Do WiFi Extenders Slow Down WiFi? (Quick And Clear Answer)

It’s a story of every multi-story or large apartment, where one member cries for low WiFi signal strength and others enjoy the stable WiFi connection. No, it’s not an imaginary story; it’s damn factual. Imagine!

However, if this still is not soothing your pain, the time has come to install WiFi Extender. Nonetheless, do wifi extenders slow down wifi?

This happens to you when you are taking your online classes, meetings, or video calling your spouse, and your video struggles like hell. The first option is to get a longest-range WiFi router to counter this unwanted scene.

You may have experienced a piercing battle on the webs and forums about the WiFi repeater Vs. WiFi Extender thing. But how come these solutions help you in the real world? Do WiFi extenders cut speed? Are Extenders better than repeaters? All these technical speculations need a robust answer, ultimately.

Does a WiFi extender slow down internet speed?

So, is a WiFi extender worth it? Yeah, definitely, but the argument that has made a rivalry is, do these devices affect the internet speed or not? To be very honest, be it repeaters or extenders or any other Wi-Fi Booster devices, yes, users face a slow down in internet speed.

But how much and in what cases, that’s the real matter. To know what and which devices and circumstances bring down the internet speed, we just have to go into some logic.

What Exactly is WiFi?

Most people confuse the terms internet and WiFi. They are, however, two distinct ideas. WiFi is a wireless connection that connects devices to the internet without the use of cables. People connect to the internet via a router, which generates an initial signal that allows internet access.

Consider an imaginary fishing net that reaches throughout your house or office. You have access to a WiFi signal and thus a connection to the internet if you are within the net (or the router’s wireless range).

How does WiFi Work?

A modem must be wired into the home or office from the outside before a WiFi connection can be established. If you’re wondering what the cable guy did when he set up your service, he made sure the modem was connected to the router with a coax cable.

The modem connects you to the internet, and the router allows you to connect wirelessly. Voila! WiFi is a possibility. However, don’t expect WiFi to be flawless throughout the house.

What is a WiFi Extender?

A WiFi extender is a signal booster that connects to the router via a wired or wireless connection. Consider a small box, about the size of an AC adapter, but with antenna-like arms.

Remember the initial signal emission from a router? If the router’s wireless range isn’t reaching throughout your house and into the yard, that signal may need to be strengthened.

Imagine getting a copy of that large net cast by the router that extends even further than your original when you add a WiFi extender to your digital setup. This includes coverage throughout your home and even outside.

When is a WiFi Extender Needed?

If you live in a multi-story home, a long one-story home, work outside, own a few smart TVs, or use computers in a large work setting at an office, you should think about purchasing a WiFi extender.

People use WiFi extenders when they can’t access a router’s wireless range from where they work (for example, a location 100 feet away from the router) but need the signal to reach there in order to connect to the internet. Remember that WiFi extenders do not increase internet speed. One common misconception is that the extender will increase speed.

With a router and an extender, you now have two wireless networks covering your entire area. Because you have more coverage, the internet feels faster—no more WiFi dead zones at home. And if several people are using WiFi at the same time, there is more wiggle room.

Repeater Vs. Extender – Which wins the Battle?

These both device types come under the umbrella of the Wi-Fi booster category and pose the same purpose. However, things take a slight turn when it comes to connection behavior.

And factually, the manufacturers haven’t elucidated the Routing and switching world, what is the primary or substantial difference between a WiFi extender and repeater?

Typically, a Wi-Fi repeater is a sort of single-channel bridge between the router and the connecting devices. The main idea here is to capture the signals, store them, and then rebroadcast them. This seems like a lot of work, right?

However, it’s actually a game of nanoseconds and doesn’t let you feel a cut in internet speed. But what causes the repeaters a lousy option against extenders is there is a single frequency band on most of the repeaters, so that gets overlapped by other wireless appliances, like Microwaves, Bluetooth, etc.

So, do Wi-Fi repeaters work? Yes, but a single channel majorly causes a significant delay and disturbance in the data transmission, which is a potential curse to repeaters’ reputation.

Nonetheless, some advanced repeaters with dual-band operation have hit the market that has leveled the game with Wi-Fi extenders. But still, there is a difference that separates this router breed from

Wi-Fi Extenders; On the other hand, connect to your main router mostly via a wired connection that doesn’t get disturbed by other wireless frequencies. As Wi-Fi extenders use multiple channels to rebroadcast the signals, the fewer are the chances that frequency channels get overlapped.

But the question may keep pinging one’s mind; do Wi-Fi extenders cut speed? Yes, lots of circumstances like make and Wi-Fi range extender placement and other settings affect the internet speed.

Alternative Video: Do WiFi Extenders Slow Down WiFi?

What Causes a Wi-Fi Extender to Lose Internet Speed?

Multiple reasons! Thus, these need solutions accordingly. However, we see some of the most common problems playing with our WiFi performance, unfortunately.

Wi-Fi Range Extender Placement Is a Huge Thing:

People think placing a Wi-Fi extender can stimulate weak signals. On the contrary, the extenders don’t even lend a helpful hand in this regard. The best idea is to note down how the Wi-Fi router throws signals.

A Wi-Fi router spreads the frequency spectrum in an Umbrella shape, or you can say in an Inverse U shape. That’s why! Experts suggest placing your Wi-Fi router at a higher place to grab maximum area coverage.

Similarly, the ideal and best place to put a Wi-Fi extender is a central area between the router and connecting devices. Don’t place the Wi-Fi extenders where the signal frequency is already low. This won’t help in spurring the Internet speed. Instead, place where the original router signal quality is denser, and you mostly get a stable Wi-Fi connection. This will help the extender to work in its full capacity, Consequently, the right height and area is the critical thing to consider.

Deal with Different Wireless Interferences:

This is an age of wireless gadgets. The more you are getting wireless, the more invisible mess comes your way. Your microwaves with 2.4G band, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled appliances, and neighboring wireless networks can cause an overlap to the signals channel.

These Wireless interferences can create a considerable delay and lag, which ultimately cost you slow internet speeds. The counter idea is to change the name or SSID of your devices or set their frequency channels to non-overlapping channels that are 1, 6, 9, 11.

How to Best Optimize Usage of Your WiFi Extender?

To “extend” a router’s wireless range, a WiFi extender must first be close enough to the router to capture the WiFi signal. Because extenders do not generate their own signal, they must copy the router’s signal. A duplicate wireless signal can be created once the copy is made.

As a result, if your extender is too far away from your modem, it will not copy the WiFi signal. On the other hand, you don’t want the extender to be too close to the router.

If the router and extender are too close together, there is no room to “extend,” and the extender will still copy the WiFi signal, but its coverage will be the same as the router’s natural signal.

Can you use multiple extenders?

The first extender should cover enough range depending on where you access the internet. However, in some cases, multiple units may be required. If you use multiple extenders at the same time, each will connect to the router. However, extenders must be close to the router in order to cast that wireless net.

Extending in all directions does not result in a larger net. Instead, you’ll have two (or more) nets that add and overlap.

Conclusion

So, Does a Wi-Fi extender slow down internet speed? Non-technically speaking, Yes, Wi-Fi extenders do cut speed. And technically speaking, there are a lot of buts and ifs regarding this question.

The main idea is, that you should know about the right placement of Wi-Fi extenders, the right or best devices to pick, and some technical mind to troubleshoot the low-speed problems.

FAQs About Wifi Extenders Slowing Down Wifi