You know the drill: You’re in the middle of watching a hilarious TikTok when it just... stops playing. As the line goes, you’re not upset, you’re simply disappointed. You pay enough each month for internet, so it would be nice if certain areas of your home didn’t feel like dead spots in the middle of the woods.
If your Wi-Fi doesn’t reach certain parts of your house, you may be pleasantly surprised by the power of a Wi-Fi extender or booster, devices used to enhance the range of your current Wi-Fi.
While the words represent slightly different functionality — boosters create a second Wi-Fi network while an expander will widen your existing one — they both perform essentially the same function and increase the span of your internet signal.
It’s worth noting that if your current internet connection is really spotty or slow, getting an extender or booster likely won’t fix that (getting a stronger router with more antennas likely will). Extenders work by extending and strengthening the range of your current Wi-Fi and not by fixing a poor connection.
However, if you like the Wi-Fi connection you currently have, you just need it to cover more areas of your home or workspace, getting an extender will help you stream and surf the web with ease. (One reviewer, for example, purchased an extender in order to move an entertainment setup outside.)
Ahead, check out our list of top-rated extenders and boosters, and say goodbye to moving closer to the router as you work from home or scroll through TikTok.
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Promising review: "I have bought many wifi extenders from this brand and they never seem to let me down. I live next to my parents and I use this router to get single from their house so I don’t have to buy internet for my house. Work very well and very easy to set up. The range is really phenomenal!" — Marcos Martinez
Promising review: "I have a 1GB fiber connection and was getting about 60-80Mbps 5G or so in my first floor guest room, which is located furthest from the router on the second floor. With the extender I'm now getting about 120-140Mbps 5G, so it's doing its job. The Amazon Firestick is running much smoother, especially with the Netflix streaming." — T. Tran
Promising review: "I honestly did not expect this to work as well as it does, but I felt somewhat reassured knowing that the TP-link brand has been around for as long as I can remember. I set it up using the phone app and it was literally less than a one minute process. I'm using it to boost signal in my shop, approximately 600 ft or more from my house. Without this device, my phone and iPads could barely connect or not at all; now they connect with extremely strong service, but the best part is this TP-Link booster actually is giving me about 2 to 3 times the speed the devices themselves had when they connected at that distance. So this definitely can take a very weak signal and boosted significantly!" — Vaughn Skow
Promising review: "I have had this extender in place for a year now. No issues. Easy to install and configure to the existing network. 5G setting works great on our TV's, computers, phones and laptops. Would buy again." — Paul Mitchell
Promising review: "I bought this to extend my wifi to my backyard so I can get a TV for the patio. I bought a different brand a few years ago but the set up was difficult and I couldn’t always get my device to pair.!.’n This one was really easy! And it works perfectly." — Kate
Promising review: "I looked at dozens of WiFi extenders and settled on this model. The setup was so easy and it instantly amplified my signal allowing our Smart TV to function as it was meant to. Prior to installing this WiFi extender, we weren't able to stream TV shows and movies without constant loss of signal. My house is pretty large and the router is a good distance from the TV. But I simply installed this extender in a few minutes, about halfway between the router and TV and it has been working flawlessly now for two months. The setup took literally three minutes to complete. I highly recommend this WiFi extender." — WinterWalker
Before You Go
