![]() ![]() Affordable Wi-Fi booster picksįor my first batch of range extender tests a few years back, I tested four bargain-priced models to see which one offered the most bang for the buck. If you're looking to make lots of video calls, upload lots of large files to the web or anything else requiring sturdy upload performance, then upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 hardware should be high on your list of priorities (assuming you haven't already made the jump). None of them failed to deliver a usable upload connection outright, though the D-Link EaglePro AI came close with single-digit upload speeds in the basement's farthest reaches.Īnother key takeaway from these tests is that Wi-Fi 6 delivers some of its most noticeable speed boosts on the upload side of things. Uploads were another story, as all of the extenders struggled. Meanwhile, in the basement, our top picks from TP-Link and Linksys (as well as the high-performing Asus RP-AX56) were each able to keep download speeds above 100Mbps, which is great. With Wi-Fi 6, we barely saw any issues there at all, save for the Netgear Nighthawk X4S. Each of the five extenders struggled to keep uploads speedy in the upstairs dinette, for instance. Things get interesting here - you can see a greater gulf between download and upload performance, as well as some more distinct weak spots and dead zones throughout the house. How did the performance look with an older Wi-Fi 5 device from several years ago?Īgain, this is average download speeds by room on the left, average upload speeds on the right - this time, to an older Wi-Fi 5 device. The D-Link EaglePro AI struggled a bit with upload speeds in the basement, but still kept things above a minimum of 20Mbps or so. With all of them, I had a faster connection throughout the house than I had when I connected through the router alone. So what jumps out? First, all five of these extenders did a decent job of boosting speeds in those last four rooms, down in the basement. All of these speeds are to my Wi-Fi 6 test device, a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop from 2021. On the right, you're looking at the average upload speeds. On the left, this first set of graphs shows you the average download speeds by room for each extender I tested. All five models I tested were able to deliver noticeable improvements to the connection, but some did a better job than others. You can use the LED On/Off switch on the rear panel of the router to turn the LEDs on the top of the router on or off.These graphs show you the average download speeds by room (left) and average upload speeds by room (right) for a Wi-Fi 6 laptop connected to each extender. The WPS LED blinks white during this process and then lights solid white. This button lets you use WPS to join the WiFi network without typing the WiFi password. If this LED is off, the WiFi radios are turned off and you cannot use WiFi to connect to the router. If this LED is lit, the WiFi radios are on. Pressing this button for two seconds turns the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi radios on and off. No device is connected to this Ethernet port. The port is sending or receiving traffic. A powered-on device is connected to the Ethernet port. The LED color indicates the speed: white for Gigabit Ethernet connections and amber for 100 Mbps or 10 Mbps Ethernet connections. An eSATA device is plugged in and is trying to connect. An eSATA device is connected and is ready. ![]() No USB device is connected, or someone clicked the Safely Remove Hardware button and it is now safe to remove the attached USB device. A USB device is plugged in and is trying to connect. The router is sending or receiving WiFi traffic. No Ethernet cable is connected between the router and the modem. The router detected an Ethernet cable connection to the modem. The firmware is upgrading, or the Reset button was pressed. The status LEDs and buttons are located on the top of the router.
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