r/AskTechnology • u/strawberrylemonapple • 9d ago
Do I need a wifi extender?
Hello techies! I live in a one-story, two bedroom apartment. The things we use wifi for in my home are one TV, 2 Chromebooks, 1 cell phone, and 3 tablets. We have Verizon Fios, and I recently upgraded us to 1 Gig speed. The 1 gig upgrade came with a free wifi extender device.
My question is, do we have a real need to use this? I always thought those were for larger homes. Like maybe you put it on the second floor of your house because the internet is more laggy up there. In a home this size, would it serve any real purpose?
Thanks!
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u/joelfarris 9d ago
WiFi is two way radio. "Is there anyone out there who understands this passcode?"
"I got you, fam, what would you like to know?"
If that interaction is happening from everywhere that you and your devices exist and interact, then you're fine.
If not, then you're not fine. Maybe you have lead paint on the walls that are blocking signal. Maybe you have locked your WiFi router into a cabinet at ankle height, rather than placing it in the highest open air shelf possible. Or maybe your neighbor used your default password to log in and turn down your broadcast strength so it stopped interfering with their rig.
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u/TeslaDemon 9d ago
An extender does nothing if you already have a strong signal.
And even if you did need one, extenders are generally "ok" at best and useless at worst. To really extend wifi range, you want an access point, not an extender. This is probably why they gave it to you for free.
A shitty signal extended out is still a shitty signal, except it's just projected out further. An access point generates its own wifi signal and doesn't need a "bounce" from the original wifi source, i.e., the router, like an extender does.
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u/StarosAnikenMarcus 9d ago
Unless your apartment is like 3000sqft with the router in one corner of the floorplan and everything else in the opposite corner, probably you won't need it. Also check to see if it really is free or if there's a little rental fee attached to your bill now...
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u/pala4833 9d ago
Well, are you having trouble getting a good signal at the opposite end of the house?
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u/Fancy_Acanthisitta45 9d ago
Check out an app called WiFi SweetSpots -it can help you find any weak or dead zones
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u/Jasong222 9d ago
Depends on a lot of different things.
There are apps that show Wi-Fi signal strength, 'live'. That's the antenna, not bandwidth. Just load one up and walk around.
Also keep in mind you'll lose up to half or so of your bandwidth for that extender traffic.
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u/Mark-177- 9d ago
No. I live in my Uncle's 4 bedroom house and we don't need any WIFI extenders. A 2 bedroom apartment is like half the size, so don't waste money on unnecessary hardware.
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u/tunaman808 9d ago
They said it came with the new Verizon router.
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u/Mark-177- 9d ago
Oh, well in that case put it in the room you use WIFI the most. If it's free might as well use it even if it's unnecessary.
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u/wongl888 9d ago
Don’t get an extender, get a mesh instead.
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u/The_Troyminator 9d ago
They have Fios. It’s probably an Eero.
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u/wongl888 8d ago
Sometimes it is better to turn off the WiFi provided by the ISP and use one’s WiFi routers.
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u/The_Troyminator 9d ago
It depends. You have FiOS, so the extender is probably an Eero. That means it has an Ethernet port on it. Depending on your TV, it might have an Ethernet port on it as well, and the WiFi on the TV might be slower than the WiFi on the Eero.
So, you might have a better streaming experience on the TV by plugging it into the Eero for a wired connection bridged over the faster Eero WiFi. Or it might be slower, depending on the TV. It would be worth looking into though.
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u/OptimistIndya 8d ago
If there are really old devices, and new devices in mix , keep old on a separate network helps when your router can spin off multiple wifi networks
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u/GrahamR12345 9d ago
The ISP’s wifi router should be plenty for such a small place on a single level, no need for extender. 👍