Best WiFi Extenders to Choose in 2024

A WiFi extender doesn’t replace your existing router, it works together with it, making the original signal stronger.

WiFi extenders work like stereo amplifiers used for driving hi-fi systems. They use electric power from a power supply to increase the strength of the original WiFi signal, transmitting the amplified signal in the air. To accomplish this feat of engineering, WiFi range extenders contain two WiFi antennas: one is used for signal capture and the other one for signal transmission.

A WiFi extender is often referred to as “booster”, “repeater”, or “WiFi extender”, but all these names mean the same thing: a device that captures a WiFi signal, amplifies it, and transmits it.

Most wireless range extenders plug into the standard electrical outlet. They can be then set up with the help of the WPS button or a dedicated smartphone app. WPS is a network security standard that allows WiFi-enabled devices to communicate without entering long passphrases.

With modern WiFi extenders, you get to enjoy the same robust encryption protocols as you get with your main WiFi router, so there’s no need to worry about your privacy. However, you should be prepared for some speed loss. Some of the best WiFi extenders on the market can rebroadcast WiFi signal with only a negligible speed loss, but most single-band extenders lose up to 50 percent of the original bandwidth.

To minimize the speed loss, it’s paramount to position the WiFi extender in the optimal spot, preferably with the help of a professional app for wireless site surveys, Wi-Fi analysis, and troubleshooting such as NetSpot.

A WiFi extender (also known as a WiFi booster, WiFi repeater, and WiFi amplifier) is an electronic device with two WiFi antennas. One of the two antennas receives a signal from a wireless router, and the other antenna broadcasts it after it has been amplified.

When placed correctly, a WiFi extender can help you extend your WiFi network to cover your entire home.

To know whether you’re better off replacing your WiFi router with a more capable model or purchasing one of the wireless extenders mentioned in this article, we recommend you download and use NetSpot to analyze your wireless network.

NetSpot is a professional app for wireless site surveys, Wi-Fi analysis, and troubleshooting. You can download it for free, and it works on both Windows and macOS. Even though NetSpot is praised by professional network administrators, its simple user interface makes it suitable even for regular home users.

WiFi range extenders come in all sizes, shapes, and price ranges. A purchase of a Wi-Fi extender only makes sense if a purchase of a new WiFi router isn’t a cheaper way how to achieve the same result.

Always make sure to read online WiFi extender reviews before you click on the Order button. As you may know, networking equipment isn’t exactly known for its reliability. Some products work seemingly flawlessly, whereas virtually identical alternatives from other manufacturers only cause headaches.

If you care at all about your security and privacy, avoid products from unknown manufacturers and companies with a poor reputation. With almost 400,000 new malware samples detected every day, WiFi security isn’t something to be taken lightly. In the day and age of targeted ransomware attacks, it often takes just a single determined attacker to bring down an entire company or ruin someone’s life.

You should also avoid WiFi range extenders that have suspiciously few positive online reviews because such extenders are likely to perform unreliably, or they may have hidden flaws that become apparent only after weeks and months of use. The only exception are newly released WiFi range extenders that haven’t been available long enough for users and professional reviewers to evaluate their features.

Your WiFi range extender should support the same WiFi standards as your WiFi router. At the moment, the latest WiFi standard in use is IEEE 802.11ad, which provides data throughput rates of up to 6 Gbps. If you have an older router, it most likely supports only the IEEE 802.11n WiFi standard, also known as Wireless N.

This earlier standard can provide data throughput rates of up to 300 Mbps, making it considerably slower than the newest standard but still fast enough even for larger households.

You should also decide whether you need a dual-band WiFi extender or not. A dual-band WiFi extender can broadcast either on the 2.4 GHz or the 5 GHz band. A single-band WiFi extender can only broadcast on the 2.4 GHz band.

If you live in a densely populated area, the chances are there are many wireless routers in your vicinity that broadcast on the 2.4 GHz band, causing network congestions, which lead to lag spikes and slowdowns. Switching to the 5 GHz band is an easy way how you can avoid these issues and often even enjoy faster speeds and a more stable signal.

When selecting the best WiFi extender, you need to decide whether you want to buy a desktop or plug-in extender.

While some home users are technically savvy and don’t mind deciphering cryptic configuration options and reading lengthy manuals, most prefer the installation and configuration process to be as straightforward as possible.

The good news is that most WiFi range extenders — both desktop and plug-in — that are sold today take just a few minutes to install and another few minutes to configure. Almost all of the best WiFi extenders available are equipped with an LED status indicator that clearly informs you when you find the perfect place for your extender.

From there, you simply need to connect the extender to your existing WiFi network and pick a password for the new network. This can be done using a smartphone app or with a simple press of the WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup). WiFi range extenders that don’t have a simple setup process should be avoided because there are countless more convenient alternatives to choose from.

Wi-Fi range extenders are tremendously useful devices that can instantly extend the reach of a weak WiFi network and eliminate places of signal weakness. However, they do have certain limitations, and you should keep them in mind when researching which WiFi extender is the best and deciding whether a new WiFi router wouldn’t be a better solution:

If these limitations of WiFi range extenders are not dealbreakers for you, go ahead and move on to the next chapter of this article to learn how to use NetSpot to plan your WiFi extender purchase.

To select the best WiFi range extender, you should check your current WiFi coverage to see where the weak spots are. In theory, you could take your smartphone or laptop and simply base your analysis on the WiFi strength indicator icon, but a professional wireless site surveillance app such as NetSpot will give you much more accurate results.

NetSpot comes with three survey modes: Inspector, Survey and Planning. The former mode is great if you want to get a quick overview of all WiFi networks in your area, but the latter mode is what you need for a comprehensive WiFi survey.

Even though NetSpot satisfies the needs of professional network administrators, it’s accessible even to casual users. The polished, modern user interface removes all complexity from wireless network surveilling, allowing you to generate detailed signal heatmaps with a few clicks.

It all starts with a map of your local area. You can either upload an existing map or create a new map using NetSpot’s map-building tools. After that, it’s time to walk from room to room until you cover the entire area. NetSpot will then analyze the gathered data and present you with results.