The best Wi-Fi extenders in 2025

Most switch charge: 2402 Mbps | Vary: 110 ft

TP-Hyperlink has a bunch of Wi-Fi extenders beneath its umbrella, however the one that may probably serve most individuals the perfect 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 completely different design with pull-out antennas on both facet. I examined the 705X, so I’m basing my suggestion off of my expertise with that mannequin, particularly.

Establishing this extender was as straightforward as plugging it in and following directions in TP-Hyperlink’s Tether cell app. The entire gadgets I attempted adopted the identical primary setup course of: first, plug within the extender near your wi-fi router, comply with 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 – in all probability 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 need to manually select from two completely different bands when connecting issues like my cellphone or laptop computer. The machine will robotically pair your machine with the suitable band — for instance, connecting most sensible dwelling devices to the two.4Ghz community, which frequently helps cut back latency.

The everlasting location the place I moved all the extenders I examined was in my basement, since that’s the place we will get the spottiest Wi-Fi sign. I first ran pace checks 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 most important community. Unsurprisingly, the speeds generated by TP-Hyperlink’s extender had been a lot slower than these from my router’s community, however that was the case with all the gadgets I examined. Solely our high decide (see beneath) acquired near my router’s normal speeds, however I anticipated this. Wi-Fi extenders aren’t going to make your connection higher – they’re simply going to offer 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 checks, I used to be glad 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 a number of dozen tabs in Chrome, with none hiccups or noticeable slow-downs.

I used to be not stunned to search out TP-Hyperlink’s Tether companion app to be straightforward to make use of, if a bit of easy, as a result of that was my expertise with TP-Hyperlink’s sensible dwelling app. Tether is particularly used with the corporate’s networking gadgets, and also you in all probability received’t spend a ton of time in it after preliminary setup. I particularly like you can title wi-fi gadgets which can be related to your extenders community like your cellphone and sensible TV. That makes it a lot simpler to know which issues in your house are always paired with the extender moderately than your router’s default community.

One necessary factor to notice with these TP-Hyperlink extenders is that they each assist OneMesh, which is the corporate’s characteristic that means that you can create one seamless community if in case you have a suitable mesh router. Since I’m nonetheless utilizing the router offered to me by my ISP, I wasn’t capable of take a look at out this characteristic, however it works like this: if in case you have a OneMesh router and OneMesh-compatible extenders, you’ll be able to hyperlink all of them collectively beneath the identical community title. So moderately than having a router community and an extender community beneath the identical roof, all the pieces can be linked and filed beneath your most important community’s title.

It’s a small perk that turns into not so small if in case you have a spotty extender, and even simply an awkwardly laid-out dwelling. In my testing, I discovered my cellphone disconnecting from some extenders’ networks once I went upstairs to the primary ground of the home from my basement. It could 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, however it’s one thing to remember when contemplating shopping for a Wi-Fi extender in any respect. If you will get one which has a characteristic like OneMesh, it’ll make your life a lot simpler.

Coming in at $130 and $120, respectively, the RE705X and RE700X is probably not the most cost effective Wi-Fi extenders on the market, however their protection vary, newest Wi-Fi assist and max speeds make both of them an excellent decide. If you understand precisely the place you need to put an extender and it’s not in a clumsy or hard-to-reach location, the marginally cheaper, antenna-free RE700X may go simply high quality for you. However if you need that additional skill to tweak antennas to fit your wants, the RE705X is the best way to go.

Most switch charge: 867 Mbps | Vary: 1500 sq.ft

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 machine. You’ll stand up to 867 Mbps speeds on the 5GHz band and 300 Mbps on the two.4GHz band, and it solely gives protection for as much as 1,500 sq. ft. That received’t be as a lot of a difficulty for most individuals as max speeds will, however if in case you have a very giant property, you’re higher off going with a costlier extender that may cowl extra space.

There’s additionally no Wi-Fi 6e assist on the RE315, which can be a dealbreaker for many who not too long ago 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 for the reason that RE315 additionally makes use of the Tether cell app, and whereas speeds had 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 desires a budget-friendly approach to fill Wi-Fi lifeless zones of their dwelling.

Most switch charge: 4800 Mbps | Vary: 2500 sq.ft

Having a couple of Wi-Fi community in your home is par for the course in relation to including an extender into the combo. However that’s not so with the Netgear EAX80 mesh community vary extender – it has “seamless sensible roaming,” which lets you set it up beneath your present SSID title. So as an alternative of disconnecting out of your most important wi-fi community and reconnecting to the extender’s community while you transfer out of your lounge to your basement, all it’s important to do is… transfer from one room to a different and let Netgear’s machine do the heavy lifting.

That’s one of many premium options included on the EAX80, however its $250 price ticket may 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 might have. It helps speeds as much as 6 Gbps and may 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 must be lots for small and medium-sized houses. It carried out properly in our pace checks, coming very near the add/obtain speeds I acquired when being related to my most important community earlier than putting in the extender.

There’s nothing out of the peculiar concerning the Nighthawk cell app, which is what you’ll use to initially arrange the EAX80 extender. After that, you should use the app to troubleshoot, examine Wi-Fi speeds and see which gadgets are in your community. It’ll probably be an enormous listing 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 machine names. For instance, my den’s TV exhibits up as “LGwebOSTV” and our soundbar in our basement exhibits up as “sonyaudio” — however there are a variety of related gadgets with no title in any respect, and we’re simply caught with that.

Except for its quick speeds and dependable connection, two issues set this Netgear extender aside from the opposite gadgets I examined. First is that seamless sensible roaming characteristic – not having to change between Wi-Fi networks when going round my dwelling 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 ground, which is one thing I incessantly needed to cope with when testing different gadgets.

The second differentiating issue is the EAX80’s design. Not like different vary extenders which can be chunky blocks that plug instantly into an AC outlet, Netgear’s mannequin appears to be like extra like a standalone router. Whereas that does imply it has a bigger footprint than different gadgets I examined, it was really simpler to search out good spots for it in my dwelling as a result of it didn’t should be chained to the wall proper above an outlet. Most individuals, particularly these tight on house, will in all probability want 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 stable possibility should you don’t thoughts dropping a bit of cash to get a bunch of handy options on high of stellar speeds and Wi-Fi 6 assist. Nevertheless it’s value noting that Netgear has a number of choices which can be just like the EAX80, however with numerous variations in pace, protection and have set. Probably 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 sensible roaming capabilities. The wall-plug model of that, the EAX15, is definitely a tad costlier at $140.