The easiest way to increase wireless coverage in our home is to buy a WiFi repeater and configure it correctly. There are currently different models of WiFi repeaters, some entry-level and others high-end. There are some repeaters that you should avoid, because they will not improve your wireless network at all, and also, it is possible that the WiFi network works much worse than before. Next, we explain which are the WiFi repeaters that you should not use.
What to look for when buying a repeater?
The Wi-Fi repeaters They are very important devices in certain scenarios, where we have low wireless coverage in a part of the house and we need to improve it. The operation of this type of device is quite simple: they connect to the wireless network of our router and create a WiFi access point for the different clients to connect. In this way, we can expand the wireless network quickly and easily. We recommend you read our tutorial on where to place the wifi repeater in the optimal place.
If you plan to buy a repeater, you should look at the following characteristics:
- Dual band or triple band Wi-Fi: Currently, most mid-range models have simultaneous dual band, something very important if you want to have a good wireless speed. In addition, high-end models have simultaneous triple band, with the aim of having a frequency band specifically dedicated to the connection between the router and the repeater.
- ethernet port: If you want to connect a device via cable, it is important that it has an available port, although today there are high-end repeaters that have several ports.
- Mesh Wi-Fi Support: if we have a router of a specific brand, for example, from the manufacturer AVM, it is best to buy a repeater of the same brand to have a WiFi Mesh network with WiFi roaming between the nodes.
- Roaming assistance: There are models of repeaters that allow WiFi clients to be disconnected when they are too far away, helping to roam between the router and the repeater. The user experience with this type of repeaters is better than with the “normal” ones.
As you can see, we only have to look at four characteristics to choose the correct option. Next, we indicate which repeaters you should never use.
Which ones should you never use?
There are WiFi repeaters that you should never use, because the wireless network will probably work much worse for you than it already does. Next, you should avoid repeaters that have this:
- 2.4GHz single band: this frequency band is very saturated, we have a lot of interference and the actual speed that we will achieve will be really low. We do not advise you to buy a repeater that only has a 2.4GHz band. At least it should have the Wi-Fi 5 standard to work properly.
- 100Mbps Ethernet port: There are models that have a Fast-Ethernet port, that is, at 100Mbps. You must check that the repeater has a 1Gbps port, which is common today.
- Never buy cheap “Chinese” repeaters: It is very common to buy a repeater for about 20 euros from brands that nobody knows. These types of repeaters are not recommended, both because of the quality of the device, and also because the firmware will not be updated to solve possible failures. It is always necessary that it be from a well-known brand such as ASUS, AVM, D-Link or NETGEAR among others, even if they are somewhat more expensive, it will be worth it.
As you can see, if we avoid these three things in WiFi repeaters, we will almost certainly hit the right model to have better coverage and speed in our home.
