The very best Wi-Fi extenders in 2025

In case your Wi-Fi sign is struggling to achieve each nook of your property, a sign booster — often known as a Wi-Fi extender — is perhaps the repair you want. Whether or not you are coping with annoying lifeless zones, buffering video calls or laggy gaming periods, the appropriate Wi-Fi extender may also help develop protection and enhance connectivity with out forcing you to maneuver your router.

There are various kinds of Wi-Fi extenders to select from. Some fashions use exterior antennas to push the sign farther, whereas others, like mesh extenders, create a seamless, whole-home community. In case you’re merely trying to prolong protection into a particular room, a Wi-Fi repeater can do the job — however it might reduce your bandwidth in half. Extra superior extenders, nonetheless, may also help preserve sturdy speeds and reliability all through your property.

We have rounded up one of the best Wi-Fi extenders to swimsuit totally different wants, whether or not you are searching for an reasonably priced repair or a high-performance improve.

Desk of contents

Greatest Wi-Fi extender for 2025

TP-Hyperlink

TP-Hyperlink has a bunch of Wi-Fi extenders beneath its umbrella, however the one that may possible serve most individuals one of the best is that this AX3000 mannequin, which is available in two variations: the RE700X and the RE705X. Each extenders have the identical specs, together with Wi-Fi 6 assist, however the 705X has a barely totally different design with pull-out antennas on both facet. I examined the 705X, so I’m basing my advice off of my expertise with that mannequin, particularly.

Establishing this extender was as simple as plugging it in and following directions in TP-Hyperlink’s Tether cell app. All the gadgets I attempted adopted the identical fundamental setup course of: first, plug within the extender near your wi-fi router, observe directions in a cell app or on a setup webpage, and as soon as the connection is established, transfer the extender to your required location.

It took all of 5 minutes to pair the 705X with my Verizon FiOS router – most likely essentially the most time-consuming bit was deciding what I wished to call the brand new 5Ghz and a couple of.4Ghz networks. I went with the identical title for each as a result of I didn’t wish to manually select from two totally different bands when connecting issues like my cellphone or laptop computer. The system will mechanically pair your system with the suitable band — for instance, connecting most good residence devices to the two.4Ghz community, which frequently helps scale back latency.

The everlasting location the place I moved the entire extenders I examined was in my basement, since that’s the place we are able to get the spottiest Wi-Fi sign. I first ran velocity assessments on my iPhone and MacBook utilizing Speedtest.internet and Speedcheck.org so I might evaluate them with the usual speeds I acquired when related to my router’s major community. Unsurprisingly, the speeds generated by TP-Hyperlink’s extender have been a lot slower than these from my router’s community, however that was the case with the entire gadgets I examined. Solely our prime decide (see under) acquired near my router’s commonplace speeds, however I anticipated this. Wi-Fi extenders aren’t going to make your connection higher – they’re simply going to present you a wider space of protection. From a spec perspective, each the 705X and the 700X are rated for speeds as much as 2402 Mbps on the 5GHz band and 574 Mbps on 2.4GHz band.

Regardless of the outcomes of my assessments, I used to be pleased to find that I wasn’t held again by the 705X’s seemingly slower speeds. I labored as regular for hours with my cellphone and laptop computer related to the extenders wi-fi community, answering emails, messaging in Slack, streaming YouTube movies and in any other case sustaining just a few dozen tabs in Chrome, with none hiccups or noticeable slow-downs.

I used to be not shocked to seek out TP-Hyperlink’s Tether companion app to be simple to make use of, if a bit of easy, as a result of that was my expertise with TP-Hyperlink’s good residence app. Tether is particularly used with the corporate’s networking gadgets, and also you most likely gained’t spend a ton of time in it after preliminary setup. I particularly like you can title wi-fi gadgets which might be related to your extenders community like your cellphone and good TV. That makes it a lot simpler to know which issues in your house are continually paired with the extender relatively than your router’s default community.

One vital factor to notice with these TP-Hyperlink extenders is that they each assist OneMesh, which is the corporate’s function that means that you can create one seamless community you probably have a suitable mesh router. Since I’m nonetheless utilizing the router offered to me by my ISP, I wasn’t in a position to check out this function, nevertheless it works like this: you probably have a OneMesh router and OneMesh-compatible extenders, you possibly can hyperlink all of them collectively beneath the identical community title. So relatively than having a router community and an extender community beneath the identical roof, all the pieces can be linked and filed beneath your major community’s title.

