All About Wireless Range Extenders

All About Wireless Range Extenders

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A wireless range extender, or wireless repeater augments the coverage of a WiFi network. It needs a pre-existing wireless network. With a repeater, the same name for the network is kept (installing a new access point would create a new WiFi network). All this device does is renew the signals it gets from the main router. In this way it can relay the signals to areas of a house or workplace that get little or no signal from the main router. This is all done wirelessly, with the device only requiring a power outlet and a good location to work.

In most cases, one wireless repeater has many modes wireless repeater is only one of them. These modes are often wireless router, wireless bridge or wireless repeater. There are, however, a decent amount of good devices on the market that are dedicated repeaters. These tend to be very simple to configure (in comparison with a device with many modes that may require more in-depth set-up work). They are also usually much smaller than the devices with multiple modes, and can be plugged straight into an electrical source (with no cable needed).

Are some devices in your home or office too distant from your wireless router to be able to access the main network? You might find a wireless repeater helpful. It is common to have poor WiFi access in a basement or in the yard in a household with one wireless access point located in the office, for example. This all varies with distances and building materials, of course sometimes the signal can have difficulty reaching any further than one level. In such circumstances a wireless repeater provides an easy solution. The low-signal area can be connected to the network by placing a repeater at some point in between the primary router and the sector needing a signal boost.

Some important features one may want to look out for when shopping for a wireless repeater are compatibility, range and ease of setup. The next level in high-speed wireless communication is Wireless-N. This technology has the range and capacity to support the high bandwidth usage of gaming systems and streaming high-definition video. some wireless-ready devices are not Wireless-N compatible, however; in particular older computers or wireless cards will need a repeater compatible with the older B and G bands. Its a good idea, then to obtain backwards-compatible repeater devices to avoid problems (almost all of them are, but just in case).

When using a repeater, its helpful to know how much of a boost is needed. For a small signal boost (for example, in cases where the signal gets to the desired area but is a bit weak) this wouldnt matter much, but for more demanding signal increases needed a good quality repeater with good maximum reach is required. The most reliable way to gauge this is likely to be reading consumer reviews to get an idea what other owners of the device have been able to achieve with the repeater in question.

And last, its advisable to get a repeater with straightforward configuration instructions if possible. Sometimes the documentation can be somewhat incomprehensible, and if you dont have much knowledge in the area it could end up in a real headache. Once more, this is a place where reviews by other users are a good source of information; also sometimes looking online for help will get you a good detailed set of instructions to initialize your wireless repeater if youre running into problems.

About the Author:
For lots more tips on wireless range extender devices and a bunch of reviews of popular ones currently on the market, visit our website at wirelessrepeaterhq.com.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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