
You can also place it high up on a shelf or mount it on a wall to make the signal travel better. Position your router so walls, doors, and furniture do not block it. Is your router missing external antennas? You can try rotating it to better position its internal antennas instead. Try adjusting your router’s antennas, so they all point at different angles, with at least one sitting horizontally and another standing perpendicular.

In this case, a Wi-Fi extender is a great solution. Of course, if your Ethernet jack sits in a remote corner of a bedroom, you probably can’t move your router. You should place your router in an area where its signal can have the easiest possible access to your various devices. What extenders can’t do is increase your data speed unless it’s wired to the router.Īside from grabbing a Wi-Fi extender, there are a few other steps you can take to boost your Wi-Fi signal strength. Extenders have amplified antennas, so if you get a -80 dBm signal from your router while standing next to the bookcase, a Wi-Fi extender in that spot may broadcast a -38 dBm signal, which is far better-the closer to zero, the stronger the signal. This term applies to all Wi-Fi extenders because they “boost” your Wi-Fi range. This mode has the fastest data throughput if you use a wired connection, but it ties up the Ethernet port. It creates a new Wi-Fi network, so you must manually connect your wireless devices upon first use-they reconnect when you move outside the router’s range. With the access point mode enabled, the extender connects to your router using Wi-Fi, an Ethernet cable, or a coax cable. But your data throughput doesn’t increase in speed because there’s no wired connection to the router. It then captures and repeats your router’s Wi-Fi through amplified antennas, so you don’t need to manually disconnect and reconnect as you roam. To set it up, press the WPS button or log in to your Wi-Fi network through the repeater’s app or web interface.

We’ll explain both modes and how an extender can boost your Wi-Fi.īy default, an extender connects to your router using Wi-Fi. Most Wi-Fi extenders now have two modes you can toggle from the bottom or the side: repeat and extend. All three terms apply to the same thing: a standalone device for capturing your network signals and sending them into areas your router can’t reach.
