According to latest surveys, in each home there are more than eight devices connected to the Internet, and they are no longer used only to send emails and post to Twitter. Families watch movies, TV shows in high definition, communicate with friends and family through live calls via video and play online with competitors from around the world.
However, connecting more devices also puts more pressure on the performance of the home Wi-Fi router. On the other hand, previous routers (even five years ago) were not made to support dozens of products in the home with a stable Wi-Fi signal. That's where the wireless range extender enters the scene.
Setting up the Extender
We are going from the base that we have never used it, or we are using it in our house or company and we want to modify its configuration. First of all we will leave it from the factory that we will achieve by pressing a small button that it has in its back part.
- We will configure our network and the extender using the address linksys.com. These will allow us to communicate with the extender. Using these, we can access the configuration portal via our web browser.
- However, you will have to enter credentials, which in this case are user "admin" and password "admin" but that might not with your case. Refer to the documentation of your gadget for this.
- The first thing we see is the network configuration.
- Next is to configure the "Wireless” options. In the last step you have to create a security key, here we can choose between WEP encryption, WPA, WPA2 up. I recommend WPA forward. Now we just need to try it.
But wait, there’s more…
How to get the most out of your extender:
There are some key points to consider getting the most out of your extender:
- Wireless range extenders have a different SSID or Network Name than your Wi-Fi router, so users will need to manually connect to it when they are out of range of the Wi-Fi router.
- It is necessary to place the wireless range extender between the router and the area where you want to extend the coverage. The worst mistake that users make is to input the range extender in the room where they want to have the Wi-Fi signal. A range extender does not magically help to carry the wireless signal where it did not arrive before. They have to be placed in a place that has a stronger Wi-Fi signal, so you can increase it in the place you want it to reach.
- The Linksys extender setup helps extend Wi-Fi to dead zones without having to move the router settings. This makes installing and using it much easier. If a user is disconnected from the wireless range extender when using their device, they will have to reconnect manually as they would when they connect to a Wi-Fi network.
- Several wireless reach extenders can be installed one by one to form a chain. This will help users to have a greater range in larger places. However, the more wireless range extenders join in a chain, the lower the performance of your devices, so to maximize your Wi-Fi signal we recommend only one Wireless Range Extender on one network at a time.
- You can also extend the range by placing an extender on either side of the router. This is excellent for environments where the router is placed in the middle of a house. If you need more range outside the home, placing a wireless reach extender on both sides of the router will help send that signal to reach both ends of the house.
- Some wireless reach extenders have a 3.5mm audio connection that allows users to connect their speakers to the extender to transmit music wirelessly from their Smartphone, tablet or laptop with iOS and Android.
Not all wireless reach extenders are the same. It is better to get an extender that has the same wireless technology as the router. For example, if you have an AC router, it is better to have a wireless range extender that is also AC.