I used a cheap extender so my mother-in-law's doorbell camera could connect. As many others have commented, extenders can be a very cost effective way to extend wifi to stationary devices.

I’m not in the basement but I am watching this on the Toilet

There is something you are missing. They are not just extending a network. They are an ability to segment your network so that your router doesn't have to process ALL the wireless signals you are routing through it. I run a network with almost 60 wireless devices going through my WiFi 6 router. Some of these are pretty high bandwidth like security cameras. This caused issues for the router differentiating and handling all the discrete signals. So I take two extenders for the network edges and used a different SSID and made those edge devices use those extenders. That consolidated around 15 of my devices so instead of the router processing almost 60 separate signals it was handling 49 or so. This was breathing room enough to stabilize the network. If I hadn't done that I would have had to split the network into two with separate routers or forced to running some long cable runs where it was going to be hard to do. There is still a place for repeaters. You may get by with mesh routers now but they are still not as reliable as what I have going and I don't think the throughput will be as high.

I think there's a place for WiFi repeaters as well. I live in a shared house and the router is almost on the other side of the house (different floors as well) and I was interested in better signal in my room only. I am not saying a WAP isn't better but for this specific thing, also given the fact that it would have been pretty hard to move wires about from the router, this has definitely been the easiest solution for me, and it definitely fixed my issue. The signal and speed is fine for what I need.

Just started the vid, but a wifi extender was the cheapest way to get the wifi to extend to the bedroom. Works like a charm. Curious as to why we shouldn't buy them lol... Edit: just finished the video and I have a few issues with your conclusions. The downsides of different access points and roaming are understandable for mobile devices, but a total non issue of you just want your computer or console online in a far room. I've also never had a signal strength issue with my extender either, it just works. I did my research years ago when I bought it, and I also concluded that a mesh wifi system definitely would be the best way to go. Those however can cost $500 to well over $1000. My wifi extender cost me $40-$50 and completely solved the issue. So in the end it depends on what you need your extender to do and what is your budget. If u just want your stationary device online in a room with poor reception a wifi extender is the way to go imo. Unless you just have money like that lol

Agreed that extenders are pretty bad for, well, extending your wifi. However, one overlooked use is to use them as a bridge. They can be useful if you want to wire up a security camera, for example, without routing ether net all the way to your main router.

Use them as a bridged mode and you will be surprised. You can wire a 2nd router to the extender and disable the radios on the extender to use them in a bridge mode. The Dlink DAP 1860 is a champion which is one of the only 4x4 range extender that can get you speeds close to 650 Mbps+ even if the router is a bit far. Works really well with Netgear routers

They worked in workplace environments to extend range where speed was not important. There were time that I needed to work a long ways from the base device to program systems. Saved me hours of time in programming building systems.

as some other comments say, I too disagree. Couldnt move my parents router from the corner it was in, got a range extender and placed it in the center of the house, now everywhere they get wifi and no need to switch what the devices connect to. its just a matter of what your situation is and whether it will be useful to you.

One good use for a range extender: many of them have a fixed ethernet port on the range extender, so if you need to "wifi enable" a device that only has an Ethernet port, these can work great! (Not all range extenders have an ethernet port). Think of this as a wireless ethernet cable, rather than a range extender.

There's one advantage that wifi extenders have that wasn't mentioned. For devices that need a hard-wired connection (like i do) wifi extenders usually have one or two... & they do it in a snap. It's great for a location that's too far from a router. It's cheaper than a mesh, and requires minimal knowledge.

I got one of those mesh WI-FI systems. 3 main units (living room, kitchen, side room upstairs) and I could buy more from the same company. The only limitation is that the base one I have only has 2 Ethernet ports on it (one in one out) but it's worked so far. Plus the app is actually pretty good and tells me when a new device joins the network.

Fun fact: ASUS's range extenders can actually be reconfigured to work as mesh nodes with other ASUS routers if you update them to AiMesh firmware.

“Don’t buy range extenders just throw out your router and buy a new one” “Buy lots of access points you can run Ethernet to” great advice if I wanted to throw hundreds of dollars at my network I would just pay someone to run Ethernet to all my Ethernet capable devices instead.

Those are a must have for me! I don't see them as "extenders" but sort of "Wifi to LAN converters/switches" As someone who loves FreeBSD (and always picks up laptops with no Wifi drivers) and old computers from the pre-Wireless era, those are life saviours. The reason is that those always have a couple of LAN ports too, so they can pick up the Wifi signal and output by the cable.

