**Maximizing Wi-Fi Coverage with Range Extenders**

Range extenders are a popular solution for those who need to boost their Wi-Fi coverage in large homes or offices. While they can be an effective way to eke out extra coverage from your router, it's essential to understand what makes them tick and how to get the most out of them. In this article, we'll delve into the world of range extenders, exploring their benefits, limitations, and top picks.

**The Importance of Range Extenders**

Range extenders are designed to help bridge gaps in your Wi-Fi coverage by re-broadcasting the signal from your router to areas where it's weak or non-existent. This can be particularly useful in large homes or offices with multiple floors, where the original router may not be able to reach all areas effectively. By using a range extender, you can create a unified network that spans across multiple rooms and floors, providing a seamless Wi-Fi experience.

**Testing Range Extenders**

To determine which range extender is best for your specific needs, we conducted tests in a multi-story house with approximately 5,800 square feet of space. We set up an entry-level Wi-Fi six router upstairs and found that it created multiple dead zones on the basement level. This is exactly where range extenders like these come in – to help fill in those gaps and provide reliable coverage.

We placed our top-performing range extender in a strategic location in the basement, adjacent to the dead zones but not directly within them. We then tested speeds in eight rooms throughout the house, comparing the results with just the router and without an extender. The graph shows that things really fall off a cliff when using only the router alone, but with the extender, coverage is significantly improved.

**Top-Performing Range Extenders**

Our top pick for range extenders is the TP-Link RE-605X, which delivered the fastest average download speeds and upload speeds of all the extenders we tested. This model was a cinch to use and performed exceptionally well on both our Wi-Fi six test laptop and older Wi-Fi five devices. Another strong contender was the Linksys RE7310, which finished just behind TP-Link in terms of speed but offered a slightly more compact design and lower price point.

**Value Picks**

For those looking for a more affordable option without sacrificing too much performance, we recommend the D-Link Eagle Pro AI Range Extender. This model should cost less than $65 and supports Wi-Fi six by default. While it didn't quite match TP-Link or Linksys in terms of speed and range, it was reliable and easy to use.

**Tips for Using Range Extenders**

When setting up a range extender, it's essential to make sure the device has a good connection with your router. Ideally, you want the extender to be close enough to the router to receive a strong signal but not so close that it interferes with your main network. Additionally, you should change the extender's network name and password to match your router's settings to avoid confusion.

Another crucial consideration is security. Some range extenders may put out an unsecured network by default, which can be vulnerable to hacking attempts. Make sure to change this setting as soon as possible to ensure your network remains secure.

**Mesh Routers: A Better Alternative?**

For those dealing with multiple dead zones and a large home or office, we recommend considering a mesh router instead of range extenders. Mesh routers are essentially routers with their own dedicated range extenders, providing a more comprehensive solution for Wi-Fi coverage. In most cases, mesh routers will offer better performance and reliability than plug-in range extenders.

