98 PCWorld JUNE 2022HERE’S HOW HOW TO DIAGNOSE ROUTER ISSUES
An extender can help
squeeze more range
out of your router, but
it’s not a panacea.clearing some space around it—but I wouldn’t
start rearranging your room for the router’s
sake. Chances are the improvements will be
minimal. Of course, moving your router to a
more central location in the home can help,
but that would likely require having the cable
company come out to rewire your home
internet connection.WI-FI EXTENDERS:
A LAST RESORT
Because replacing a router is a pain, a lot of
folks wonder if they can just solve their
problems with a Wi-Fi extender or repeater
(fave.co/3wtYYD4), which take the wireless
signal from a router and rebroadcast it farther
away. (“Extender” sometimes refers to a device
with a wired connection to the router, though I
often see both of
these terms used
interchangeably.)
My experience
with Wi-Fi extenders
is hit or miss.
Wireless repeaters
will always degrade
whatever signal
they receive, so thebenefits can cancel out if you’re trying to
address a dead zone or interference from
other nearby wireless devices. The same is
true with powerline adapters (fave.
co/3lnj5My), which send a wired ethernet
connection from your router to another part
of the house through your wall outlets.
Depending on how your house is wired, this
approach can give you a weak connection or
not work at all.
I don’t tell people to avoid extenders
outright, because they can work in some
scenarios, but keep your expectations low
and be prepared to return the device if it
doesn’t help.PICKING A NEW
WI-FI ROUTER
Once you’ve concluded that it’s time to
replace your router, then what?
A mesh Wi-Fi system (fave.co/3DXf5d0)
will be the surest way to solve your Wi-Fi
problems, especially in larger homes or ones
with lots of dead zones. These systems let you
plug in multiple access points throughout the
house, creating one big network. They’re
better at managing connections than a router
with an extender, and systems advertised as
“Tri-Band” can connect each access point
without congesting the rest of the network.
Such systems might not be necessary,
though. If you haven’t replaced your router in
a while, even a new standalone router (fave.
co/3lqbOfa) might be enough to power