If you can't route an Ethernet cable to some APs, use your AP in range extender mode, provided you can maintain line of sight and/or -45ish dBm of signal strength from the host AP. Most of your configuration issues and ssid issues will be resolved.

Ehhh, have to disagree with this one, this should be more of a "it depends" type deal, especially considering how cheap wiifi extenders can be. Some can be as cheap as $5 or occasionally even less on Amazon. I use one in our baby room for the baby monitor and a music player. Since we get wi-fi just fine elsewhere and can just use mobile data in the baby room on our phones if we really needed, I can't really justify spending even $10+ on anything else when this does the job. If there's anything Anthony missed here, I think it's just how cheap these things can be, and thus how they are justifiable in certain situations. Bet you can find it for even less than $5 at like a Goodwill.

As other comments have already said, Mesh systems tend to be a bit pricy, and many people don't have the money to spend on those and rather go for cheaper options to extend their wifi.

Mine does the job. I get stable connection to it at the far end of my house when I don't to my router. I know its not ideal, maybe buying a different router in the first place or relocating it would have been better, but I'm pretty sure for my specific circumstances it was the cheapest way for me to solve the problem I had without going back in time

Extenders are actually incredibly handy if you use them to connect lots of low bandwidth IoT devices. I have lots of smart plugs/switches and like IoT devices and it would bog down my router if they were all connected. The bandwidth for them is so low it doesn't effect their speed, but not having them on my main network vastly increases the speed on the devices I actually care about

They're really good for IOT devices like sprinklers and garage openers that need internet connection but are far away from your router. The mesh systems are pretty expensive comparatively for a similar solution.

Eh. I’m going to hard disagree… with the title at least. I’ve used the TP Link AX wifi extender for two years now with my AX router and it provides me 95% of my usable speed with only 2ms of added latency with speed tests. Maybe for some cheap ones they don’t provide quality but the router and the extender cover every inch of my house with, basically, full speed when before there were annoying dead zones.

Half way through; honestly this sounds like an issue that could be fixed on the phone itself, by allowing the user to set signal strength thresholds to automatically swap instead of it being hard coded to stubbornly stay connected. Options for users to configure their device are really good. Unfortunately the market has decided "one size that works for the lowest common denominator only" is the only thing that should exist 😢

Modern extenders use the same SSID by default - in Europe buying a double the performance router doesnt necessarily come with more range - The walls of 95% of buildings in Europe are made with metal-concrete / metal-cement. Metal-concrete nastily blocks/interfers with any signal. My mid price range router hits 1 bar after 2-3 walls in less than 10 meters.

Well, a range extender actually worked beautifully in my case. I had big problems connecting from the router to a computer in the most far away room on the second floor - understandably, the signal had to pass the floor and a thick wall diagonally. And it was impacting my remote work. However, I put an extender in the room right above the router, and so the signal now only had to pass the floor straight on, and then on the second floor only thin divider walls between these rooms. Suddenly, no disconnections and 10x speed. Depends on your use case it seems, I wouldn't want to thread a new ethernet cable for one room for sure.

Title is clickbait, not useless. I use one to steal my neighbours wifi and just say its mine Its a TP Link AC1750. Gives me near 600 down and 120 up & it gives me ethernet instead of wifi.

We at home got a new router and then used the old one upstairs in a access point mode so to create a mesh network. So far it worked pretty well and we have total coverage between all floors

An extender has it’s place …as long as you understand it’s just a repeater as opposed to a signal booster. I had an area of my home that was “shadowed” from the gateway router by multiple walls. I was able to locate an extender in a good location and it was able to cover these two bedrooms with a stronger signal than I had previously. Would this be good enough for intense online gaming? I doubt it. But it did provide a robust enough data transfer to reliably support program streaming (Netflix, Prime, etc) along with normal internet access. Installation was easy; I didn’t need to run any cables. So I don’t agree with the “never buy” statement; assess your needs and *know* what an extender can and cannot do. In some cases, it might be all you need.

Bought a kit of 2, powerline, for my parents' place a couple of days ago. Set the SSID all the same, working wonders. Yea single extenders are kinda pointless, but powerline kits are super okay. No mentions of powerline kits in this video. It's actually the best solution out of those you presented price/performance wise.

