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Editor’s Notice: We predict you ought to be conscious that TP-Hyperlink routers are below investigation by the US authorities over safety issues and might be banned within the US this 12 months, in response to multiple news reports. The TP-Hyperlink Archer RE605X was beforehand named our greatest general selection for Wi-Fi extenders. Whereas our analysis of the {hardware} hasn’t modified, out of utmost warning for our readers, we determined to pause it as our high advice till we study extra. Learn CNET’s reporting for extra info.
Even the perfect Wi-Fi routers will wrestle to attach each nook of a multi-story dwelling. When that occurs, you’ve got two decisions: Swap out your router for a mesh system or add a Wi-Fi extender to your current router. For as little as $20, a Wi-Fi extender will enhance your web sign to a particular space with out you having to purchase an entire new setup. Set up is so simple as plugging the extender into {an electrical} outlet and connecting it to your Wi-Fi router. If that sounds too good to be true, it sort of is.
CNET’s testing has discovered that Wi-Fi extenders is usually a respectable answer in case you’re seeking to enhance the connection in a single room, however you may in all probability be disillusioned in case you’re hoping to spice up the speeds to a whole flooring or wing of your own home. For that, you are higher off upgrading to a full-fledged mesh system.
What’s the finest Wi-Fi extender general?
The perfect Wi-Fi extender for most individuals is the Linksys RE7310. Whereas it is barely dearer than different fashions at $100, it delivered vital velocity boosts in each room I examined, and it provides full assist for Wi-Fi 6 speeds.
In the event you’re on the lookout for one thing extra inexpensive, there are many choices for below $50, though not all of them have Wi-Fi 6 assist. I’ve spent the previous few years usually testing them out to search out the perfect of the bunch. After numerous checks, my information recognized the vary extenders that reigned supreme. Let’s get proper to them.
Finest Wi-Fi extenders
Linksys RE7310
Within the CNET Good House, the place we’ve a fiber web plan with uploads and downloads of as much as 150Mbps, the RE7310 returned common Wi-Fi 6 downloads all through the whole multistory home of 132Mbps. As for the uploads, Linksys completed with a median whole-home velocity to my Wi-Fi 6 check machine of 124Mbps.
The RE7310 completed in a digital tie with the TP-Hyperlink RE605X on Wi-Fi 6 units, however was barely much less spectacular with earlier-gen Wi-Fi 5 units, significantly with respect to add speeds. Nonetheless, the efficiency was strong throughout the board, and robust sufficient for me to take video calls within the Good House’s basement lifeless zones, one thing I might have struggled with utilizing simply the one router I ran my checks on. It’s kind of bulky-looking, however the RE7310 is the perfect Linksys vary extender I’ve examined but, and it is an particularly nice decide in case you can catch it on sale.
Chris Monroe/CNET
TP-Hyperlink RE605X
TP-Hyperlink makes a number of the hottest picks within the vary extender class, with a reasonably vast number of choices to select from at varied worth factors. In the event you’re shopping for one in 2025, the TP-Hyperlink RE605X needs to be proper on the high of your listing (authorities investigation however). At $64, it is from probably the most inexpensive extender available on the market (hold studying for the worth picks), however with a extremely succesful AX1800 design, full assist for the most recent Wi-Fi 6 speeds and options, adjustable antennas and a useful, easy-to-use management app with robust evaluations on each Android and iOS, it is about as well-rounded as vary extenders get.
The efficiency is especially sharp too. In my checks on the CNET Good House, an RE605X within the basement was capable of lengthen the router’s sign from upstairs simply positive, giving my add and obtain speeds a big enhance in each room I examined. All through the whole 5,800-square-foot-home, amongst all of the extenders I examined, the RE605X delivered the quickest common add speeds to each Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 units, the quickest common obtain speeds to Wi-Fi 6 units and the second quickest common obtain speeds to Wi-Fi 5 units.
By default, the extender places out its personal separate community while you first pair it along with your router, and that community will use the identical password as your authentic community, and the identical SSID with “-EXT” added to the tip. That is higher than extenders that put out an unsecured community by default — and in case you use the app to delete that “-EXT” bit, it’s going to mechanically sync up along with your authentic community and work invisibly to maintain you higher related, which is good. All of that makes this extender a straightforward advice.
Chris Monroe/CNET
TP-Hyperlink RE220
The TP-Hyperlink RE220 was the least costly vary extender throughout my first run of at-home checks, however that did not cease it from outperforming every part 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 simple to make use of. And, as of scripting this, it prices even lower than I paid for it initially — all the way down to $15 on Amazon.
Plug it in and press the WPS button to pair it with your own home community, and it will start broadcasting its personal networks on the two.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Each provided regular Wi-Fi speeds all through my dwelling, together with common obtain speeds on the 5GHz band of a minimum of 75Mbps in each room entry level I examined, together with robust add speeds. The RE220 by no means as soon as dropped my connection, and its speeds had been constant throughout a number of days of checks throughout each daytime and night hours.
