Help me choose a wireless extender/repeater for vacation

[loft]

Hello there!

I've found myself many times in vacation apartments where the offered wireless network has its AP positioned in such a way (in the neighbouring apartment, on a different floor, or maybe even 2 houses away) that the signal level is rather low or fluctuates.

So I thought that a wireless extender would be a good idea to carry with me while on vacation, so that my 4-5 devices would have better network connectivity. I have a few ideas that would need confirmation:

1. External antennas would probably help with picking up a weak signal. Would the possibility of changing their orientation help with that? Maybe I'll even get a high gain 2.4 GHz antenna (if the device has detachable external antennas). This might also allow me to improvise a directional antenna.

2. I guess buying a dual band device might help if I could use the 2.4 GHz radio to connect to the remote AP (most of the time that is the far reaching network anyway) and the 5 GHz radio for the local radio bubble.

3. Anything above AC750 would probably be a waste of money in this particular situation. Except if the difference to AC1200 is 2€.

And now a few questions:

1. Would a device with pass through socket have a worse performance because of the interference? (if I would, lets say, power a phone charger through the wireless extender)

2. Are there extenders that allow me to select which antenna is used for which band and/or purpose?

I've looked around for devices under 40€ and I've pre-selected the following models: TP-Link RE305, Netgear EX6120, Netgear EX3800.

Sadly i haven't really found many reviews with tests and comparisons for this kind of devices.

So what should I buy? Any other model suggestions are welcome!

Thanks!

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[thiggins]

A wireless extender that picks up a weak signal will have very little bandwidth to pass along.
Yes, your devices will get a nice strong signal, but they will be connected to a very small "pipe".

If you want more bandwidth, you would need to move the extender closer to the network you are trying to pick up. Or have a device with high(er) gain antenna.

Your best bet would be a device like the NETGEAR EX8000 or Linksys RE9000. They have four-stream 5 GHz radios that offer higher gain and dual-band two-stream (AC1200/AC1300) radios for client connection.

Another possibility is a combination wireless bridge/high-gain antenna. These are designed for outdoor use, so you'd have the flexibility of hanging it out a window. They are directional and would work better for pointing than trying to mess with positioning omnidirectional antennas on a router. The main disadvantage is most are single band and they don't repeat the signal. So you'd need to connect them to an access point.

Remember, no extender or bridge creates a separate network. Unless your host or you take precautions, your devices will be sitting directly on the host WLAN.

 

[loft]

Thanks for your answer @thiggins!

I know how a repeater works and that I'll be squeezing all the traffic through a thin tunnel. But that is the plan: to put the repeater in the best spot so that I don't have to be glued there while using the phone.
For example, once I stayed in an apartment with the best signal in the kitchen. I wasn't able to use the Chromecast in the living room because the signal was almost 0 most of the time. A repeater positioned in the kitchen would have probably made a big difference.
On another note, spending over 100€ for this repeater is out of the question. It will only be used a few weeks per year, at most. Not to mention that the situation will always be different.

Any other opinions? Any comments to my ideas or answers to my questions?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk