WIFI is one of the most common needs of people these days and although it is not as important as food/water or oxygen, life gets pretty boring without WIFI. That is why there is a lot of importance given to internet devices these days to enable a smooth experience with the internet.
A lot of high-end routers are available on the market that makes sure that you get trouble-free internet, however, the range of a router cannot extend a certain distance, which is why many people suffer from signal losses and deterioration in performance, especially when living or working in a large environment.
That is where the concept of WIFI extenders comes. WIFI extenders are also known as WIFI boosters and these devices are responsible for ensuring that you get a good signal quality all-over your place. Better quality signals not only ensure the reliability of the connection but also enhance the speed of the transfer because low signals also cause speed limitations.
There are many new technologies these days and if you are working with any of those technologies, such as MU-MIMO, etc. you must buy a WIFI extender that supports those technologies as well. In this article, we will be looking at some of the best WIFI extenders 2021 that will provide you with a reliable WIFI connection.
TP-Link is one of the most famous companies when it comes to networking and you would see their equipment and devices in all kinds of networking fields. A lot of people prefer buying routers from TP-Link due to their reliability and it would be a good choice to buy a TP-Link WIFI extender. TP-Link RE650 is one of the best WIFI extenders from the company that provides top-notch performance in a fairly compact form-factor.
First, we look at the design of this WIFI extender and you can see that the device is pretty small in size and directly attaches to the electrical socket, thus saving space on tables.
There can be seen fourantennason the device, which is pretty impressive, although the size of the antennas is not as big as you would find on some bigger devices. The white and silver-color theme of the device gives it a decent look while there are holes on the sides of the device, which allow it to breathe.
At the front of the device, there is an indicator for the signal of the device. This indicator tells you about the connection between the WIFI extender and the router. The blue light indicates a stable connection while the red color indicates a bad connection.
Also, there are three more LEDs at the front, which are used as indicators for 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, and power. On the left side of the device, there is an Ethernet port, which can make the device work as an access point if you insert Ethernet cable into it.
Now, coming to the specifications of the device, it is a fairly fast device, having dual-band WIFI support, which means that it will transfer data at suitable band depending on the signals.
The 2.4 GHz band support 800 Mbps of transfer rate while the 5 GHz band supports up to 1733 MHz of transfer rate, effectively making a total of around 2600 Mbps transfer speed, which is why it is also specified as AC2600, where AC indicates that it supports 802.11ac WIFI, also known as WIFI 5.
The device also provides support for 4×4 MU-MIMO, which is a great feature if you have multiple consumer devices in your home or workplace. The device can be easily managed through the TP-Link Tether application, found on both iOS and Android stores.
Conclusion
TP-Link RE650 is one of the best solutions for WIFI signal extension and it provides fast transfer rates and consumes very less space. The management of the device is fairly easy as well, through the mobile device.
The device comes with four antennas, thus ensuring a stable connection while it can be used as an access point as well through the Ethernet cable. If you require a fast solution for your WIFI signals and you don’t care about the extensive cost of the device, this device should be perfect for you.
NETGEAR is a great competitor to TP-Link and just like TP-Link, you would see tons of their devices in every field of networking. The company is known for designing aesthetically beautiful devices while offering top-notch performance. NETGEAR Nighthawk X6S EX8000 is one of the flagship WIFI extenders from the company that is targeted towards people with strict requirements.
NETGEAR Nighthawk X6S EX8000 has a very straightforward design, making it look quite elegant. There is a circular stand at the bottom of the device, making it stable on the surface because it is considerably larger than the previous device we have discussed.
The device has a DC power input, a USB port, a reset button, a power button, an LED indicator for power, four Ethernet ports, and a WPS button. There are no external antennas on the device, as it uses internal antennas. At the front of the device, there is a large number of LED indicators, which indicate Ethernet connection, band activity, USB port activity, etc.
This is the only tri-band router on the list, which means that it uses a total of three bands, where one of them is 2.4 GHz band and two of them are 5.0 GHz bands. This makes it the fastest WIFI extender on the list, enabling a maximum transfer speed of 3000 MHz, with 2.4 GHz providing 400 Mbps transfer rates and 5.0 GHz bands providing 866 Mbps and 1733 Mbps transfer rates.
The device is advertised to provide signals for over 2800 square feet, which is more than enough for most people. The device can be easily configured with the NETGEAR application through smartphones and you can connect a maximum of fifty-five devices with this WIFI extender. The extender also supports MU-MIMO, thus simultaneously transferring the data to the consumer devices.
Conclusion
NETGEAR Nighthawk X6S EX8000 is one of the fastest WIFI extenders whether you require one for your home or your office. Having bandwidth of around 3000 Mbps, it ensures top-notch performance while covering over 2800 square feet of area. Although it is the priciest device on the list, there is no alternative approach if you require these speeds.
The next device that we have on our list is NETGEAR EX6200 and it is more like a trimmed version of the previous WIFI extender. NETGEAR EX6200 is not as pricey as the previous one but still offers fast-enough speeds to cover the needs of regular household consumers.
The design of the device is unique and it can be placed on the table both horizontally and vertically, thanks to the additional base stand that it comes with. The red and black-color theme makes it a great device for professional gamers, although gamers usually prefer keeping the router close to their setups.
There are two large antennas at the back of the WIFI extender and you can also find a WPS button, five Gigabit Ethernet ports, a reset button, a power button, and a DC power input.
The USB port is present at the side of the device while at the front, there are LED indicators for Ethernet connections, USB port activity, etc. There is a huge number of large vents at the top, sides, and the front of the device (when viewed horizontally), which makes it pretty efficient thermally.
