With working from home becoming a trend in today’s world, people are investing in the best WiFi routers and obtaining connections from the best internet service providers [ISPs]. It is important that you have a steady bandwidth that can support your work requirements for seamless connectivity.
However, sometimes if you have multiple people at home sharing the same network, your router will fail to provide the necessary bandwidth leading to a slowdown in the speed of the internet. This can be effectively resolved by installing the best WiFi range extender at home. These range extenders pick up your router’s Wi-Fi signal, amplify it, and relays the boosted signal.
A combination of a WiFi range extender and a budget-friendly WiFi router can provide you better internet connectivity than a single high-priced WiFi router. These devices are easy to install and cost less compared to a router. If you have a single storey house that has fewer walls, a router will be enough to power your internet. However, if you have a house with multiple floors with more walls, a WiFi range extender can help you boost your internet signal throughout the house.
Here we have listed the 5 best WiFi range extenders that can provide you with steady bandwidth so you can work with high-speed internet at the comfort of your home.
Best WiFi Range Extender – Our Reviews and Comparisons
1. Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX8000 Tri-band WiFi Extender
Product Highlights
The Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX8000 Tri-band Extender is one of the best-performing Wi-Fi range extenders with fast data speeds and a wide coverage range. You can use the X6S with any standard router and make it a part of an existing mesh network. Doing so will give you more seamless coverage throughout the house. Besides, this device consumes only 6.2 watts of power in a day and transmits signals without heating up.
Features
The Nighthawk X6S is designed much larger than the average plug-in signal booster. However, the larger size allows for more antennas and better hardware that contributes to tri-band coverage. Fitted with a quad-core processor and six amplifying antennas, the tri-band extender is capable of speeds of up to 400Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, 866Mbps on one of the 5GHz bands, and 1,733Mbps on the other 5GHz band.
Netgear’s Nighthawk X6S uses the 802.11ac standard that uses beam-forming and MU-MIMO [Multi-User Multiple Input, Multiple Output] techniques to satisfy a large family that has many connected devices. It is equipped with Link Status LED that can tell you the signal strength between the extender and the router. This is very useful while deciding where to place it. A bright white light indicates the best connection while amber implies you have a good connection. Red means that you have a poor connection.
What We Like About Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX8000 Tri-band WiFi Extender
The range extender can provide a WiFi range for up to 2500 feet with a speed of 150 Mbps as one of the best WiFi range extender.
What We Don’t Like About Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX8000 Tri-band WiFi Extender
The antennas can be neither aimed at an area that you want to nor be replaced with higher performance ones.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy setup Superior performance Six amplifying antennas | Expensive |
2. TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender
Product Highlights
The TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi range extender is one of the biggest and most expensive plug-in extenders in the market. It is capable of delivering vital power and speedy data connectivity across longer distances, making it a great pick for larger homes. This TP-Link WiFi uses 802.11ac specs to retransmit a strong signal widening your router’s reach.
Features
The RE650 uses TP-Link’s Intelligent Processing Engine. This helps to pick the most efficient path for the data to travel from router to extender to client. Unlike other WiFi range extenders, the RE650 does this transfer without using a dedicated data channel.
Besides, it moves data on four lanes of traffic and can theoretically deliver 1,733 Mbps on its 5-GHz channel and 800 Mbps on the 2.4-GHz channel.
What We Like About TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender
This WiFi range extender employs beam-forming and MU-MIMO technologies to accommodate many connected devices at once.
What We Don’t Like About TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender
It is quite large in size and therefore can block adjacent outlets.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Excellent interface Excellent range Good performance | Bulky |
Product Highlights
The noteworthy feature of the Asus RP-AC51 AC750 is the easy mode switching. The device can give you internet connectivity under three modes, namely, WiFi Extender, Access Point, or Media Bridge. The ASUS RP-AC51 is an 802.11ac Wi-Fi repeater that can be connected to any router to boost range and improve coverage. The range extender can also successfully eliminate dead zones.
Features
Featuring the 802.11ac chipset, RP-AC51 delivers fast wireless speeds of up to 433Mbps on the 5GHz band. Along with the 433MBps Wi-Fi, you will need to amalgamate the channels to get the 750Mbps speed for your network under the WiFi mode. Access point mode can only function if you get an ethernet cable to connect the extender to your existing network. There is an on/off switch, a WPS button for easy pairing with a router, and a reset button.
What We Like About Asus RP-AC51 AC750
The device operates under three different modes.
What We Don’t Like About Asus RP-AC51 AC750
It does not support the AiMesh feature as a choice of the best WiFi range extender.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy setup Speedy connectivity | Speed for wired devices limited to 100Mbps |
4. Amped Wireless Athena-EX High Power AC2600
Product Highlights
The Athena-EX is Amped Wireless’s most powerful dual-band range extender. It supports MU-MIMO data streaming and offers an array of management features and I/O ports for better control. This is a desktop-class extender with high throughput.
Features
The Athena-EX highlights a dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 16 amplifiers, and circuitry that support 802.11ac networking. According to the company, the RE2600M is a dual-band extender that can reach speeds of up to 800Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and up to 1,733Mbps on the 5GHz band.
This is a full-featured range extender that can fill in the Wi-Fi dead zones of your house. It is equipped with an array of ports and offers management settings for better control. It is ergonomically designed and easy to install.
What We Like About Amped Wireless Athena-EX High Power AC2600
It is equipped with BoostBand Technology that offers enhanced performance by routing network traffic between the router and the extender through a single band.
What We Don’t Like About Amped Wireless Athena-EX High Power AC2600
Even though it is easy to set it up on a Windows laptop, it is not easy to set up using an Apple laptop.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| BoostBand Technology Great range Easy management | Not easy to set up with an Apple laptop |
Product Highlights
The RE220 is an AC750 Wi-Fi extender that can reach data speeds of up to 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and up to 433Mbps on the 5GHz band. It is fitted with three internal antennas and can provide connectivity for up to 32 client devices. It features a High-Speed mode where one of the bands can be dedicated for backhaul connectivity between the extender and the router while the other band facilitates client-to-extender Wi-Fi connectivity.
Features
The RE220 is a dual-band plug-in extender that measures 4.3 by 3.0 by 2.6 inches. It has a white textured finish that can match any home decor while providing a sophisticated look. The front of the extender has LED lights to indicate both radio bands, signal strength to the router, power, WPS, and Ethernet (LAN port) activity. This plug-in extender is easy to install and gives a solid performance over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. However, its 5GHz performance is comparatively dismal.
What We Like About TP-Link RE220 AC750
Speedy connectivity and enormous range make it a great pick as the best WiFi range extender for large houses.
What We Don’t Like About TP-Link RE220 AC750
It lacks support for MU-MIMO and beamforming technologies.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to install Reasonable | Lacks MU-MIMO technology |
Conclusion
The ideal choice for a best WiFi range extender is a small, discrete unit that will reliably spread the connectivity of your network throughout your home or office. It should also help successfully eliminate the dead zones in your house so you can seamlessly work from any corner of your house. Pay attention to the WiFi standard used by your router. If your wireless router uses the current 802.11ac standard, you will want an extender that works on the same standard as well.
If we have to recommend one best WiFi range extender, then the Netgear Nighthawk X6S tops our list. This range extender can provide WiFi range for up to 2500 feet with a speed of 150 Mbps. Coupled with MU-MIMO and beamforming technologies, this product is capable of handling the internet needs of a large home with multiple devices.
However, you can always choose from other WiFi range extenders if they suit your requirements and budget.
More to read:
Best Wireless Routers 2020 – 12 Wi-Fi Routers (Buyers Guide)
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