It’s a small perk that turns into not so small you probably have a spotty extender, and even simply an awkwardly laid-out residence. In my testing, I discovered my cellphone disconnecting from some extenders’ networks once I went upstairs to the primary flooring of the home from my basement. It might then try and reconnect to the extender community, when actually I’d have most well-liked it to default again to my router’s community. That fortunately didn’t occur with TP-Hyperlink’s RE705X, nevertheless it’s one thing to bear in mind when contemplating shopping for a Wi-Fi extender in any respect. If you may get one which has a function like OneMesh, it’ll make your life a lot simpler.

Coming in at $130 and $120, respectively, the RE705X and RE700X will not be the most affordable Wi-Fi extenders on the market, however their protection vary, newest Wi-Fi assist and max speeds make both of them a great decide. If you recognize precisely the place you wish to put an extender and it’s not in a clumsy or hard-to-reach location, the marginally cheaper, antenna-free RE700X may fit simply wonderful for you. However if you need that additional means to tweak antennas to fit your wants, the RE705X is the way in which to go.

Professionals

Simple setup course of
Good efficiency
Simple to make use of companion app
Integrates with TP-Hyperlink OneMesh

$130 at Best Buy

TP-Hyperlink

TP-Link’s RE315 Wi-Fi extender is bodily similar to the RE705X, however with decrease specs and that’s what makes it a $50 system. You’ll stand up to 867 Mbps speeds on the 5GHz band and 300 Mbps on the two.4GHz band, and it solely supplies protection for as much as 1,500 sq. ft. That gained’t be as a lot of a difficulty for most individuals as max speeds will, however you probably have a very giant property, you’re higher off going with a costlier extender that may cowl more room.

There’s additionally no Wi-Fi 6e assist on the RE315, which can be a dealbreaker for individuals who lately invested in a Wi-Fi 6 router. This mannequin does assist OneMesh, although, which is sweet if you have already got a OneMesh system in your house.

I’m specializing in specification variations as a result of my expertise with the RE315 wasn’t that far off from the RE705X. Setup was simply as plain and easy because the RE315 additionally makes use of the Tether cell app, and whereas speeds have been barely decrease in my testing, I didn’t discover an excessive amount of of a distinction in actual world use. For $50 usually, and infrequently nearer to $30 when on sale, the RE315 is a simple decide for anybody who needs a budget-friendly method to fill Wi-Fi lifeless zones of their residence.

Professionals

Inexpensive
Simple setup course of
Good efficiency for the value
Simple to make use of companion app

Cons

Solely supplies 1,500 sq. ft of protection
Doesn’t assist Wi-Fi 6

$20 at Amazon

NETGEAR

Having multiple Wi-Fi community in your home is par for the course in relation to including an extender into the combination. However that’s not so with the Netgear EAX80 mesh community vary extender – it has “seamless good roaming,” which lets you set it up beneath your current SSID title. So as a substitute of disconnecting out of your major wi-fi community and reconnecting to the extender’s community if you transfer out of your front room to your basement, all it’s a must to do is… transfer from one room to a different and let Netgear’s system do the heavy lifting.

That’s one of many premium options included on the EAX80, however its $250 price ticket will be attributed extra so to another perks. It’s a dual-band, Wi-Fi 6e mesh vary extender that may work with just about any wi-fi router you’ll have. It helps speeds as much as 6 Gbps and might have greater than 30 gadgets related to it without delay. So far as sq. footage goes, it’ll widen your Wi-Fi’s protection by as much as 2,500 sq. ft, which needs to be a lot for small and medium-sized properties. It carried out properly in our velocity assessments, coming very near the add/obtain speeds I acquired when being related to my major community earlier than putting in the extender.

There’s nothing out of the bizarre in regards to the Nighthawk cell app, which is what you’ll use to initially arrange the EAX80 extender. After that, you should utilize the app to troubleshoot, examine Wi-Fi speeds and see which gadgets are in your community. It’ll possible be a giant record because you’ll see all the pieces that’s paired to your router’s community as properly. My solely gripe is you can’t edit system names. For instance, my den’s TV reveals up as “LGwebOSTV” and our soundbar in our basement reveals up as “sonyaudio” — however there are a selection of related gadgets with no title in any respect, and we’re simply caught with that.

