With two adjustable external antennas, the D-Link DAP-1620 is pretty powerful for a budget-priced range extender, but it wasn't as consistent as our top pick. You've already read about the TP-Link RE220, but here are my takeaways from the other three I tested: I've separated these four models from the other six because the test setup was different in 2020 and it wouldn't be fair to make direct comparisons with those results. Currently available for $20 or less, it remains a solid value pick. In the end, the aforementioned TP-Link RE220 was the runaway winner. It was the start of the pandemic and people were scrambling to bolster their home networks - I wanted to be sure we could point them to a good, budget-friendly pick that would do the best job as a signal booster offering an extra room's worth of coverage in a pinch. Affordable Wi-Fi booster picksįor my first batch of range extender tests a few years back, I tested four bargain-priced models to see which one offered the most bang for the buck. If you're looking to make lots of video calls, upload lots of large files to the web or anything else requiring sturdy upload performance, then upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 hardware should be high on your list of priorities (assuming you haven't already made the jump). None of them failed to deliver a usable upload connection outright, though the D-Link EaglePro AI came close with single-digit upload speeds in the basement's farthest reaches.Īnother key takeaway from these tests is that Wi-Fi 6 delivers some of its most noticeable speed boosts on the upload side of things. Uploads were another story, as all of the extenders struggled.
#Wifi booster and extender download
Meanwhile, in the basement, our top picks from TP-Link and Linksys (as well as the high-performing Asus RP-AX56) were each able to keep download speeds above 100Mbps, which is great. With Wi-Fi 6, we barely saw any issues there at all, save for the Netgear Nighthawk X4S.
Each of the five extenders struggled to keep uploads speedy in the upstairs dinette, for instance. Things get interesting here - you can see a greater gulf between download and upload performance, as well as some more distinct weak spots and dead zones throughout the house. How did the performance look with an older Wi-Fi 5 device from several years ago?Īgain, this is average download speeds by room on the left, average upload speeds on the right - this time, to an older Wi-Fi 5 device. The D-Link EaglePro AI struggled a bit with upload speeds in the basement, but still kept things above a minimum of 20Mbps or so. With all of them, I had a faster connection throughout the house than I had when I connected through the router alone. So what jumps out? First, all five of these extenders did a decent job of boosting speeds in those last four rooms, down in the basement. All of these speeds are to my Wi-Fi 6 test device, a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop from 2021. On the right, you're looking at the average upload speeds. On the left, this first set of graphs shows you the average download speeds by room for each extender I tested. All five models I tested were able to deliver noticeable improvements to the connection, but some did a better job than others. These graphs show you the average download speeds by room (left) and average upload speeds by room (right) for a Wi-Fi 6 laptop connected to each extender. Plug one in near the edge of your router's wireless range and pair it with the network, and it'll start rebroadcasting the signal farther out for significantly faster internet speed throughout your home. Wi-Fi extenders work by using built-in Wi-Fi radios and antennas to pair wirelessly with your router, no ethernet cable required. There are a number of things you should try to eke out a better signal from your router, but if tweaks like those aren't doing enough, you could also try using a Wi-Fi extender.Īlso called a Wi-Fi signal booster, a range or Wi-Fi extender is a compact, plug-in device that is simple and hassle-free to implement. In many homes, a single router is a little too weak to generate a stable signal that reaches into every room, which can result in dead zones and glitchy connections.
Your internet is only as fast as the equipment it's running through.
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