PC is wired to a WiFi extender but I'm still getting awful packet loss 

Wi-Fi Troubleshooting
1

I’m confused about what I’m actually supposed to fix here. Main router is downstairs and my PC is in the room above the garage. WiFi is decent in the upstairs hallway, but in my room it can go from perfectly usable to basically dead for a few seconds.

I bought a WiFi extender and plugged my PC into its Ethernet port because I figured that would be more stable than using the PC’s WiFi. It helped a bit, but I’m still getting random packet loss in games and Discord will occasionally cut out mid-sentence. Download speeds are all over the place too. Sometimes I get 200+ Mbps, other times it’s barely 30. The extender is currently plugged in behind my desk, which is probably the worst possible place for it, but that’s where the PC is. Is the extender just bad, or am I misunderstanding how this setup works?

2

First thing I’d try is moving the extender out from behind the desk.

It needs to be somewhere it can still get a decent signal from the main router, not necessarily right next to the PC. If the upstairs hallway has better coverage, try it there and run a longer Ethernet cable from the extender to your PC.

3

@PacketDropper37 That might actually be doable. There’s an outlet near the hallway door. I was keeping it next to the PC because I only had a short Ethernet cable.

4

Honestly, don’t waste money on a new extender until you see what the current setup is doing. Use NetSpot on a laptop to compare the signal in the hallway, at the extender, and where you game. If the main router’s signal is already trash behind your desk, another extender won’t magically fix that — you just need a better spot for it. If the signal is solid but it still drops, it’s not a coverage issue and you need to look deeper. NetSpot won’t show the internal backhaul, but it beats guessing.

5

Also, don’t use internet speed tests as your only diagnostic.

6

Don’t get too hung up on the Mbps number. You can have plenty of bandwidth and still have a terrible gaming connection if packets are getting delayed or lost. I’d take a stable 80 Mbps over a 500 Mbps connection that randomly disappears for two seconds.