One of the simplest ways of furthering the range of your wireless router is by using a booster. In this Techspirited article, we present reviews of some of the best range extenders, along with an explanation of their working principles.
All wireless networks are based on radio wave transmission. This implies, they also inherit all the shortcomings of radio communication, one of which is a drop in signal strength over a distance. When you set up a wireless network at home, you will realize that the range of wireless networking has inherent limitations due to internal transmitter’s transmission power and physical constraints imposed by structures such as walls and roofs. There are many ways in which you can boost the strength of a Wi-Fi network. One way of substantially boosting the signal strength of a wireless router is to get a wireless signal booster to work with it.
You can change the location of your wireless router, buy a more powerful router, opt for a faster network standard, or just choose a Wi-Fi signal booster available in the market. The last option is the simplest one. The following write-up will help you in understanding why it’s a better choice.
How Do Wireless Signal Boosters Work?
To understand the wireless signal boosting, you have to be familiar with the basics of radio communication. Your wireless router is essentially a radio transreceiver that modulates digital data over radio wave carrier signals and demodulates digital data transmitted by wireless devices. The range of your wireless router extends till the point where radio signals of adequate strength can be received and transmitted back. What a booster does is it receives the transmitted signal from a wireless router and retransmits it with greater signal strength than before. In this way, these booster devices can enhance the range of your router by as much as 600% or more. The greater improvement in signal strength means that the need for retransmission of data is reduced, which also hikes up the data transfer speed of your network.
Reviews
Recognizing the need for boosting wireless signal strength range, most of the major wireless network component manufacturers have brought out signal boosters in the market. Here is a list of some of the best products along with their reviews. Make sure that the Wi-Fi signal booster you install is compatible with your wireless router (that has been installed).
ZyXEL WAP3205 V2
Besides being used to boost the wireless signal, it can be used as an independent access point. This device directly connects to the network when powered on, and the operating modes for setting up a wireless network can be easily set for this device. The transfer and transmission rate is about 300 Mbps. Power can be saved by easily switching off the device using the Power on-off switch when not in use.
D-Link DAP-1320
This device has a very compact design and an excellent performance. Its transmission rates are as much as 300 Mbps. When powered on, the WPS button can be used to connect it to the router, whose signals are to be amplified. This is one of the most preferred boosters due to its very small size.
Netgear EX6200
This device contains five ports and two external antennas. This costs more than the others listed in this article; however, it features make it worth the cost. It offers standard browsing or FastLane mode of operation. This device also allows connecting a printer or an external hard drive to it.
Many people have successfully used a booster and improved the range of their wireless networks substantially. However, with a wider wireless network range, you also attract eavesdroppers who may try hacking into your network. So make sure that you have adequate network security and encryption installed to prevent such an occurrence. Take advantage of the advanced features of boosters and extend your wireless network beyond its inherent limits. Get a booster and enjoy better Internet speeds.