What’s the difference between a repeater and a powerline extender? What’s more, there’s an argument that buying one of these makes more sense if you plan to upgrade your network in the future.
If you only have a Wi-Fi 5 router, you can save some cash by partnering it with a Wi-Fi 5 extender, but the newer models may give you a faster connection between the extender and devices that support Wi-Fi 6. Up until recently, most extenders and Powerline kits only went as far as the Wi-Fi 5 standard, but we’re seeing a growing number that go faster with Wi-Fi 6 support. A good, solid Wi-Fi network should easily be fast enough to cope with multiple simultaneous high-resolution video streams. To put that into context, Netflix recommends a connection speed of at least 5Mbits/sec for HD streaming and 25Mbits/sec for 4K video. In reality, for all sorts of technical and practical reasons, the speeds you see in your own home will be far, far lower, with much of the bandwidth lost in the connection between the extender and the router, let alone the connection between the extender and your laptop or devices.Īs a rule, we’re happy with anything over 120Mbits/sec (15MB/sec). Some extenders promise data rates as high as 4.8Gbits/sec, which is equivalent to around 600MB/sec and far faster than most broadband connections. You might find that this gets you a better signal from your existing equipment and that there’s no need to buy an extender at all. It’s also worth trying out a few different wireless settings, such as switching radio bands, before you splash out on a new bit of kit.
You can use a broadband speed checker to measure download speeds at different distances from your router, and see how the speed drops off as you move around your home.
How to choose the best Wi-Fi extender for you Is a Wi-Fi extender definitely the answer?īefore you buy an extender, check that it really is the performance of your wireless network that’s slowing you down and not just a slow internet connection. The best high-performance extender: Devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400 | £129.The best value Wi-Fi 6 extender: TP-Link RE505x | £60.The best Wi-Fi 5 extender: TP-Link RE650 | £60.The best Wi-Fi 5 Powerline extender: Devolo Magic 2 WiFi Next | £131.The best budget extender: TP-Link RE300 | £35.READ NEXT: Test your Wi-Fi with our broadband speed checker Here’s everything you need to know about these handy devices, along with our selection of the best Wi-Fi extenders on the market. You might have a fast broadband connection, but does it reach everywhere you need it? Are you finding that you can’t stream TV or have a video chat in the more distant corners of your house? If so, a Wi-Fi extender might be the answer, stretching your Wi-Fi network out so that you get better speeds and coverage exactly where you need them.
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