Netgear Nighthawk X4S (EX7500)
Nice ease-of-use, so-so efficiency, poor worth for a Wi-Fi extender
Your web is barely as quick because the gear it is operating via. In lots of houses, a single router is simply too weak to generate a steady sign reaching each room, leading to lifeless zones and glitchy connections. There are a lot of issues it is best to strive to eke out a greater sign out of your router, but when tweaks like these aren’t doing sufficient, you possibly can additionally strive utilizing a Wi-Fi extender.
Additionally known as a Wi-Fi sign booster, a spread or Wi-Fi extender is a compact, plug-in system that’s easy and hassle-free to implement. Wi-Fi extenders use built-in Wi-Fi radios and antennas to pair wirelessly along with your router. No Ethernet cable is required. Plug in a single close to the sting of your router’s wi-fi vary and pair it with the community, and it will begin rebroadcasting the sign farther out for considerably sooner web speeds all through your own home.
Wi-Fi extenders are typically cheaper than upgrading to a full-fledged mesh router with its personal mesh Wi-Fi techniques and range-extending satellite tv for pc gadgets. Plus, these Wi-Fi boosters are a cinch to arrange, they will work it doesn’t matter what model of router you are utilizing, and you may usually use the identical SSID and password as your authentic router. That creates a single, seamless connection that provides you with one of the best Wi-Fi vary out there along with your present setup — all with out you needing to consider it an excessive amount of.
You’ve got obtained plenty of choices to select from, and I’ve spent the previous few years recurrently testing them out to search out one of the best of the bunch. After numerous assessments, my knowledge recognized the vary extenders that reigned supreme. Let’s get proper to them.
Finest Wi-Fi extenders for 2023
TP-Hyperlink makes a few of the hottest picks within the vary extender class, with a reasonably vast number of choices to select from at varied value factors. If you happen to’re shopping for one in 2023, I believe it is best to put the TP-Hyperlink RE605X proper on the high of your listing. At $100, it is from essentially the most inexpensive extender available on the market (maintain studying for the worth picks), however with a extremely succesful AX1800 design, full help for the newest Wi-Fi 6 speeds and options, adjustable antennas and a useful, easy-to-use management app with sturdy opinions on each Android and iOS, it is about as well-rounded as vary extenders get.
TP-Hyperlink took the highest spot, however the Linksys RE7310 was very shut behind it, and could be nearly equally nearly as good on most dwelling networks. Within the CNET Sensible Residence, the place we now have a fiber web plan with uploads and downloads of as much as 150Mbps, the RE7310 returned common Wi-Fi 6 downloads all through all the multistory home of 132Mbps. That is solely 4Mbps behind that high decide from TP-Hyperlink. As for the uploads, Linksys completed with a mean whole-home pace to my Wi-Fi 6 check system of 124Mbps. That is solely 2Mbps behind TP-Hyperlink.
Wi-Fi Commonplace Wi-Fi 5Velocity Ranking AC750Vary As much as 1,200 sq. ft.Wi-fi Networking Safety WPA2Bands Twin-Band (2.4 and 5GHz)
The TP-Hyperlink RE220 was the least costly vary extender throughout my first run of at-home assessments in 2020, however that did not cease it from outperforming all the pieces else I examined at each flip. As Wi-Fi extenders go, it is quick, it is dependable, it really works with nearly each Wi-Fi router on the market and it is easy to make use of. And, as of scripting this, it prices even lower than I paid for it initially — all the way down to lower than $20 on Amazon.
Wi-Fi Commonplace Wi-Fi 6Velocity Ranking AX1500Vary As much as 2,600 sq. ft.Wi-fi Networking Safety WPA3Bands Twin-Band (2.4 and 5GHz)
It was by no means the pace chief in my assessments, however it was by no means too far behind — and at $50, the D-Hyperlink EaglePro AI prices loads lower than the highest picks listed right here. That is deal, particularly on a Wi-Fi 6 mannequin that boasts a newly designed management app on Android and iOS, plus adjustable antennas and a design that robotically syncs up along with your router to place out a single, unified community as quickly as you first set the factor up. I even recognize the contact of coloration with these pale blue accents, a pleasant break from boring white plastic.
TP-Hyperlink and Linksys every put in sturdy performances throughout this newest spherical of assessments, however it was arguably Asus that led the way in which with the RP-AX56, a Wi-Fi 6 vary extender that retails for $110. Nonetheless, a poor strategy to system safety retains me from recommending it.
As quickly as you plug the Netgear Nighthawk X4S vary extender in and pair it along with your router, it will begin working along with your router to place out a single, unified community, one which robotically routes your system between the router and extender as wanted. That is nice, and the extender provides a well-featured app for fast controls, too.