How did I know you were going to mention the mesh router? In some specific situations, a range extender is fine and even with a weak signal, you can still get the benefits needed. Like working around a structural barrier. Especially when you don’t need/want to “break the bank”. Though, I also can’t say these are bad solutions. Just not the only solutions.

You didn’t mention powerline network adaptors. I always suggest these first to anyone that is having Wi-Fi range issues since this is an inexpensive option. I have set up 5 of these at various friends and relatives’ houses and I have yet to have one not fix the problem. This is also a good solution if you have an outbuilding or barn that needs internet.

My 2 cents on this is that repeaters have a legit use like extending range to a greenhouse for smart thermometers and such. They just suck if you set them up poorly and try to use them as a one continuous network with the existing hardware

many range extenders actually have an access point mode which can be used when they're connected over hardline. this is useful as long as you're willing to manually switch your wifi network

"dont get a range extender, instead buy a series of access points or a mesh router for hundreds of dollars!" yeeeeesh this flimsy advice (brought to you by our sponsor!)

I've set up extenders for a couple pairs of family members that live next to each other, but couldn't reliably share a single router. No one was a heavy user, so even a cheap-ish 2.4Ghz model worked just fine. The extenders were only ever connected to by devices in the home they were in, so it was basically acting like their own access point and roaming problems were simply not even a consideration. Dropping a couple hundred dollars on a mesh system simply was not in the budget. The reason these family members were sharing in the first place was because one household just didn't have the funds to be giving the cable company $60-80/mo for internet that was only going to get lightly used. Sure, the extender is way worse than mesh or running house-to-house cat6 for a Ubiquity AP, but I'd say these relatives are quite thankful their $30 extenders are a thing.

Bad advice. Basically you are saying dont buy a range extender and just buy a router and plug it into your network via cable. The WHOLE POINT of a range extender is that you don't have wired access in that location.

There's also another option they didn't mention: there are extenders that transmite signals through the electric outlets These eliminate pretty much the problem with latency from wifi extenders (unless you have a very old and bad electrical installation)

I have to disagree, will rather use range extender that cost 10$, and works good enough rather than expensive access point that I personally would probably struggled to settup. Mesh sounds more reasonably but still its costly.

While I agree to few of your points, there are still lots of use for extenders. I always use wifi extenders when I install wireless cctv in spotty corners for my clients. Very fast and easy to deploy., and also very cost effective. 🤷‍♂️

Range extenders are a great option for certain scenarios. As cheap as they are it is usually worth a try.

Range extenders are pretty handy if you're only planning to use them to watch videos or download files, but not so much for gaming and live video conferencing. I would get random ping spikes that caused lag in-game and sometimes disconnected me from video calls. I made the switch to a mesh system, which may not be perfect (it literally cut my speed in half), but is definitely miles better than a range extender.

There are other options outside of range extenders. Ethernet/access points being at the top of the pile and mesh being a simple setup. Also consider MoCA adapters which use your coax lines that you may have throughout the house and powerline network adapters(ethernet and wifi AP types) are decent as well if you don't have trash electrical lines.

If you use the extenders as a bridge to avoid retransmission , it's 💯% worth it. Look for a 4x4 MU-MIMO extender. Dlink DAP 1860 and TPlink has few options.

Range extenders can be used to slow down attenuation since as distance increases, signal exponentially decreases

In Germany(and maybe some other countries too, idk) there is a whole ecosystem around the Fritzbox-Router. They offer plug&play Mesh APs to just hook up via Ethernet. Some can even pass through the Ethernet port so you dont loose one. Works great

I’m an on-site IT consultant for homes and small businesses. I can’t tell you how many of those range extenders I’ve had to put out to pasture that the clients bought. There was a point in time where there was not much else available except those but now there are so many meshing options. Funny thing though. Apple has been doing wireless mesh networking with their routers since 2008-09. I’ve installed more of those routers than anything else - and they stopped making them in 2013.

In the Netherlands you get a Modem and Router in one device and often its placed in a horrible area of the house as it must be connected to a specific cable to get the internet. In my home its like on the other side of the house far away from the living room, but with closet and a bathroom before it get signal to the living room and those walls prevent a proper signal. While just the doorway to the livingroom has a good signal, I fixed the issue just having an extender next to the doorway and enable living room having a much better stronger and faster signal and connect internet tv or netflix with a much better signal, without having to mess around with any ugly cables to connect the modem to a router in a better placement.

