Home networking can be tricky. Some rooms may not be able to get the appropriate Wi-Fi speeds. The most common reason is due to the number of walls between the room and your router. Home Wi-Fi Enhancement solutions are a great way to solve this issue. These are devices that ensure that Wi-Fi signals are more efficiently distributed throughout your home.
We’ve rated the various types of Wi-Fi Enhancement Solutions, so you can choose the best option for you.
- Mesh Device
$$$ | Best Quality
Mesh devices are a cluster of Wi-Fi intelligent hubs that communicate with each other and manage the roaming of Wi-Fi devices between hubs. A Mesh solution usually consists of 3 hubs/nodes. It has the intelligence to manage roaming, efficiency, quality, and data using many built-in features.
- Wi-Fi Routers/Access Points
$$ | Good Quality
Routers and Access points are Wi-Fi communication hubs which connect Wi-Fi devices (mobile phone, tablet, laptop etc.) by means of Wi-Fi technology.
A router has a fixed cable which is connected directly to the modem. This connection serves as the Internet connection feed. The devices will now connect to this router. The router routes the traffic between the router and the modem .
An Access point has a cable which is connected directly to the modem. This connection serves as the Internet connection link/feed. All devices connected to this hub, and all devices connected to the modem form a single network.
Methods of setting up your Wi-Fi router/AP
- Direct network cable between your modem and Wi-Fi solution located in another room.
- Power Line Adapters (PA)
- One PA connect to the modem (central hub)
- One PA connects to each extended room (remote hub)
- Wi-Fi Repeater / Range Extender / Range Expander
$ | Poor Quality
Note: This solution may degrade the quality of service and is not recommended.
A Wi-Fi repeater connects Wi-Fi devices (mobile phone, tablet, laptop etc.) to the repeater by means of Wi-Fi technology. A separate Wi-Fi connection between the repeater and the modem serves as the Internet link/feed. Depending on the repeater, all devices connected to the this device and modem may form a single or separate network.