Wi-Fi Commonplace Wi-Fi 6Velocity Ranking AX1800Vary As much as 2,600 sq. ft.Wi-fi Networking Safety WPA, WPA2Bands Twin-Band (2.4 and 5GHz)
One other sturdy mannequin from my 2021 assessments, the D-Hyperlink DAP-X1870 is a superb performer that does an excellent job of making a single, unified community as quickly as you pair it along with your router. That retains issues simple, however at a retail value round $60, it feels a bit too costly right here in 2023.
Final yr’s high decide, the RE505X is only a barely much less highly effective model of the RE605X that prices a bit much less. I wasn’t in a position to retest it on the CNET Sensible Residence but, however I am going to replace this publish once I get the possibility. For now, I believe performance-minded customers will probably be glad they spent up for the higher add speeds of the RE605X or the Linksys RE7310, and value-minded customers will probably be higher served with the cheaper D-Hyperlink EaglePro AI and TP-Hyperlink RE220 vary extenders.
I spent weeks testing these vary extenders on the CNET Sensible Residence.
How CNET assessments Wi-Fi extenders and sign boosters
Like lots of people, I spent a lot of the previous few years working from dwelling, and that included my yearly roundup of vary extender assessments. I’ve put dozens of extenders via my managed assessments by this level, and that is generated a whole lot of helpful knowledge for comparability functions.Â
In 2022, I used to be in a position to resume assessments on the CNET Sensible Residence, a 5,800-square-foot multistory dwelling within the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky, that served as a dwelling lab for our product assessments. It is a a lot better setting for testing wi-fi gadgets at vary than my considerably cramped, shotgun-style home — and with extra floor to cowl, it supplied a a lot greater problem for these extenders.
That is the management graph, exhibiting you the typical speeds in every room I examined with no vary extenders in play in any respect. By itself, a single, entry-level Wi-Fi 6 router within the laundry room was in a position to ship respectable speeds on the principle flooring of the house (the primary 4 rooms on this chart), however speeds plummeted within the basement (the final 4 rooms), particularly the add speeds.
Testing Wi-Fi extenders within the CNET Sensible Residence
The CNET Sensible Residence has a fiber web reference to matching add and obtain speeds of as much as 150Mbps. That is a far cry from the gigabit connections increasingly more of us have entry to (to not point out the brand new, blazing-fast multi-gig web plans rising in some components of the nation). Nonetheless, it is in step with the typical web pace within the US, which makes it an excellent place to check how dwelling networking merchandise will work for the typical client.
For my functions, I began by organising a router within the Sensible Residence’s laundry room, which is the place the modem is ready up. I went with the Netgear R6700AX, a wonderfully respectable mannequin I reviewed final yr. It supplied dependable efficiency however restricted vary once I examined it — and that is precisely what I needed for these vary extender assessments.
I ran all of this yr’s vary extender assessments with a Netgear R6700AX router operating the community. It is a low-power, budget-price Wi-Fi 6 mannequin that supplied constant efficiency once I first examined it out, making it a perfect management router for these assessments.
Positive sufficient, the router was in a position to ship sturdy speeds on the house’s primary flooring, however as quickly as I headed all the way down to the basement stage, speeds began to fall. That features single-digit add speeds within the bourbon room and the mud room. (Sure, the Sensible Residence has a bourbon room that the earlier house owners used to age their very own barrels. We have no barrels of our personal, however it smells wonderful in there. Kentucky, of us!)
Operating the vary check
With my management speeds established, it was time to start out including within the vary boosters and seeing which of them improved issues one of the best. Pairing each with the router solely required me to plug it in close by and press the WPS button on each gadgets — after that, I relocated them downstairs, to the basement rec room, which was the farthest level from the router that also had an honest sign and speeds. Everytime you’re utilizing a Wi-Fi vary extender, that is usually one of the best place to place it: simply shy of the sting of your router’s vary, the place it’ll nonetheless obtain a powerful sufficient sign to place out a powerful sign of its personal. The easiest way to search out that spot? Seize your cellphone or laptop computer and run some pace assessments.
In the long run, I ran a complete of at the very least 96 pace assessments for every extender, two rounds of 24 assessments to search out its common speeds to a Wi-Fi 5 consumer system (an iPad Air 2 from 2015) and one other two rounds of 24 assessments to verify its speeds to a Wi-Fi 6 consumer system (a 2021 Lenovo ThinkPad laptop computer). In every case, I began the primary spherical of assessments with a contemporary connection within the laundry room, closest to the router, after which began the second spherical of assessments with a contemporary connection within the mud room, farthest from the router. With every check, I logged the consumer system’s obtain pace, its add pace and the latency of the connection.