Apart from its quick speeds and dependable connection, two issues set this Netgear extender aside from the opposite gadgets I examined. First is that seamless good roaming function – not having to change between Wi-Fi networks when going round my residence was tremendous handy. I by no means needed to fear about my laptop computer dropping connection to a devoted extender community once I moved from my basement to my second flooring, which is one thing I ceaselessly needed to take care of when testing different gadgets.

The second differentiating issue is the EAX80’s design. In contrast to different vary extenders which might be chunky blocks that plug instantly into an AC outlet, Netgear’s mannequin seems extra like a standalone router. Whereas that does imply it has a bigger footprint than different gadgets I examined, it was really simpler to seek out good spots for it in my residence as a result of it didn’t should be chained to the wall proper above an outlet. Most individuals, particularly these tight on area, will most likely choose the usual extender design, however the EAX80 gave me a bit extra flexibility. I additionally appreciated that the EAX80 has 4 built-in ports for utilizing an Ethernet cable to bodily join issues like TVs, consoles and extra, plus one USB-A port for hardwiring a printer.

Netgear’s EAX80 vary extender is a strong choice in the event you don’t thoughts dropping a bit of cash to get a bunch of handy options on prime of stellar speeds and Wi-Fi 6 assist. But it surely’s price noting that Netgear has just a few choices which might be just like the EAX80, however with varied variations in velocity, protection and have set. Essentially the most related is the $130 EAX20 extender, which incorporates 1,500 sq. ft of protection, assist for Wi-Fi 6 and as much as 1.8Gbps speeds, plus seamless good roaming capabilities. The wall-plug model of that, the EAX15, is definitely a tad costlier at $140.

Professionals

“Seamless good roaming” helps you to use your current SSID title
Twin-band Wi-Fi 6 assist
Widens protection by 2,500 sq. ft
Glorious efficiency

$239 at Amazon

How do Wi-Fi extenders work?

These helpful wi-fi gadgets do precisely what their title suggests: prolong your Wi-Fi community so it covers extra areas of your property. Most wi-fi extenders plug into an AC outlet and connect with your current router to allow them to then rebroadcast it to spots that your router alone could not cowl properly. As a rule of thumb, you’ll get one of the best outcomes by putting the extender half manner between your router and the lifeless zone you’re attempting to repair or enhance your W-Fi connection and strengthen the wi-fi sign.

One vital factor to notice about Wi-Fi vary extenders (additionally generally referred to as “repeaters”) is that almost all of them really create a brand new Wi-Fi community when rebroadcasting your current one. That community can have a brand new title (it’ll typically be your default community’s title with an EXT appended on the finish, until you alter it) and which means you’ll have to connect with totally different networks when in numerous components of your property. Whereas that’s a small tradeoff in return for improved web connection, some can be extra inconvenienced than others.

In case you’d relatively have one, a lot bigger community in your house, you’re higher off upgrading to mesh networking programs. Mesh programs include a major router and a wi-fi entry level or two that, by default, create one giant Wi-Fi system that needs to be accessible all through your entire residence. They are typically one of the best Wi-Fi routers you may get, however that additionally interprets to costlier, and presumably extra difficult, gadgets. Mesh Wi-Fi programs are, by far, extra expensive than a easy extender, plus you’ll have to work together with your web service supplier to get your property’s current community working in your new router.

What to search for in a Wi-Fi extender

Velocity

Extenders at present can assist single, twin or tri-band Wi-Fi, and they’ll let you know the utmost speeds they assist on all of their obtainable bands. For instance, one dual-band system may assist 600Mbps speeds over its 2.4GHz band and as much as 1300Mbps over its 5GHz band, for a mixed most velocity of 1900Mbps. For one of the best efficiency, you’ll wish to go together with a Wi-Fi extender that has the very best speeds attainable (and people, as you may anticipate, are inclined to value extra). Some extenders even assist Wi-Fi 7, supplying you with the most recent in wi-fi expertise for increased bandwidth, sooner web velocity and decrease latency.

Nonetheless, it’s vital to do not forget that Wi-Fi extenders will not be true “sign boosters” since they aren’t designed to enhance speeds throughout your property. In truth, chances are you’ll discover that the extender’s community is slower than your router’s. As a substitute, extenders are designed to extend the sturdy Wi-Fi protection all through your property, making them ideally suited for filling in lifeless zones. Some mesh extenders may also help create a extra seamless community, lowering the drop in velocity and enhancing connectivity in bigger areas.

