How To Set Up An Extender Wifi

With so many of us now working from home, or just bingeing on Netflix and YouTube because of lockdown restrictions, it'due south easy to find that your dwelling house Wi-Fi network starts to struggle with all that online activeness, even if you accept i of the best wireless routers money can buy.

Many people are buying new routers, and even expensive mesh networking systems, in society to amend their home Wi-Fi, but a simple range extender can often provide a more affordable solution.

As the proper name suggests, a range extender tin boost the Wi-Fi from your existing router, helping it to reach upstairs bedrooms, or out into the garden. They can be a niggling catchy to prepare, though, so here's our quick guide to getting started with range extenders.

Brand sure yous check out our roundup of the best Wi-Fi extenders to help you choose which i will exist for you.

Here are the best Wi-Fi half dozen routers of 2022.

1. Choosing the right model

The get-go step when setting up a range extender is simply to decide whether you want to buy a compact model that plugs directly into a mains power socket, or a larger model that will need to sit on a desk-bound or shelf.

The plug-in models are really convenient, although a desktop model may have additional features, such as Ethernet ports, which tin come up in handy as well. We'll go with this RE650 extender from TP-Link, which is a fast and affordable plug-in pick for effectually $120/£80/AU$180. Yet, the prepare-up procedure will be similar for desktop models likewise.

ii. Getting started

Regardless of which room you lot plan to use it in, you'll start the set-up process with the range extender existence plugged in and sitting equally close as possible to your primary router.

Mod routers and range extenders now have a WPS button ('Wi-Fi Protected Set-up') that creates a two-infinitesimal window in which the 2 devices can connect to each other without needing your Wi-Fi password.

That'south the quickest option for getting started, but y'all'll still need to apply the manufacturer'southward app to consummate the initial gear up-up, so we'll become through the full process using the app hither.

three. Connecting the Wi-Fi range extender

Before you lot launch the extender's app, just get into the Wi-Fi Settings panel on your smartphone or tablet.

Our normal router is called 0606 Hyperoptic, and you can see that it transmits Wi-Fi on both the two.4GHz and v.0GHz bands. You can likewise run into that the range extender is transmitting its ain wi-fi signals - over again on the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands - chosen TP-Link_Extender_2.4GHz and TP-Link_Extender_5GHz.

If you used WPS to get started, you may already be connected to the range extender. Alternatively, yous can just tap on TP-Link_Extender_2.4GHz to connect your smartphone to the range extender.

4. Dual-band Wi-Fi

Now that nosotros've connected our smartphone to the range extender, we tin can launch the TP-Link app. Most manufacturers will ask y'all to enter an email address and password in order to create a individual account.

The app volition then browse the area and bear witness all the other Wi-Fi networks that information technology has detected. The app will probably start with the two.4GHz band, and you can see our 0606 Hyperoptic 2.4GHz router network correct at the height of the list. We at present need to select the router's 2.4GHz network so that the app can link the router and the range extender together.

5. Merging the Wi-Fi

The app now asks you to enter the password for your router'southward ii.4GHz Wi-Fi network. This allows the range extender to connect its ain 2.4GHz Wi-Fi signal to the ii.4GHz signal of our main router.

You'll too need to repeat the process for the 5GHz ring as well. Once this is done, the range extender is linked to the router on both Wi-Fi bands, and this allows the range extender to human action every bit a kind of relay so that your computers and mobile devices in rooms that normally have poor Wi-Fi can at present link to your router via the range extender.

6. Network names

This is where things can get a piffling confusing. At the start of the gear up-up process, the range extender'south Wi-Fi network was called TP-Link_Extender on both the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands.

Only now that the range extender is linked to our router, the app changes the name of the range extender Wi-Fi to use the same name - 0606 Hyperoptic - as our router's Wi-Fi network.

Nonetheless, it adds 'EXT' on the end - 0606 Hyperoptic 1GB Fibre 5G_EXT - and then that you lot tin can all the same tell the range extender's new network autonomously from the router'southward normal network.

vii. Halfway business firm

That's a bit confusing, only the app does allow you to change the proper name of the range extender network to something that'due south easier to call back. Let's go along it unproblematic past calling it 'Range Extender ii.4GHz' and 'Range Extender 5.0GHz'.

Simply recollect, though, that the range extender is still siting right next to our router, and so it's now time to unplug the range extender and move it further away. You should start by positioning it about halfway between the router and the room or other location that where you need to heave the Wi-Fi signal.

8. Location, Location, Location

At present take a look at the range extender'southward app. At the moment, we've got the range extender positioned most halfway between our primary router and our habitation part where the Wi-Fi point tends to be a bit weak.

Nonetheless, the app is telling usa that there'due south a very proficient connection between the router and the range extender, so we can still move the range extender farther abroad from the router without losing the connection. The TP-Link app also includes a 'location assistant' feature that tin help y'all to observe the best location for the range extender.

9. Moving out of range

If nosotros go back to our smartphone's Wi-Fi Settings panel, we can at present come across that we have two distinct networks - the main router (0606 Hyperoptic) on both 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands, and the Range Extender network, which is also on 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands.

If yous move into a room that tin can't selection up the Wi-Fi from the router then yous can switch to the Range Extender network to improve reception.

You've already entered the router's Wi-Fi password into the app, and so you don't need to do this again. However, you do still need to select the Range Extender network each time you go dorsum to that room with the dodgy Wi-Fi.

10. Finishing upwards

Switching between networks isn't too much problem for a single device, such equally a laptop that may spend most of its time in a sleeping room or office. Still, it can be a bit of a chore with smartphones and tablets that move around a lot more.

Some of the more expensive range extenders - such as Netgear's new EAX80 model - can eliminate this problem past merging their own Wi-Fi network with the network from your main router.

This is called 'roaming' as it allows you to automatically switch between the router and the range extender, depending on which ane is closer and provides the strongest Wi-Fi signal.

We bear witness y'all how to boost your Wi-Fi point