Best bang for your buck wifi extender

[Fedorgasm]

I'm seeing these Google home pucks at Costco for like 200 bucks, when you can get WiFi extenders like this one for 30. Is there really that big of a difference in performance?

And what about powerline networking? It used to suck but I hear it's actually good now.

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Wi-F...ocphy=1013931&hvtargid=pla-335129037544&psc=1


Anyone have experience with any of these?

 

[Satsui Ryu]

They all suck unwiped ass. You want better WiFi get like a MoCA setup. Going to cost a couple of hundred, but you'll see results.

This assumes you have cable internet.

 

[Cherry Brigand]

Have Orbi. It's great.

 

[The Audience]

Have a TP-Link but it cuts out when the microwave's on. Thats not supposed to happen i think.

 

[Iron Mang]

I'm seeing these Google home pucks at Costco for like 200 bucks, when you can get WiFi extenders like this one for 30. Is there really that big of a difference in performance?

And what about powerline networking? It used to suck but I hear it's actually good now.

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Wi-F...ocphy=1013931&hvtargid=pla-335129037544&psc=1


Anyone have experience with any of these?

Yes, the Google pods are not extenders and there is a huge difference between the two. The Google pods are to create a mesh network. There are other companies that sell these types of mesh network set ups as well, so you don't have to get the Google ones. I personally have the Google pods for my house and they work great.

 

[Red Beard]

Rabbit ears IIRC

 

[shunyata]

Have Orbi. It's great.

Yeah TS I was in this boat with you a while back.

Wifi signal was bad on the far end of the house away from the router.

Looked at various wifi extenders and boosters and the reviews were that they all suck and they can slow your connection substantially to boost the range.



What you actually want is called mesh wifi.

Orbi is one example of that, it's what we went with and it works great.

Works so good the yard now has a good wifi signal.

With mesh wifi, there are no dead spots in the house and I have a full signal at the outdoor grill.

 

[monkeyrhythm]

I'm seeing these Google home pucks at Costco for like 200 bucks, when you can get WiFi extenders like this one for 30. Is there really that big of a difference in performance?

And what about powerline networking? It used to suck but I hear it's actually good now.

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Wi-F...ocphy=1013931&hvtargid=pla-335129037544&psc=1


Anyone have experience with any of these?

Powerline networking does work well now.

 

[ToxicShocker]

You get what you pay for. I've tried a ton of extenders over the years and they all sucked. Googles system is a mesh and works very well.

 

[Bobby 3 Sticks]

100+ ft Ethernet cord

 

[lsa]

Have a TP-Link but it cuts out when the microwave's on. Thats not supposed to happen i think.

Wifi and microwaves are on the frequency,
so yeah its will happen.

 

[HUGHPHUG]

I used to stick a pair of scissors in the back of my stereo for a better sound than the ariel

 

[The Audience]

Wifi and microwaves are on the frequency,
so yeah its will happen.

I sorted it. Mark as resolved.

 

[genecop]

Have a TP-Link but it cuts out when the microwave's on. Thats not supposed to happen i think.

I also have the TP link, will run upstairs and check the lights later today while I’m nuking something..

 

[Headkicktoleg]

Google Home Wifi is awesome. I'm a network engineer and I use it at home because it's easy to use, cheap and works great. You can go with something like ubiquity, but it's going to cost a lot more, involve running wires through your house and require that you configure a wireless controller. It really just isn't worth the hassle. You can also go cheaper but most "wifi extenders" actually just create new SSID's instead of building one mesh network. This create channel overlap and in most residential areas everyone has their shit full power so you're already getting co channel interference from your neighbors. The last thing you need is to make more of it.

 

[Atomic 187]

I'm in the same boat right now. I just have one of our Ring cameras (outdoor) that will occasionally offline or drop signal randomly. It's the farthest one and does work 80% of the time but constantly shows weak signal. Wifi is fine inside the house on the inside of the wall it's mounted to. Just ordered an extender yesterday because I figured for $20 it's worth a shot

 

[ralphc1]

Have a TP-Link but it cuts out when the microwave's on. Thats not supposed to happen i think.

That could be a problem with the microwave which isn't supposed to cause interference.

I had a Netgear router that I could use 500 feet away from my house. It seems like everyone else could also because Netgear had some security flaw. I never would have thought that because I was on the phone with Netgear for nearly an hour to get it to work in the first place. They had a software fix for some models, but not the one I had. I bought a TP link recently and it works great anywhere in the house. No problems when using my microwave. I haven't tried it outside my house yet.

 

[Fedorgasm]

My microwave used to interfere too. Which is pretty scary because aren't the microwaves supposed to stay inside the appliance? No wonder we're all getting cancer!

 

[Phlog]

I use Google nest mesh WiFi, the extenders are smart speakers too which I find useful.

It's really easy to set up and I'm bought in to their ecosystem.

 

[monkeyrhythm]

My microwave used to interfere too. Which is pretty scary because aren't the microwaves supposed to stay inside the appliance? No wonder we're all getting cancer!

Microwave's absolutely interfere at 2.4GHz; is normal, and not a sign the Microwave is faulty/dangerous.
5GHz isn't as subject to interference, and supports higher connection speeds; however, the signal doesn't travel through solid objects as well (walls etc.).