My main WiFi router is in the living room because that’s where the fiber line comes in. The problem is my bedroom is on the other side of the flat and the internet there is painfully slow. Sometimes YouTube works, sometimes even WhatsApp calls start breaking up.
I can’t run LAN cable because it’s a rented place and the owner won’t allow drilling or visible wires. I was looking online and now I’m more confused than before. Some people say WiFi extenders are useless, some say buy another router, some say mesh is better.
What would be the best wireless option to extend WiFi range? I don’t need crazy gaming speed, just stable internet in my room.
First thing: don’t buy a cheap “WiFi booster” and expect miracles. A normal extender takes the already weak signal, repeats it, and usually cuts performance because it has to talk to your router and your device over Wi-Fi. If the signal is already bad in your bedroom, putting the extender inside the bedroom won’t help much. It has nothing good to repeat. Place any extender/mesh node halfway between the router and your room, not in the dead zone.
Just get a 2-pack mesh like the TP-Link Deco M4, put one unit near the router and the second one halfway toward your room where it still gets decent signal — don’t place it inside the dead zone.
Before buying anything, do a quick check of your current Wi-Fi first. Use a Wi-Fi analyzer or NetSpot and see where the signal starts falling apart, and also check if changing the channel could improve things a bit. If you can spend a little money, try a planning tool too — NetSpot is my favorite for this. It can help you test different AP/extender placements and figure out where a new access point would actually make sense instead of just guessing.
Everyone hates cables until Wi-Fi starts acting like this lol. Since you really can’t run Ethernet, your realistic choices are: Mesh > decent dual-band extender > old router in repeater mode Powerline might work if your electrical wiring is good, but in many apartments it’s hit or miss. I wouldn’t make it my first choice unless you can return it. Also check if your router is stuck in some corner or behind the TV. Moving it even 3–4 feet higher or more open can sometimes help more than buying another box.
I used one of those tiny plug-in extenders and honestly it was meh. It showed full bars in the bedroom but speed was garbage. Full bars don’t always mean good internet. If you go extender, get at least a dual-band one and place it where signal is still decent. But if budget allows, mesh will be less annoying. Also don’t connect everything to 2.4 GHz just because it reaches farther. It can be crowded as hell in apartments.
@GardenGuardian44 Okay, this explains why people keep saying extenders are unreliable. I was planning to plug one directly in my bedroom, so yeah, probably bad idea.