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Do you want to expand your WiFi network? This works best with additional antennas. They are available in the form of repeaters or DLAN adapters. They increase the radio range of the router and eliminate connection breaks. Finally reaches rooms far from the router; also in several floors.
Even the strongest WiFi router must adhere to radiation limits. This limits its range and causes reception problems, particularly in households with thick walls and ceilings. So in order to strengthen the WiFi reception within the applicable guidelines, you can simply strategically place additional antennas in your household.
To expand your WiFi, you can fall back on two variants. Both do not need additional cables in your household:
Powerline bridge
The Powerline bridge uses your electricity network to network two distant rooms. It consists of two adapters, the first of which is connected to the router using a LAN cable. This feeds an encrypted LAN signal into your electricity network. The second (and possibly other) adapter receives this signal and outputs it as a WLAN signal.
In modern, mesh-capable models, the WLAN emitted at the second D-LAN adapter has the same combination of SSID and password as your router, so that your smartphone can seamlessly jump from one WLAN connection to the next. Our reader Michael K. comments on technical restrictions of a DLAN in a comment .174.99 €Notebook cheaperdevolo dLAN 1200+ WiFi ac starter kitTO THE SHOP99 €Notebooks cheaperFRITZ! Powerline 546E WLAN 2-packTO THE SHOP
WiFi repeater
Technically speaking, many of the WLAN amplifiers sold today as repeaters are no longer repeaters – and that’s a good thing! Because classic repeaters cut the WiFi bandwidth in half and also have other major disadvantages. Modern models work as a mesh network and, thanks to multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO), have significantly more performance than their inefficient predecessors.
So if you really want to strengthen your WiFi, you need a mesh-capable repeater. And not only that: The repeater must also be placed optimally. The Devolo app will help you here:devolo WLAN help
Once you have found the right position, all you need is the right device. For the greatest possible compatibility and coordinated software updates, the repeater should come from the same manufacturer as your router. Fritzbox manufacturer AVM also sells its devices under 1 & 1 branding; Telekom sells Devolo hardware. Regardless of the provider offers, you can also use Netgear hardware. The Orbi brand devices did well in our tests:
In a quick comparison, we put the Fritz Powerline 546E WLAN Set into WLAN bridge mode and compared it with a Devolo repeater. As a reference value, we took a measurement right next to the Fritzbox. In both cases, the throughput drops drastically, while the response time (ping) remains pleasantly low.
The later test device Fritz WLAN Repeater 1750E won in this comparison. The 11ac-capable repeater was able to achieve three times higher values than the Devolo product.75 €Notebooks cheaperFRITZ! WLAN Repeater 1750ETO THE SHOP59.9 €AmazonDevolo WiFi Repeater acTO THE SHOP
Standardization allows mixed operation with devices from different manufacturers. However, some specific optimizations can cause dropouts that we cannot make visible even with a WLAN speed test as in the picture above.
Conclusion
Repeaters promise a quick and inexpensive solution for more WiFi range if you find the right model for your router. But to create a large WLAN network, it may be worth looking at the existing Mesh-Net solutions. Modern repeaters use meshed networks to transport the data packets into your last room without serious loss of speed.