Solved Best Wi-Fi Range Extenders

Stigg · Jan 18, 2023

I have Ethernet connections in a few locations in my house.
Connected to some Ethernet connections are Wireless Access Points which give me quite a good Wi-Fi coverage.

But what I need is to be able to extend my Wi-Fi to a low signal area.
There are no more Ethernet points in that area, so what I was thinking of is a Wi-Fi Range Extender.

I've just had a look at some reviews for the TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender.

AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender

The TP-Link Tri-band WiFi Range Extender, RE650, boosts WiFi signals throughout your home. Enjoy uninterrupted high speed internet and Eliminate WiFi dead zones once for all.

www.tp-link.com

Any ideas?

cereberus · Jan 18, 2023

There are many factors with wifi extenders - distance, wall thicknesses etc. and it difficult to say how well one will work. In the end, it is trial and error.

If it is all indoors in same building, a pair of homeplugs may be a better solution.

Wolfzz · Jan 18, 2023

Ive used this one in quite a few jobs over the years and it works great even two story houses with a concrete floor.
I would recommend it.
TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender.

Stigg · Jan 18, 2023

I'm trying the TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender now.
The setup went well the first time, but after running the setup, I cannot get back in to it to look at the settings.
TP-Link_Extender is not in the list of Wi-Fi networks anymore. I'm using Method 2: Via a Web Browser.

Wolfzz · Jan 18, 2023

Stigg said:
I'm trying the TP-Link RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender now.
The setup went well the first time, but after running the setup, I cannot get back in to it to look at the settings.
TP-Link_Extender is not in the list of Wi-Fi networks anymore. I'm using Method 2: Via a Web Browser.

Try this program it should find the IP address for the Extender
Just grab the portable version.

MyLanViewer Network/IP Scanner 6.0.5

Download MyLanViewer Network/IP Scanner - MajorGeeks

MyLanViewer Network/IP Scanner is a powerful Netbios and LAN/Network IP address scanner that assists in locating IP addresses, MAC addresses, and shared folders of computers on your wired or wireless (Wi-Fi) network.

www.majorgeeks.com

Stigg · Jan 18, 2023

I've just done a reset and now TP-Link_Extender is displaying again.
It appears that once you do the initial setup, you can't get back in.

Also. Do you know what "Set the Extender as an Access Point" is?
I thought that is basically what it is anyway.

Download for RE650 | TP-Link

TP Link - Download Center Detail

www.tp-link.com

By the way. I'm using WirelessNetView.
I also have MyLanViewer. I'll have a look.

Wolfzz · Jan 19, 2023

Stigg said:
I've just done a reset and now TP-Link_Extender is displaying again.
It appears that once you do the initial setup, you can't get back in.

Also. Do you know what "Set the Extender as an Access Point" is?
I thought that is basically what it is anyway.

Download for RE650 | TP-Link

TP Link - Download Center Detail

www.tp-link.com

When you sync it to your network it will pickup whatever your Router is eg: 192.168.1.1 then its own address 192.168.1.55 again its just a example.
Just run that program I suggested it will see what IP it is on then put that address in your browser and once into the extender you can then set it to a dedicated IP Address for future logins.

Stigg · Jan 19, 2023

This last step seems to go wrong. Mine's not ticked by default. I've even watched the video, and it seems confusing.
I've got all blue lights.

TP-Link AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender - I Have Connected.png

Wolfzz · Jan 19, 2023

It wont be ticked until you physically connect what ever you are connecting to the extender eg: a notebook as in the wifi options of your device it should show the TP-Link_0969_EXT or the 5G_EXT click on one of them to connect your device to. Then if you go back into your Extender it should show the tick.

Stigg · Jan 19, 2023

OK. I used my laptop this time instead of my desktop. I also used Edge instead of Firefox.
MyLanViewer is popping up with new devices. You get different MAC addresses with this extender.

