Extend WiFi Signal

1. Wi-Fi repeaters can connect to your router and amplify its signal. If you’ve ever heard about Wi-Fi range

extenders, well... they’re the same thing!

It’s one of the best solutions, because it doesn’t require a complex setup. Simply place the repeater 15-20 feet

away from the router, closer to the area that lacks a decent Wi-Fi signal.

Resist the temptation to move it straight into the area that lacks wireless signal, though, because its efficiency

will be significantly decreased. A decent range extender can easily add 30-40 feet to the range of your Wi-Fi

network.

2. Connect another router to the existing router.

It’s the perfect setup if you’ve got an older router, and you’ve revived it using an OS like DD-WRT.

My recommendation is to connect the two routers using a standard Ethernet cable. It may not look pretty, but

this way you’ll get the fastest Internet connection speed.

I’ve seen many high quality, inexpensive Ethernet cables that can have lengths of up to 100 feet. If you’ve got

an old router and you want to have fast Wi-Fi Internet access in the basement, and even outside your house,

this is exactly what you need!

3. I know, long Ethernet cables can be ugly. I mean, they look quite pretty if they are invisible, but very few

people like to see them running along walls, and so on.

If you dislike the idea of having a 100 feet Ethernet cable running through your home, you can use a pair of

Don’t worry, you won’t have to buy two devices - they come in pairs! Simply plug one of them in a socket near

the router and the other one in the area that needs a stronger Wi-Fi signal.

Then, press a button on each Powerline adapter and they will pair - how simple is that? I am pretty sure that

you already knew this: these devices use the power line to transport the Internet data packets.

The only drawback is the somewhat limited data transfer speed. The signal needs to be encoded and decoded

one more time, after all. Still, this may be the ideal solution for some of you, who may not like the idea of using

those huge Ethernet cables.

4. Did you know that there are close to 10 Wi-Fi enabled devices in most American homes? But maybe you aren’t

an average citizen, so you only need a strong wireless signal for a single device. For you, everything would be

perfect if your laptop would pick up a decent Wi-Fi signal.

If this is the case, it’s time to clap your hands or pat yourself on the back! You can purchase a modern,

external Wi-Fi adapter and disable the built-in wireless board.

Of course, if you like to play with delicate hardware, you can even replace the internal Wi-Fi chip with a new

one, and thus benefit from a significant wireless speed and range increase without making your laptop any

bulkier.

5. I’ll end by letting you know about the most efficient, and at the same time most expensive method: mesh

routers. These are nothing more than a bunch of routers that can work together as a team.

They usually come in packages that contain 2 to 4 routers, and each device can (and should) be placed in a

different area.

The setup is really easy, and then the routers can communicate with each other and with their clients, offering

a strong Wi-Fi signal everywhere.

It’s clearly the winning solution, if you are ready to invest $300-$500 into a mesh network system.