As for the specifications, it is an AC1200 device, which means that it supports up to 1200 Mbps of data transfer rate, where 300 Mbps is possible through the 2.4 GHz band and 900 Mbps is possible through the 5.0 GHz band. The device uses a quad-core processor for efficient operation and provides support for MU-MIMO technology as well.
Conclusion
NETGEAR EX6200 is a well-balanced WIFI extender in terms of performance and price, which makes it great for home use and small offices. The device supports security features like WPS and provides fairly high transfer rates while the design of the device does give it an aggressive look. Overall, if you want to get a reliable device for WIFI signal extension and do not have super-high demands, this WIFI extender should be wonderful for you.
LINKSYS is although not as famous as the TP-Link or NETGEAR, their products provide great performance for the price and that attracts a lot of customers towards them. LINKSYS RE7000 is a powerful WIFI extender that provides great transfer rates while having a fairly compact form-factor.
The design of the device is very simple and just like the TP-Link RE650, it directly attaches to the electrical socket. There are no external antennas on the device while there is a lot of small circular vents on the sides of the device.
There is a WPS button and a reset button on one of the sides of the device while there is an Ethernet port at the bottom of the device. At the front, there is a large LED indicator, which indicates whether the device is on or off.
The technical specifications of the device are pretty impressive. The device boosts over 2000 Mbps of transfer rates, where 300 Mbps is possible through the 2.4 GHz band and 1733 Mbps is possible through the 5 GHz band.
These high speeds are pretty impressive for such a small device and the setup and interface of the device is extremely easy as well. With the Ethernet port, you can use the device as an access point. This device also supports MU-MIMO, thus not causing any delay in data transfers.
Conclusion
LINKSYS RE7000 is a small yet powerful WIFI extender that is great for household usage. The device provides very high transfer rates and covers a large area as well. If you want a WIFI extender that does not require a lot of setups and you just want to place it once and for all, this device is perfect for you.
D-Link DAP-1720 is quite a similar WIFI extender to the LINKSYS RE7000 but comes at a much cheaper price. This is also a dual-band WIFI extender that comes with three external antennas and provides slightly slower transfer rates to the LINKSYS RE7000.
The boxy design of the device feels attractive while the interface is pretty interesting as well. There are WIFI signal indicators at the front of the device, which tells about the quality of connection of the device with the router.
There is a WPS button at the front as well while an Ethernet port is present at the left side and an On/Off button is present at the right side. For heat dissipation, there are vents at the sides, top, bottom, and at the back of the device.
As for the specifications of the device are concerned, the device provides a high data transfer rate of 1750 Mbps, where 1300 Mbps is through the 5.0 GHz band and 450 Mbps is through the 2.4 GHz band.
It is to be noted here that if the 2.4 GHz band speed is higher than the previous WIFI extenders and that is why if you want a WIFI extender for 2.4 GHz based devices, this WIFI extender will provide you with faster data transfer rates.
Conclusion
D-Link DAP-1720 costs a lot lower than other WIFI extenders while providing quite similar features and performance. The data transfer rates are comparable to some of the high-end WIFI extenders while its design makes it handy for household usages.
The last WIFI extender on our list is the TP-Link RE220. This is the cheapest and simplest WIFI extender on the list, which makes it great for people who want a cheap solution for low WIFI signals in homes. The technical specifications of the device are also lower than other devices but this can be expected from such a cheap device.
The design of the device is quite simple. It is used directly with the electrical socket and is even smaller than a hand. There is a WPS button at the front along with LED indicators.
The Ethernet port is present at the bottom of the device. Unlike the previous devices, this WIFI extender does not have air vents, which is why it might run hotter than other devices.
The specifications of the device are although much lower than the previous devices, the device is still fast enough for commoners. You get up to 750 Mbps of combined data transfer rate, where 300 Mbps is from 2.4 GHz band and 433 Mbps is from the 5.0 GHz band.
Sadly, you don’t get MU-MIMO support in this device, which is why it might feel less responsive compared to other devices when multiple devices are connected.
Conclusion
TP-Link RE220 is among the cheapest of WIFI extenders and fulfills the basic needs of an average user by extending the WIFI signals and provide fast-enough transfer rates which can smoothly allow 4K streaming and other similar services.
You don’t get external antennas or high-end technologies like MU-MIMO but if you are tight on budget, these things shouldn’t be a deal-breaker for you.
In this article, we have listed a mixture of WIFI extenders, covering high-end models like TP-Link RE650 and NETGEAR EX8000 and budget models like TP-Link RE220, each having their respective pros and cons and are definitely among the best WIFI extenders that will not only provide you a reliable connection but also improve your connection speeds.
Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX8000 Tri-band Wi-Fi Extender is the best Wi-Fi extender in the market. It provides fast speed and dependable network coverage throughout a big area. The only downside is its price, it costs around 319$ on Amazon.
Is it OK to have multiple Wi-Fi Extenders?
Yes! It is more than OK if you use 2 extenders at the same time. They are generally used to extract networks fast to the dead ends of the home. You can double the speed if you add just another extender.
Do Wi-Fi extenders really work?
Yes! Power line Wi-Fi extenders use cables inside walls to re-broadcast wireless signals.
What is the best Wi-Fi extender 2021?
With fast speed and dependable network coverage, Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX800 Tri-band Wi-Fi Extender is voted as the best Wi-Fi extender in 2021.
Zakriya is right from Pakistan. He was raised with a quest for gaming craze with an organization of specialized folks. This is the place he understood that computer games can grow your creative mind to unlimited universes. Gaming is no longer for him only a method for amusement, yet enthusiasm. From the youthful age of 8, gaming was simply the main method for communicating. At whatever point he got the opportunity to play computer games, he took it with two hands and played for quite a long time. Much to his dismay that gaming would turn into his closest companion.
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