Wi-Fi Range Extender and Mesh Router: Who to Choose for Home Network?
Usually, we struggle to find a solution for our home network with affordable and better service. Let’s check out the options to avoid struggling in dead zones.
Your home surrounding is ready for
some hardware, and you still cannot decide what to choose can be annoying.
Given the pandemic time, we are all struggling to set in our home for working
hours and personal hours. There are a lot of things we are settling from our
home these days, like video chatting with family or friends, homeschooling our
kids, and binge-watching TV shows or movies, and with all these activities, we
are pushing our home network’s limit to the extent. Most of the time, with our
extended limit, the signal drops off, and devices have lost the speedy
connections. In this case, we are left wondering what to do?
Well, there are chances where you
can avoid these from happening, or you can choose a better network. There are
some of the initial steps that people can take to improve the connection
without even buying a new connection, but some cases need a hardware
upgrade.
How
to choose between a mesh router and Wi-Fi range extenders?
Wi-Fi
range Extenders: These are known as the option for
affordable service, especially for smaller spaces. The most recommended model for
this will be TP-Link RE505X, available for $80.
In case of having only one or two
rooms where your connection is not utilized, then you can get a Wi-Fi range
extender. There are a lot of options, but the best one, according to the test,
is TP-Link RE220, which is known as the plug-in extender at various retail
outlets for approx $35. Range extenders are known as the easiest ones to use.
You will have to plug it in, press the WPS button, which will put it in Wi-Fi
Protected Setup mode, and lastly, press the WPS button given on the router to
combine the two. It will not improve the speed of your home network but will
utilize that connection with your router to channel its network. There is
nothing to worry about the brand, as the range extender are designed to process
despite the type of router someone is using.
You just need to ensure that router
has a WPS button. Extenders with these features may not hit maximum speeds.
There are even cheaper options available in the market with a $50 or less price
rate, which will not connect faster than 50Mbps and will only be able to
connect a couple of rooms. While testing some of the models, the 5GHz band of
RE220 was able to provide a speed of approx 75 Mbps throughout the entire
testing area. This may not be much of what you expected, but it will provide a
fast and steady network for video chats, basic online gaming, and HD videos to
stream. Given the price, it is impressive and better than not having any
connection or steady connection.
Mesh
routers: These are known as the best option
for entire home coverage. Here are some of the recommendations such as Asus
ZenWi-Fi AX, AC1200 version of Netgear’s Orbi, and Amazon’s Eero. The best one
to choose overall is Google Nest Wifi.
For instance, if we talk about real
estate, wireless networking works based on three things, and all three of them include
location. The same goes with the Wi-Fi extender and mesh router, as they only
put out the strong network signal according to the incoming wireless signal
from the router. To find a particular place in your home for connection, try to
run a speed test and find the best spot where the router’s incoming signal is
strong. Let’s take a look at more possible ways to upgrade the home network.
Mesh routers are known as the best
for entire home coverage. If you need coverage for more than a single room,
then it best to upgrade your home network to a mesh router. There are multiple
devices in your home, and all of them need connection, then a good mesh
router can provide a speedy signal from room to room. You will need to acquire
the same network across your home.
Other
Ways to improve the speed of Wi-Fi
Speed
Test:
The diagnostic approach your doctor
uses to check your problem, you need to do the same by checking the speed
tests. Checking the speed test is very easy, and you can do it with the help of
free services available online. The most recommended one is Ookla Speed Test.
It will help you to pair with one of the nearby servers the minute you open the
page. After reaching there, tap on the “GO” icon, and wait for a minute to
check your download speeds and current uploads. Make sure that you are
connected to your home network while testing the speed. There one thing worth
noticing that while using mobile for this process, you should disable the
cellular.
Wired
Connections:
One thing that should be considered
is wired connections, as wireless connections can provide a convenient network,
but the wired connection still provides the fastest one. In case you have an
office far from the router, then place a plug-in range extender, or you can
place a satellite of mesh router in the room.
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