What to Pay Attention to When Choosing a Wifi Repeater?
There are several key points to focus on when choosing a Wi-Fi signal amplifier. I will try to briefly but as informative as possible about each of them.
Supported Range (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz)
Repeaters, like routers, come in single-band (2.4GHz only) and dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz bands supported). It usually says “Dual Band”, “AC” on the box or in the description. Amplifiers that support 5 GHz have support for the 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard. A dual-band repeater can connect to a router on two bands at once. For example, it can use both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies. Or it can connect to a router at 2.4 GHz only and broadcast two Wi-Fi networks at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.
It makes sense to choose a dual-band Wi-Fi amplifier, even if you now have a single-band router (it only works on 2.4 GHz). Since you will get a 5 GHz network (which will probably have higher speeds), well, and if you change your router to a dual-band, you won’t have to change your repeater.
In 2020 – 2021, I recommended buying dual-band Wi-Fi signal repeaters specifically. You can only get a single-band one if your budget to buy one is severely limited.
Transmission Speed of Wifi Repeater
The specifications of the amplifier indicate the maximum transmission speed for each band (Wi-Fi network standard). For example, at 5 GHz (802.11ac) up to 867 Mbps, at 2.4 GHz (802.11n) up to 300 Mbps,. It is the maximum, theoretically possible speed. It’s not the actual speed. But the higher it is, the higher the bandwidth of the amplifier and the higher the real speed of the Internet connection will be.
Presence and Speed of LAN-ports
The repeater can be equipped with Ethernet ports. Usually, it is 1-2 ports. Most often, there is only one. Some models do not have Ethernet ports at all. You can set wireless repeater by using Myrepeater web address?
To connect devices to the repeater with a network cable. For example, you can connect to the Internet a desktop computer or TV that has no Wi-Fi. That is, the repeater distributes the Internet not only via Wi-Fi but also via cable.
To work as an access point. This is when the repeater is connected to the router with a network cable. The main advantage of this connection is higher stability and speed (compared to a wireless connection). In addition, there must be support for the “Access Point” mode of operation. This mode is available on most devices.
As for the speed of the LAN-ports, on the more budget versions, the ports are not gigabit (up to 100 Mbit/s), and on the more expensive models, the ports are gigabit (up to 1000 Mbit/s).
