Month: July 2020

How To Configure The Wi-Fi Network Of An Extender Or Access Point To Automatically Connect To The Best Signal

When you opt for the Internet with a reputed ISP, they usually offer us a Wi-Fi router for free through which to connect both computers and other devices to the Internet, cable, and Wi-Fi. However, these routers, in general, are of very low range, so, in addition to not having many functions and being of very low performance, both the speed and the coverage of the Wi-Fi network usually leave quite a lot to wish.

While solving the problem of speed is quite complicated and happens to change the router or add another that takes care of Wi-Fi, if you are only interested in solving the problem of wireless network coverage. One of the simplest ways to solve it is by installing a WiFi extender or access point, a device that, placed where the router’s signal arrives well but begins to get lost, is responsible for repeating it so that it reaches the areas farthest from the router.

Depending on the device you install, it is possible that it directly copies the Wi-Fi data that must be repeated and forwards the signal as such, or that you have to configure the network manually to which you connect (Wi-Fi access point).

In the first case, you will not have to do anything, so simply connecting the device and linking it to the original router would already be repeating the signal with the same configuration as our router, however, if what you have installed has been a point of access, before making it work you must do the following.

How to create a Wi-Fi hotspot

The first thing to do is to access its configuration panel by connecting it directly by cable to the computer and accessing its IP from the browser.

Once inside the configuration panel, you must place yourselves on the Wi-Fi configuration section, and there you must configure the options as follows:

  • SSID or network name: The same on the router and access point.
  • Security, password, and encryption: The same on both devices.
  • Channel: Different on the router and access point.

Once you save the changes, you can see that now, although computers and mobiles show us a single network (the closest one), if you scan the wireless spectrum you can see that, in reality, there are two equal networks on different channels.

If you are using an Android/iOS smartphone or tablet, this device will automatically connect to the network that offers the best signal. If you are closer to the main router, you will connect to it, but if you move away, you will connect without having to walk to the access point. In case of using a Windows laptop, this system does not get along with network changes, so you will most likely have to disconnect and connect again to choose the network that arrives with the best signal depending on where you are.

If you configure the network incorrectly, although the configuration is most likely to work, surely you have two independent Wi-Fi networks so that you have to switch from one to another manually. This will happen if, for example, the two networks have different SSIDs or different passwords. If you configure them with the same channel, it will most likely not work since mobile devices will not know how to interpret the change.

WiFi Extender Or Mesh Router – Which Suits Your Requirements The Best?

A discussion has picked up regarding the difference between Wi-Fi Range Extender and Mesh Router with the inception of the latter into the tech world. A decade ago, when Wi-Fi Routers became prevalent, users were excited to access the internet without using any wires and cables, but then, the same users felt the need of internet in every nook and cranny of the house, hence gave rise to extenders.

WiFi Range Extenders were good; no… actually, they were great because they allowed users to connect to the internet from any corner of the house. The only downside to WiFi Range Extenders was their range, which wasn’t that great. A WiFi Range Extender is excellent in covering a small house with 2-3 rooms, but for bigger homes, the dead spots may continue to exist.

To overcome this problem, the bright minds of this world sat together and brainstormed on what new can be delivered to users to ensure uninterrupted internet connectivity throughout their homes without changing the network. This led to the discovery of ‘Mesh Router’, a revolutionary device, which can overcome the problem of dead spots in large homes. The functioning of mesh routers is very different from WiFi Range Extenders. Where the role of an extender is to boost the internet signal it receives from the router, Mesh Router on the other hand creates a seamless network all around the house.

A mesh router is not a single device, but it is a group of 3-4 devices out of which, one device works as a hub and other as nodes. You need to place the hub at a central location, whereas the nodes in all corners of the house, so as to cover the entire area with internet. A notable feature of the mesh router system is that you receive immaculate internet throughout the premises without changing the network, which means, you remain on a single network but receive the best internet signal from the closest node.

Which is better? A WiFi Range Extender or Mesh Router?

Well, both devices are used in different setups. Where a WiFi Range Extender is used for small houses, mesh routers are suitable for large houses. Moreover, the technology incorporated in mesh routers is more advance compared to what is included in WiFi Range Extenders. It all boils down to personal preference as to what a user really wants. Netgear offers the best of both worlds, i.e., it has the best WiFi Range Extenders as well as Mesh Routers, so you can consider getting a product of this company. Or, if you have another company in mind, then you can opt for it.

How To Get Most Out Of Your Netgear Wi-Fi Nighthawk EAX80 Mesh Extender?

With this post, we will try to make you understand the working of range extender and how they can be best employed. We are going to consider Netgear Nighthawk EAX80 mesh range extender in this post. Nighthawk series is considered as expensive and most-featured series of Netgear networking products. With AX8, 8 here refers to the capacity of the range extender to transmit the same signal to 8 devices at a time. Being a new Wi-Fi standard, it is currently being supported by limited Wi-Fi devices like Intel cards and Samsung S10 series phones. The range extenders mainly boost the existing network reaching your home from the internet service provider’s end. If you are receiving a signal up to 5 meters inside your home and want to reach it up to 10 meters, then you can go with a range extender that acts as an amplifier for the network.

Range extenders explained

In this modern world, most of our day to day work depends on the connectivity to the network. All the consumer durable we use either in office or at home requires a stable internet connection for optimal functioning, And this is possible only if there is equal signal strength distributed on all the devices at the same time. This is where the Wi-Fi extender comes into place, as it can handle multiple Wi-Fi devices simultaneously. If you employ EAX80, it can boost the signal of every standard router, no matters which brand the router is from. Let us explain the whole of working simply. If you are a senior citizen, then the speed requirements will be comparatively lesser than that of the photographer. The signal enters the home through the modem provided by the internet service provider. A basic router can transfer data at a rate of 100mbps.

How to use the wireless range extender like EAX80 in the best way?

Now, you must have understood what the range extender is, we would now suggest to you how you can use the range extender more efficiently. The simplest method to improve the signal strength of your Wi-Fi is by restarting the Wi-Fi router and plug-in back after some time and try connecting the Mesh Wi-Fi system instead of the normal extender.

Our technical experts have already tested and verified the performance of the AX8 nighthawk wireless router and find that it is offering the high signal strength in all the directions irrespective of a particular zone or area. You can use Wi-Fi 6 speed instead of using a slower 5/AC mesh system.

The Netgear Nighthawk AX8 or 6 is 6 & 8-stream mesh extender by Netgear will meet your expectations and you can easily come out of the situation where you are not being able to connect to the internet from different Wi-Fi devices. When you connect the Nighthawk WiFi 6 mesh extender to the power supply and the network port, it will start connecting to the existing network on its own. You don’t need to search for the router’s SSID manually. Once connected, you can get the same speed of network on all the floors of your house.