Wi-Fi has become the source of livelihood and income for many since the time global pandemic came. A lot of people, be it students, office workers, or business owners are working from their homes. For working and studying from home, a fast and reliable internet connection is required. For some, even after getting a faster broadband connection with a better router for range and connectivity, Wi-Fi still drops at some points of their home. If one of those points is where you like to sit and study or work, then there are two tools which can increase the connectivity of Wi-Fi in your home. You can either use a Mesh Router or a Wi-Fi range extender. Let’s detail which one is the best for you.
Wi-Fi Range Extender, What is It?
The Wi-Fi range extender is something which you can use when you just need a small part of your house to be connected to the Wi-Fi. Usually, there are dead spots in a home, such as a room or a hall where the connectivity of the Wi-Fi drops. For extending the Wi-Fi connectivity to those spots, a Wi-Fi range extender can be used.
The Wi-Fi range extender can be connected to your router, and its network name will be the same as your original network but with an added extension of ‘_EXT’ at the end. Wi-fi range extenders create different networks using the original network wherever they are placed in your home. So in case you go to a different part of your house where the extender is set-up, then you will have to juggle between different networks.
So if the connectivity drops in one or two of your rooms, you can use a Wi-Fi range extender to increase the range of Wi-Fi connectivity. Also, Wi-Fi range extenders are cheaper than mesh routers.
Wi-Fi Mesh Router, What is it?
A Wi-Fi mesh router is a device which can be used if you want to extend the coverage of your Wi-Fi to your whole home. If there is an entire floor of the house which doesn’t connect to the Wi-Fi because the router is kept on another floor, then the mesh router is one of the best tools to solve this problem.
A mesh router will allow you to connect you to a single network. With a Wi-Fi range extender, you will have to juggle between different networks when you go from one point of your home to another. But with the mesh router, only one network in your home will be spread entirely. Mesh routers are smart, and they use algorithms to determine the best way to route the internet signals to you depending on the part of the home you are in.
However, one thing that you should note is, they are reasonably more expensive than the Wi-Fi range extenders. So if you can afford it and need the internet connection on a whole different part of your house, mesh router is what you should get. But if there is only a small space where the internet doesn’t reach your home, then Wi-Fi range extender might be a better option.