I had a range extender (mesh) and I would get 20 mbps in my room and when I upgraded to a mesh router (with wifi 6e) im getting 350mbps down basically as if im right next to the main router. The range extender was better than nothing though since I wouldnt get any wifi without it from my room but buy a mesh router if you can

we used an extender to extenend 2 tvs, works great, they have their own ssids and only those devices connect, it made the tvs unusable to actually work in the basement and workshop

Don't underestimate the power of a Wi-Fi EXTENDER. I'm using an Extender to get 648 Mbps across 2 BHK apartment with the help of a 2nd router. 650 Mbps in the hall & in the 2nd room too. The Wi-Fi extender will rock if you know how to set up the Wi-Fi extender (Ethernet ones), as a Wireless Bridge to a 2nd router/AP, but it requires fine-tuning. I have used Wi-Fi extenders in the past and now, & I'm getting full speed of my Internet subscription across 2 BHK Apartment.

Two things. One, TP-Link extenders work as TP-Link OneMesh extenders for $30 each, which is great, and two, I only have one of them and it's for an internet phone for work. Instead of running an Ethernet line, TP-Link's $30 OneMesh extender has an Ethernet port on the side, and can double as a wifi to ethernet bridge.

I think an even simpler solution in a lot of cases would be switching your router to the 2.4 GHz band (available on Wifi generations 4 and 6). I think a lot of people have their router set up to work on a 5 GHz band by default, but the 2.4 GHz band, although it supports lower bandwidths, has a much better ranges and passes through thick walls much better. And the speeds it supports are still way over the needs of a typical user. That's what I did last week, and my unstable connection issues in my basement are basically solved now. I can watch 1080p UKposts in my bed while tucked under my blanket without a problem

In some niche cases, an extender is exactly what you want. For example a lower end video doorbell or smart security camera that’s at a spot of low WiFi signal. These devices don’t always work well with mesh networks. But a strategically placed WiFi extender can solve all your connectivity problems for these devices. But again, this is a niche case. And if you can get a PoE doorbell then please do!

Range extenders are a nice gateway into considering mesh setups. I was skeptical about mesh 5+ years ago, but the technology has come a long way.

I've got an extender using for months and it's pretty good and handy, I connect it to my main network over Ethernet so I don't have to deal with low signal and stuff

Maybe yours is broken, but mine is great. Our router is on the ground floor in the corner of the farthest room, and my room is on the top floor in the opposite corner. I had little to no signal before I started using the extender. Same wifi speed, same quality.

As someone who has terrible experience with the mesh networks from many years ago, I'd love a video about how well the different mesh techs work nowadays. I think there are even standrads apart from WDS now? Which system is best?

For mobile users extenders are a poor solution (better than nothing, but not by much). For low bandwidth static devices they might be a solid option. If they re-use the same channel you get maybe half the bandwidth of upstream (one time slice for sending and one time slice for receiving, in both directions). Better to look for access points that use 802.11r (I think that is the protocol for fast device roaming) and run wired uplinks where possible. Side note: I configured some Ubiquity Uni-fi AP's for a client five+ years ago and they worked VERY well with roaming users, even before 802.11r was implemented. Even set up multi-site AP's so users could roam between sites and 'just stay connected'. Good memories. Ubiquity is doing weird things lately though (the company, not the product).

I am glad Anthony didn't mention powerline adaptors (alhtough I thought I saw one in a clip at one point) - as a radio ham, these things are the gift of the devil. They radiate lots of broadband noise over a large parts of the HF and VHF spectrum. I don't use range extenders but I do have a couple of access points setup in bridge mode to provide ethernet connectivity in far reaching parts of the property - both desktop PC in mancave and desktop PC in upstairs study are connected this way along with pheripherals such as print server.

You can also use a cheap second router connected to your first router via ethernet as wired range extender. Perfect for basements or other places with thick walls.

One last thing I wish the presenter should have mentioned with the mesh network is that each node works best being hard wired rather than having them all connected to each other with wifi. I realize that requires having ethernet lines run to each point you would have the nodes and a lot of people do not have that option. However, it's an option I would suggest if possible. Fortunately I was able to run several lines throughout the house to both hard wire televisions, streaming media players, and desktop computers along with having all three of my mesh network nodes individually connected to ethernet lines. Solid wifi all throughout the house, front yard, side yards, and full bars wifi indicators all the way to the end of the back yard.