It is a bit of lengthy within the tooth at this level, and it will not wow you with Wi-Fi 6 speeds, however the robust ease of use and the regular, reliable stage of efficiency it provides imply it is nonetheless an absolute steal. It is not as quick as the highest fashions I’ve examined within the years since, and I have never had an opportunity to retest it on the CNET Good House simply but — nevertheless it’s nonetheless an amazing selection if you wish to enhance the sign from the Wi-Fi router to a again room that sits past the router’s attain, however you’d prefer to pay as little as attainable to get the job finished.
Ry Crist/CNET
D-Hyperlink DAP-X1870
One other robust mannequin from my checks, the D-Hyperlink DAP-X1870 is a superb performer that does an amazing job of making a single, unified community as quickly as you pair it along with your router. That retains issues straightforward, however at a retail worth round $85, it feels a bit too costly right here in 2025.
I would in all probability keep on with the $15 TP-Link RE220 if I had been simply on the lookout for the perfect worth decide. I am going to hold an eye fixed out for some other good gross sales and replace this put up as I spot them.
Ry Crist/CNET
TP-Hyperlink RE505X
Final 12 months’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 capable of retest it on the CNET Good House but, however I am going to replace this put up once I get the possibility. For now, I feel performance-minded customers shall be glad they spent up for the higher add speeds of the RE605X or the Linksys RE7310, and value-minded customers will possible be higher served with the cheaper TP-Hyperlink RE220.
That leaves the RE505X as a little bit of a center youngster at this level, nevertheless it was a particularly succesful and constant performer in my earlier checks. At $57, it is one of many cheaper Wi-Fi 6 extenders you may discover.
Ry Crist/CNET
What’s a Wi-Fi vary extender?
Additionally known as a Wi-Fi sign booster, a variety or Wi-Fi extender is a compact, plug-in machine 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 quicker web speeds all through your own home.
Ought to I purchase a Wi-Fi extender?
Wi-Fi extenders are nice choices when you’ve got a single room that you just wish to give a velocity enhance. Wi-Fi extenders are typically cheaper than upgrading to a full-fledged mesh router with its personal mesh Wi-Fi programs and range-extending satellite tv for pc units. Plus, they’re typically 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 gives you the perfect Wi-Fi vary out there along with your present setup — all with out you needing to consider it an excessive amount of.
Nonetheless, sign boosters cannot lengthen your Wi-Fi sign to a whole flooring or facet of the home like a mesh router can. An extender can be solely nearly as good because the router it is related to, which implies you will not see enormous enhancements in case your router is failing, outdated or within the incorrect spot.
I spent weeks testing these vary extenders on the CNET Good House.
How CNET checks Wi-Fi extenders and sign boosters
In 2022, I used to be capable of resume checks on the CNET Good House, a 5,800-square-foot multistory dwelling within the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky, that served as a dwelling lab for our product checks. It is a significantly better surroundings for testing wi-fi units at vary than my considerably cramped, shotgun-style home — and with extra floor to cowl, it provided a a lot greater problem for these extenders.
That is the management graph, displaying 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 capable of ship respectable speeds on the primary 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.
The CNET Good House 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” target=”_blank an increasing number of of us have entry to (to not point out the brand new, blazing-fast multi-gig internet plans” target=”_blank rising in some elements of the nation). Nonetheless, it is consistent with the typical web velocity within the US, which makes it an amazing place to check how dwelling networking merchandise will work for the typical client.
For my functions, I began by establishing a router within the Good House’s laundry room, which is the place the modem is about up. I went with the Netgear R6700AX” target=”_blank, a wonderfully respectable mannequin I reviewed final 12 months. It provided dependable efficiency however restricted vary once I examined it — and that is precisely what I needed for these vary extender checks.
I ran all of this 12 months’s vary extender checks with a Netgear R6700AX router operating the community. It is a low-power, budget-price Wi-Fi 6 mannequin that provided constant efficiency once I first examined it out, making it an excellent management router for these checks.
Positive sufficient, the router was capable of ship robust speeds on the house’s important 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 Good House has a bourbon room that the earlier homeowners used to age their very own barrels. We have no barrels of our personal, nevertheless it smells superb in there. Kentucky, people!)
Operating the vary check
With my management speeds established, it was time to begin including within the vary boosters and seeing which of them improved issues the perfect. Pairing each with the router solely required me to plug it in close by and press the WPS button on each units — after that, I relocated them downstairs, to the basement rec room, which was the farthest level from the router that also had a good sign and speeds. Everytime you’re utilizing a Wi-Fi vary extender, that is usually the perfect place to place it: simply shy of the sting of your router’s vary, the place it would nonetheless obtain a robust sufficient sign to place out a robust sign of its personal. One of the best ways to search out that spot? Seize your cellphone or laptop computer and run some speed tests” target=”_blank.
