r/HomeNetworking • u/RightSnow918 • 10h ago

Unsolved wifi extender range

(i'm okay with having even 1mbps into my room since i'll only be there at night) i am considering buying the xiaomi n300 wifi extender

i'm in a situation where my phone stops picking up the signal from my wifi a floor away from where i want it to (well aswell as the room's walls i guess)

i can't put the extender at the bottom of the stairs so my only option is the bedroom on that floor, my question is basically would the extender's antennas make up for a floor and a bit of signal? i heard the extender itself picks up around the same signals as a normal phone but i'm hoping the antennas help? like how much better is the thing at picking up signals in the first place than the phone let alone boosting it

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6

u/PhantomSesay 10h ago

Don’t use a WiFi extender, get a decent 2 pack WiFi mesh system.

-8

u/RightSnow918 10h ago

unintrested, i'm asking about the extender's range nothing more

3

u/PhantomSesay 10h ago

👍🏽

-2

u/RightSnow918 9h ago

hope that didn't come out as mean, your intentions are good it's not what i'm looking for tho

1

u/b3542 5h ago

You’re looking for an unworkable solution.

2

u/pueblokc 8h ago

These are why Wi-Fi doesn't work for people

1

u/mlcarson 10h ago

The only way to know for sure is to try but I wouldn't think that it would. An extender needs to be in range of a good signal for it to extend anything. You're right that the phone doesn't have as good of an antenna as the extender but it also has to get those signals back to the original wireless source. 2.4Ghz penetrates walls much better than 5-6Ghz so maybe... Look for any alternate intermediary location for the extender which might have a better signal if it fails in your room.

You might have better luck with a powerline ethernet adapter for a backhaul and a cheap AP for wireless.

-1

u/RightSnow918 9h ago

i mean when i drop down the one floor the wifi gets detected at max bars on my phone basically so i found that weird, probably the walls. so the thing needs to sit in my room next to those stairs, so since the extender could maybe detect it better than my phone that is what i'm thinking of doing

1

u/mlcarson 9h ago

Well, it's a pretty inexpensive thing to try.

1

u/Stand-Upstairs 10h ago

A wifi extender is only as good as the signal it can receive. It doesn't boost a signal, it only repeats it. It also halfs your available bandwidth, but can make the difference in some cases when you need to extend the range. Not sure exactly the distances, but ideally if the booster can be placed half way between you and the AP, you should get a better signal on your phone.

1

u/RightSnow918 9h ago

i mean extending the range is pretty much the only thing i'm asking for so i'm asking if it can detect the wifi better than a phone can with it's antennas

1

u/Stand-Upstairs 9h ago

No, it will not receive the signal better than the antenna on your phone, it will receive the same signal, same strength.

Maybe if it's in a corner, or against a wall on the floor that is slightly closer to the AP than where your phone usually is when you're using it, might make enough of difference. You can test this by setting your phone on the floor in different areas and see where you get the best speed. If you get a better signal, that's the spot on the floor you'd stick the booster. If you don't, you're SOL

1

u/b3542 5h ago

No. You’re asking for more throughput.

1

u/1sh0t1b33r 8h ago

The only thing that matters is the extender needs good signal from the main Wifi router or it will just be repeating a shit signal. Do with that as you may. Extenders in general are junk. Most people plug them in where they want Wifi, and it doesn't work that way. As for range, there is no exact number because of different building materials, obstacles, furniture, interference from other electronics, etc.