 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. The entire 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 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 – most likely essentially the most time-consuming bit was deciding what I wished to call the brand new 5Ghz and a pair of.4Ghz networks. I went with the identical title for each as a result of I didn’t need to manually select from two completely different bands when connecting issues like my cellphone or laptop computer. The machine will mechanically pair your machine with the suitable band — for instance, connecting most good 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 pace checks on my iPhone and MacBook utilizing Speedtest.internet and Speedcheck.org so I might examine them with the usual speeds I received when related to my router’s most important community. Unsurprisingly, the speeds generated by TP-Hyperlink’s extender have been a lot slower than these from my router’s community, however that was the case with the entire gadgets I examined. Solely our premium choose (see under) received 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 provide 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 happy to find that I wasn’t held again by the 705X’s seemingly slower speeds. I labored as regular for hours with my cellphone 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 number 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 just a little 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 most likely received’t spend a ton of time in it after preliminary setup. I particularly like that you could title wi-fi gadgets which are related to your extenders community like your cellphone and good TV. That makes it a lot simpler to know which issues in your house are continually paired with the extender quite than your router’s default community.

One necessary factor to notice with these TP-Hyperlink extenders is that they each assist OneMesh, which is the corporate’s function that lets you create one seamless community when you have a suitable 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 function, but it surely works like this: when you have a OneMesh router and OneMesh-compatible extenders, you may hyperlink all of them collectively underneath the identical community title. So quite than having a router community and an extender community underneath the identical roof, the whole lot can be linked and filed underneath your most important community’s title.

It’s a small perk that turns into not so small when you have a spotty extender, and even simply an awkwardly laid-out residence. In my testing, I discovered my cellphone disconnecting from some extenders’ networks once I went upstairs to the principle flooring of the home from my basement. It will then try to reconnect to the extender community, when actually I might have most popular 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 remember when contemplating shopping for a Wi-Fi extender in any respect. If you will 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 might not be the most affordable Wi-Fi extenders on the market, however their protection vary, Wi-Fi 6 assist and max speeds make both of them an excellent choose. If you already know 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 positive for you. However if you would like that additional means 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 machine. You’ll stand 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. ft. That received’t be as a lot of a problem for most individuals as max speeds will, however when you have a very giant 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 just 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 have 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 infrequently nearer to $30 when on sale, the RE315 is a straightforward choose for anybody who needs a budget-friendly solution to fill Wi-Fi lifeless 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 good roaming,” which lets you set it up underneath your current SSID title. So as a substitute of disconnecting out of your most important wi-fi community and reconnecting to the extender’s community once you transfer out of your front room to your basement, all it’s a must to do is… transfer from one room to a different and let Netgear’s machine do the heavy lifting.

That’s one of many premium options included on the EAX80, however its $250 price ticket could 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 gadgets 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 ought to be a lot for small and medium-sized houses. It carried out effectively in our pace checks, coming very near the add/obtain speeds I received when being related to my most important community earlier than putting in the extender.

There’s nothing out of the extraordinary in regards to the Nighthawk cell app, which is what you’ll use to initially arrange the EAX80 extender. After that, you should utilize the app to troubleshoot, test Wi-Fi speeds and see which gadgets are in your community. It’ll doubtless be a giant checklist because you’ll see the whole lot that’s paired to your router’s community as effectively. My solely gripe is that you could’t edit machine 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 gadgets with no title in any respect, and we’re simply caught with that.

Apart from 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 function – not having to change between Wi-Fi networks when going round my residence was tremendous handy. I by no means needed to fear about my laptop computer dropping connection to a devoted extender community once I moved from my basement to my second flooring, which is one thing I continuously needed to take care of when testing different gadgets.

The second differentiating issue is the EAX80’s design. In contrast to different vary extenders which are chunky blocks that plug straight into an AC outlet, Netgear’s mannequin appears extra like a standalone router. Whereas that does imply it has a bigger footprint than different gadgets I examined, it was truly simpler to search out good spots for it in my residence as a result of it didn’t should be chained to the wall proper above an outlet. Most individuals, particularly these tight on area, will most likely favor 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. However it’s value noting that Netgear has a number of choices which are just like the EAX80, however with varied variations in pace, protection and have set. Probably 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 good roaming capabilities. The wall-plug model of that, the EAX15, is definitely a tad costlier at $140.