Ultimately, I ran a complete of a minimum of 96 velocity checks for every extender, two rounds of 24 checks to search out its common speeds to a Wi-Fi 5 consumer machine (an iPad Air 2 from 2015) and one other two rounds of 24 checks to test its speeds to a Wi-Fi 6 consumer machine (a 2021 Lenovo ThinkPad laptop computer). In every case, I began the primary spherical of checks with a contemporary connection within the laundry room, closest to the router, after which began the second spherical of checks with a contemporary connection within the mud room, farthest from the router. With every check, I logged the consumer machine’s obtain velocity, its add velocity and the latency of the connection.
Wi-Fi extender check outcomes
Able to see how the vary extenders did when it comes to 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 had been capable of 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 correct, you are wanting on the common add speeds. All of those speeds are to my Wi-Fi 6 check machine, a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop computer from 2021.
So what jumps out? First, all 5 of those extenders did a good job of boosting speeds in these final 4 rooms, down within the basement. With all of them, I had a quicker connection all through the home than I had once I related by the router alone. The D-Hyperlink EaglePro AI struggled a bit with add speeds within the basement, however nonetheless saved issues above a minimal of 20Mbps or so.
That was with a Wi-Fi 6 machine, although. How did the efficiency look with an older Wi-Fi 5 machine 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 correct — this time, to an older Wi-Fi 5 machine.
Issues get attention-grabbing 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, for example. 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) had been every capable of hold obtain speeds above 100Mbps, which is nice. Uploads had been one other story, as the entire 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 checks is that Wi-Fi 6 delivers a few of its most noticeable velocity boosts on the add facet of issues. In the event you’re seeking to make numerous video calls, add numerous massive information to the online or anything requiring sturdy add efficiency, then upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 {hardware} needs to be excessive in your listing of priorities (assuming you have not already made the leap).
Inexpensive Wi-Fi booster picks
For my first batch of vary extender checks just a few years again, I examined 4 bargain-priced fashions to see which one provided probably the most bang for the buck. It was the beginning of the pandemic and other people had been scrambling to bolster their dwelling networks — I needed to make certain we may level them to a superb, budget-friendly decide that will do the perfect job as a sign booster providing an additional room’s value of protection in a pinch.
Ultimately, the aforementioned TP-Link RE220 was the runaway winner. Presently out there for $15, it stays a strong worth decide.
I’ve separated these fashions from the opposite six as a result of the check setup was totally different in my preliminary checks and it would not be honest to make direct comparisons with these outcomes. You have already learn concerning the TP-Hyperlink RE220, however listed here are my takeaways from the others I examined:
With two adjustable exterior antennas, the D-Hyperlink DAP-1620 is fairly highly effective for a budget-priced vary extender, nevertheless it wasn’t as constant as our high decide.
D-Link DAP-1620: This was the one vary extender that ever managed to hit triple digits throughout my checks, with a median velocity 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 capable of stream HD video, browse the online and make video calls on the extender’s community with none problem.
Community speeds had been inconsistent although — and far slower in daytime hours, with a much bigger dropoff than I noticed with TP-Hyperlink. The machine additionally dropped my connection at one level throughout my velocity checks. On high of that, the app was too finicky for my tastes, refusing to let me log in and tweak settings with the provided machine password, one thing that in the end compelled me to reset the machine. That is an excessive amount of problem for me to advocate outright, however in case you can seize it on sale for lower than $30, it might be a good various to the TP-Hyperlink RE220.
The Netgear EX3700 wasn’t highly effective sufficient for the value.
Netgear EX3700: It is a dated-looking machine and it wasn’t a robust performer in my checks. The two.4GHz band was capable of maintain workable speeds between 30 and 40Mbps all through most of my dwelling, which was robust 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 machine from the vary extender.
I wasn’t a fan of the online interface, because it appeared extra fascinated by getting me to register for the guarantee (and choose in to advertising emails) than in really providing me any form of management over the connection. WPS button-based setup helps you to skip all of that, which is useful, and a few retailers now have it listed for lower than $30, besides, that is one you’ll be able to safely go by.
Most plug-in vary extenders solely supply primary options at finest, however the TP-Hyperlink Tether app features a sign power tester and a Excessive-Pace Mode within the app.
Different parts to think about
Apart from my velocity checks, I made positive to stream video on every extender’s community, and I made a number of video calls whereas related by each. I additionally hung out taking part in with every extender’s settings. You should not anticipate a lot, however most will a minimum of make it straightforward to vary the extension community’s title or password. Some embody app controls with additional options, too.
