Wifi Extending for Dummies

[Jagged]

I have a R7800 Nighthawk x4s (which is very nice thank you for your recommendation) but the wifi doesn't quite reach all the house (thick walls) and doesn't extend to the garden. I thought buying a wifi extender would be straight foward but was bewilldered by the range of options and things that are much more expensive than the Nighthawk.

Is there a "90% of the time you should just get this?" or an "idiot guide" I have missed?

thanks in advance

 

[Sachb]

I have a R7800 Nighthawk x4s (which ie very nice thank you for your recommendation) but the wifi doesn't quite reach all the house (think walls) and doesn't extend to the garden. I thought buying a wifi extender would be straight foward but was bewilldered by the range of options and things that are much more expensive than the Nighthawk.

Is there a "90% of the time you should just get this?" or an "idiot guide" I have missed?

thanks in advance

You'll need a very strong Wifi extender that will do 4x4 MU MIMO with external antennas for best results.

Also a 2nd router which needs to be connected to the wifi extender.
2nd router need not be super expensive.
Buy a dlink or a tplink or a refurbished Asus.

I suggest you should check up on the 2 most powerful plug in type Wifi Extenders which are:

TP-Link RE650

D-Link DAP 1860

What my recommendations are use the wifi extender only to connect to the Main router and disable Extender's wifi. Use 2nd router hard wired to the Extender via ethernet. This way you can achieve the best speeds.

I have done the setup this way and achieved a total speed of 520 mbps across 2 rooms with thick concrete walls in between.

Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk

 

[thiggins]

I have a R7800 Nighthawk x4s (which ie very nice thank you for your recommendation) but the wifi doesn't quite reach all the house (think walls) and doesn't extend to the garden. I thought buying a wifi extender would be straight foward but was bewilldered by the range of options and things that are much more expensive than the Nighthawk.

Is there a "90% of the time you should just get this?" or an "idiot guide" I have missed?

What specifically is confusing you?
Today's extenders will associate with any router or access point, so are simple to set up.

If you don't need a lot of range, most any product will do. Wall-plugged models are convenient, but since they position the radios relatively low, they may not have the best range.

If you need a lot of range and will have a lot of devices connecting through the extender, look for "tri-band" products that have a dedicated "backhaul" radio that connects back to your main router.

Take a look at this article
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...es/33135-router-or-wi-fi-system-how-to-choose

Although it talks about mesh systems, the principles are the same. Both mesh systems and extenders use a wireless link to connect additional access points back to the main AP/router.

 

[Jagged]

Take a look at this article
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...es/33135-router-or-wi-fi-system-how-to-choose

Cool, that was the guide I missed but felt sure you had

 

[Tom Brough]

If your in the UK look for a set of BT whole home wifi discs used on eBay, plenty always about and work a treat... It's my set up at home with my R7800.