THANK YOU! I don’t know anything about routers and wifi but I bought a range extender because we get no signal (and hardly any cellular internet signal either) on the other end of the house. The router is hooked up on one side literally on the farthest wall and on the other side of the house a whole room and bathroom and a lot of times the living room just doesn’t get any service. The extender seemed to work for the room it’s in (living room) but the room and bathroom still nothing. I’m just so overwhelmed on what to buy! Mesh? There are channels? Speeds? So freakin’ confused!! I’m gonna look through you channel and see if I can learn more. Thanks!

I've used an extender for years with a lot of success. I stay in RV parks most of the year where signals usually suck. The extender could pick up the signal and repeat it to my devices where my devices pick up nothing.

I think one of the key reasons people, including myself, have range extenders isn't actually for use in the house. It gets plugged in occasionally during the warmer months to give access to WiFi in the garden. In that instant, speed doesn't matter. Since it's for music, UKposts, or other social media. Not for downloading games, or uploading videos, or anything intensive. It's a slight pain, sure, switching to and from when you walk to the house from the garden, but it's a hell of a lot better than no connection. Plus, not everyone is balling. A cheap extender for a use case like mine, is perfect compared to untold hundreds on a new setup. I'm sorry, but in this case your advice needs a serious rethink. I'm not saying I know more than you guys, I don't, but I don't think you explored every angle

my extender works flawlessly. it doesnt have a seperate ap name, it literally just relays the signal without being independant.

Yeah and if you opt for an access point or mesh router nodes, you then also have to deal with the associated ethernet cables as well. Some of those cable runs could be long depending on where you position the extra devices. Then you gotta try and hide the cables by burying them in the wall, or surface mount them behind ugly trunking. It's all far more hassle, time and expense. A range extender is absolutely fine and is an acceptable solution for most situations. Just make sure you get a quality brand.

1:20 true XD I love Extenders though! In our house, the router covers the right side, extender covers the left. The extender is strong enough that those on the left side never need to switch to the router. And everyone that's on the right side always stays on the router. Simply "Forget this network" to the one you don't use so you don't connected to the furthest one by mistake.

Orrrr instead of spending a lot of money, just use a wifi extender. They aren't as bad as this video says. They're perfect for workshops and garages

If you need multiple access points but can't get cables everywhere there's also a solution: CPL access points. And CPL networks in general. These will use your mains power cables to transmit data, and even if it's limited it can change your life by adding ethernet ports and access points without any work on your cabling. I use a CPL network at home and I do stream on twitch with that configuration.

I use Ubiquiti access points. I have one main AP and a wirelessly bridged AP in the garage and my parents have one main AP and then two other APs (one outdoor AP) to extend their wifi and it works great.

In my previous apartment, my landlord had the router in the upstairs unit so I did not have access to it whatsoever. In my living room, it could pick up the WiFi pretty well, but in my office room the signal was so weak I was only getting 1-2 Mbps. I bought two cheap range extenders, and it did improve a bit, 15 - 20 Mbps if I was lucky. But the magic happened when I plugged an ethernet cable from my PC to the range extender. I was getting around 75 Mbps. I then used Speedify and combined both my ethernet network, and the other network from the second range extender and got a bit better results, but in experience, it was only better for large downloads, otherwise I'd stick to the range extender connected by ethernet. So, maybe its not a great option for everyone, but it can be useful depending on the situation and budget

It all depends on your situation and how you use it. For me, my range extender really helped when i lived an upstairs flat in a converted house. The WiFi was installed in the downstairs hallway and the WiFi sucked upstairs because of thick walls. I got an extender put on the landing upstairs in almost direct line of the WiFi. Never had any issues and good stable connection, beforehand the signal was low and always disconnecting

Isn't there a distinct and important difference between a "repeater" and an "extender," with the latter requiring a wired connection to your router, thereby avoiding the issues regarding WiFi signal strength, SSIDs, etc., entirely? A mesh router might be the ideal solution for personal use at home, but when it's ~10x the cost and you're just looking for a cheap, working solution for your parents' place, a WiFi extender seems like a decent option, no?

I used one just to simply boost my connection to my PC. It's cheap, its good for me right now. I actually am so happy it works. I have no spot for my PC to connect to my WiFi far away so I got this just to connect it.

I literally just stopped using my TP-Link router set as an access point 2 days ago and installed a UniFI Access Point PRO. It's already so much better range wise AND devices connect to it lightning fast. Since I live in a condo, only needed to get 1 of them.

I recently noticed, my notebook and smartphone can have wifi and hotspot enabled each at the same time, so they can be used as repeater too, even after a repeater.

Doesn't matter the price of a WiFi router, the range doesn't differ much. So just use an extender, but place the extender somewhat in the middle of our WiFi router and where you need good signal. And use a different WiFi name and just go through the process of connecting to it every time you in that spot. This is the best cost effective option. All the other solutions are hella expensive.

i use a range extender at work. we have a key programming computer and we need to use it out in the parking lot often. It just stays connected to the extended network at all times since it's used in front of store and the router is in the back of the building. A lot cheaper than switching out the whole system to a mesh system and has worked great.

I use a TP Link router paired with a TP Link powerline device. These two, along with the mesh tool, gets a somewhat smooth signal transition between rooms. I've also hooked up a separate Mi router with its own SSID using a very long ethernet cable to my work room. This I connect to my laptop, pc, printer and smart clock, the idea being it frees up resources on the TP link mesh so that it can work with phones and such.

many years ago i lived at an apartment complex and so did my roommates parents (in a different building but fairly close) so we used a range extender to piggyback off the signal we could get from their place... worked amazing but the standard at the time was also 802.11n which capped at 300mbps so speed was not really a factor. Also like other comments have mentioned they work well as a bridge or for a IOT device.

I would generally love to see you test and comment on top consumer powerline options. I for example use Devolo Magic 2 WiFi next Starter Kit it works fine, but not that much better than cheaper one, which quite surprised me.

My sister lives in a house where her landlord provides the WiFi signal. Her unit is on one side of the building. I installed a repeater to get around the weak signal. She uses the extender's SSID and since she is far away from anything I also removed the need for a key. She is sooooo happy!

I think is useful in specific situations for example my consoles don't have a goo WiFi antenna like my smartphones has so I use a extender for them while keep using the usual router for my phone, therefore I don't need to change anything and since my consoles are staying in one place there's no other problem, so yeah it has its uses just don't let them sell it you as a device that can solve absolutely all of your connection problems.

I personally really like the ASUS mesh routers. Specifically the RT-AX92u model. You can get it in a two pack and the wireless range on them has been fantastic. You can run them in either wireless backhaul (has 2 5g bands) or you can run it Ethernet backhaul. I have even convinced my job to let me put them into the coaches that I work on instead of the damn Cisco meraki router that I hate using..

I had a few Netgear routers that I was about to junk. I installed OpenWrt on them and turned them into access points, spending time getting them to act more intelligently and share the SSID. End result? Less waste in the landfill and no additional costs to me. It only took minutes to flash, and only a few hours to figure out because I can be an idiot sometimes during setup.

It would be nice that Anthony would review a cellular internet antenna bridge (passive repeater) as they could be more useful for more people living outside the us.

I work for the Phone company / best Northeast / Global telecom company so I ran a Cat 6E cable form my downstairs modem and router to my 3rd floor NightHawk , I crimped some RJ45 ends using a straight pin out config - it works flawlessly.

Bro, I'm trying to look at youtube on the toilet, not play counterstrike, my wifi extender works just fine and costs only 30 bucks. I don't need to drop 350 to 1000 bucks to watch quickbits on the crapper.

Yea I agree with the idea that range extenders suck if the range extender itself is working off the wifi. However, if you wire it so that you connect your range extender via ethernet, then it is way more impactful. The way I do it is we have the actual router on the first floor of the house while the range extender is connected via ethernet from first floor to upstairs so people upstairs can have speedy connections regardless of which floor they're on. Connecting your extender via ethernet is much better because wifi signal is much weaker than ethernet. Half the time the extender sucks is because the signal that your crappy router emits is probably poor and therefore the signal that the extender emits will also be poor. However, using ethernet cord to connect from router to wifi extender basically breathes in new life to your wifi and broadcasts it much stronger, especially around the extender.

I use a Signal Repeater that according to my father (Certified Master Electrician. And Eletrical/Construction Contractor) it uses two halfs. One that stays upstairs by the Modem, and is plugged into the modem directly. And a second "Router" that looks for an Electrical Signal being sent apparently though my Home's Eletrical Grid. Through the outlet. Out the Antenna. And while yes it's about half as fast. It's better than the 0 I was getting. And it's less hassle than the "Just already work in IT and bring home a 250' Ethernet Cable."