My high decide, the TP-Hyperlink RE605X, makes it straightforward to tweak settings through TP-Hyperlink’s Tether app on an Android or iOS machine. Once more, the options make for slender pickings, however you’ll be able to test sign power or activate Excessive-Pace Mode, which dedicates the two.4GHz band for visitors from the router to the vary extender, leaving the 5GHz free to 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, nevertheless it nonetheless may be a helpful possibility in some conditions.
It is also value ensuring that your vary extender consists of a minimum of one Ethernet port (virtually all of them do). In the event you can instantly join your wired machine (like a wise TV), then you definately’ll get pleasure from speeds which are as quick as attainable.
Wi-Fi vary extender FAQs
How efficient are Wi-Fi vary extenders?
Plug-in vary extenders like these may help enhance your speeds while you’re connecting removed from the router, however they’ll solely achieve this a lot. The precise velocity enhance will rely upon a mess of various components, together with the format of your own home, the kind of router you are utilizing, the kind of machine you are attempting to attach with and your web plan’s speeds.
If your own home’s web connection provides high speeds of 100Mbps or increased, then a good, well-placed vary extender ought to be capable to enhance your obtain speeds in a lifeless zone or while you’re in vary by a minimum of 50Mbps, if not 100Mbps. That is sufficient to browse the online or stream video on-line. Add boosts are usually a bit of decrease, however ought to nonetheless be sufficient to make sure you can make a video name or add a file to the cloud.
Do Wi-Fi extenders decelerate your Wi-Fi?
Most vary extenders will put out their very own separate community — normally the title of your authentic community with “_EXT” added to the tip or one thing like that. Having a separate community like that below the identical roof as your important community may doubtlessly trigger a small quantity of interference, however I have never seen any noticeable slowdowns on my important community throughout any of those checks. And, typically, you’ll be able to rename the extender’s community and password to match your important community, at which level you may have a single, seamless community that mechanically passes your connection backwards and forwards as you progress all through your own home.
That stated, hold an eye fixed out for consumer units (telephones, laptops and so forth) that mechanically hook up with whichever community provides the perfect sign on the time. In the event you’ve used a tool like that on each your important community and the extender’s community, then it is attainable that your machine will leap from one to the opposite with out you realizing it. As an example, in case your laptop computer is in your important community and you progress a bit nearer to the extender than the router, then your laptop computer may lose its connection and leap over to the vary extender’s community for the stronger sign power, though the speeds on that extender community may be slower.
What is the distinction between a Wi-Fi sign booster and community extender?
There isn’t any practical distinction between a Wi-Fi sign booster and a community extender. Producers use totally different phrases to explain the identical merchandise, and all of those units work the identical approach — by re-broadcasting your router’s sign by a wired connection (your energy outlet). A Wi-Fi repeater is barely totally different. It connects to your router wirelessly and re-broadcasts the sign in one other room.
Is a Wi-Fi extender higher than a mesh router?
Usually, no. In the event you’re dwelling in a bigger dwelling or in case you want speeds which are reliably quicker than 100Mbps at vary, then it is in all probability value it to go forward and improve to a mesh router with its personal range-extending satellite tv for pc units. You have received extra choices than ever today, and nearly all of them would possible outperform a stand-alone router paired with a plug-in vary extender like those examined right here.
Wi-Fi extenders are higher fitted to conditions the place you have simply received a single room or possibly two the place you need speeds to be barely increased. They will not work miracles, however in a state of affairs like that, they will get the job finished.
The place ought to I put my Wi-Fi extender?
The perfect strategy is to plug the extender in someplace near the lifeless zone you are attempting to repair, however not inside that lifeless zone. That is since you want the extender to have a good connection along with your router with the intention to put out a worthwhile sign of its personal.
To seek out a great place, seize your cellphone or laptop computer, hook up with your own home community and run some web velocity checks in varied spots which are adjoining to the lifeless zone in query. As soon as you have discovered a spot close to the lifeless zone that also hits usable add and obtain speeds (ideally a minimum of 50% of no matter you are capable of hit up near the router), then you definately’re in all probability in a superb location.
How do I arrange my Wi-Fi extender?
Establishing a Wi-Fi extender is about as painless because it will get. Most fashions assist Wi-Fi Protected Setup, or WPS, which is a common protocol that wi-fi networking units can use to attach with one another. Simply plug the extender in, anticipate it as well up, press the extender’s WPS button after which press the WPS button in your router inside 2 minutes. Voila, related.
What’s the perfect finances Wi-Fi extender below $100?
Most Wi-Fi extenders value effectively below $100, and our runner-up decide, the TP-Link RE605X, is priced just under that at some retailers. In the event you’re on the lookout for an ultra-affordable mannequin, the TP-Link RE220 prices below $20 and outperformed virtually each different extender in our preliminary checks. It is a bit of outdated at this level — you will not get Wi-Fi 6 assist, for instance — nevertheless it nonetheless will get the job finished for a really low funding.