Wi-Fi extender check outcomes for 2023
Able to see how the vary extenders did by way of add and obtain speeds? Let’s have a look.
These graphs present you the typical obtain speeds by room (left) and common add speeds by room (proper) for a Wi-Fi 6 laptop computer related to every extender. All 5 fashions I examined have been in a position to ship noticeable enhancements to the connection, however some did a greater job than others.
On the left, this primary set of graphs reveals you the typical obtain speeds by room for every extender I examined. On the precise, you are wanting on the common add speeds. All of those speeds are to my Wi-Fi 6 check system, a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop computer from 2021.
So what jumps out? First, all 5 of those extenders did an honest job of boosting speeds in these final 4 rooms, down within the basement. With all of them, I had a sooner connection all through the home than I had once I related via the router alone. The D-Hyperlink EaglePro AI struggled a bit with add speeds within the basement, however nonetheless stored issues above a minimal of 20Mbps or so.
That was with a Wi-Fi 6 system, although. How did the efficiency look with an older Wi-Fi 5 system from a number of years in the past?
Once more, that is common obtain speeds by room on the left, common add speeds on the precise — this time, to an older Wi-Fi 5 system.
Issues get fascinating right here — you’ll be able to see a larger gulf between obtain and add efficiency, in addition to some extra distinct weak spots and lifeless zones all through the home. Every of the 5 extenders struggled to maintain uploads speedy within the upstairs dinette, as an illustration. With Wi-Fi 6, we barely noticed any points there in any respect, save for the Netgear Nighthawk X4S.
In the meantime, within the basement, our high picks from TP-Hyperlink and Linksys (in addition to the high-performing Asus RP-AX56) have been every in a position to maintain obtain speeds above 100Mbps, which is nice. Uploads have been one other story, as all the extenders struggled. None of them failed to ship a usable add connection outright, although the D-Hyperlink EaglePro AI got here shut with single-digit add speeds within the basement’s farthest reaches.
One other key takeaway from these assessments is that Wi-Fi 6 delivers a few of its most noticeable pace boosts on the add facet of issues. If you happen to’re trying to make plenty of video calls, add plenty of giant recordsdata to the online or the rest requiring sturdy add efficiency, then upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 {hardware} must be excessive in your listing of priorities (assuming you have not already made the leap).
Reasonably priced Wi-Fi booster picks
For my first batch of vary extender assessments a number of years again, I examined 4 bargain-priced fashions to see which one supplied essentially the most bang for the buck. It was the beginning of the pandemic and folks have been scrambling to bolster their dwelling networks — I needed to make sure we may level them to , budget-friendly decide that will do one of the best job as a sign booster providing an additional room’s price of protection in a pinch.
In the long run, the aforementioned TP-Hyperlink RE220 was the runaway winner. Presently out there for $20 or much less, it stays a stable worth decide.
I’ve separated these 4 fashions from the opposite six as a result of the check setup was completely different in 2020 and it would not be truthful to make direct comparisons with these outcomes. You’ve got already learn concerning the TP-Hyperlink RE220, however listed here are my takeaways from the opposite three I examined:
With two adjustable exterior antennas, the D-Hyperlink DAP-1620 is fairly highly effective for a budget-priced vary extender, however it wasn’t as constant as our high decide.
D-Hyperlink DAP-1620: This was the one vary extender that ever managed to hit triple digits throughout my 2020 assessments, with a mean pace of 104Mbps in my bed room throughout night hours. Setup was simply so simple as what I skilled with TP-Hyperlink, too. I used to be in a position to stream HD video, browse the online and make video calls on the extender’s community with none situation.
Community speeds have been inconsistent although — and far slower in daytime hours, with an even bigger dropoff than I noticed with TP-Hyperlink. The system additionally dropped my connection at one level throughout my pace assessments. On high of that, the app was too finicky for my tastes, refusing to let me log in and tweak settings with the equipped system password, one thing that finally pressured me to reset the system. That is an excessive amount of problem for me to suggest outright, although proper now you’ll be able to seize it on sale for $30, making it an honest various to the TP-Hyperlink RE220.
The Netgear EX3700 wasn’t highly effective sufficient for the worth.
Netgear EX3700: It is a dated-looking system and it wasn’t a powerful performer in my assessments. The two.4GHz band was in a position to maintain workable speeds between 30 and 40Mbps all through most of my dwelling, which was sturdy sufficient to stream video with minimal buffering, or to carry a fast video name with a slight delay. However the 5GHz band was surprisingly weak, typically dropping into single digits with solely a single wall separating my PC or related system from the vary extender.Â
I wasn’t a fan of the online interface, because it appeared extra all for getting me to register for the guarantee (and decide in to advertising emails) than in really providing me any kind of management over the connection. WPS button-based setup allows you to skip all of that, which is useful, and a few shops now have it listed for lower than $40, besides, that is one you’ll be able to safely move by.
