
There’s a lot to learn, and there’s a good reason why so many people just go to a retailer they trust and buy what’s recommended for their home.There isn't any point in paying for fast internet speed if your home's Wi-Fi network isn't strong enough to take advantage of it. Even “bridge” is a product name and a networking term. Mesh networks, wired and wireless backhaul, routers and switches, amplifiers, extenders, repeaters, boosters… the list goes on. In the big, wide world of networking, there’s a lot of confusing terminology thanks to how closely related some of the terms are, or just due to general marketing misuse.

But if you’re just looking at connecting your Playstation 5 sitting in the other corner of your room to the network, it’ll do just fine. This isn’t ideal for large-scale operations, such as when you need access to your network in a neighboring building but can’t run wiring to it.
Wireless repeater Pc#
For example, a lot of routers have “bridge mode,” and even your Windows PC can be used as a network bridge. While dedicated network bridges are available for sale, you probably already have a device in your home that can be turned into a network bridge.

The Philips Hue Bridge that connects that ecosystem’s smart lighting network-which is based on Zigbee technology-to a Wi-Fi network. The $17 axGear Network LAN Bridge is an inexpensive way to connect an out-of-range smart device to your home Wi-Fi network. One of the most common bridges you’ll encounter in a smart home is axGear This is ideal when you have multiple devices on different networks that need to be on the same network. “Bridging” is also a networking term used to describe connecting two different networks together, creating a “bridge” between them, making them work as a single network.

Because the repeater must use the same radio to receive data from your wireless router and send data to your wireless router, it effectively cuts your Wi-Fi network’s bandwidth in half. Unlike a Wi-Fi extender, a Wi-Fi repeater works by connecting to the base station (your router) wirelessly and it then rebroadcasts and amplifies that signal. The Hawking Hi-Gain Outdoor 2.4GHz Wireless-300N Dual Radio Smart Repeater is built for outdoors, so you can extend your Wi-Fi network to your yard as well as other parts of your home.Ī Wi-Fi repeater, as with a Wi-Fi extender, aims to bring Wi-Fi coverage to areas of your home that otherwise wouldn’t have any, but it does so in a different way. Michael Crider/IDGĪ Netgear Wi-Fi extender. There are wireless extenders available, but those are essentially just repeaters, which I’ll explain next. At that point, you might want to reconsider and buy a mesh Wi-Fi sytem instead. And depending on the size of your home, you might need to add several Wi-Fi extenders around your house to completely blanket your home with Wi-Fi. The part of the extender system that plugs into your router needs to be relatively close to the router. With a wireless extender setup, location matters. Powerline technology will then take care of the wired connection and your “client” devices-laptops, media streamers, etc.-will establish wireless connections to the extender.

You’d then insert the extender itself into a wall outlet where you need better Wi-Fi coverage.