I've been using powerline adaptors for years as my "range extender" of choice. I've recommend them to unknown numbers of friends and family, who've all been happy with the solution they provided. They've never let me down so far, and their speeds have only increased over time as the Wi-Fi standards have been upgraded. A relatively cheap way to fix a common problem.

I have a friend who lives in a nice travel trailer on his sister's property. He is currently using his sisters network for his smart tv and phone, but recently the signal strength to his TV dropped to poor, but his phone still has a strong signal. He ask me what he could do and I suggested getting a wifi extender to boost the signal strength so he could watch tv without any buffering or channels freezing up. But after watching this video, have may have to recommend another solution.

Valid points. I offer this use-case: 1. Rented property (you can't pass wires through walls, nor can you screw things into them). 2. Your walls are thick enough to massively reduce the signal. In this use case, I've found using extenders to be a very effective solution to deal with physical barriers (depending on where your plug sockets are).

I can't say I entirely agree with this one... My home setup is based around the Asus Zen architecture and both main routers spread across the "main" living spaces have given us very few problems with connectivity indoors and out... And the extender up in my bedroom has kept my phone and laptop from frequently dropping off the network/ flipping between the weaker signals below. I know my setup is technically mesh... But the initial introduction and title are misleading to those who don't read the fine print.

I live in a really old house and even strong routers will only send the signal so far so I use an extender in the kitchen. It's the worst performing network point in the house as is the only one not physically connected to anything but it is better than nothing.

My extender works fine since I'm usually too far from the router anyway, but those mesh router nodes look interesting. I'll look into it if my equipment starts failing. If it ain't broke, etc, etc.

What's funny is, they work for the EXACT situation I'm in. I'm having to move back to my parents for a few months, and my mom *hates* excessive cables running around everywhere and doesn't wanna get an electrician so I can have wifi up in the room I'm staying in because our house is old with shitty wiring and bad connection spots. A range extender is fine for use for me in this situation

One of the easier things i would try first before shelling out loads of money is simply switching channels and to avoid channels that are over saturated by anybody around me. Funnily enough ISPs tend to use pre-configured routers with a fixed channel set, such as channel 1. Then if the ISP is the most commonly used in your area, every neighbour will transmit on channel 1. So just switch to channel 3, 5, 7. The even channel numbers avoid, they can have crosstalk to the neighbouring channels. In many cases selecting a different channel can already fix quite a few problems. Then check your router if it goes into a power safe mode or if the WiFi is power limited. Switch it to full performance. There, problem solved for many issues. If you are living in Europe with it's common brick houses you might be out of luck. Here it really helpy to use seperate APs or Mesh Networks. Whenever possible rather use LAN Cables. And no, you don't need CAT6 or CAT7 cabling. Most users run a max of 1Gb and for that a CAT5E is sufficient unless you have extremely long cable runs, reaching or exceeding 50 meters. But if you need to put down new cabling i personally would go for CAT6 as a minimum and i also would put empty pipes in, to be on the safe side for the future when i might want to use for example fibre or whatever will be the next hype. And if you really have an annoying neighbour that blasts on all channels with his overly powerful router just get a Raspberry Pi and a USB WiFi Adapter and deauth every session constantly until he gives up. :)

I ended up buying an extender for my room since I'm across the house. I only have internet issues with stationary objects like my PC, ps5 and tv and it works beautifully with those. Nearly quadrupled my speeds on my pc when connected via lan and over doubled everything else wirelessly. I agree that they are not great for mobile devices like phones or laptops, but I think they can serve a really valuable use for people like me. I keep my phone on my routers signal and everything I wouldn't normally bring out of my room I keep on the extenders signal. I may not be getting the best I could, but for the ease and price, I wouldn't say not to buy them, but instead, research a little how they work and then see if they are a right fit.

I have like the only good reason for a conventional range extender (that I got for free as a hand me down from my in laws, so free beats money), the roku in our bedroom is on the opposite side of the house from our router and the extender is halfway between them, and is like the only thing on the extender (my wife probably has her ipad on it, but that's also pretty much only in the bedroom so it works as "the primary signal"). Most devices work well enough in the bedroom on the normal signal, but the video streaming needs the slightly stronger signal of the repeater, and then when I do need to switch my phone I'll automatically connect to the router next time I leave and get home because the main router is close to the front door.