wifi extender recommendations please

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Level 1

4 points

wifi extender recommendations please

I keep having issues with our home wifi extender in the wifi dead spot - our kitchen and outdoor patio where of course, we spend a lot of time. Partner's android phone has no issues. As our TP Link extender did a poor job, I bought a "fast booster" online. It has been intermittently flaky on my phone, but recently I spotted "insecure network" warnings and now it takes me to captive.apple.com and keeps asking, whenever I open an app, to find and connect to devices on my network.

I've therefore decided to replace it with a known brand extender, but Argos tell me that if I open the cellophane on their TP Link TP AC750 I won't get a refund if it doesn't work. Reviews suggest it works for 80% of people, but our walls are 18" stone and I don't want to spend more than I need to sort the issue. Nor do I want to create more emf's than necessary. Suggestions please.

iPhone 15 Plus, iOS 17

Posted on Apr 26, 2024 2:29 AM

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Answer 1

Tesserax

Level 10

148,721 points

Apr 26, 2024 2:33 PM in response to leoniera

The primary issue for extending your network successfully will be those stone walls. As you can imagine, a Wi-Fi signal will have a difficult time traversing through them.

This leaves you with a few potential options:

Using a Wi-Fi extender ... which, it appears, you're not having much luck with, or
Running Ethernet

For the first item, where you place the extender can make a big difference. What is important to understand is that the extender can only extend the Wi-Fi signal with the same bandwidth that it receives from the "main" wireless router. If that extender is also inside your home, it will also have trouble going through those walls. You can try placing the extender near a window, but even that is not ideal.

The second option would require running an Ethernet line between your existing wireless router to a location outside. Then you can place an additional wireless access point that that location to broadcast a Wi-Fi signal.

Unfortunately, the second option comes at an additional cost.

What I can't provide you is much in the way of details on exactly what you need as there are too many unknowns to consider without really knowing your environment. This is where you may want to consider hire a networking specialist in your area to get to a solution that will work best for you.

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