Range extenders like the Nighthawk work by connecting wirelessly to the router you already have in an area where your Wi-Fi signal is strong, and rebroadcasting that signal to parts of your house where the signal is weak or nonexistent. With a Wi-Fi range extender, you can boost a weak Wi-Fi signal, and even bring high-speed wireless connectivity to parts of your house that previously had no coverage. This extender has a range of up to 2,000 square feet, which makes it great for extending a network to a different floor or the distant corners of a large home. It’s also able to handle a lot of devices at once. The AC2200 part of the name means it can deliver 2.2Gbps of bandwidth at once (we’ve got an explanation of what that actually means here), which is enough to stream Netflix in 4K, video chat on FaceTime, and maintain a competitive edge in online games, on several devices all at once. Realistically, your internet connection won’t be this fast, but if you pay extra for a super fast connection, it’s worth bearing in mind this unit will support it. It’s designed to plug directly into a wall socket, and it supports WPS push-button setup, which makes it really easy to set up and use. It doesn’t have an outlet pass-through, so it does take up one outlet, but it leaves the other free. If you have any devices that don’t have Wi-Fi, this extender has you covered there as well. The Nighthawk X4 includes an Ethernet port that allows you to use a network cable to connect a smart TV, game console, or anything else requiring a wired connection. Wireless Spec: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) | Security: WPA2 | Standard/Speed: AC2200 | Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: No | Wired Ports: 1 The ideal scenario for this extender is expanding a spotty wireless network into a guest room or home office where you expect to connect only a few devices at a time. It can provide a maximum of 1,000 square feet of coverage, and it can handle about enough bandwidth to stream in 4K, video chat, and download big files on a couple devices at once without a lot of slow down. If you have smart home devices that have trouble connecting to your network, this extender can help with that as well. Smart home devices require a connection to your network, but they don’t use up a lot of bandwidth. This extender has a small size to go along with its low price, and it’s designed to be plugged directly into a power socket. It leaves the top outlet free for your other electronics, but it does use up the bottom one as it doesn’t have a pass-through. It does include a single Ethernet port though, which makes it a great option for your home office if you have a computer that doesn’t support Wi-Fi. Wireless Spec: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) | Security: WPA2 | Standard/Speed: AC750 | Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: No | Beamforming: No | Wired Ports: 1 Jargon aside, what this means is that Wi-Fi 6 is both faster and more efficient than Wi-Fi 5, which means it allows more devices to connect at once without experiencing slowdown. Devices also use less power when connected to Wi-Fi 6, which can translate to longer battery life. Apple brought Wi-Fi 6 to their phones starting with the iPhone 11, and it’s also supported in the latest laptops, game consoles, and other devices. If you have one of these devices, get this - The TP-Link RE505X lets you enjoy the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 throughout your home, instead of just in the immediate vicinity of your router. Wireless Spec: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) | Security: WPA2 | Standard/Speed: AX1500 | Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: No | Wired Ports: 1 The Orbi RBS50Y has a durable IP66 rating, which means it’s capable of withstanding high-pressure jets of water from multiple directions. You could technically hit this extender with your garden hose without interrupting the Wi-Fi signal, so a little rain and wind is unlikely to phase it. Just avoid knocking it into the pool, and you’ll be fine. In addition to being weather-proof, the Orbi RBS50Y also provides great connectivity. It can cover up to 2,500 square feet, has three data bands, and has 3Gbps of bandwidth to share among your devices. With those specs, your network is likely to be just as strong and fast outside as it is inside. Wireless Spec: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) | Security: WPA2 | Standard/Speed: AC3000 | Bands: Tri-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: None This extender blankets an area of up to 2,500 square feet with a high-speed Wi-Fi 6 network. Its capabilities rival many high-end, standalone routers, which means you can expect the same speeds and strong connections from devices connected to this as devices connected to your main Wi-Fi network. The AX part of the name refers to Wi-Fi 6, also known as 802.11ax, while the 6000 means this extender can handle up to 6Gbps of data at once. It also supports beamforming, which allows compatible devices to form a stronger connection, and has four Ethernet ports for connecting devices via a cable—something you’ll ideally want to do for the best speeds for devices like a streaming TV or console. It’s very fast, but bear in mind you may not need or be able to use that extra speed. Your connection speeds will depend on your internet connection and main router, but this extender is ready to handle just about anything you can throw at it. Wireless Spec: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) | Security: WPA2 | Standard/Speed: AX6000 | Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 4 This is a good extender to choose if you need to extend Wi-Fi to a busy part of your house, or you have a large house with several rooms that need coverage. It has better overall range than the other options, and it’s capable of handling a lot of data at once. That makes it a good fit for covering a family room or busy home office, with a bunch of devices all connected at