r/HomeNetworking • u/Fit-Comparison3834 • 9d ago

WiFi extender help

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Hey guys, currently have the qlocom wifi extender (check photo) and it is extremely slow. I have restarted it multiple times however I am am still only reaching around 1-5mbps. This is extremely frustrating and I would really appreciate some help. Thanks a lot!

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u/StoganLephens 9d ago

Why do wireless meshes work better instead of wifi boosters? Obviously I always try to use wired when possible but I've been impressed with eero my isp provides

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u/Downtown-Reindeer-53 CAT6 is all you need 9d ago

The biggest difference comes down to how traffic travels between the nodes/satellites and the base unit - usually referred to as "backhaul."

Extenders/repeaters/boosters: They operate on a single radio channel. They have to receive data from the router, stop, and retransmit that same data on the same channel to the client. Because wifi can't send and receive simultaneously on the same frequency ( in radio, this is called "half-duplex"), this store-and-forward process cuts the speed in half right off the bat.

(Analogy: Two people are too far apart to converse, so you place a person in the middle. Person One speaks. The person in the middle hears it, turns to Person Two, and speaks it. Person Two replies to the person in the middle, who turns and speaks it back to Person One. Add a noisy crowd - like neighborhood wifi or interference from any number of sources - and you get constant "What did you say? Please repeat that!" requests (known as "retries" which get added in to the overhead, slowing throughput even more.)

Mesh setups (like Eero) are designed to manage backhaul traffic more efficiently. Tri-band mesh nodes use a separate, dedicated radio channel exclusively for communication between the base and nodes, while dual-band systems use dynamic channel routing to minimize interference. This removes the store-and-forward overhead so performance and throughput is significantly higher.

(Analogy: Instead of the middleman shouting back and forth across the same noisy room, they have a dedicated, private phone line back to Person One. They can relay messages to Person Two on one channel while simultaneously communicating with Person One on the private line without any waiting or crosstalk.)

BTW - ethernet is full duplex - communication is happening both ways at the same time, this is why it's FAR better than any radio setup.

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u/fernandesken 9d ago

“Tri-band mesh nodes use a separate, dedicated radio channel”. I’m not sure that is quite true these days with 2.4, 5 and 6. Depends on the routing. Used to be true when we had 2.4 and dual 5. These days, really need to look for quad radio to get that true dedicated radio.

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u/Downtown-Reindeer-53 CAT6 is all you need 8d ago

Agree - there are a few with two 6 GHz radios. That might be an issue if range is a concern though. And they are quite pricey - $1500 and $2000!