Stigg · Jan 19, 2023

OK.
I see what you were explaining before. TP-Link_Extender + http://192.168.0.254 is a one time only setup, then you have to use the internal IP address to access its interface. MyLanViewer is handy for that.

Do you know what "Set the Extender as an Access Point" is? No problem if you don't.
In the top right corner, you click "Mode" to switch it.
I thought that is basically what it is anyway.

Wolfzz · Jan 19, 2023

No I don't sorry, you can just setup either as a access point or as a extender . Leave it as a extender

How to Set Up the Range Extender as an Access Point? (Blue UI | TP-Link Hong Kong

How to Set Up the Range Extender as an Access Point? (Blue UI

www.tp-link.com

Stigg · Jan 19, 2023

So far, it's performing very well.
I'll report back after further testing if I find otherwise. But I'm happy so far.

The videos in this following page are helpful. As I've already mentioned, I used the browser method, although the WPS video illustrates the extender placement and the lights better.

Download for RE650 | TP-Link

TP Link - Download Center Detail

www.tp-link.com

Wolfzz · Jan 19, 2023

Excellent I'm glad you have it working well. Well Done

hdmi · Jan 19, 2023

When in Access Point mode, or AP mode the wireless range extender behaves functionally the same as a wireless access point. Not all wireless range extenders have this feature, but a lot of them do, and, the feature can be useful in situations where you would otherwise be forced to put in the effort and time of physically swapping the wireless range extender device with a wireless access point device (as opposed to being able to just turn AP mode on, to avoid that effort, and potentially also save some extra cost─if this eliminates the need to go and buy a wireless access point).

Stigg · Jan 19, 2023

One other thing that I did when I set it up, I removed the _EXT that the extender adds to the end of your SSID.
Any time that I've set up wireless access points in the past, I've always used the same SSID and password.
I don't really understand why a Wi-Fi extender would want to change the SSID.
This is the first time that I've used a Wi-Fi extender and maybe having the same SSID is not as important, but to me, having the same SSID will minimise any problems devices have trying to access the Wi-Fi network and moving around the home.

Stigg · Jan 19, 2023

Wolfzz said:
Excellent I'm glad you have it working well. Well Done

And thanks for your help, Wolfzz.

Knowledge sharing saves time.

Stigg · Jan 19, 2023

hdmi said:
When in Access Point mode, or AP mode the wireless range extender behaves functionally the same as a wireless access point. Not all wireless range extenders have this feature, but a lot of them do, and, the feature can be useful in situations where you would otherwise be forced to put in the effort and time of physically swapping the wireless range extender device with a wireless access point device (as opposed to being able to just turn AP mode on, to avoid that effort, and potentially also save some extra cost─if this eliminates the need to go and buy a wireless access point).

Thanks for your input, hdmi.

I'll have to think about that one for awhile. I can't get my head around it right now.
I have wireless access points that connect via Ethernet, but I can't understand what a standalone Wi-Fi extender can offer me in Access Point mode as opposed to just extending the signal as it relies on the host. Ethernet connected access points also rely on the host, but distance is not an issue as it's physically connected.

I'm sure you've explained it very well. I'll just have to read it a few more times, and maybe have a sleep and read it again.

kelper · Jan 19, 2023

If you forget the extenders address you should be able to click on its icon in file explorer and you can right click on it, select properties then network device to see its IP address.

jimbo45 · Jan 19, 2023

Hi folks
Nighthawk models are good -- they can maximize throughput by using 2.4 and 5GHZ bands concurrently and have some LAN ports on them too so you can use a cheap switch from device (even if you need a USB->LAN connector) and then run a SINGLE lan cable to the extender. (Older laptops have older slower wifi cards - typically 54 Mbps so the LAN option is far better).

The theoretical max speed of these Nighthawk extenders on wifi is around 1.2 Gbps - although in practice you won't get quite that speed. Also run in full duplex rather than half duplex so traffic speed is faster.

Range is also good -- shopuld easily be able to do 50 metres.

Cheers
jimbo

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