once. It also has a single Ethernet port, which is great for connecting a computer or game console. While the TP-Link RE650 is powerful and lets you extend your Wi-Fi over a large area, it’s also very easy to use and set up. It uses an app-based setup procedure that walks you through the process with on-screen prompts, and even includes a signal indicator to take all the guesswork out of choosing where to install the extender. That means you don’t need to worry about trying to get the best connection, even if you don’t have a lot of experience with networks. Wireless Spec: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) | Security: WPA2 | Standard/Speed: AC2600 | Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 1 The Netgear PowerLINE 1000 sends a network connection through the electrical wiring in your house to an adapter, which creates its own Wi-Fi network at the other end. Devices that connect to the network are then connected to your main router through the electrical wiring in your house. It supports up to 1Gbps of bandwidth, which makes it a good solution for spreading a Wi-Fi signal to a small home office or guest bedroom where a connection would otherwise be impossible. In addition to creating a remote Wi-Fi network that connects back to your router through the electrical wiring, the PowerLINE 1000 also includes an Ethernet port for connecting a smart TV, game console, or computer that doesn’t support Wi-Fi. You can also add up to 16 adapters to the system to bring both wired and wireless connectivity to different parts of your home. Wireless Spec: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) | Security: WPA2 | Standard/Speed: AC1000 | Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: No | Beamforming: No | Wired Ports: 1 Unlike most Wi-Fi range extenders, the TL-WR902AC is really small. In fact, it tips the scales at about 8 ounces. It’s also powered through a micro-USB port, which means you don’t need to pack a special power adapter. It will run off just about any USB power supply, like your phone charger, or even a portable power pack. This extender’s range and bandwidth are on the low end, which means it doesn’t extend Wi-Fi very far, and you can’t connect too many devices at once. It has plenty of bandwidth to stream in 4K though, if you connect it to a fast-enough internet connection, and portability is the bigger concern anyway if you’re just trying to stream Netflix in a hotel. Then when you get home, you can use it to boost the Wi-Fi signal in your house as well. Wireless Spec: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) | Security: WPA2, Guest Wi-Fi Secure Access | Standard/Speed: AC750 | Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: No | Beamforming: No | Wired Ports: 1 This extender plugs directly into a power outlet, but it’s quite small, so it doesn’t block the other outlet. It also supports WPS for one-touch connections, or you can have the TP-Link app walk you through the process if you prefer. The TP-Link RE200 has plenty of bandwidth to stream high definition video, download big files, and play games, as long as you don’t need to do all of those at once on a bunch of different devices. Wireless Spec: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) | Security: WPA2 | Standard/Speed: AC750 | Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: No | Beamforming: No | Wired Ports: 1 If you have a multi-level home, a large amount of square footage, or you simply have areas in your home that don’t get a good signal for one reason or another, a Wi-Fi extender can help improve your coverage. They’re also handy for pushing a signal to your backyard or deck, where coverage is often weaker due to interference.
About Our Trusted Experts
Jesse Hollington is a freelance writer with over 10 years of experience writing about technology and three decades of experience in information technology and networking. He’s installed, tested, and configured just about every type and brand of router, firewall, wireless access point, and network extender in places ranging from single-family dwellings to office buildings. university campuses, and even coast-to-coast wide-area network (WAN) deployments. Just keep in mind, Wi-Fi extenders are designed only to fill in one specific area. Think of it like your router creating a bubble of Wi-Fi, and then the extender creating a second bubble near the edge of the original one. If you’re having coverage problems in multiple areas in different parts of your home, you’ll need multiple extenders or a long-range router. If you think of your Wi-Fi signal in the same way, you’ll realize it’s also going to weaken as it travels over longer distances, especially as it goes through doors, walls, floors, appliances, and other obstacles. If you purchase an extender with 1,200 square feet of coverage, that coverage is in addition to your router, so if your router provides 2,000 square feet of coverage, you can expect about 3,200 square feet of total coverage—assuming you place the Wi-Fi extender at the very edge of your existing router’s range. In most cases, you’ll likely end up with some overlap. Andrew Hayward is a Chicago-based writer who has been covering technology and video games since 2006. His areas of expertise include smartphones, wearable gadgets, smart home devices, video games, and esports. He reviewed several of the WiFi extenders on our list. Brittany Vincent writes for a variety of publications including Complex, IGN, Tom’s Hardware, CNN Underscored, Mic, Mashable, GamesRadar, Destructoid, Kotaku, and GameSpot. She reviewed some of the WiFi extenders featured on our list. Erika Rawes has written for Digital Trends, USA Today, Cheatsheet.com, and more. Previously a personal finance writer and freelance tech writer, Erika has tested more than 50 consumer technology products, ranging from kitchen gadgets to WiFi extenders, cameras, and more. Andy Zahn has been writing for Lifewire since April 2019. He is a consumer technology expert who has tested several of the products on this list.