Vary, and variety of supported gadgets

With the title of the gaming being protection space, being attentive to a tool’s vary is vital. Relying on the scale of your property and property, chances are you’ll solely want as much as 1,200 sq. ft of protection. However these with bigger properties will wish to spring for an extender that may assist upwards of two,000+ sq. ft of protection.

Equally, these with plenty of devices will need an extender that may deal with them all of sudden. In case you spend most of your time in your cellphone or laptop computer and perhaps have your good TV on-line for just a few hours of Netflix every day, you might get by with a extra restricted extender. Good residence aficionados and tech lovers ought to spend money on one which gained’t buckle beneath the strain of some dozen related gadgets. That is particularly vital in the event you plan on linking the entire gadgets in a sure a part of your property to your Wi-Fi vary extender’s community, relatively than on to your current router. Some fashions with exterior antennas can enhance efficiency by offering stronger, extra directional wi-fi sign.

Design

There isn’t a ton of innovation in relation to design within the Wi-Fi extender area. Many of the ones you’ll discover at present are rounded rectangles roughly the scale of your hand that plug into a regular wall outlet. They normally have just a few indicator lights that may present you when the extender is related, how sturdy its sign energy is and when there’s an issue, and a few will even have moveable exterior antennas that corporations declare present even higher Wi-Fi sign. Usually, they’re fairly easy to put in and get related, however in the event you’re battling methods to arrange your Wi-Fi extender, there are many YouTube movies you possibly can try.

Apart from that, there are the scant few standalone Wi-Fi extenders that sit on an finish desk or a desk, and people look fairly just like common ol’ routers. However make no mistake, something labeled as an extender or a “Wi-Fi repeater” will want an anchor router to ensure that it to work.

One other handy function you’ll discover on most Wi-Fi extenders is an additional Ethernet connection port (or just a few). This lets you use the extender as a wi-fi entry level in the event you join it to your current router, or an adapter to offer gadgets like TVs, good residence hubs or recreation consoles a hardwired connection to the web. Unsurprisingly, this wired connection normally supplies you with the quickest speeds attainable, so chances are you’ll wish to use it to your most important gadgets.

Wi-Fi extender FAQs

What is the distinction between a wifi booster and extender?

These days, there’s actually no distinction between a Wi-Fi booster and Wi-Fi extender – they’re simply totally different names for a similar factor. Beforehand, nonetheless, Wi-Fi boosters have been gadgets that acquired alerts from wi-fi routers, broadcasting them to a different community. This basically extends the vary of the sign. Wi-Fi extenders develop the protection inside your property’s Wi-Fi community, however typically you will notice extenders described as boosters.

Is a Wi-Fi extender higher than a mesh router?

Mesh routers, or mesh Wi-Fi systems, use a number of gadgets (or nodes) throughout your property to create a bigger residence community. Primarily, you may have a number of routers round your property with these programs, and that may hopefully present one of the best protection attainable. Wi-Fi extenders, then again, are normally only one system that extends your current Wi-Fi sign, and so they typically require you to change networks when connecting. Wi-Fi extenders are extra reasonably priced, although, and are nice in the event you’re touring or want a Wi-Fi sign in harder-to-reach areas. Nonetheless, a mesh router can supply a greater long-term resolution to improve your whole residence’s Wi-Fi.

Ought to I exploit a number of Wi-Fi extenders?

Some folks may have to make use of a number of Wi-Fi extenders, as an illustration, if your property is giant or has lifeless zones in numerous areas. However in the event you do use a number of Wi-Fi extenders, there’s an opportunity of interference. You might also must manually connect with the extenders individually, which isn’t at all times handy.

What’s the most distance for a Wi-Fi extender?

The utmost distance for a Wi-Fi extender varies relying on the mannequin, however most can successfully prolong your wi-fi sign between 800 and a couple of,500 sq. ft. Some high-end fashions could attain even farther, particularly in the event that they function exterior antennas or are a part of a mesh system with extra devoted wi-fi entry factors.

Nonetheless, take into account that real-world efficiency depends upon components like your property’s format, wall supplies and interference from different gadgets. For finest outcomes, place your extender about midway between your router and the realm with weak or no Wi-Fi connection. At all times examine the producer’s specs — a few of our prime picks clearly record their anticipated vary so you will discover one that matches your area.

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