Optimizing your Wi-Fi extender's range
Optimizing your Wi-Fi extender's range
Wi-Fi Range Extenders are a quick and easy way to improve Wi-Fi coverage and eliminate “dead zones” within your home. We offer a variety of Wi-Fi extenders to accommodate the needs of most home networks. Sometimes after installing a Wi-Fi Extender, you might notice that your Wi-Fi range doesn’t seem to be improved or extended as much as you were anticipating. This can be the result of several factors; however, the primary contributors are as follows:
- Your router’s WiFi coverage range.
- Distance between the extender and the router.
- The WiFi roaming capabilities of your individual wireless devices, such as phones, tablets, etc.
To get the most out of your Wi-Fi Extender, we always recommend installing the device in an area of your home where the router's Wi-Fi signal is sufficiently strong; yet far enough from the router to effectively extend its range. With Dual Band Wi-Fi Extenders, it’s especially important to make sure the extender is placed in an area where your router’s 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands are both sufficiently strong.
Finding the “sweet spot” for a Wi-Fi Extender within your home can sometimes require a bit of experimentation, since homes have varying layouts, Wi-Fi router performance levels, and router placement. We recommend setting up the extender in an area near the router, then once complete, relocating the extender to a halfway point between the router and the area you want additional Wi-Fi coverage for. Thankfully, our Wi-Fi Extenders are equipped with indicator LEDs that will help you to know whether the area you’ve chosen is ideal or not.
As always, our Support Team is happy to answer questions about our products. If you have any questions about our Wi-Fi Range Extenders, feel free to contact our Support Team here: https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/contact-technical-support
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Does the RE300 need to physically be placed in a specific position, I have mine installed in a ceiling outlet, not a wall outlet.
I will expand a bit on my statement, coverage seems ok, however, I have a couple clients that cut in/out of coverage and this is why I ask.
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the Antenna are desinged in a Horizontal propergation format. So Ideally you do want it to be in a wall placement. That said performance should still be acceptable in a ceiling outlet. Just make sure you have a strong signal where the RE is placed and that it is between the router and where service is needed.
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@Carl I just purchased a RE815XE with the intent to provide 6G from my new AXE5400 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6E Router using OneMesh. I located the Router in the living room in the center of my house, and was not getting any 6G in my office in the front of the house. I have tried to install the 815 at the end of the living room closest to my office, and it picks up the 2.4 and 5G fine. However, even just 40 feet away with a straight shot to the visible router sitting 4 feet off the floor a foot from the far wall, the 6G light won't light up. The STUPID "Location Assistant" tells me "Strong Signal, You can plug the extender a little farther from the router..."
What a Joke! No 6G connection, but it is telling me it is a Strong signal and move even farther away. At the exact location where I plugged in the 815, a WiFi signal app on my phone showed a -61dBm 6G signal, and my phone could connect to the router on the 6G channel with a Signal strength of "Good".
I have tried waving around the 4 antennas to try and get a connection, but since the Location Assistant is so totally inept, I have no guidance on if it is improving or not, just that the light never comes on.
Any suggestions on things to try before I return this useless 6e "Range Extender"? And don't suggest moving it closer to the router. When I set up 6G as extend mode, the signal in my office even at that location is marginal. Almost not worth keeping for the $180 I spent to get a lousy 6G signal in my office. Too bad I can't use the LAN port on the Range Extender to link to the Routher and keep the OneMesh benefits. TP-link tech support told me it would only work as an Access Point using the WAN.
Thanks for any suggestions.
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I have been informed that the AXE5400's 6GHz is not yet part of OneMesh. It will be eventually, just not yet. You can extend the 6GHz but it would be a separate SSID. You mention the -61dBm signal strength and that is not all that great of a signal, it's considered to be a medium to low signal, more on the low side so while it should work, depending on obstacles and barriers it could be diminished by the time it reaches the office. Additionally, since it's a true Extender/router relationship it would be half-duplex. Meaning the extender can only communicate in 1 direction at a time. Either to the router or to the client but not both at the same time. This can lead to lag and speed drop. You also may want to consider this. While the higher the band the more throughput you have it also means the lower range. 5Ghz has better throughput than 2.4GHz but has less range. The same is true of 6GHz and 5GHz. This could very well be contributing to the poor performance you are currently experiencing.
Once OneMesh is released for the AXE5400 you may see better performance once all bands are part of the unified network, but I would not be able to say for sure until it can be tested.
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@Carl So far, so goog!
Carl wrote
Wi-Fi Range Extenders are a quick and easy way to improve Wi-Fi coverage and eliminate “dead zones” within your home. We offer a variety of Wi-Fi extenders to accommodate the needs of most home networks. Sometimes after installing a Wi-Fi Extender, you might notice that your Wi-Fi range doesn’t seem to be improved or extended as much as you were anticipating. This can be the result of several factors; however, the primary contributors are as follows:
- Your router’s WiFi coverage range.
- Distance between the extender and the router.
- The WiFi roaming capabilities of your individual wireless devices, such as phones, tablets, etc.
To get the most out of your Wi-Fi Extender, we always recommend installing the device in an area of your home where the router's Wi-Fi signal is sufficiently strong; yet far enough from the router to effectively extend its range. With Dual Band Wi-Fi Extenders, it’s especially important to make sure the extender is placed in an area where your router’s 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands are both sufficiently strong.
Finding the “sweet spot” for a Wi-Fi Extender within your home can sometimes require a bit of experimentation, since homes have varying layouts, Wi-Fi router performance levels, and router placement. We recommend setting up the extender in an area near the router, then once complete, relocating the extender to a halfway point between the router and the area you want additional Wi-Fi coverage for. Thankfully, our Wi-Fi Extenders are equipped with indicator LEDs that will help you to know whether the area you’ve chosen is ideal or not.
As always, our Support Team is happy to answer questions about our products. If you have any questions about our Wi-Fi Range Extenders, feel free to contact our Support Team here: https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/contact-technical-support
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@Carl I don't have a router with Wi-Fi 6 but my business notebook supports it. If I buy a Tp-Link like RE500X that support Wi-Fi 6 can I connect it to the router as 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) and create both an 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) network, for smartphones, and an 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) network for the notebook?
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No, not as a range extender. The extender in RE mode would only send what it receives. However, if you used it in AP mode then yes becuase the extender would creating the wireless network.
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