The Linksys RE6350 left loads to be desired.
Linksys RE6350: My speeds have been per the RE6350 — they only weren’t quick.Â
By default, the system robotically steers you between the two.4GHz and 5GHz bands, however with obtain speeds starting from 10Mbps to 35Mbps all through all of my assessments over a number of days, it’d as properly simply default to the slower 2.4GHz band. The system helps automated firmware upgrades, which is nice, however you’ll be able to’t use the Linksys Wi-Fi app to tweak settings — as an alternative, you may should log in by way of the online portal.
On high of all that, the RE6350 appeared to be the least steady of all of the extenders I examined in 2020, with a couple of dropped connection throughout my assessments. With a listing value of round $60 it has simply too many negatives and never sufficient worth for me to suggest it, although we have often seen it on sale for as little as $21, making it a little bit of a extra aggressive worth.Â
Most plug-in vary extenders solely supply fundamental options at finest, however the TP-Hyperlink Tether app features a sign power tester and a Excessive-Velocity Mode within the app.
Different parts to contemplate
Except for my pace assessments, I made certain to stream video on every extender’s community, and I made a number of video calls whereas related via each. I additionally frolicked enjoying with every extender’s settings. You should not anticipate a lot, however most will at the very least make it simple to vary the extension community’s title or password. Some embrace app controls with further options, too.
My high decide, the TP-Hyperlink RE605X, makes it simple to tweak settings by way of TP-Hyperlink’s Tether app on an Android or iOS system. Once more, the options make for slender pickings, however you’ll be able to verify sign power or activate Excessive-Velocity Mode, which dedicates the two.4GHz band for visitors from the router to the vary extender, leaving the 5GHz free on your regular Wi-Fi community visitors. That mode really wasn’t as quick as sharing the 5GHz band like regular once I examined it out, as a result of these incoming 2.4GHz speeds are restricted, however it nonetheless could be a helpful choice in some conditions.
It is also price noting that setting a spread extender up is about as painless because it will get. Most help Wi-Fi Protected Setup, or WPS, which is a common protocol that wi-fi networking gadgets can use to attach with one another. Simply plug the vary extender in, await it in addition up, press the extender’s WPS button after which press the WPS button on your router inside 2 minutes. Voila, related.
It is also price ensuring that your vary extender consists of at the very least one Ethernet port (nearly all of them do). If you happen to can instantly join your wired system (like a sensible TV), then you definately’ll take pleasure in speeds which can be as quick as potential.
Wi-Fi vary extender FAQs
How efficient are Wi-Fi vary extenders?
Plug-in vary extenders like these may help enhance your speeds if you’re connecting removed from the router, however they will solely accomplish that a lot. The precise pace enhance will rely upon a large number of various elements, together with the format of your own home, the kind of router you are utilizing, the kind of system you are making an attempt to attach with and your web plan’s speeds.
Do Wi-Fi extenders decelerate your Wi-Fi?
Most vary extenders will put out their very own separate community — often the title of your authentic community with “_EXT” added to the top, or one thing like that. Having a separate community like that below the identical roof as your primary community may probably trigger a small quantity of interference, however I have not seen any noticeable slowdowns on my primary community throughout any of those assessments. And, typically, you’ll be able to rename the extender’s community and password to match your primary community, at which level you may have a single, seamless community that robotically passes your connection backwards and forwards as you progress all through your own home.
Is a Wi-Fi extender higher than a mesh router?
Most often, no. If you happen to’re dwelling in a bigger dwelling or in case you want speeds which can be reliably sooner than 100Mbps at vary, then it is in all probability price it to go forward and improve to a mesh router with its personal range-extending satellite tv for pc gadgets. You’ve got obtained extra choices than ever nowadays, and nearly all of them would probably outperform a stand-alone router paired with a plug-in vary extender like those examined right here.
The place ought to I put my Wi-Fi extender?
The most effective strategy is to plug the extender in someplace near the lifeless zone you are making an attempt to repair, however not inside that lifeless zone. That is since you want the extender to have an honest connection along with your router with the intention to put out a worthwhile sign of its personal.
How do I do know if I would like a spread extender?
Plug-in vary extenders are match when it is advisable to enhance the sign in a single lifeless zone. In case you have a couple of lifeless zone in your house the place the speeds plummet, then you definately could be higher off simply upgrading to a good mesh router (we have got loads of suggestions there, too).