If you only need to boost your coverage in one or two areas, a simple plug-in range extender might be sufficient. However, if you're dealing with a large space or multiple floors, a mesh router is likely the way to go.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enyour wi-fi signal will get weaker and weaker the farther away you are from your router so if your home office is on the other side of your house or if you're just trying to stream tv in a back bedroom then you might experience some slowdowns that's where a wi-fi range extender like this one can really help you plug it in you pair it with your router and then it re-broadcasts that signal further out into your home so let's take a look at how your top options stack up in this video i'm going to walk you through the range extender test that we do right here at the cnet smart home i'm gonna identify the models that perform the best along with a couple of good value picks and i'm gonna offer some tips on how to get the most out of extenders like these now keep in mind they aren't a magic bullet they aren't gonna solve every wi-fi well in some cases you'll be a lot better off just upgrading to a mesh router but we'll talk about that too let's start with the tests the cnet smart home is a multi-story house of about 5 800 square feet which is a lot of ground for a single router to cover on its own sure enough when i set up an entry-level wi-fi six router upstairs i found multiple dead zones down below on the basement level that's exactly the sort of thing that range extenders like these are designed to help with but which one would do the best job to find out i picked a good spot in the basement for my test extenders adjacent to the dead zones but not in the dead zones that's important ideally you want your extender to have a good connection with the router so if it's sitting in the dead zone it's not going to do its job that well with each extender up and running i started testing speeds in eight rooms throughout the house the first four are up here on the main floor where the router is and the last four are downstairs on the basement level this graph shows you what the speeds look like with just the router and you can see that things really fall off a cliff down in the basement but now let's see what happens when we add in our top performing range extender there we go much better the extender is taking the incoming signal from the router re-broadcasting it out into the basement and eliminating those dead zones altogether that top performing range extender was this one the tp-link re-605x available most major retailers for a hundred dollars or less the re-605x is a cinch to use and it delivered the fastest average download speeds plus the fastest average upload speeds of all the extenders that i tested and if you're using older gear in your home than my wi-fi 6 test laptop don't worry it did a great job when i ran the test on a wi-fi 5 device as well and that one wasn't the only model that performed well this one the linksys re7310 finished right behind tp-link in those speed tests with average wi-fi 6 downloads that were only 4 megabits per second lower than the re 605x and average uploads that were only 2 megabits per second lower my only complaints here are that it's a little bit bulky as range extenders go it doesn't have an ethernet jack for wired connections and it costs a little bit more than the re 605x still if you catch it on sale i think this one's a pretty great choice as for the value picks i liked this d-link eagle pro ai range extender which shouldn't cost you more than 65. or so it wasn't as fast as tp-link or linksys and the range wasn't quite as strong but it was reliable and easy to use and it comes at a decent discount especially given that it supports wi-fi six now by default most extenders like these are gonna put out a network that's separate from your router's network maybe the same name but with ext tacked onto the end that can get a little annoying if you're moving about your house and you need to switch from one network to the other to get the best signal fortunately all of my top picks make it really easy to change the extender's network name and password to match your routers and once you do that you'll have a single unified network that's automatically connecting you through the best device to give you the best signal you should also keep an eye on security as you're setting these things up for instance this asus model was a really strong performer in my tests but i don't recommend it because it puts out an unsecured network by default if you forget to change that then any neighbor or stranger could hop onto your network one last point if you're dealing with multiple dead zones and you're living in a big house like this one then you really want to consider making the upgrade to a mesh router with multiple devices spread throughout your home a mesh router is basically just a router with its own dedicated range extenders and in almost all cases it's going to be a much more effective option than going with plug-in range extenders like these still if all you need is to eke out an extra room's worth of wi-fi coverage from your router then a simple plug-in range extender might be all you need for more on range extenders and on mesh routers check out the cnet links in the video description down below and don't forget to leave us a like if you found the video helpful and to subscribe if you want to see more thanks a lot for watching youyour wi-fi signal will get weaker and weaker the farther away you are from your router so if your home office is on the other side of your house or if you're just trying to stream tv in a back bedroom then you might experience some slowdowns that's where a wi-fi range extender like this one can really help you plug it in you pair it with your router and then it re-broadcasts that signal further out into your home so let's take a look at how your top options stack up in this video i'm going to walk you through the range extender test that we do right here at the cnet smart home i'm gonna identify the models that perform the best along with a couple of good value picks and i'm gonna offer some tips on how to get the most out of extenders like these now keep in mind they aren't a magic bullet they aren't gonna solve every wi-fi well in some cases you'll be a lot better off just upgrading to a mesh router but we'll talk about that too let's start with the tests the cnet smart home is a multi-story house of about 5 800 square feet which is a lot of ground for a single router to cover on its own sure enough when i set up an entry-level wi-fi six router upstairs i found multiple dead zones down below on the basement level that's exactly the sort of thing that range extenders like these are designed to help with but which one would do the best job to find out i picked a good spot in the basement for my test extenders adjacent to the dead zones but not in the dead zones that's important ideally you want your extender to have a good connection with the router so if it's sitting in the dead zone it's not going to do its job that well with each extender up and running i started testing speeds in eight rooms throughout the house the first four are up here on the main floor where the router is and the last four are downstairs on the basement level this graph shows you what the speeds look like with just the router and you can see that things really fall off a cliff down in the basement but now let's see what happens when we add in our top performing range extender there we go much better the extender is taking the incoming signal from the router re-broadcasting it out into the basement and eliminating those dead zones altogether that top performing range extender was this one the tp-link re-605x available most major retailers for a hundred dollars or less the re-605x is a cinch to use and it delivered the fastest average download speeds plus the fastest average upload speeds of all the extenders that i tested and if you're using older gear in your home than my wi-fi 6 test laptop don't worry it did a great job when i ran the test on a wi-fi 5 device as well and that one wasn't the only model that performed well this one the linksys re7310 finished right behind tp-link in those speed tests with average wi-fi 6 downloads that were only 4 megabits per second lower than the re 605x and average uploads that were only 2 megabits per second lower my only complaints here are that it's a little bit bulky as range extenders go it doesn't have an ethernet jack for wired connections and it costs a little bit more than the re 605x still if you catch it on sale i think this one's a pretty great choice as for the value picks i liked this d-link eagle pro ai range extender which shouldn't cost you more than 65. or so it wasn't as fast as tp-link or linksys and the range wasn't quite as strong but it was reliable and easy to use and it comes at a decent discount especially given that it supports wi-fi six now by default most extenders like these are gonna put out a network that's separate from your router's network maybe the same name but with ext tacked onto the end that can get a little annoying if you're moving about your house and you need to switch from one network to the other to get the best signal fortunately all of my top picks make it really easy to change the extender's network name and password to match your routers and once you do that you'll have a single unified network that's automatically connecting you through the best device to give you the best signal you should also keep an eye on security as you're setting these things up for instance this asus model was a really strong performer in my tests but i don't recommend it because it puts out an unsecured network by default if you forget to change that then any neighbor or stranger could hop onto your network one last point if you're dealing with multiple dead zones and you're living in a big house like this one then you really want to consider making the upgrade to a mesh router with multiple devices spread throughout your home a mesh router is basically just a router with its own dedicated range extenders and in almost all cases it's going to be a much more effective option than going with plug-in range extenders like these still if all you need is to eke out an extra room's worth of wi-fi coverage from your router then a simple plug-in range extender might be all you need for more on range extenders and on mesh routers check out the cnet links in the video description down below and don't forget to leave us a like if you found the video helpful and to subscribe if you want to see more thanks a lot for watching you\n"